If you read my blog, you know I am a huge fan of Central Texas BBQ. Just love the way it is smoked and the simple flavors combined with excellent make it good enough to eat without sauce. I think that is the best way to judge great BBQ. Do I need sauce to make it good, if so then it may be good but not great. (note to sauce lovers out there. Nothing against sauce just like it better if I don't have to use it. I do love a good sauce though).
So let's talk about great BBQ in DFW. Dallas/Fort Worth has some good BBQ but I think there is definitely a gap between D/FW and Central Texas. Well I made a little adventure for Father's Day. Shannon and I headed down to Pecan Lodge in the Farmer's Market in Dallas. We walked in to see quite a line. A 2 hour wait in line later revealed the wait to be worth it. Pecan Lodge is a little unique in that they have things besides BBQ like fried chicken. So to use Shannon's words (she got the chicken. She is a huge fan of fried chicken and maybe I will get her to write a blog about Gus' in Memphis someday), the chicken was ok which is code for,"I should of gotten BBQ". Now on to the good stuff. The BBQ. I will start with the brisket. It has a generous amount of rub on it to form a very nice bark. This brisket is by far the best I have had in DFW. The rub was almost a little too thick but it had great flavor. I will say that Franklin's is better in my opinion but it was very good. Now let's go to the ribs. The ribs were spare ribs and they were phenomenal. I really liked the ribs because they didn't have sauce on them and the flavor was outstanding with a lot of meat on the bone. The rib sauce that is served on the side (nice!) was really good. Vinegar based sauce with just a right mix of sweet and heat. Really enjoyed that! Last meat was the pulled pork. Again, the meat was great. They make their pork meat a little more salty and that taste is just so good with the pork. The pulled pork was super tender and juicy. I won't say much about the sides because honestly they were nothing spectacular. Just your ordinary BBQ sides.
Summing it up, the food was very good and by far the best BBQ in DFW in my opinion. However, the experience left a little to be desired. I'm not talking about the wait. That is expected with good BBQ but the overall experience felt a little cold. I love watching the slicer slice my order up and serve it up. At Pecan Lodge, the order is placed and then sent to a back kitchen and produced through a door. You can't tell them lean or moist or anything like that so you lose the experience somewhat. Would I recommend Pecan Lodge? You better believe it! Great food and great BBQ in Dallas. Finally!
Thanks and let me hear what you think. Keep on Smokin!!!
