The beef rib is one of the most succulent meats in the world of BBQ. When I lived in Austin, I found one of the best secrets around. A small remodeled iron shop taken over in a fight with culture in the Red River district of downtown.
Here in this house holds one of the best beef ribs in Texas. Thick, fatty, moist, smokey, bearing a nice peppery crust. This is the item to get if you go here.
The sliced beef here is good as well, bearing a nice smoke ring, very moist due to proper rendering, and a nice smokey crust.
A red barn/house yielding some of the tastiest sausage I've come across. The sausage is made from beef brisket in house. It showed a peppery, smokey flavor. The sausage was so good, it saved them from everything else.
The ribs were okay, nothing to boast about. They had a very nice formed crust, a nice pepper & garlic rub, and a nice smokey flavor. The thing that I had a problem with was that they were reheated and were chewy.
The sliced beef was bland, undercooked, and just not worthy. It was grey and showed no smoke line, no formed crust, and no smoke flavor. It was very chewy as the fat had not had time to render into the meat. This as well was reheated.
I would like to go back on a day they weren't serving these reheated meats, but I will indeed go back just for the sausage.
The name really does explain it all. Decked floor to ceiling with both modern and antique coke memorabilia, early pop culture influenced this establishment.
The flow of this place goes as such: Sit down, full service. Ribs, claimed to be the best.
I get the usual 3 meat combo (by the pound not offered here).
The sausage, of course not being house made, was okay. It was not anything to make me go back for.
The sliced beef brisket was okay, I mean it wasn't great but I ate it. It came out as grey as the sky that day, no smoke line was detectable. It tasted like meat, I mean there was no smoke to it or even a flavor at that. The fat on top was still very chewy, an obvious sign that the brisket was undercooked.
Now these ribs that are supposed to be the states best....St. Louis style. These ribs were good, but not the best. The rub was salty and you know, that was my only complaint. They were smokey and tender, baring a nice crust. I would go back for these.
Let's start of by saying if you have world champion on your store front, don't let me down.
This place is located in a shopping center directly across from an Ozark forest. The inside is plastered with trophies and awards from around the state.
I ordered the Whole Hog Platter with pulled pork, beef brisket, and baby back ribs. It also was accompanied with beans, coleslaw, and potato salad.
The pulled pork was very tender and had a nice smokey flavor, the best I've had to date.
The brisket was different, it had a nice smoke line, but didn't really have that bbq flavor you would it expect. It was very moist and tasty though.
The ribs were outstanding, they were a wet rib. Nice smoky finish, and the ribs were just so tender.
The potato salad was the best I've ever had, it was mayo based but man it was good.
They carry 7 different sauces on the table:
Sauce No. 1
Classic barbecue sauce; sweet & mild
Sauce No. 2
Tangy tomato; smooth, sweet, and slightly spicy
Sauce No. 3
Same as #2, but spicier
Sauce No. 4
Traditional Southern vinegar & spice
Sauce No. 5
Sweet, dark, & bold molasses flavor
Sauce No. 6
Rich mustard & vinegar; an Old South favorite
Volcano
SO HOT
If you find yourself in Little Rock, do stop in, 8/10 Rating
It's in a very large building across from Billy Bobs in the Stock Yards. You walk into the pit room (not where the meats are actually cooked, just for holding and show,) order your meats, take them to the next guy who cuts the meat for you with an electric slicer, you pick your sides and drinks, then pay. They do offer free beans but I passed. So I ordered spare ribs, sliced beef, and regular sausage (they offer jalapeno cheddar as well.) The brisket was moist, showing a decent ring, a very nice smoke flavor, and a very developed crust. The only complaint I have is it lacked seasonings, mainly salt. The ribs were the best I have had in the area yet, very tender and smoked perfect. This is an example of where keeping it simple with salt and pepper wins. The sausage was not anything special, just bought from a dealer and reheated, the casing was a little too crunchy for me.
It's your typical take at trying to be a country style restaurant. The decor is pretty cliche and with your deer head and other things as such. It is a sit down, full service style restaurant serving other fare. I ordered the 3 meat with sliced beef, pork ribs, and chicken accompanied with corn, fried okra, and mashed potatoes. The brisket was bad, it had no proof of being smoked with wood, no ring, no flavor, no crust. It came sauced and sliced way too thin (to cover up the dry texture.) It was so dry I declare it not edible. The ribs had potential, baring a nice sweet crust. They were simply overcooked, but as I said the flavor was there. The chicken also had a nice flavor, but was dry. The sides were actually really good, all made from scratch I assume.
Nestled in the middle of town, surrounded by high rises and concrete, lies a small red barn serving only sandwich meats, no ribs here. I had the sliced beef and sausage. The beef had a very nice smoke ring, but lacked the flavor. It had no crust and was very dry. The briskest was cooked way too fast, the fat had no time to render. The sauce was not even enough to make this taste Better. The sausage fared better, it had a nice smokey flavor and was very moist. I don't think it was house made, but it worked. The only downside with the sausage is that is tasted like little smokies....very odd.
All in all, If I were downtown in a rush for lunch, I might stop in.
This goes for all things meat whether its a steak or burger, ribs or brisket, chicken or pork! Everyone is always trying to create their secret mess of spices that will take them over the top, it's okay to try to be creative but for god sakes, there is a line to be crossed. I was talking to a customer and he was telling me about his secret brisket technique. He said he would do his rub of about 20 different spices, let it smoke for 8 hours, pull it out soak it in coffee overnight, through it back on the smoker for 24 hours, take it off again, wrap it in foil, smoke again for another 8. Seriously guy? This sounds ridiculous. With that story being said, here is THE SECRET TO FLAVORFUL MEATS......KEEP IT SIMPLE! For a steak, a little salt and pepper goes a long way, same for ribs! Briskets need flavor but don't over do it, keep it simple as well. When cooking BBQ, It's all about wood, smoke, and time; that's what is going to put you over the top. Here are your friends when doing BBQ: Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Cayenne, Paprika, Time, and Knowing what the hell you are doing. Yeah there are some things to throw into the mix, but for the love of god, don't put peanut butter on my ribs (yes, there is a guy who does this).
Peppers, Bacon, American Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Pickles, Mayo
I visited the location on Trail Lake. The outside of the building was pretty neat, it was made of rusted tin and old barn style wood. They had a nice patio with an outdoor bar that is open on weekends. The inside was more of a TCU shrine, it was a bit overboard. The burger I ordered came out in about 20 minutes, they call your name when it is ready. It was a very nice presentation, as you can see. The bun was toasted and it was proportional to the patty. I picked it up for a bit, the first thing I noticed was the juice that poured out of the patty, i'll get to that later. The patty was about a 1/2 pound, and it lacked in seasoning. The veggies were fresh, just was lacking pickles. The bacon was a little chewy but good. It had grilled onions, and I am a lover of them. As I finished the burger, the last bite was probably the best. The bun was soaked in the delightful juice, mixed with the cheese, mayo, and all the rest, perfect. The Patty could have been a little more moist but it was good. All in all it was a pretty good burger. 7/10 rating for me. If the patty would have been properly seasoned, the pickles were present, and the patty would have been just a bit more moist, I would have given this a 9/10.
EST. 1900 - In 1999, following a disagreement between the son and daughter of Edgar "Smitty" Schmidt--who bought the market from the Kreuz family in 1948--had a falling out, and the original Kreuz split into two. The brother took the name and started a barn-like new place out on the highway that runs to Austin, which is the barbecue called Kreuz Market today.
Smitty's Market
You walk in to the dark pit area filled with smoke, it's so awesome because you swear you were about to get your face ripped off Texas Chainsaw style! We ordered sliced beef, ribs, and sausage, no sides. It's all served on butcher paper as it should be, they offer no forks nor sauce (and you will soon read why this is bad for them.) Okay so we can start with the good, the sausage was DAMN GOOD. It had an awesome smoke flavor, it was so juicy (greasy, whatever). The filling was a nice and flavorful, with a nice texture to the casing. Now we can talk about the OKAY ribs. The ribs of course were pork spares, lean and a little dry. There was a nice sweetness to them that seemed to come out but I sadly didn't get a smoke taste. For the Crust on the ribs, it wasn't there and I swear they were reheated wrong. Here is the BAD....the sliced brisket was so dry. I couldn't figure out if it needed to be smoked longer or if it was from the reheating process. Here is what bothered me the most: The fat was not finished rendering, there was no smoke ring, and there was no smoke flavor..what? If you are going to serve this sort of brisket, please offer sauce so we can drown the slices out.
RATINGS
Sausage-9/10
Ribs-5/10
Brisket-4/10
Kruez Market
Here, it is about the same. You walk into the pit, order your meats and pay, walk in and order sides and drinks. Once again we ordered the ribs, sliced beef, and sausage. All served on classic butcher paper, and once again no sauce or forks. The good here is going to be the brisket. The brisket was very moist, had a nice smoke ring, fat was nice and rendered, and it had the smoke flavor; no sauce needed. The sausage was about the same, just more pepper was noticed and the meat was more coarse. Here is the bad, and it almost ruins the trip to here...THE RIBS WERE NOT GOOD AT ALL. No smoke flavor, a little tough, and in general the flavor just wasn't there. (Sauce would have came in handy here.)
I am so sick of everyone trying to make the biggest burger! STOP, nobody cares to be stuffed to the max, just give us a GOOD BURGER!!!! What is a good burger? We will start with the basics, the bun. I want a bun that will hold everything in place, I don't everything falling out all over the place. The bun SHOULD BE TOASTED! I don't care who you are or what you think. I also don't want a stale ass bun either. Then you obviously need a good patty, the more fat, the juicer. I don't care if its 3 pounds or a 1/4 pound, freaking get your sear right. I want a nice sear to A. keep the juice in and B. give it a seasoning crust (yes, don't be 5 guys and use seasoning.) Don't overcook it, don't use random ass seasonings that you think will just put it over the top, keep it simple. I need to have juice running down my hands, I don't care how it's cooked, make it juicy. Then comes toppings, Fresh lettuce (please don't use 5 day old, brown lettuce), Sliced Tomato, Dill Pickle Slices (not a spear on the side), GRILLED ONION (it's the only way), and of course REAL CHEESE. If you have a custom sauce, make sure it works, otherwise don't dare use it. If you don't use grilled onions, at least have the option to add them, along with bacon and mushrooms. If you have a weird ass burger, it better be good, don't just throw something together and hope it's good. Oh, and serve fries that are HOT!
Love sauce, heirloom tomato, curried pickles, wild boar bacon, a quail egg, American cheese, "a 50-50 blend of prime tenderloin and brisket" patty, and a grilled white bun.
I visited on a very slow Tuesday afternoon, no wait. I walk up and am greeted with a "Hey, what do you want?" So the service was already a bummer for me. I ordered the burger, it came out in about 10-15 minutes, a very nice time. The bun was not toasted all the way, so it was soggy but it didn't kill the burger yet. The wild boar bacon was a nice touch, but it wasn't anything special. The quail egg was overcooked and chewy. Now the patty itself was interesting in a bad way. This is claimed to be the holy grail of burgers and well, it just wasn't. The sear was not there, causing the overall meat to be dry. It really was a huge disappointment.
