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Stiles Switch and Terry Black's are both good options for that time of day.  

Honestly, they're probably the only options for that time of day, not named Rudy's, Poke E Joe's, or Smokey Mo's.   Not many BBQ places offer actual restaurant dining hours for full lunch and dinner service.

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Stiles Switch and Terry Black's are both good options for that time of day.  
Honestly, they're probably the only options for that time of day, not named Rudy's, Poke E Joe's, or Smokey Mo's.   Not many BBQ places offer actual restaurant dining hours for full lunch and dinner service.

The Switch in Belterra is another option.
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Stopped by Distant Relatives in Austin after L&L as it was the only Austin-area place I have not been to.  Didn't open until 12:00 and there was no wait.  I ordered 1/2 pound of brisket and 1/2 pound of spare ribs.  I was first in line and they took the order . . . then I had to wait 5 minutes to get the food.  Efficient - no.  Prices were pretty high, even in the era of high prices - $18/half pound for brisket and $13/half pound for ribs.  Ribs were done with a dry rub and were perfectly cooked.  Moist brisket was seasoned fine, but tough, I'm guessing undercooked.  The location is a food trailer court outside a brewery.  Wouldn't be terrible if you were at the brewery and wanted a bite, but definitely not worth a separate trip.  No way it is better than Roegels or Stiles Switch, both of which were knocked off the TM Top 50 list.

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Zavala's in Grand Prairie today, about 11:15.  Short line maybe 10 folks in front of me (longer later) typical BBQ joint slowness but still maybe only 20 minutes to wait. Brisket was excellent, jalapeno cheddar sausage link was good but not anything mind blowiing...maybe a slight bit too mushy.  The Sloppy Juan was also excellent.  Didn't try any sides.  

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2 hours ago, Borachio said:

Got to Snow's this morning at 5:20am, probably about 50th in line. 

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I love Snow's

I love Tootsie and Kerry Bexley.

I will *NEVER* go back and be there that early when there are a bunch of other options that take less time. The allure of Snow's initially for me was you could drive to Lexington, eat there, and drive back to Austin before you could get through the line at Franklins.

I am glad for them, really. They are absolutely good people and glad they are making $Texas!

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2 hours ago, NoName said:

I love Snow's

I love Tootsie and Kerry Bexley.

I will *NEVER* go back and be there that early when there are a bunch of other options that take less time. The allure of Snow's initially for me was you could drive to Lexington, eat there, and drive back to Austin before you could get through the line at Franklins.

I am glad for them, really. They are absolutely good people and glad they are making $Texas!

I was way off on my initial estimate.  We were actually 110th in line at 5:20am after they did the head count.   Ordered our food at 10am.

Folks in front of us were from Los Angeles and the couple behind us from NYC.  In the guest book there was a couple from Colombia and another from Italy.   Wild stuff!  Delicious as always. 

 

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Thanks for the recommendation. If you think it’s mediocre, I‘ll have to investigate before stopping there.

There isn’t much out that way in terms of great BBQ. I am guessing it’s a timing thing that prevents you from going to Burnt Burn or 2M. Lum’s is probably your best choice. It was fine the one time I had it, just nothing I would go out of my way for.
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41 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


There isn’t much out that way in terms of great BBQ. I am guessing it’s a timing thing that prevents you from going to Burnt Burn or 2M. Lum’s is probably your best choice. It was fine the one time I had it, just nothing I would go out of my way for.

Can't find this place in the google machine.  I have a feeling 2M will be closed by the time I arrive in San Antonio from Houston.  It would most definitely be sold out.  I'm leaving here at 4:30PM on a Saturday and driving to Boerne and was looking for a place to eat lunch the next day before heading out to Sonora/El Dorado.

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Can't find this place in the google machine.  I have a feeling 2M will be closed by the time I arrive in San Antonio from Houston.  It would most definitely be sold out.  I'm leaving here at 4:30PM on a Saturday and driving to Boerne and was looking for a place to eat lunch the next day before heading out to Sonora/El Dorado.

Lum's BBQ
(325) 446-3541
https://goo.gl/maps/xD83DjiCc8FNCSe9A
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I was way off on my initial estimate.  We were actually 110th in line at 5:20am after they did the head count.   Ordered our food at 10am.
Folks in front of us were from Los Angeles and the couple behind us from NYC.  In the guest book there was a couple from Colombia and another from Italy.   Wild stuff!  Delicious as always. 
 

I’m sorry but that’s fucking insane. I’ll never do that for any food, no matter how good it is. Unless I’m literally starving in a food line. Five hour wait to eat? When you have to wake up and leave at like 4am. Hell nah.
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8 minutes ago, irishtexan said:


I’m sorry but that’s fucking insane. I’ll never do that for any food, no matter how good it is. Unless I’m literally starving in a food line. Five hour wait to eat? When you have to wake up and leave at like 4am. Hell nah.


100% agree, too many options out there that are just as good, if my better 

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9 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:


Also, Black's on Barton Springs has been crazy salty for their beef rib the last 4x I've been, so that 's become a no go for me.
 

This salty thing has been a pet peeve of mine for a while.  I cannot eat anything that Coopers Llano is putting out lately.  Black pepper needs to be the main ingredient in a rub.  I'm OK with adding some chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and such.  But kosher salt needs to be the last on that list of rub ingredients.

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And?  Pics alone don't tell the story, so...
Also, Black's on Barton Springs has been crazy salty for their beef rib the last 4x I've been, so that 's become a no go for me.

Also, where is this location you have pictured?

Looks like the Deep Ellum Dallas location. I went a few weeks back and was underwhelmed.
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12 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

Need some recommendations for a good place in or around Boerne. Traveling to Sonora/El Dorado to the deer lease in a few weeks.

BlackBoard is outside Boerne (north): https://www.facebook.com/blackboardbarbq/

Eaker is in FBG, on the Top 50 but that's out of the way.

The best BBQ spot in Kerrville is probably the one in HEB (not kidding)

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10 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

This salty thing has been a pet peeve of mine for a while.  I cannot eat anything that Coopers Llano is putting out lately.  Black pepper needs to be the main ingredient in a rub.  I'm OK with adding some chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and such.  But kosher salt needs to be the last on that list of rub ingredients.

I don't mind a decent amount of salt, but it needs to be half the volume of black pepper, if not less.

EDIT:  it's known that Louie Mueller's rub is 9:1 black pepper to salt, but what I didn't realize is that they use table salt.  So, that's more like 7:1 (Morton's Kosher salt) or 4:1 (Diamond Crystal Kosher salt).

Edited by jimmyjazz
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9 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

And?  Pics alone don't tell the story, so...

Sorry, thought it was pretty self-explanatory.

Top tray left to right: pork ribs, 2 sausage links (one plain, one jap and cheese), turkey (mrs landomatic likes to order turkey at BBQ joints for whatever reason - I think it's a waste of money and stomach space) and a medium side of mac n cheese

Bottom tray: Beef rib, brisket (moist) and some more of the pork ribs

Outside the tray left to right: Plastic silverware, bloody marry (I was hanging so needed some hair from the dog), japs and pickles, medium side of beans

Underneath: Wooden outdoor table on top of a concrete patio

It was all excellent. Not the very top tier in the entire state level, but easily #2 behind Cattleack for Dallas area BBQ and not far behind it, honestly. If Cattleack is a 9, this is 8.5 imo. Pic makes bottom tray look a little dry, but it wasn't (pics will do that to brisket sometimes - lighting and whatnot).

Open every day for lunch and dinner and, at least when we were there (admittedly kind of a chilly drizzly Tuesday at about 1:00), no line at all. Huge spot with tons of inside and outside (covered and uncovered) pet-friendly seating. Cattleack is only open Thursday and Friday for lunch until they run out with long lines every time, so it's really a completely different model. In my opinion, they're hard to compare to one another because their models are so vastly different.

ZHbBSv.png

Quote

Also, Black's on Barton Springs has been crazy salty for their beef rib the last 4x I've been, so that 's become a no go for me.

I had no problem with the salt level at all. In fact, I almost went and got some salt for the brisket because it was a little under salted if anything. But I was hungover and really didn't feel like fucking with it. The beef rib was about perfect for salt. I mean, if you just ate the bark as a stand-alone bite, it might have been a little salty, but as a whole bite with the meat, it was great.

Quote

Also, where is this location you have pictured?

This is in the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas (near Fair Park for reference). That's probably my only complaint, I don't go to Deep Ellum much. Nothing wrong with it, just not my usual stomping grounds. Not a big fan of going down there at night, but it's fine during the day (obligatory - get off my lawn).

If you want really good BBQ in Dallas any day of the week with a full bar and don't feel like fucking with a long line, this place is hard to beat. Quite a bit better than Pecan Lodge now as it has slipped considerably over the years (same neighborhood), way better than Heim (a lot closer to my house) and several notches above anywhere else I've tried in town. I haven't tried Smokey Joes (really far south Dallas, which I never go to) and haven't been to Slow Bone in several years (I think @C-Man went back recently and said it was really good). Those were the other 2 from Dallas on the TM Top 50, but I'd have a hard time believing they're any better than Terry Black's, otherwise they would have been in the top 10 with Cattleack.

Huge pit room was impressive. I kind of think, seen one pit room...seen them all, but their pit worker (guy named Craig I think) was a really nice guy and gave my dog and me a nice little tour.

tl;dr - About as good as it gets for high volume, open every day BBQ. Just a tick below the handful of elite places in Texas, but I'd think it's very deserving of its top 11-50 ranking.

jw4tCq.png

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12 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

20 minutes from my hotel.  I'm there.  Checked out some reviews and looks legit.  I'll get there early or call it in and eat with the kid on the tailgate if I have to.  Thanks man.

It's definitely the best in the Boerne area, but the BBQ itself is just pretty good. The non-BBQ items are the best parts of their menu in my opinion. Definitely worth the stop, but I'd make sure to order the Luckenbach Lollipops and maque choux. Never had a line deeper than about 2 people when I've been there, but I usually hit up their dinner more often than lunch. You shouldn't need to call it in unless you want to reserve their burger (think they only serve it on Friday, but not always)....and you defnitely want to order the burger, even if you split it with the kid among other things.

Edited by IDIOTsavant
Not open on Thursdays any more apparently
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2 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Sorry, thought it was pretty self-explanatory.

Top tray left to right: pork ribs, 2 sausage links (one plain, one jap and cheese), turkey (mrs landomatic likes to order turkey at BBQ joints for whatever reason - I think it's a waste of money and stomach space) and a medium side of mac n cheese

Bottom tray: Beef rib, brisket (moist) and some more of the pork ribs

Outside the tray left to right: Plastic silverware, bloody marry (I was hanging so needed some hair from the dog), japs and pickles, medium side of beans

Underneath: Wooden outdoor table on top of a concrete patio

It was all excellent. Not the very top tier in the entire state level, but easily #2 behind Cattleack for Dallas area BBQ and not far behind it, honestly. If Cattleack is a 9, this is 8.5 imo. Pic makes bottom tray look a little dry, but it wasn't (pics will do that to brisket sometimes - lighting and whatnot).

Open every day for lunch and dinner and, at least when we were there (admittedly kind of a chilly drizzly Tuesday at about 1:00), no line at all. Huge spot with tons of inside and outside (covered and uncovered) pet-friendly seating. Cattleack is only open Thursday and Friday for lunch until they run out with long lines every time, so it's really a completely different model. In my opinion, they're hard to compare to one another because their models are so vastly different.

ZHbBSv.png

I had no problem with the salt level at all. In fact, I almost went and got some salt for the brisket because it was a little under salted if anything. But I was hungover and really didn't feel like fucking with it. The beef rib was about perfect for salt. I mean, if you just ate the bark as a stand-alone bite, it might have been a little salty, but as a whole bite with the meat, it was great.

This is in the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas (near Fair Park for reference). That's probably my only complaint, I don't go to Deep Ellum much. Nothing wrong with it, just not my usual stomping grounds. Not a big fan of going down there at night, but it's fine during the day (obligatory - get off my lawn).

If you want really good BBQ in Dallas any day of the week with a full bar and don't feel like fucking with a long line, this place is hard to beat. Quite a bit better than Pecan Lodge now as it has slipped considerably over the years (same neighborhood), way better than Heim (a lot closer to my house) and several notches above anywhere else I've tried in town. I haven't tried Smokey Joes (really far south Dallas, which I never go to) and haven't been to Slow Bone in several years (I think @C-Man went back recently and said it was really good). Those were the other 2 from Dallas on the TM Top 50, but I'd have a hard time believing they're any better than Terry Black's, otherwise they would have been in the top 10 with Cattleack.

Huge pit room was impressive. I kind of think, seen one pit room...seen them all, but their pit worker (guy named Craig I think) was a really nice guy and gave my dog and me a nice little tour.

tl;dr - About as good as it gets for high volume, open every day BBQ. Just a tick below the handful of elite places in Texas, but I'd think it's very deserving of its top 11-50 ranking.

jw4tCq.png

My #3 in DFW after Cattleack and Goldees.  Will be taking the west coast family there this weekend when they are in town.

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15 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:


There isn’t much out that way in terms of great BBQ. I am guessing it’s a timing thing that prevents you from going to Burnt Burn or 2M. Lum’s is probably your best choice. It was fine the one time I had it, just nothing I would go out of my way for.

 

14 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

Can't find this place in the google machine.  I have a feeling 2M will be closed by the time I arrive in San Antonio from Houston.  It would most definitely be sold out.  I'm leaving here at 4:30PM on a Saturday and driving to Boerne and was looking for a place to eat lunch the next day before heading out to Sonora/El Dorado.

 

14 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

I meant Burnt Burn.  Sorry.

Pretty sure he was trying to say Burnt Bean in Seguin. It's supposed to be fanfuckingtastic.

The OG Rudy's is not far from Boerne in Leon Springs. We used to go there when I was in middle school and HS and then Phil Romano bought them and started the chain. I will always have a soft spot for Rudy's in my heart and that was the first one. Or just go to Peggy's On the Green in Boerne instead.

 

14 hours ago, irishtexan said:


I’m sorry but that’s fucking insane. I’ll never do that for any food, no matter how good it is. Unless I’m literally starving in a food line. Five hour wait to eat? When you have to wake up and leave at like 4am. Hell nah.

Has it really come to that? Tootsie told us two summers ago to just be in line by 8:30, which we were. We left Dallas around 5:45 to head Lexington. We were eating by 10 AM and I think they ran out of chicken right as we were getting through the line. There was even a momentary period between 10:30-11 or so when there was zero line.

As I mentioned, we're going down on Saturday with a group of auction winners from our Cook-Off. I'll ask Tootsie what she thinks you need to do now.

 

2 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Sorry, thought it was pretty self-explanatory.

Top tray left to right: pork ribs, 2 sausage links (one plain, one jap and cheese), turkey (mrs landomatic likes to order turkey at BBQ joints for whatever reason - I think it's a waste of money and stomach space) and a medium side of mac n cheese

Bottom tray: Beef rib, brisket (moist) and some more of the pork ribs

Outside the tray left to right: Plastic silverware, bloody marry (I was hanging so needed some hair from the dog), japs and pickles, medium side of beans

Underneath: Wooden outdoor table on top of a concrete patio

It was all excellent. Not the very top tier in the entire state level, but easily #2 behind Cattleack for Dallas area BBQ and not far behind it, honestly. If Cattleack is a 9, this is 8.5 imo. Pic makes bottom tray look a little dry, but it wasn't (pics will do that to brisket sometimes - lighting and whatnot).

Open every day for lunch and dinner and, at least when we were there (admittedly kind of a chilly drizzly Tuesday at about 1:00), no line at all. Huge spot with tons of inside and outside (covered and uncovered) pet-friendly seating. Cattleack is only open Thursday and Friday for lunch until they run out with long lines every time, so it's really a completely different model. In my opinion, they're hard to compare to one another because their models are so vastly different.

ZHbBSv.png

I had no problem with the salt level at all. In fact, I almost went and got some salt for the brisket because it was a little under salted if anything. But I was hungover and really didn't feel like fucking with it. The beef rib was about perfect for salt. I mean, if you just ate the bark as a stand-alone bite, it might have been a little salty, but as a whole bite with the meat, it was great.

This is in the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas (near Fair Park for reference). That's probably my only complaint, I don't go to Deep Ellum much. Nothing wrong with it, just not my usual stomping grounds. Not a big fan of going down there at night, but it's fine during the day (obligatory - get off my lawn).

If you want really good BBQ in Dallas any day of the week with a full bar and don't feel like fucking with a long line, this place is hard to beat. Quite a bit better than Pecan Lodge now as it has slipped considerably over the years (same neighborhood), way better than Heim (a lot closer to my house) and several notches above anywhere else I've tried in town. I haven't tried Smokey Joes (really far south Dallas, which I never go to) and haven't been to Slow Bone in several years (I think @C-Man went back recently and said it was really good). Those were the other 2 from Dallas on the TM Top 50, but I'd have a hard time believing they're any better than Terry Black's, otherwise they would have been in the top 10 with Cattleack.

Huge pit room was impressive. I kind of think, seen one pit room...seen them all, but their pit worker (guy named Craig I think) was a really nice guy and gave my dog and me a nice little tour.

tl;dr - About as good as it gets for high volume, open every day BBQ. Just a tick below the handful of elite places in Texas, but I'd think it's very deserving of its top 11-50 ranking.

jw4tCq.png

Terry Black's in Deep Ellum is great, much better than Pecan Lodge nowadays. And the line is nothing. Yes, went to Slow Bone the week the new Top 50 came out and it was very, very good.

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On 10/29/2021 at 1:41 PM, Jerry Callo said:

Stopped by Distant Relatives in Austin after L&L as it was the only Austin-area place I have not been to.  Didn't open until 12:00 and there was no wait.  I ordered 1/2 pound of brisket and 1/2 pound of spare ribs.  I was first in line and they took the order . . . then I had to wait 5 minutes to get the food.  Efficient - no.  Prices were pretty high, even in the era of high prices - $18/half pound for brisket and $13/half pound for ribs.  Ribs were done with a dry rub and were perfectly cooked.  Moist brisket was seasoned fine, but tough, I'm guessing undercooked.  The location is a food trailer court outside a brewery.  Wouldn't be terrible if you were at the brewery and wanted a bite, but definitely not worth a separate trip.  No way it is better than Roegels or Stiles Switch, both of which were knocked off the TM Top 50 list.

Although that brewery is Meanwhile and it kicks ass... four food trucks, lots of space, plenty of live music and a soccer field for the kids.  It's probably my favorite.  

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9 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Has it really come to that? Tootsie told us two summers ago to just be in line by 8:30, which we were. We left Dallas around 5:45 to head Lexington. We were eating by 10 AM and I think they ran out of chicken right as we were getting through the line. There was even a momentary period between 10:30-11 or so when there was zero line.

Here's what Borachio said in his post that I quoted:

Quote

I was way off on my initial estimate.  We were actually 110th in line at 5:20am after they did the head count.   Ordered our food at 10am.

So if you live in Austin, it's an hour and fifteen-ish out to Lexington. You'd have to leave at 4am to get there by 5:15/5:30am, then wait until 10am to order. Take your seat and start eating at 10:15. That's 6.25 hours for a meal of bbq. 6.25 hours that starts BEFORE 4am. No thanks.

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1 minute ago, ROFL BOX said:

I don't care WHAT the weather is like - blizzard, sleet, rain, lightning, 103f overnight temps... if you're not in line for Snow's by @ least 0500, chances are you're not getting anything.

Fixed it for you

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I just treat Snow's like it's an event, maybe do it once a year. I can go to a UT football game for 5-6 hours and leave there feeling like I've been kicked in the nuts about a dozen times or so, like I have the past decade.  

I can hang out at Snow's with friends shooting the shit for 5-6 hours, eat great BBQ, leave satisfied and with leftovers.   It's a win, win. 

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41 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Terry Black's in Deep Ellum is great, much better than Pecan Lodge nowadays. And the line is nothing. Yes, went to Slow Bone the week the new Top 50 came out and it was very, very good.

I disagree; went a few days ago before a Mavs game-- regretted it because it was average at best. Regretted not going up the street to Pecan Lodge where I've never had a subpar meal (the last one a month ago or so which was way better). I agree with @Stunns38 on this one.

Brisket PL>>TB

Sausage PL>>>>>>TB

Pork Ribs PL>TB

Sides - who cares, but I would say a push

The one positive thing about TB's is it is always pretty sparsely populated and kinda dead, so lines seems short. 

I want to try Slow Bone and don't have the patience for Cattle Ack anymore. 

 

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14 minutes ago, Borachio said:

I just treat Snow's like it's an event, maybe do it once a year. I can go to a UT football game for 5-6 hours and leave there feeling like I've been kicked in the nuts about a dozen times or so, like I have the past decade.  

I can hang out at Snow's with friends shooting the shit for 5-6 hours, eat great BBQ, leave satisfied and with leftovers.   It's a win, win. 

Bring a folding card table, play poker or dominoes for the majority of that time.  Let the line ahead of you get a gap of maybe 8 feet (once the line actually starts moving) before you nudge the operation.

Hell, you'd do the same thing @ 8pm, hanging around bullshitting... so why not 5am?

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