Tyler, Texas

[Reynolds Woodcock 4818]

18 hours ago, dcbc said:

For this who have mentioned Ruby's, great call. I tried it for the first time today. #1 beef tacos were fantastic. Easily my favorite taco in town at this point. Had a bit of the flautas, and they were fine. The Pizzadilla looks delicious, too.

Yup. And they have an outpost behind Los Gueros now as well (which also have damn fine breakfast tacos). I think I’m more likely to routinely visit Hernandez BBQ for their barbacoa tacos, but only because the Ruby’s tacos are so fn heavy. 
 

In any event, I just go to these places repeatedly when I visit my parents for the holidays, desperate for good tacos/Tex Mex. By the time I go back to New York, I’m 5 pounds heavier and can’t eat another taco for a month.

[dcbc 14556]

19 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

Yup. And they have an outpost behind Los Gueros now as well (which also have damn fine breakfast tacos). I think I’m more likely to routinely visit Hernandez BBQ for their barbacoa tacos, but only because the Ruby’s tacos are so fn heavy. 
 

In any event, I just go to these places repeatedly when I visit my parents for the holidays, desperate for good tacos/Tex Mex. By the time I go back to New York, I’m 5 pounds heavier and can’t eat another taco for a month.

The Chicken place behind Guerros?  Still need to try BBQ Hernandez.  They are cash only, and I rarely carry unless I've recently seen my pimp. 

[pearlandhorn 3275]

Took my parents and wife/kid to Villa Montez out on 64 at the old Mansion on the Hill place. I’d give the place 2 out of 5 stars. Place is nice and the atmosphere was good. Food and service was pretty bad. It’s “Latin” food with 3 things on the menu from Central or South America. The other menu items are just fancier Mexican food that you could get from the food truck down the street in my opinion. I paid $15 for a burrito that tasted like it was bathed in salt. Only thing I could taste was the salt. They don’t have a kids menu - it was recited by the server and she forgot to submit the order.

We won’t be back. 

[dcbc 14556]

7 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

Took my parents and wife/kid to Villa Montez out on 64 at the old Mansion on the Hill place. I’d give the place 2 out of 5 stars. Place is nice and the atmosphere was good. Food and service was pretty bad. It’s “Latin” food with 3 things on the menu from Central or South America. The other menu items are just fancier Mexican food that you could get from the food truck down the street in my opinion. I paid $15 for a burrito that tasted like it was bathed in salt. Only thing I could taste was the salt. They don’t have a kids menu - it was recited by the server and she forgot to submit the order.

We won’t be back. 

Yeah, Stripper Montez is overrated. 

 

Unrelated, about 10 or 15 years ago, there was this great little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant where the menu was split up with dishes from the various regions of Mexico.  It had some great Yucatecan  dishes, among others.  It had a dumb name, Pico de Gallo, and was in this little building next to a gas station out on the spur.  Food was wonderful and the wait was usually close to an hour.  The owner would walk the room and talk to the patrons.  Just a great experience, but for the relatively short drive out Spur 364 to get there.

Well, they decided to relocate into town.  They occupied this old Chinese buffet and surely didn't do a traffic survey.  Anyway, the food was good for a while, but the owner kind of checked out and it fell apart and closed.

TLDR, Montez sucks, there used to be a regionally diverse Mexican place that was better at cooking shit than being a successful business.

[mininghorn88 2311]

On 2/12/2021 at 2:14 PM, NoName said:

If you want BBQ there is zero reason to go to any other place in the Tyler area (not including Bodacious in Longview) that isn't Stanleys. Good bar area, good non BBQ options (GET THE MOTHER CLUCKER) and live music.

The only people that truly love Country Tavern and think it is better BBQ than Stanleys or Bodacious - and trust me they exist in ETX - remember it for what it was like 30 years ago.

Pre-Covid we used to have a lot of customers, both domestic and international, visit our facility in Longview.  We would always take them to the Country Tavern off of 31.  For me, their ribs are second to none along with their sauce.  The "original" Bodacious on Mobberly (across from LeTourneau University) was voted in the Top 5 by Texas Monthly a couple of years ago.  Their brisket is pretty solid but their ribs are a bit dry.  We were having Bodacious catered to our facility weekly prior to Covid.

[NoName 16423]

16 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

Pre-Covid we used to have a lot of customers, both domestic and international, visit our facility in Longview.  We would always take them to the Country Tavern off of 31.  For me, their ribs are second to none along with their sauce.  The "original" Bodacious on Mobberly (across from LeTourneau University) was voted in the Top 5 by Texas Monthly a couple of years ago.  Their brisket is pretty solid but their ribs are a bit dry.  We were having Bodacious catered to our facility weekly prior to Covid.

yup, nobody went there more in Year 1 and 2 than me. seriously it's one of like 3 things i miss from Longview.

Folks love Country Tavern but I am not the kind of guy that is going somewhere for ribs alone, so that place was never really on my list when Stanleys and Bodacious existed.

Should be interesting to see what Bryan does with his pop up (Sunbird BBQ) and absolutely will be worth following.

you think you end up with more folks coming back "after" COVID or do you think that's done for a good long time/forever?

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by NoName

[dcbc 14556]

41 minutes ago, NoName said:

yup, nobody went there more in Year 1 and 2 than me. seriously it's one of like 3 things i miss from Longview.

Folks love Country Tavern but I am not the kind of guy that is going somewhere for ribs alone, so that place was never really on my list when Stanleys and Bodacious existed.

Should be interesting to see what Bryan does with his pop up (Sunbird BBQ) and absolutely will be worth following.

you think you end up with more folks coming back "after" COVID or do you think that's done for a good long time/forever?

 

So I hadn't followed this, but I went to Bodacious on Mobberly about a month ago and it was impressive as advertised.  Is Bryan the new(ish) pitmaster there?  Has the quality improved/stayed the same since he took over those duties from the owner who brought that location to prominence a few years ago?

[mininghorn88 2311]

1 minute ago, dcbc said:

So I hadn't followed this, but I went to Bodacious on Mobberly about a month ago and it was impressive as advertised.  Is Bryan the new(ish) pitmaster there?  Has the quality improved/stayed the same since he took over those duties from the owner who brought that location to prominence a few years ago?

From basically living on Bodacious and Country Tavern food, from hosting visitors and getting all of the left-overs from catered meals at the factory, sadly I have had neither in a year now.  Most of the BBQ that I have had in the past year has been my own.  I will have to swing by today and pick some up after my lunch basketball game.

[dcbc 14556]

2 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

From basically living on Bodacious and Country Tavern food, from hosting visitors and getting all of the left-overs from catered meals at the factory, sadly I have had neither in a year now.  Most of the BBQ that I have had in the past year has been my own.  I will have to swing by today and pick some up after my lunch basketball game.

You should.  But my question was really just a recap of recent history. 

When it got  #4 in the Texas Monthly list, the pitmasters were Jordan Jackson (owner) and Scott Turner.  Now, the only pitmaster listed on their website is Bryan Bingham.  My question was if Jackson still owned the place and had farmed out all the pitmaster duties, or was Bingham running the show top to bottom over there.  The brisket was top notch and the ribs were pretty good when I finally got over there a month ago.

[NoName 16423]

5 hours ago, dcbc said:

So I hadn't followed this, but I went to Bodacious on Mobberly about a month ago and it was impressive as advertised.  Is Bryan the new(ish) pitmaster there?  Has the quality improved/stayed the same since he took over those duties from the owner who brought that location to prominence a few years ago?

Bryan has been there since 17 at least. He was the 1:1 replacement for Scott and stayed even when Jordan went to run Gladewater

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

You should.  But my question was really just a recap of recent history. 

When it got  #4 in the Texas Monthly list, the pitmasters were Jordan Jackson (owner) and Scott Turner.  Now, the only pitmaster listed on their website is Bryan Bingham.  My question was if Jackson still owned the place and had farmed out all the pitmaster duties, or was Bingham running the show top to bottom over there.  The brisket was top notch and the ribs were pretty good when I finally got over there a month ago.

The location is owned by the Lindsey family, not Jordan.

Bryan has been running the show there since 18?

[Texas St. Armadillos 1381]

Didn't Jordan marry the daughter in the Lindsey family?  When I lived there a year or so ago, I heard he was focusing on getting the Gladewater Bodacious up to the standards of Mobberly one.  Could be just a rumor or talk at the time.

[mininghorn88 2311]

1 minute ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Didn't Jordan marry the daughter in the Lindsey family?  When I lived there a year or so ago, I heard he was focusing on getting the Gladewater Bodacious up to the standards of Mobberly one.  Could be just a rumor or talk at the time.

I had heard about the Gladewater deal as well.  A new Bodacious is going into SHV right now too.  I haven't heard yet on who will be running it though.

[dcbc 14556]

16 hours ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Didn't Jordan marry the daughter in the Lindsey family?  When I lived there a year or so ago, I heard he was focusing on getting the Gladewater Bodacious up to the standards of Mobberly one.  Could be just a rumor or talk at the time.

That's what the Texas Monthly write up said.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by dcbc

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4979]

Last time I went to Country Tavern, about five years ago, the ribs tasted like they were just cooked in an oven. The texture and everything was good, but they had no taste apart from the sauce. Stanley's and Mobberly Bodacious are both excellent, however.

As far as Mexican food, DJ Mariscos (same people as Don Juan's)has good Mexican seafood and live mariachi on the weekends, I forget which day. Get there early to eat and just stay at your table drinking cervezas all evening. It usually (pre pandemic) fills up.

Margarita's on Front Street is the better Mexican food for places close to downtown, IMO. I don't care too much for Don Juan's, but my wife and inlaws love it, so we eat it pretty regularly.

[dcbc 14556]

52 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Margarita's on Front Street is the better Mexican food for places close to downtown, IMO. I don't care too much for Don Juan's, but my wife and inlaws love it, so we eat it pretty regularly.

I much prefer Don Juan's.  I always found Margarita's to be a bit on the bland side.

Agreed on DJ Mariscos.  I haven't been there in some time, but it always has been very good.

[BladeRunnerRock 33]

For those talking about Bodacious and JJ.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/tag/jordan-jackson/

 

[baboso 6057]

19 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Last time I went to Country Tavern, about five years ago, the ribs tasted like they were just cooked in an oven. The texture and everything was good, but they had no taste apart from the sauce. Stanley's and Mobberly Bodacious are both excellent, however.

As far as Mexican food, DJ Mariscos (same people as Don Juan's)has good Mexican seafood and live mariachi on the weekends, I forget which day. Get there early to eat and just stay at your table drinking cervezas all evening. It usually (pre pandemic) fills up.

Margarita's on Front Street is the better Mexican food for places close to downtown, IMO. I don't care too much for Don Juan's, but my wife and inlaws love it, so we eat it pretty regularly.

Isn't your wife Latina?

[TwiceHorn 31644]

On 2/3/2021 at 8:35 PM, AustinMT said:

He was a good lawyer, and is a good Judge, at least on the patent/civil side.  No insight on criminal.

Unfortunately, like a lot of federal district judges, he spent his career doing white shoe civil lawyer stuff and probably sees criminal cases as an unpleasant side effect of being a federal district judge.  I don't think most of them have any "feel" for it, or much interest in the policy.  So they just follow the sentencing guidelines even though they don't have to.  And thereby, they become hanging-type judges.

On a rare occasion, you get one who's horrified by the guidelines, and they become mavericks.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4979]

50 minutes ago, baboso said:

Isn't your wife Latina?

Sí

[Kyrie Eleison 9312]

Unfortunately, like a lot of federal district judges, he spent his career doing white shoe civil lawyer stuff and probably sees criminal cases as an unpleasant side effect of being a federal district judge.  I don't think most of them have any "feel" for it, or much interest in the policy.  So they just follow the sentencing guidelines even though they don't have to.  And thereby, they become hanging-type judges.
On a rare occasion, you get one who's horrified by the guidelines, and they become mavericks.

Albright deviates all the time. if it’s a dope case and your client is trying to get it right via treatment, meetings, etc. he won’t hesitate to do a downward departure, oftentimes jaw droppingly south.

if your client continues in his ways or doesn’t do shit about fuck, he throws the hammer down hard and fast.

he’s a huge advocate for recovery, that much i do know. hence my comment about maybe doing some federal work.

[TwiceHorn 31644]

3 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

Albright deviates all the time. if it’s a dope case and your client is trying to get it right via treatment, meetings, etc. he won’t hesitate to do a downward departure, oftentimes jaw droppingly south.

if your client continues in his ways or doesn’t do shit about fuck, he throws the hammer down hard and fast.

he’s a huge advocate for recovery, that much i do know. hence my comment about maybe doing some federal work.

Good to hear. From what I can see, a lot of federal criminal defense seems to be more rehab/recovery work for your client and arguing how that should reduce the sentence than more conventional criminal advocacy.  If the judge is receptive to that, seems quite a few aren't.

[Llewelyn Moss 210]

Is Ben Wheeler close enough to Tyler to fit in this thread? Los Pinos is a nice little spot. For the three weeks a year it’s comfortable to eat outside in Texas, you get a nice view of the little lake it sits on. Food was strong to very strong—definitely not the 7-page menu some folks are used to for Tex-mex. Anyway, would definitely recommend if for some crazy reason you are near Ben Wheeler, America. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4979]

Mercedes Boot Company is in Ben Wheeler. A pair of custom boots is certainly worthy of being in Ben Wheeler.

[RollLeft 5045]

Was in Tyler this past weekend.  As others have posted Montez is nothing special in terms of food.  That said they were showing the Horns at the bar and the drinks were strong.  Did i mention that every blonde bimbo in from Dallas was there the night we went.  So points for a talent show as i ate.  Stanley's was also good.  Small town Tyler, didn't do anything to disappoint.  The short drive to Caddo Lake was the best part.  Capt Ron's tour was awesome.  Dude is the tits.  Pleasant time on the water.  I had always wanted to visit that lake and i finally did.  Worth it.  Can't recommend it enough.  If your a kayaker, look into it, do it.