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Tried Stiky Ribz in Forney today. Wow their BBQ is almost as bad as their name. Ribs were the opposite of sticky, brisket had no smoky flavor, and the sides were bland. This place is getting rave reviews from people around the area for some reason. Maybe they've never been to 4Ts or tried any craft BBQ in Dallas?

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Not sure if it’s been mentioned here or not, but it makes me sad that City Market in Luling has become garbage.

Used to be my #1, and it’s now borderline inedible. Awful brisket. Subpar ribs. Their sausage is the only thing left that is even decent.

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8 minutes ago, Horn21 said:

Not sure if it’s been mentioned here or not, but it makes me sad that City Market in Luling has become garbage.

Used to be my #1, and it’s now borderline inedible. Awful brisket. Subpar ribs. Their sausage is the only thing left that is even decent.

have heard this from a number of people.  Really sad to hear.  Back from about 2005-2014 when my parents had a place down in lockhart I would drive over to Luling to get que and tote it back out to Lockhart.  I know things have changed but back then I was eating at CM, Smitty's, Kruez and Blacks on the regular.  There was a pretty clear hierarchy that developed that went something like this:

1. Smitty's - their very best days generally were not as great as great as either CM or Luling, BUT they were always the most consistently very good.  In that time I never got anything from them that wasn't at least good, and much more often than not, very good.  

2. Kruez - their very best que was better than Smitty, BUT way more inconsistent.  When they knocked it out of the park it was just incredible, but they were just as likely to give you some way below average junk.

3. CM - these guys absolutely served me the very best brisket I have ever tasted.  I've eaten at most of the "best of" places and never had brisket as great as they served on their very best days back then.  It was mind blowing.  That said, they were definitely the most wildly inconsistent.  The had the highest or highs, and the lowest of lows.  About as often as they put out mind blowing awesome, they'd put out beef jerky shit.  

4. Blacks - was wholly mediocre back then to me.  They were one step above Chisholm Trail back then.  I have been told they have gotten way better these days. 

 

I haven't been through LH in a while, nor to CM in several years now.  My parents moved away from the area, and I don't go through there these days.  CM was always such a great treat of old texas.  When they were on, my goodness, it was so damn good.  

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5 hours ago, futureman said:

do you know where you are?

Valid argument.

 

Just my opinion here, but CM has only been worth visiting for the sausage for, oh..., the better part of the last decade. The issue is two-fold. One, the proliferation of quality que across the state. And two, well, see number one. Because we are all spoiled now. 

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Just my opinion here, but CM has only been worth visiting for the sausage for, oh..., the better part of the last decade. The issue is two-fold. One, the proliferation of quality que across the state. And two, well, see number one. Because we are all spoiled now. 


I think the massive improvement in quality of bbq in and around Austin has definitely leveled the field compared to the historically great places in central Texas.

But regardless of what other places have been doing, CM imo has taken a drastic nosedive. I chalked it up to hit-or-miss for a few trips (much like Coopers), but it’s to the point that I won’t go to CM again because I can’t even remember the last time I had a good meal there.
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Do you think that Smitty's/Kreuz/CM have "fallen off" due to their popularity? So Texas Monthly comes out with the "Big 3" article some years ago, everybody in Texas goes batshit crazy and now all of the sudden they've got long lines. In an effort to feed these people, they start changing what they're doing - cheaper, faster, more volume, etc. These practices become entrenched, and now that things have slowed down a bit for them, they don't know how to get back to what brung 'em (DKR). Just a thought. Louie Mueller seems to have held on, although I'm sure some smartass will argue, but hey, that's what we do.

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15 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

Do you think that Smitty's/Kreuz/CM have "fallen off" due to their popularity? So Texas Monthly comes out with the "Big 3" article some years ago, everybody in Texas goes batshit crazy and now all of the sudden they've got long lines. In an effort to feed these people, they start changing what they're doing - cheaper, faster, more volume, etc. These practices become entrenched, and now that things have slowed down a bit for them, they don't know how to get back to what brung 'em (DKR). Just a thought. Louie Mueller seems to have held on, although I'm sure some smartass will argue, but hey, that's what we do.

Is it this or is it that so many other great places have opened up that the 'que, though maybe really the same, just doesn't stand out as much anymore?

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On ‎10‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 10:29 AM, Horn21 said:

Not sure if it’s been mentioned here or not, but it makes me sad that City Market in Luling has become garbage.

Used to be my #1, and it’s now borderline inedible. Awful brisket. Subpar ribs. Their sausage is the only thing left that is even decent.

I've gone twice on trips down to San Antonio and have been very disappointed each time. Family says they won't go back again that there are too many other places to go with good BBQ.

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My experience is that the quality has dropped in a lot of the old places.

Not that they new places have raised the bar so high that we can’t appreciate good food.

As to the why? I don’t know. Still the best sausage I have ever had was at LCM in 2013.

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51 minutes ago, smoky said:

Looking to go to Valentinas next week. Probably can't get there till 1 though.

Is the selection slim at that time?

They're open until 8 or 9, so likely not.  It depends if they get a run on certain items like beef ribs.  But I have had success getting anything I wanted during the dinner hour.

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Looking to go to Valentinas next week. Probably can't get there till 1 though.

Is the selection slim at that time?
If you can go during the week they're open until 8 or 9 usually and rarely run out of stuff till late. If you're going on the weekends, they're much busier but you should be good. Might just have to wait a lot longer than you do during the week.
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On 10/18/2018 at 9:39 PM, Steel Shank said:

Do you think that Smitty's/Kreuz/CM have "fallen off" due to their popularity? So Texas Monthly comes out with the "Big 3" article some years ago, everybody in Texas goes batshit crazy and now all of the sudden they've got long lines. In an effort to feed these people, they start changing what they're doing - cheaper, faster, more volume, etc. These practices become entrenched, and now that things have slowed down a bit for them, they don't know how to get back to what brung 'em (DKR). Just a thought. Louie Mueller seems to have held on, although I'm sure some smartass will argue, but hey, that's what we do.

25 years ago there were always lines out the door at Kreuz and CM.  At least on Saturdays. 

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2 hours ago, Liquor and Poker said:

25 years ago there were always lines out the door at Kreuz and CM.  At least on Saturdays.

Didn't say they weren't busy, but it'd be crazy to say traffic didn't increase significantly after TM's "Big 3" story. Like dumbass crazy.

 

I've been going to Kreuz since the early 80s.

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Browns typically doesnt have much of a line

Kinfolk doesnt have a line

Whitfields doesnt have a line

Big Vinnys doesnt have a line

J Leonardi’s doesnt have a line

Leroy and Lewis doesnt have a line

12 gauge doesnt have a line

Rollin Smoke doesnt have a line, but I think they might have changed their hours

 

Lotta badass places for cue in austin that dont have lines. Dunno why anyone would line up for good bbq... wayyyyy too easy to get in Austin without waiting

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The fact that people choose to stand in line at places like La and Valentina's, yet LeRoy & Lewis nor Whitfield's have lines is ridiculous (and I mean no disrespect to La or Valentina's). But Evan LeRoy is putting out some of the best barbeque in the state right now. And the boys at Whitfield's are hitting on all cylinders too.

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26 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Browns typically doesnt have much of a line

Kinfolk doesnt have a line

Whitfields doesnt have a line

Big Vinnys doesnt have a line

J Leonardi’s doesnt have a line

Leroy and Lewis doesnt have a line

12 gauge doesnt have a line

Rollin Smoke doesnt have a line, but I think they might have changed their hours

 

Lotta badass places for cue in austin that dont have lines. Dunno why anyone would line up for good bbq... wayyyyy too easy to get in Austin without waiting

Fantastic info. Thank you.

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Louie Mueller for lunch. Wet spares were the star of the show, good flavor with a light sweetness. Probably could have put away a rack of those. Brisket could have been rendered better, sausage (both jalapeno and regular) had good pepper flavor and nice grind, though I did get something inedible. Turkey needed some pepper. 3b9a9300258f417757b3f8309daf5a57.jpg

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