Visit the Top 50 BBQ (TMBBQ List 2013)

Map by @chriscreel

Austin
Franklin
John Mueller
The King. The Legend. The slightly stabby pitmaster. He is the most interesting pitmaster in the world. The beef rib is legendary on its own. If there are any left when you get to the window…get two. The brisket, lean and moist, are great. The pork ribs are pretty good and the turkey is perfect.

LA Barbecue
I went, waited in line thinking I was at JMBBQ, only to get to the front and find out there had been another family squabble. This was the Saturday that LA BBQ opened. I’m not really sure if the BBQ was cooked by John the day before and served by LA so I will have to try it again.

Lamberts
Not really sure why this is on a BBQ joint list, but I’ll go with it. The brisket frito pie is the best frito pie in town. Let that sink in, try it, then come back to me.

Stiles Switch
Brisket is hit and miss, switch sausage is real good, turkey is good, beef rib is tyler, tx style with lots of pepper and good bark. I’ve had two and one was great. The other was slightly overcooked.

Belton
Miller’s Smokehouse
If you love the smell and taste of smoke Miller’s is your place. My car’s a/c sucked in a cloud of smoke from the smoker when I parked. From there, things just got better. The brisket, lean and moist, were great. Sausage was good.

Bryan
Fargo’s

Cypress
Brooks’ Place
Quite the surprise. Don’t miss it. Look for the Hardware store in the shopping center and you’ll see the trailer parked out front. I asked the guy in front of me for his advice and he said, “Get the meat, avoid the sides. They know the meat is perfect so they don’t care about the sides.” Taking his advice, I loaded up on the trinity; brisket (great), sausage (good), ribs (good lord get the ribs…seriously).

Dallas
Lockhart Smokehouse
Pecan Lodge

Eagle Lake
Austin’s

Fannin
McMillan’s

Fort Worth
Cousin’s
Longoria’s

Fredericksburg
Cranky Frank’s

Galveston
Leon’s World’s Finest In & Out

Garland
Meshack’s

Giddings
City Meat Market

Grapevine
Bartley’s

Henderson
Bob’s

Houston
Gatlin’s

Virgie’s
Little white building, but should be obvious. As the sign on the outside of the building says “TRY THE RIBS.” The ribs are what got this place on the list.

Jasper
Billy’s Old Fashion

Jefferson
Joseph’s Riverport

Kerrville
Buzzie’s

Lexington
Snow’s
August 3rd was my first visit to Snow’s. We got there at 8:15 and were eating by 8:30. The brisket(lean) and jalapeno sausage were amazing. I can see how they were #1 overall in the 2008 Texas Monthly BBQ rankings. Don’t bother with sides. The only one worth eating, the beans, is free. There’s a big pot by the drinks area. The pork ribs were good, but mine were light on the meat. Treat yourself afterwards with pecan pie.

Livingston
Hitch-N-Post

Llano
Cooper’s
I’ve been to Cooper’s several times. Depending on who made the sauce the day of your visit you will either have a great day or a really really really really salty one. Your best bet is to NOT dip your meat selections in the sauce. Get some sauce on the side and do your own dipping. That being said Cooper’s is great pit bbq. Everything is good. Try it all including the sides. Don’t forget your beans. Those are serve-yourself over by the pickles and onions.

Lockhart
Black’s
I’ve had Black’s when they’ve been off-site like when they are at the Gettin’ Sauced Festival in the fall. It was amazing there and Mr. Black was very friendly and inviting. The brisket was dang near perfect and the shiner sausage was a nice surprise. The restaurant in Lockhart is great. The hatch chili sausage is worth a try when in season. The brisket was amazing and the jalapeno cornbread was a nice touch.

Kreuz Market

Luling
City Market

Marlin
Whup’s

McKinney
Hutchins

Mexia
Kirby’s

Peadenville
Hashknife on the Chisholm

Pearsall
Cowpoke’s

Pecos
Pody’s

Rockport
Hatfields

San Antonio
The Granary

Two Bros
Similar to Black’s, I’ve only had Two Bros at the Gettin’ Sauced Festival in Austin. They only had pulled pork sliders that day. They were good and a good item to use for testing the sauce. They had a lot of sauces to choose from and my favorite by a mile was the espresso based sauce. Give it a try. It’s similar to Franklin’s, but in my opinion has a stronger espresso flavor.

San Marcos
Hays Co. Bar-B-Que

Smithville
Zimmerhanzel’s

Spicewood
Opie’s
You better be hungry when you travel to Opie’s. I went to Opie’s as part of a Texas Q Tour. I wasn’t starving when I got there, but I still had to try everything. You walk in and the serving pit is just inside. Point and choose. If you’re brave, try the pork chop…all 3 lbs of it. That’s the only way it’s served so don’t ask for half. The baby back ribs were my favorite during this visit. The spice was great and the ribs were cooked perfectly. To top it all off was the summertime special of homemade banana pudding. What makes this pudding special is the homemade cookies used and the hunks of banana. The sides are also great here. Try it all. I did not have a single thing that wasn’t top 5 in my opinion. You’ll be kicking yourself if you pass on Opie’s.

Spring
Corkscrew

Sweetwater
Big Boy’s

Taylor
Louie Mueller

Tyler
Stanley’s

Victoria
Mumphord’s Place