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Dining, Reviews

Best of BBQ: Smoked Brisket

This list comes long overdue. Here’s my best of bbq featuring smoked brisket that can be had in Dallas and surrounding neighborhoods:

Pecan Lodge: Intense, smoky, melt-in-your-mouth fatty beef brisket. This is the best of the best in Dallas, found in Deep Ellum. The parking may be inconvenient, the lines may stretch out the door, but I head over to the express counter where I’ll purchase 5lbs or more of all the smoked barbecue goodness. Wanna amp up the flavor? Try the brisket burnt ends!

Hutchins BBQ:  Steer clear of the Frisco outpost and make the commute over to McKinney, where the original Hutchins perfected their marbled smoked brisket. Moist, flavorful brisket will make your tastebuds dance–the best in the ‘burbs!

Black and beautiful brisket from Hutchins

Cattleack Barbecue: So they smoke their ‘que with gas, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from their brisket, which possesses the same smoky flavor that can arise from wood. Cattleack sources their brisket from premium meat suppliers, and it’s evident in every tender, marbled, juicy bite!

The Slow Bone: The only barbecue joint on my list that smokes/grills with hickory, and the sharp tanginess of this wood shines in every bite of their brisket. If you’re looking for a different flavor profile from pecan and oak smoke, try the tender brisket at The Slow Bone.

Honorable mentions:  Meat U Anywhere BBQ

Revisits needed: Ten50 BBQ, Lockhart Smokehouse, Bartley’s BBQ, Mike Anderson BBQ, 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House, North Main BBQ

Dining, Reviews

Dallas Brisket Challenge 2013 Part 1

Pecan Lodge

I remember Pecan Lodge back before the long lines, before the Guy Fieri/Triple D endorsements, before they became best in Big D…before they were outrageously famous.

Was it worth the 45 minute wait in line?

For my Dallas Brisket challenge, I pitted Pecan Lodge’s brisket against Lockhart and newcomer Babb Bros to see who’d win top prize in smoked beef.

The moment of unveiling revealed who had the sexiest slabs of beef on the plate. Sweaty and seductive, rimmed with a ribbon of red, and the darkest blackest bark possible–Pecan Lodge won the beauty contest hands down. They were so undeniably gorgeous that it took sheer willpower not to gorge down on them immediately.

The taste test: Pecan Lodge was an auto-firing barrage of flavor in the mouth. It hit all the sweet spots on the front, middle and back of the tongue with equal effect–a balance of smoke and seasoning. This was a finished symphony, full-bodied without being overwhelming…equilibrium approaching nirvana. You can have your beef and smoke flavor too…without the two constantly battling for your approval. For those who find Lockhart’s brisket too aggressive, Pecan Lodge is the right amount of assertiveness without the attitude.

It’s up there in my top 5 list of Dallas ‘que. I know I haven’t gotten around to trying out their Hot Mess or even some of the other meats they offer like Burnt Ends or their Beef Ribs. (Keep an eye on their blackboard so that you know what’s sold out by the time you get to order.). Someday, maybe I’ll get a chance to try them, when I don’t have to fight the crowds.

If you haven’t been to Pecan Lodge yet, give it a try and judge for yourself.

Rating by epicureasian: 4.5 stars
****1/2

2/24/2013 Dallas Brisket Challenge - Pecan Lodge

Babb Bros BBQ and Blues

Babb Bros, I had high hopes for you. When I learned that this new outpost of BBQ in Trinity Groves shared a common pedigree with Rudy’s (my fave “chain” bbq), I was eager to try them out. In fact, from the moment I walked in through the door, I felt a sense of deja vu. The lines, the layout, the big dining hall, and the menu were so uncannily similar that I could easily have mistaken Babb Bros for Rudy’s.

You want your brisket moist or lean? Babb Bros offers both. Jalapeno or regular sausage? Yep, Babb has those too. Basically anything that has clucked, mooed, oinked or gobbled shows up in the meat by the pound section, with the unique inclusion of smoked meatloaf. Babb also offers combo plates, sandwiches and stuffed spuds, plus an array of sides such as creamed corn, cheesy potatoes, slaw, beans, onion straws and collard greens. Where Babb differs from the aforementioned: the menu offers import and domestic beers as well as frozen margaritas. So if you ever wanted adult beverages with your ‘que, Babb will set you up. They even have patio seating so that you can enjoy your bbq and drinks outdoors when weather permits.

Babb Bros was our 2nd stop in our one-day bbq brisket tour of Dallas (pitting Babb against Dallas brisket all-stars Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse). We picked up a pound of moist brisket along with a side of creamed corn and collard greens and took it to-go. When it came to the unveiling and taste test, it was evident that the Babb brisket wasn’t going to win any beauty contests: light brown meat, with a pale ribbon of pink, hardly any bark, and the most grievous carving job ever. A crying shame–our carver had cut our brisket ALONG the grain–which guaranteed some stringy mouthfuls of beef.

Another minus was in the taste category. While Babb’s brisket was tender and moist, it lacked serious smoke and required saucing. Babb Bros had furnished us with a mild-flavored light-weight tomatoey bbq sauce…the texture was right but it just didn’t do enough to rescue this brisket. The creamed corn that we had looked forward to all day was a disappointment; Babb opted for a savory recipe that didn’t contrast well with the beef. Collard greens proved to be better; they tasted fresh and not overcooked with a hint of spice and a good mustardy bite.

Maybe I should have gone with something that departed from the Rudy’s formula. If I find myself out this way again, I’ll be sure to try the smoked meatloaf and the onion straws; but Babb Bros needs to improve on their brisket especially since this is beef country. For a restaurant that’s barely a year old, they have time to tweak their recipes, gain experience, and distinguish themselves in this part of Dallas where so few bbq joints rarely go.

Rating by epicureasian: 2.5 stars
**1/2

2/24/2013 Dallas Brisket Challenge - Babb Bros

Lockhart Smokehouse

The man and I went on a one-day brisket tour of Dallas with Lockhart Smokehouse being our last stop. Sadly when we had arrived at LS Sunday mid-afternoon, we were met by signage to come back at 4:30. Lockhart was sold out of our fave smoked meats! That’s okay, we had an hour to walk around the Bishop Arts area to burn off some of the calories we would soon be consuming in earnest. We came back 15 till and noshed on some deviled eggs while we camped the dining room along with other patrons. Deviled eggs were still tasty, though I wish they’d let these things age a little more so that the smoke permeated them more thoroughly.

By the time the bell rang, we had already built up an appetite for brisket and some of that famous Kreuz Market sausage. We took a pound of beef and a link to go (remind yourself that butcher paper won’t spare your car upholstery from all that leakage–so get a plastic bag).

When it came time to compare the briskets (Lockhart vs Pecan Lodge vs Babb Bros), Lockhart had to take second place in the looks department. While the brisket slices were thoughtfully sliced in half, neither the bark nor smoke ring were quite as vivid as rival Pecan Lodge. They were still pretty slabs of meat, but not knockout gorgeous.

But in taste, Lockhart was a bull in a china shop…trampling your tastebuds with smoke…heavy heavy smoke. It was intense, it was overpowering…and this is why Lockhart brisket needs no sauce–they had delivered a tactical nuke to my mouth party. Some folks might not take so kindly to such a smokering, but I loved it. This was the no-prisoners approach that made Lockhart the top of my list for brisket love–tender, juicy, and oh-so-smokilicious!

Let me not forget to mention the sausage: this is a beefy sausage in case you were expecting more pork for your buck. Texture is gravelly, tending toward dry (as with any sausage with a low pork/fat content), but the flavor leans toward the beef with a good helping of pepper to liven up the meat. Once you’ve had a bite, you’ll forsake all commercial sausages from here on out.

Rating by epicureasian: 5.0 stars
*****

2/24/2013 Dallas Brisket Challenge - Lockhart Smokehouse

The head-to-head comparison pics:

2/24/2013 Dallas Brisket Challenge 2 2/24/2013 Dallas Brisket Challenge 1

Dining, Reviews

Dining Malaysian

Secret Recipe Asian Bistro

The man and I took off for North Carrollton for an adventure in dining to sample the Malay/Singaporean cuisine at Secret Recipe. At first we thought it odd to order our food at the counter, but our host indicated we could take a seat to peruse the menu. We took our menu to a booth to give dinner some thought.

No menu confusion here! It appears that Secret Recipe has consolidated their menu, listing both their American-friendly options plus their Southeast Asian dishes all in one booklet. (Their takeout menu however still lists only the Americanized menu, and consists of Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese dishes.) In addition, nearly every dish had a brief description and a corresponding photograph, which made decisions a bit easier. Still…too many choices, so little time and tummy-space.

We opted to go straight to the entree choices, ordering nasi lemak, hokkien mee, sambal water spinach and the token eggplant with minced pork dish. Like most ethnic places I’ve eaten at, the dishes came out as they were cooked. We enjoyed the hokkien mee, a wet (not dry) noodle dish: super fine rice vermicelli in a shrimp sauce base tossed with squid, shrimp, and fish cake. Almost every bite hid a tiny sliver of green asian chili, and while it wasn’t a shocking heat, it built into a slow burn as we ate the rest. The dish even tasted better with a squeeze of lime.

Our water spinach and eggplant dishes came out next. I appreciated the water spinach dish; this Malay version was sauteed in sambal sauce, making the sweet greens even sweeter. Bright purple eggplant with minced pork held a hint of gingery sweetness as well; both my man and I were glad that it wasn’t too hot to eat, and happy that it was still firm and not overcooked. What we thought the dish lacked however was garlic, having found more flavorful renditions of this dish at other ethnic Chinese spots.

The last dish that came out was the nasi lemak. The portion size seemed more suitable to a single-serving, but the man and I agreed to split it amicably. I considered this dish the most distinctive of everything we ordered, yet so pedestrian. I liken it to diner or comfort food, home-cooked and unpretentious. Our nasi lemak came with a mound of coconut rice, curry chicken, sambal anchovies, fried anchovies, dry whole peanuts, a hard boiled egg and sliced cucumbers. Mixing the chicken with the coconut rice was something of an eye-opener, producing a “reverse” curry effect that gave me pause. Being the white boy that he is, my man devoured the egg, chicken and coconut rice, but left me with the anchovies, cucumbers and peanuts. I thought I got the better end of the deal, but then again, it’s an acquired taste.

After all the sweet-salty dishes, I had to order some shaved ice to finish the meal. Their ais kecang was too heavy on the ice and light on the ingredients: red beans, grass jelly, sweet corn kernels, and coconut milk. I imagine if it was a hot summer day, I would have enjoyed this dessert more.

Both the man and I agreed that while our orders didn’t produce the contrast in flavors we were hoping for, Secret Recipe’s southeast asian menu is worth further exploration. We’ll back to try out more of their staples.

Rating by epicureasian: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Dining, Reviews

Food finds part 1

SmashBurger

975 W John Carpenter Fwy
Irving, TX 75039
(214) 302-2681

Smashburger is like a movie that you’ve seen before and recognize as having a plot similar to a ripoff of a remake of a great original concept. The novelty of a Smashburger lasted only 5 seconds, then I realized I’ve made a much better burger with modest production values and a smaller budget in my own kitchen.

I spied this newest location on my way to a nearby restaurant and ducked in for a menu. I had Smashburger on my wishlist to try out for to-go and when the time came, I was almost surprised but largely disappointed.

Almost surprised to see that care went into their to-go packaging. I had to give them points for dispensing with paper bags and styrofoam and approved the use of cartons. However, any lead that Smashburger gained in the packaging department disappeared in the taste category.

Largely disappointing: for someone who likes fries with their sodium chloride, I found the Smashburger too salty and too dry (i.e. overcooked). In stark contrast I found their sides (fries and onion rings) strangely bland (and not travel-worthy). I applauded the option of VeggieFrites (I like asparagus)…though no less healthier than their other fried goods. One glaring omission was the sweet potato fries which had been billed on our receipt but was nowhere to be found.

I really wanted to like Smashburger; but the disappointing food, the steep price and the “newbie” ordering mistake means that we are unlikely to give this blockbuster bomb another review.

Rating by epicureasian: 2.0 stars
**

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

6440 N MacArthur Blvd Ste 110
Irving, TX 75039
(972) 409-7230

If one measured a burger’s success based on the number of banners, citations and awards wallpapering their dining room wall, then Five Guys Burgers and Fries must be the king of all burgers.

Mark Five Guys as another of those self-absorbed, gourmet burger-ants that’s been taking the media by storm lately. But don’t write them off completely.

Once you make it past the self-validation screaming at you from every wall in the house (it doesn’t help that Five Guys is done up in fire engine red and enamel white), you approach the register and deliver your order to the folks behind the counter, then shuffle over to a table while you wait for your food–sound familiar? Nothing new here, except that you get to snack on dry roasted shelled peanuts (not a place for those with peanut allergies) while you wait.

And still you wait when you order your food online…’coz Five Guys proudly declares their fries aren’t cooked until you get there. As painless as the online ordering process was, I found this aspect flawed. Isn’t the whole point of “ordering ahead” supposed to be “less waiting”?

However, Five Guys can be easily forgiven if judged on fries alone. I found their Cajun-seasoned fries snack-alicious–dangerous when you’re driving home, and depressing when you arrive home and discovered that you’ve snarfed down every fry in the bag–even the strays that sank to the bottom. Yes, those fries travel extremely well–if they make it home with you at all.

But a burger joint must be judged on the merit of their burgers–not their sides–and Five Guys does a passable job delivering a meaty burger. Their normal, double-patty burger is a hefty one (somewhat reminiscent of Kincaids, actually), though it suffers a little from the dryness of a “medium well-done” temperature that most places will cook to. However, I am a fan of the “one-price, any topping” concept here. With the exception of bacon and some cheeses, you can have your burger dressed in a variety of ways for the same flat price as a burger with all the fixins or plain ol’ patties sandwiched between two buns.

About those buns: on many occasions the bread threatened to fall apart with every bite. Something so flimsy shouldn’t be bookending such a beefy burger…I hope they rectify this soon.

So aside from some service snafus (mostly the long waits), Five Guys serves up a decent burger and better-than-average fries. On my burgers-to-go list, they are tops. Three point five stars when they get everything right.

Rating by epicureasian: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Dining, Reviews

Spicy lunching

Royal Sichuan

400 N Greenville Ave Ste 6
Richardson, TX 75081

I’m a fan of Sichuan cooking, having spent many a hot, sweaty mealtime hanging out at the Sichuanese on Coit Rd and Little Sichuan on Legacy in Plano. When I heard of Royal Sichuan’s opening, it went on my list of places to try.

My man and I finally made our way across town to dine there for a late lunch. At 2pm on a Saturday the place still seemed busy, all booths were occupied, as we were led to our table. The dining room was narrow, but not cramped, appointed in soothing shades of sage and tan, decorated with calm landscapes and warm woodwork. The place was comfortable and inviting, and I saw myself coming back here for this reason alone.

Our hostesses (it seemed we were beset by two or three at them at once) took our order and we were left pondering the surprises that lay in store for us.

As a starter we tried Chung’s dumplings, which came out hot and steaming along with the lamb with cumin we ordered. As we dug into the dumplings, the eggplant in garlic sauce arrived, followed by the Chongqing chicken and steamed rice. Like most authentic places, pacing of the different courses is non-existent; for this visit, we were starved and weren’t in the mood to wait for the next course.

The dumplings were slippery yet tasty, though I expected more heat and sweetness from the chili oil they swam in. Lamb and cumin had the typical flavor I’ve come to expect of this dish, except Royal Sichuan’s version was heavily garnished with cilantro–which tamed the strong flavors. The eggplant provided a perfect counterpoint to the lamb, neutral and soothing to the palate. Being both garlic fans, my companion and I heartily approved of this dish. The chicken dish was our adventurous gamble; a fiery golden mound of battered chicken arrived at our table, smothered in red chilis and green onions. The chicken had a dry salty-peppery seasoning which supplied a different texture from our previous dishes. I also enjoyed the red chilis which lent a papery texture to the dish; though my man abstained from it for the very same reason. Of course it took only one bite of the tiny sichuan peppers (huajiao?) garnishing this dish to induce a mouth-tingling explosion that is hard to erase. But the Chongqing chicken was addicting, so we carefully picked out the pepper flowers as we snarfed down the rest of the dish.

We skipped soft drinks and went with water this round; luckily our servers were extremely attentive and refilled our glasses. The damage came to nearly $40 total, and for that price, the experience at Royal Sichuan was well worth it. We’ll visit again to sample more of their menu.

Rating by epicureasian: 4.0 stars
****