Furkids @IG
Furkids @IG
End of summer garden inspection
We neglected the front yard beds over the height of summer (June-August) and emerged over the Labor Day weekend to perform some maintenance. I spent a couple of weekends in September cleaning up the beds, trimming back some shrubs, and uprooting the casualties. Some plants obviously did not take too well the stretch of 100+ temperatures in August, most noticeably the young azaleas and our Waterfall Japanese Maple. At first we thought the drip line system to blame, but when we had a contractor come out to inspect our sprinkler system, he recommended that the drip system be run a minimum of 20 minutes–much more than the 5 minute run we had originally programmed. Safe to say that the plants are much happier going into Fall.
The cleanup obviously opened up some gaps in the garden beds to introduce new plantings as well.
Now if I can only muster up the energy to get some spring-flowering bulbs into the ground!
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!
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