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TM Top 50 BBQ Joints 2021

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Homesickhorn
Homesickhorn

I was not an investor, but I was incredibly involved.  I placed my fucking shingle out for him, and acquired the space without proving a pot to piss in.  I DID THAT.  They took MY word, that he'd do w

speed817
speed817

Had to visit my buddy Andrew and the rest of the crew at Cattleack to congratulate them on Friday.... (Pastrami brisket, Pork Steak, Spicy Texan, regular brisket along with some mac and cheese an

kevwun
kevwun

It's cute that they can pretend that there are 6 places in the state that are better than Franklin.

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Deej

Deej 76856

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41 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Franklin's response on social media was very gracious.  Not that there's any shame in being the #7 joint in Texas.  But it's a couple of spots down from the last two lists all the same.  He responded like someone who has been in the end zone before and could be there again.

Franklin got a raw deal this past year. They've been order ahead, to-go only due to the pandemic. Everyone know his food tastes better after waiting in line for 4 or 5 hours. 

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Horn Under a Bad Sign

Horn Under a Bad Sign 20460

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23 hours ago, C-Man said:

Kreuz doesn't belong IMO. It was dreadful the last time I went, though it's been a handful of years.

 

And what has happened to Smitty's?  And Lockhart in general?

I'm glad to see so many new names on the list as they give me some new goals next time I'm in Tx.

I can attest that the barbecue at Brick Vault in Marathon is excellent and very happy that they made the top 100.  

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C-Man

C-Man 27236

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1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

It's really impressive how much better the BBQ in Texas has become in the last decade.

You can thank Aaron Franklin for that. He's The Godfather for all you're seeing in our today's BBQ scene. Period. End of story.

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C-Man

C-Man 27236

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8 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

 

And what has happened to Smitty's?  And Lockhart in general?

I'm glad to see so many new names on the list as they give me some new goals next time I'm in Tx.

I can attest that the barbecue at Brick Vault in Marathon is excellent and very happy that they made the top 100.  

You had the Kreuz/Smitty's divorce, which hurt both of them dearly. I never went to Black's.

The simple answer is that Aaron Franklin happened. He started a movement, a renaissance. Kreuz/Smitty's/Black's might be just as good as they were back in 1997 when Texas Monthly did their first ranking. So many new places have started and just blown right past them since then that the Lockhart joints suffer by comparison. I think only Louie Mueller has kept any kind of pace and it is rightfully no longer in the Top 10.

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BurntOrange&White

BurntOrange&White 39934

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1 hour ago, dcbc said:

Franklin's response on social media was very gracious.  Not that there's any shame in being the #7 joint in Texas.  But it's a couple of spots down from the last two lists all the same.  He responded like someone who has been in the end zone before and could be there again.

Thanks for posting it, really appreciate it!

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BurntOrange&White

BurntOrange&White 39934

Posted
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

 

And what has happened to Smitty's?  And Lockhart in general?

I'm glad to see so many new names on the list as they give me some new goals next time I'm in Tx.

I can attest that the barbecue at Brick Vault in Marathon is excellent and very happy that they made the top 100.  

They're complacent and rely on old dipshits and out of state people who don't know what good BBQ is to come to texas and see them on google and say wow! Same with coopers, same with salt lick.

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dcbc

dcbc 14496

Posted
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33 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Thanks for posting it, really appreciate it!

Sorry about that.

lmgtfy.jpg

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"Holy moly. @TexasMonthly put together a beautiful list of the Top 50 bbq joints in Texas. It was 8 years ago that we were named the No. 1 bbq joint in Texas. 4 years ago we were named number 2. And now we are named No. 7. Our pitmasters Jordan Jackson, Megan Nesland and Matthew Van Orden and the entire team are putting out some of the best food we have ever put out --so that leads us to believe that the bbq in this state has truly never been better. Congrats to all of the restaurants on this list. Creativity and tradition seem to be bonding beautifully in this new form of Texas Barbecue and we are honored to be a part of it."

Edited by dcbc
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Patricio Swayze

Patricio Swayze 17058

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Sorry about that.
lmgtfy.jpg
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"Holy moly. @TexasMonthly put together a beautiful list of the Top 50 bbq joints in Texas. It was 8 years ago that we were named the No. 1 bbq joint in Texas. 4 years ago we were named number 2. And now we are named No. 7. Our pitmasters Jordan Jackson, Megan Nesland and Matthew Van Orden and the entire team are putting out some of the best food we have ever put out --so that leads us to believe that the bbq in this state has truly never been better. Congrats to all of the restaurants on this list. Creativity and tradition seem to be bonding beautifully in this new form of Texas Barbecue and we are honored to be a part of it."

Wait, so someone very deserving of top 10 or 5 can be gracious instead petulant? Weird. Someone should float him the idea of a shirt that says “we used to be number 1”.
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utee94

utee94 15835

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1 hour ago, C-Man said:

You had the Kreuz/Smitty's divorce, which hurt both of them dearly. I never went to Black's.

The simple answer is that Aaron Franklin happened. He started a movement, a renaissance. Kreuz/Smitty's/Black's might be just as good as they were back in 1997 when Texas Monthly did their first ranking. So many new places have started and just blown right past them since then that the Lockhart joints suffer by comparison. I think only Louie Mueller has kept any kind of pace and it is rightfully no longer in the Top 10.

They're not though.  The tide is rising for sure, but they're sinking all on their own.  The last two times I went to Smitty's, their brisket was burned up dried-out shoe leather.  Seriously-- inedible.  It absolutely wasn't that way before, it was always my favorite in Lockhart.  And Kreuz' is also worse than it was before, and it's definitely now below what I'd consider average.  They seem to be more interested in entertaining large buses with lots of tourists, than actually serving good food.

Black's is really the only one I still care to eat, and it's not what I'd consider excellent anymore.  But that one might actually be a case of them staying the same, and everyone around them getting better.  The other two, though-- definitely significantly decreased in quality over the past decade+.

 

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TXSooner518

TXSooner518 2438

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18 minutes ago, utee94 said:

They're not though.  The tide is rising for sure, but they're sinking all on their own.  The last two times I went to Smitty's, their brisket was burned up dried-out shoe leather.  Seriously-- inedible.  It absolutely wasn't that way before, it was always my favorite in Lockhart.  And Kreuz' is also worse than it was before, and it's definitely now below what I'd consider average.  They seem to be more interested in entertaining large buses with lots of tourists, than actually serving good food.

Black's is really the only one I still care to eat, and it's not what I'd consider excellent anymore.  But that one might actually be a case of them staying the same, and everyone around them getting better.  The other two, though-- definitely significantly decreased in quality over the past decade+.

 

100% this

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8709

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4 hours ago, dcbc said:

Franklin's response on social media was very gracious.  Not that there's any shame in being the #7 joint in Texas.  But it's a couple of spots down from the last two lists all the same.  He responded like someone who has been in the end zone before and could be there again.

Not surprised.  When Snow's beat out Franklin in 2017, Franklin drove out to Lexington with flowers for Tootsie and a bottle of bourbon for Kerry Bexley.

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bigup2dahorns

bigup2dahorns 3343

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I only know what I read here.  And if there is one thing I've learned at Shaggy/Surly, it's that you should not invest in a BBQ business.

Somehow I dodged the JM debacle in Austin thankfully. I did offer up some cash to Justin at Pecan Lodge when I heard he was getting a restaurant location and moving from the Farmer’s Market but he said that they were all set. I thought it would be a financial success. But yeah, restaurant investing in general seems like a bad idea.
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Professor Chesney

Professor Chesney 498

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33 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

And don’t some of Franklin former pitmasters now work at La Barbecue and Goldees?

Not sure about the current pit master, but you might be thinking of John Lewis, who was the pit master at La BBQ when it first opened.  He moved to South Carolina in 2018 and now has the top rated bbq joint in that state.

Just further evidence that all those people that won’t stop crowing about how “Carolina cue” is so special and unique are full of it.  Central Texas came, saw, and conquered.

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C-Man

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4 minutes ago, Professor Chesney said:

Not sure about the current pit master, but you might be thinking of John Lewis, who was the pit master at La BBQ when it first opened.  He moved to South Carolina in 2018 and now has the top rated bbq joint in that state.

Just further evidence that all those people that won’t stop crowing about how “Carolina cue” is so special and unique are full of it.  Central Texas came, saw, and conquered.

Which would easily fit in the most recent TM Top 10. It's that good.

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18015

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They're complacent and rely on old dipshits and out of state people who don't know what good BBQ is to come to texas and see them on google and say wow! Same with coopers, same with salt lick.

There’s also idiots in austin. We had a volleyball game in Lockhart on Friday. One of the dads for our team (McCallum) went on about he only drives to Lockhart for bbq because no one compares to the BIG THREE. Asked him if he’d even been to a place in austin. Answer was no. Told him to try any place in austin that’s not BillMiller and get back to me.
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Deej

Deej 76856

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3 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Oh Christ. The one by the knife shop? That place was ass. I mean I eat ass, but I don’t want bbq that is ass.

It's ass, but hitting the 5 for $5 chopped beef sandwiches after an afternoon of drinking at the Draught House was always good.

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Patricio Swayze

Patricio Swayze 17058

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Line at Interstellar this morning. They weren't very efficient in moving the line before, so no telling how long the line will take. c30c02daad73f5ab22d660363a7db94f.jpg

Well, I guess I should have gone a long time ago. I might have been the one that saw some brief mention of them and came here asking about them. I think the first time I asked no one had any info. Problem is, whenever I am in Austin, I always go to L&L or Valentina’s.
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1 minute ago, Macanudo said:

TM should really break Texas into regions and do a top 25 or so for each area.   

Do we really need a magazine to help us at this point?

I mean yeah, I enjoy reading the piece; but it doesn't impact my opinion of places I like/ dislike.  Some of their ratings I agree with.  Some others are WTF?

Hell, any time folks on here start talking 'Cue joints, it's not unusual to come away with info on a new spot, even in the small towns.

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Macanudo

Macanudo 12999

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5 minutes ago, slorch said:

Do we really need a magazine to help us at this point?

I mean yeah, I enjoy reading the piece; but it doesn't impact my opinion of places I like/ dislike.  Some of their ratings I agree with.  Some others are WTF?

Hell, any time folks on here start talking 'Cue joints, it's not unusual to come away with info on a new spot, even in the small towns.

Maybe we do need, maybe not.   No one forces anyone to read it.

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utee94

utee94 15835

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46 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Well, I guess I should have gone a long time ago. I might have been the one that saw some brief mention of them and came here asking about them. I think the first time I asked no one had any info. Problem is, whenever I am in Austin, I always go to L&L or Valentina’s.

We talked about it several times on one or more of the various BBQ threads.  It's relatively close to my house and the owners replaced their Noble Pig sandwich restaurant (which I loved) with Interstellar, so I tried it early on and was impressed.  It's genuinely good, but I don't see it as #2 in the state.  In Austin, my order is Franklin, Leroy and Lewis, Interstellar, Valentina's, in that order.   This is talking BBQ only, not tortillas.

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NoName

NoName 16364

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1 hour ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Well, I guess I should have gone a long time ago. I might have been the one that saw some brief mention of them and came here asking about them. I think the first time I asked no one had any info. Problem is, whenever I am in Austin, I always go to L&L or Valentina’s.

I really can't believe that their total results are better than L&L, plus I like the L&L folks a ton...so I will continue to go there.

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Dutch

Dutch 4474

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Posted (edited)
19 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Didn’t Hutchins make the list? That is where Mr Personality cooks now.

Hutchins' Frisco location made the list.  McKinney - where Stabby McStabber is employed - wasn't mentioned.  Though this may be due to the fact that the McKinney location was closed for a long while after a fire in Dec 2020 and reopened about a month ago. 

TBF, the Frisco location has improved immensely over the past five years.  It used to be a shell of the original; not any more.

Edited by Dutch
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