2017 - Kansas City Road Trip

Texas Passions - Dallas Road Trip.  Season 2, episode 9.

A look at the barbecue served at Gates Bar-B-Q in Kansas City and at Hutchins BBQ & Catfish in McKinney, Texas.

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It’s the middle of August and the start of football season is just a couple of weeks away.  Time enough for one last barbecue road trip. . .

On August 21^st, the Great American Eclipse cast a 70 mile wide shadow across the United States.  One of the cities in the path of totality was Kansas City, Missouri.  I have some wonderful friends up there, so my wife and I decided to make the drive to see the big event.  This also gave me an excuse to sample some barbecue along the way.

Gates Bar-B-Q

I had eaten at the legendary Arthur Bryant’s BBQ years ago when I was on a business trip to KC.  I had hoped to eat there again on this trip, but they had a long line on a Sunday afternoon and my wife and I were unwilling to stand around in the heat for an hour.  We drove by two other barbecue restaurants only to discover they each had a wait of an hour or so.  We had almost given up when we spotted Gates Bar-B-Q at 32^nd Street and Main.

I ordered their mixed plate: ribs, beef, and ham served with a side of French fries.  As they prepared my plate, I knew I was in trouble when I saw all the meats had been drowned in sauce and buried in fries.  The ribs were meaty, but any flavor they might have had was completely overwhelmed by the sauce.  I have no idea what kind of beef I was served, but it certainly had no resemblance to smoked brisket served in Texas.  Despite being sliced tissue paper thin, it had to be cut with a knife.  It had no real flavor (except for the sauce) and was pretty lifeless.  To say the beef could have been from Arby’s is an insult to Arby’s.  The thin slices of ham not drenched in sauce had a nice, sweet flavor, but could have come from any good local deli.

Somewhere under the fries and sauce is what passes for barbecue

My wife ordered their half chicken.  It too was swimming in sauce.  Without any smoky flavor, it might have been cooked in an oven.  We did not want to get sauce all over their floor, but thought if we dropped the chicken it might well bounce back up to the table.

My friends had said that Gates is one of the top four or five barbecue joints in Kansas City.  Gates is really proud of their “award winning” sauce and pour it over everything.  When the best thing I can say is that their French fries and pickles are good, I won’t be recommending Gates to any of my Texas friends.

This barbecue gets my lowest rating: no Hook ‘Ems!

Hutchins BBQ & Catfish

As we made our way back into Texas, our first stop was in McKinney.  I had heard good things about Hutchins BBQ & Catfish and they are rated on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list, so I had to give them a try.  We got to their restaurant at 1301 North Tennessee around 10:30 AM, a half hour before they opened, and were the only car in the parking lot.  A line started forming at about 10:50 and we got in it.  By the time Hutchins opened, the parking lot was full and the line wrapped around the front of the building. 

I ordered my usual half pound of moist brisket (nice, thick slices) and a couple of pork ribs which were swabbed down just before cutting. For those people dining in, they offered complimentary peach cobbler and banana pudding.  I got a big scoop of the cobbler.  My wife ordered the lean brisket and some ribs.  She also got a side of fried okra and a ladle full of what looked like sauce.  The moist brisket was outstanding: tender, tasty outer bark, and a deep smoky flavor. I stole a bite (or two) of my wife’s lean brisket.  It was very good, but just a little dry.  The ribs were big and meaty, the meat easily pulling from the bone.  It turns out they had a squeeze bottle of their sauce on the table.  A red sauce that tasted of vinegar with a spicy kick.  What my wife had gotten wasn’t a sauce, but rather an au jus made from the meat drippings with a taste of brown sugar and garlic added.  Oh my goodness. . .  The brisket was delicious without it, but a chunk of meat dipped in that au jus was absolutely incredible.  Oh and by the way, the okra and peach cobbler were also good.

Texas barbecue

After we finished eating, I was treated to a guided tour of the pits and the kitchen by a wonderful young man named Wayne.  He showed me their industrial strength smokers and gave me a peek inside.  When he opened the door, we were enveloped in thick smoke.  He told me they use oak for smoking their briskets and pecan for smoking everything else.  Unlike what I can get from the grocery store, they use nothing but high quality, aged briskets and smoke about sixty a day during the week and around a hundred on weekends.  Someone is keeping an eye on the pits 24/7.  Every piece of meat goes through several quality checks before it ever makes it to the cutting board.  If a brisket doesn’t meet their standards, it’s pulled off the line and goes into their chopped beef.  Wayne’s pride in his staff and product shone like a bright flood light.  As a parting gift, he gave me a sample of their burnt ends: delicious outer crust, fat fully rendered, and oh so juicy.  Wowzer. . .

Wayne of Hutchins BBQ

Don’t let the name Hutchins BBQ & Catfish fool you.  When they first opened in 1978, a lot of catfish was sold in the north Texas area.  But as the barbecue revolution has spread across the state, they are concentrating on serving outstanding que every day.  They are doing some remodeling.  They have built out a large new dining area (not yet opened), expanded the kitchen, and added new smokers.  They are going to need all that to satisfy the hungry masses who will be lining up every day.  Wayne told me the staff gathers together each morning to pray and give thanks for their many blessing.  I responded that we the customers are truly blessed to be able to eat their great food.

Hutchins BBQ – super people serving tremendous barbecue.

This barbecue gets my highest rating: two Hook ‘Ems!

2017 - Dallas Road Trip

Texas Passions - Dallas Road Trip.  Season 2, episode 8.

A look at the barbecue served at Top 5 Barbecue in DeSoto and at Cattleack Barbeque in north Dallas.

The dog days of summer continue to drag on, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Players have reported to training camp, two-a-day practices are starting, and the football season is just around the corner.  Sounds like a great excuse to eat BBQ to me.  As if I needed one. . .

My Dad - Art McCourt

I recently traveled up to the Dallas area to visit family, in particular my 91 year old Dad.  He is now living in a retirement home, but when he was still active, he was a cartoonist.  For my 50^th birthday, my wife asked him to draw the two framed cartoons I now have hanging above my desk.  Anyway, if I’m going to be in Dallas for a couple of days, I might as well sample some of the local barbecue joints.  That Texas Monthly Top 50 list sure comes in handy. . .

Top 5 Barbecue - DeSoto

My first stop was Top 5 Barbeque.  They are located in a small strip shopping center at 209 E. Pleasant Run Road in DeSoto, where Pleasant Run intersects with Hampton.  To say the restaurant is small is an understatement: three tables and a row of chairs for people to use while they wait for their to-go order.  Their entire restaurant would probably fit inside a two car garage with room to spare.  But don’t let the small size fool you, the barbecue was huge on taste.

I ordered my usual half pound of brisket and a couple of pork ribs from a nice young man named Josh.  I forgot to get utensils with my order.  When Josh handed me a fork, I teasingly said I wouldn’t need it if the barbecue was good.  He gave me a complimentary scoop of their corn (which was very good) so I would have a use for the fork.  The brisket was outstanding – moist and tender, great outer bark, deep smoky flavor.  The ribs were also very tasty – meaty, juicy, and had a nice glaze on them.  The meat easily bit from the bone and went down real good.  Their sauce was a typical red sauce, kinda sweet without much of a spicy kick, but it was a good compliment to the meat.  Had it not been for the corn, no fork would have been needed.

I got to Top 5 around 1 PM, so I can’t comment on the size of the lunch crowd.  I was the only person dining in while I was there, but they did have several people get orders to go.  When I finished eating, I had a chance to talk with Kendon Greene, the owner/pitmaster of Top 5 Barbecue.  He said they use a mix of oak and mesquite to smoke their meats.  He mentioned that the restaurant had been open for about a year.  My Dad had lived in the neighborhood for many years (we used to rent movies from the Blockbuster just across the street), but moved in with my sister when his health took a turn a few years back.  Had Top 5 been in business back then, no doubt we’d have become good friends with Kendon years ago.

Kendon Greene

There wasn’t much stuff hung on the walls to give Top 5 atmosphere, but they did proudly display their plaque from Texas Monthly showing them to be on the 2017 Top 50 list.  They may be small now, but as word spreads about just how good their barbecue is, Top 5 will take off like a rocket.

This barbecue gets my highest rating: two Hook ‘Ems!

Cattleack Barbeque - Dallas

My second stop was Cattleack Barbeque. They are located in an office park at 13628 Gamma Road in north Dallas, near the Addison Airport.  It was a little strange finding barbecue in a neighborhood where other businesses sell furniture, do printing and graphics, or sell precious metals, but Cattleack was ranked #3 overall in the Texas Monthly Top 50 list.  Check out their website to see some beautiful barbecue porn.

Cattleack is only open on Thursdays and Fridays (and the first Saturday of the month).  They begin serving at 10:30 AM and the line forms as early as 8:30. I got in line around 9:50 and feared I would be in for a long wait.  At least it gave me an opportunity to talk with other people in line.  Some were newbies to Cattleack like myself, others had been there many times.  By the time the doors opened at 10:20, the line behind me was even longer than the line in front.

The line actually moved very quickly.  I ordered my standard half pound of moist brisket and a couple of pork ribs.  The brisket had a nice outer bark and a deep smoky flavor, but was just a wee bit dry. It turns out I had been given nearly a pound of brisket.  I could not finish it all, so I took some with me to eat with my Dad.  But Dad didn’t get any of the ribs. They were meaty and tender, with a crunchy outside.  The meat easily bit from the bone and melted in my mouth.  Literally some of the best pork ribs I have eaten.  There was a squeeze bottle of sauce on the table (typical red sauce with a little pepper), but it didn’t add much.  A couple of the gentlemen I spoke with in line had ordered beef ribs.  It figures that since I had resisted the temptation to get one, I would miss what they said was the best thing on their plates

Unlike Top 5, Cattleack is huge.  There is one room where you order food and a large dining area in the second room.  One of the walls in the first room is covered with photos of many of the great pit masters from around Texas (Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s, Aaron Franklin, John Mueller, etc.).  That was really neat.  After the doors were opened, the line snaked through the dining room so people could get out of the heat. 

Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow's BBQ (lower right corner)

Aaron Franklin

As one gentleman in line said, Cattleack is not going to be open more days or have longer hours.  They are not going to add more locations.  Owner Todd David has found his sweet spot and has no plans to change.  So if you want to eat some of this really great barbecue, plan on getting in that line.

This barbecue gets my highest rating: two Hook ‘Ems!

2017 - Terry Black's

Texas Passions - Terry Black's Barbecue.  Season 2, episode 7.

A look at the barbecue served at Terry Black's in Austin.

I was running some errands just before lunch time one day.  I was driving on Barton Springs Road here in Austin, just south of the river when I noticed smoke coming out of a smokestack.  I rolled down the window and breathed in the sweet smell of barbecue cooking. I had eaten at Terry Black’s before, but figured this would be a good time to sample their wares again. And indeed it was. . .

You will find Terry Black’s Barbecue at 1003 Barton Springs Road, across the street from the Long Center for the Performing Arts.  Terry Black is a member of the same family that owns Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart.  His twin sons Michael and Mark run this particular restaurant.  Unlike the Black’s located just north of the UT campus, all the barbecue served at this restaurant is cooked onsite instead of being trucked in from Lockhart.

When I first parked my minivan, I noticed the smoking shed.  I poked my head in and met Josh, a nice young man who is one of their pit masters.  He said they slow smoke (13 to 16 hours) about a hundred briskets a day over post oak wood.  He was kind enough to open one of the pits where a handful of briskets had just started the long cook.  Oh, they looked good.  When Terry Black’s first opened, there were complaints from some neighbors about all the smoke.  Those people must not be from around here if they can’t appreciate the smell of Texas perfume.  Anyway, Josh told that has all been resolved and the neighbors are happy.

After making my way through the short line, I ordered my usual brisket and pork ribs.  They also had a big beef rib on the cutting table.  I could not resist the urge, so I got one of them too.  The brisket was moist and tender, with a great outer bark and a good smoke ring.  Nice smoky flavor, but not all of the fat had been rendered out.  The pork ribs were meaty and had a nice, sweet glaze on them.  And then there was the beef rib.  Fred Flintstone would have been proud of this: meaty, juicy, and full of flavor.  Sort of like a brisket popsicle.  I couldn’t finish it, so I took it home to enjoy later.  They had three types of red sauce on the table (original, sweet, and spicy).  I tried them all, but none of them really stood out.

Terry Black’s has a large indoor seating area and a good size area outside as well, but it was too hot to eat out there the day I visited.  The staff was very friendly and great to talk with.  Terry Black’s was recently named as one of the Top 50 BBQ joints in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine.  Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed this barbecue.  But there are a couple of other joints in Austin that did not make the list that serve slightly better barbecue in my opinion.

I rate this barbecue a single Hook ‘Em.

2017 - J. Leonardi's BBQ

Texas Passions - J. Leonardi's BBQ.  Season 2, episode 6

A look at the barbecue served at J. Leonardi's BBQ in Austin, Texas.

A friend called me up and asked me if I would like to go to lunch.  I told him there was a barbecue joint in east Austin that I wanted to try.  I had been hearing good things about it and needed to check it out for myself.  He said yes and I said yes, so off we went to J. Leonardi’s BBQ.  I sure am glad my friend called. . .

J. Leonardi’s opened in 2016.  They are located just behind a gas station and serve barbecue out of a trailer at 1149 ½ Airport Blvd. at the intersection of Oak Springs Drive.  My friend and I were driving south on Airport trying to find them.  I was about to keep going when my buddy spotted smoke coming from a smokestack.  As we walked up, we were surrounded by the sweet aroma of mesquite and oak.  If the smell was any indication, we were in for some good barbecue.

I ordered my usual half pound of moist brisket and a couple of pork ribs.  These were served with a cup of sauce and some pickles and onions.  The brisket was superb: great outer bark, deep smoke ring, meat so tender you could easily cut it with a plastic fork.  Really good.  The baby back ribs were meaty and tender, with a sweet glaze on them.  The meat easily pulled from the bone when I bit into it.  Their sauce was a thick, sweet red sauce that was a good compliment to the meat.

My friend got a two meat plate with brisket and sausage.  Like me, he really enjoyed the brisket.  I stole a bite or two of his sausage.  Very tasty, as were the side of beans he had gotten.  After we finished eating, Jerome the pit master gave me a quick tour of the pits.  At the time, he was cooking smoked cabbage.  My friend and I had never tried that, so Jerome was kind enough to give us a free sample.  Peppery with a deep smoky flavor.  Delicious.

J. Leonardi’s has several covered picnic tables to eat at.  They have a small stage where live music is served up.  We were enjoying music from James Brown as we ate our lunch and talked with Jerome and other members of their crew.  Their prices are very reasonable and the smiles are free.

J. Leonardi’s – great barbecue, super friendly staff, good music to enjoy.  A hidden gem in the Austin barbecue scene.

I rate this barbecue two Hook ‘Ems!

2017 - Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ

Texas Passions - Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ.  Season 2, episode 5

A look at the barbecue served at Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ in Austin, Texas.

Every few years, “Texas Monthly” magazine publishes its list of the Top 50 barbecue joints in the state.  They recently published their list for 2017, the magazine cover loudly proclaiming that this is the Golden Age of Texas Barbecue.  Seven different joints in Austin made the list (the most of any city in Texas).  At one time or another, I have eaten at six of the Austin seven.  Looks to me like I have a new BBQ joint to discover.

Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ serves “fusion food”, in this case barbecue fused with tacos.  In Austin, we’ll wrap almost any kind of food in a tortilla.  Breakfast tacos, brisket tacos, you name it.  Somebody will probably open an Italian restaurant and serve spaghetti and meatballs in a tortilla.  Hmmm….  There’s an idea. . .

Brisket taco. . . yum yum

Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ is located at 11500 Manchaca Road in far south Austin. (That is pronounced MAN-shack. If someone pronounces it man-CHAKA, people in Austin would immediately know you ain't from around here.)  I live on the northwest side of town, but good barbecue is always worth a road trip.  And I was not disappointed.

Their menu has two sides – the Tex side and the Mex side.  

I ordered some moist brisket and a couple of pork ribs from the Tex side and a brisket taco from the Mex side.  The brisket taco was served on a homemade flour tortilla with guacamole and homemade tomato-serrano salsa.  The flavors blended together beautifully, even though the taco was just a bit greasy.  The brisket I was served was juicy, tender, and full of smoky flavor.  Covered with a dark outer bark, it went down really good.  The ribs were a little lean with a sweet glaze on them.  The meat had to be bitten off the bone, but was very tasty. There was a bottle of their sauce on the table.  It was a bit thin, but a nice compliment to the meat.  The note on the bottle said it would self-destruct if removed from the property. Cute…

Valentina’s currently serves their barbecue from a food trailer, but will soon move to a brick-and-mortar home (possibly at the same location).  The menu items on the Tex side were a wee bit expensive, but BBQ prices have been rising all across the state.  Prices on the Mex side were lower ($5 for the brisket taco).  And they had a couple of dishes on the Mex side that I will want to sample later.

Valentina’s had the music turned up – a mixture of Mexican Conjunto and rock and roll – that was fun to hear.  They have a number of picnic tables and I chose to sit in the large shaded area.  There wasn’t much of a line when I got there, but it was long and the parking lot full by the time I finished eating.  I suspect Valentina’s lines will get even longer as a result of the “Texas Monthly Effect”. 

If you are in south Austin, you gotta give Valentina’s a try. 

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I rate this barbecue two Hook ‘Ems!