Found Another BBQ Place in Dallas

[tallbm]

Just the other day we were discussing BBQ joints in the Dallas area and how there aren't many good ones and how they are very scattered about and not really so much in Dallas.

Well I was able to try one I had seen around for years but never heard anyone talk about. It is the Papas Bros BBQ restaurant.
The "Papas" people have very good restaurants but their BBQ joint is not one they seem to repeat outside of this one location. I love their Cajun/Creole joints and their Tex-Mex restaurant is very good as well. Their steakhouse is known to be on the high-ish end for steakshouse joints but I've never made it there so no comment.

I'm rarely in that area to try the joint so I have never had the opportunity. Well I'm working not to far from the place and decided to give it a shot today and it was quite good!

Myself and my coworker ordered a variety of items and tried them both. Here is the verdict:

• Brisket - was good and I would order it every time. Not best ever but way better than most so called BBQ restaruants around here. Smoke flavor was good, not too strong but not too weak and the seasoning was done very well.
• Beef Sausage - was ok. Did not wow at all but also did not disappoint either so it's a take it or leave it item.
• Half Smoked Chicken - was very good. Most BBQ places I run across completely ruin and dry out chicken. This place did their chicken well. The seasoning was fantastic! The smoke flavor was very amazing as well. The chicken was juicy and well flavored in both the breast and the dark meat. The dark meat was to die for! Most of the time the breast is disappointing, not the case here because they nailed it! They definitely brine their chickens and I have a sneaky suspicion they may use a small amount of cure #1 in their brine but it is definitely not a fully cured chicken. Finally the skin was bite through but you could see where it had been crispy and basically moistened back up some but did not get tough. I did run into a one tiny bit of tough skin that was like on the wrap around/back side of the breast area where the rib bones were but was only like part of a bite and was not the case for 95% of the skin.
• Pulled Pork - was ok. I only had one bite to taste it and it was good but much like the sausage I could take it or leave it. Pulled pork in TX is basically only good if someone is making it in their back yard. It seems that in TX pulled pork in general is not approached with as much care, craft, or respect as king Brisket.
• Beef Ribs - I have mixed feelings with this one. The meat had great seasoning and flavor HOWEVER they are smoking beef BACK ribs and not plate or short ribs. There is a BIG difference between those ribs here. The back ribs are so lacking in meat that they crust up easily, you deal with more membrane, and they just don't have the umph that plate ribs or short ribs have with the meat, texture, and flavor. These would probably be the top of the line beef back ribs you can find at a place but that's like finding or being the worlds greatest "reverse back in parker of a golf cart in the world" (my cousin once actually tried to brag that once hahahaha)!

Other items of note:

• Green Beans - they use fresh whole green beans that look to be sauteed using only fresh onion slivers and a little cut up tomato and likely some butter. WOW great flavor with such simplicity!
• Roasted Cauliflower - was fresh and good as well. Didn't blow me away but I would order it any time
• Espresso BBQ Sauce - lots of people will really really enjoy it. It tastes very well crafted which I could easily detect. I do not drink coffee and because so, do not have the pallet to truly appreciate this BBQ sauce and comment on the crafted complexity. I do know that this was a crafted BBQ sauce vs something slapped together. I CAN HOWEVER say that TO ME this did not hold a candle at all to Franklin's espresso bbq sauce which was great even to my unrefined coffee pallet!
• Sweet Original BBQ Sauce - this tasted like a slightly sweeter version of the espresso bbq sauce. The best way for me to describe this is to say it was like turning the radio volume knob up like a knotch and a half but on the sugar from the esspresso bbq sauce lol.

Now for pricing. My 3 meat plate combo with a water ran like $18. That is a bit expensive but I had brisket, beef sausage, and single beef backrib in there for the meats and 2 sides, green beans and cauliflower.
My coworker had the 2 meat chicken lunch combo plate and a soda which came out to like $12. That plate was half a chicken and a small amount of pulled pork along with the same 2 sides I had. They offered plenty more sides but we went with the veggies over the mac n cheese, ranch style beans, etc.

Now, they amount of food we were served was A LOT!!!! The pulled pork was by far the skimpiest amount of anything but it was enough to make a sandwich out of and when pared with half a chicken it was a lot of food. The chicken was not one of these skimpy little chickens either it was probably half of a 4.5-5 pound raw chicken.

So you get a lot of bang for your buck!

We are going probably go back once a week for a little while so as you can see the place is good enough for repeat business. I think next time we have to try the pork ribs, turkey, and pork sausage. There may be some other meat items I serve but can't remember.
Once we've tried it all I have a sneaky suspiscion I will be getting the chicken lunch plate combo as my go-to meal :)

Anyhow if you are in the Dallas area near the Lovefield airport then this BBQ joint isn't too far away so feel free to give it a try :)

M

 

[radioguy]

I just love going to Pappadeaux seafood. !

RG

 

[tallbm]

I just love going to Pappadeaux seafood. !

RG

Yeah Pappadeaux's is awesome! I would also go to Pappa's Seafood House when I was doing work in Houston. The best deal by far is to ask for the "Jumbo" Seafood Gumbo. It's not on the menu in that size but for like $15 they give you the seafood gumbo in the giant pasta bowl. One time I counted 8 oysters, 20 shrimp, and lots of blue crab meat in the bowl. By far the best bang for the buck and their gumbo is consistent and good!

I believe there are Pappa's BBQ restaurants in the Houston area but just the one in Dallas and the Pappa's people will be opening up a new BBQ joint in West Plano that I will surely try out when it opens in a couple of months.

 

[tallbm]

OK so here is another follow up report. I've been at least once a week since the initial report.

• Pork Spare Ribs - very good, they are un-sauced
• Pork Sausage - good, much better than the beef sausage
• Turkey - good but not anything super special in the realm smoked turkey
• Smoked Cream Cheese Jalapenos - meh, I would eat them because they are good without smoke but I caught a hint of too much smoke or a little stale smoke the time I ate them. Will have to try gain to see if it is repeated
• Sides:
  • Green Beans with Onion - fantastic! They flash deep fry them and they get great flavor
  • Roasted Cauliflower - very good
  • Mac N Cheese - good, about like Boston Markets mac n cheese

Still on my list are baby back ribs and wings, so too be continued for those.

Finally on weird note they have "Spiced Vinegar" not hot sauce... but it's in a hot sauce bottle. That was confusing until I really read the label of the bottle hahahaha. Their sauce setup is weird but you can find someone you can live with.

Anyhow, feel free to eat there any time you are in that part of Dallas and know that it is has my stamp of approval :D

 

[LazyK68]

Thanks for the insight. I board a plane for Dallas in 45 minutes.

Any opinion of Hard 8 BBQ? I've been there twice to indulge my inner carnivore. There is an Arlington location & a Dallas area one. Hard 8 is similar to a Salt Lick.

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the insight. I board a plane for Dallas in 45 minutes.

Any opinion of Hard 8 BBQ? I've been there twice to indulge my inner carnivore. There is an Arlington location & a Dallas area one. Hard 8 is similar to a Salt Lick.

Hi there and welcome!

Hard 8 is my favorite BBQ joint in the Dallas area! I much preferred it over Salt Lick in the central TX area. Salt Lick was good but the BBQ sauce really really threw me for a loop and their variety seemed lacking.

I really love me some Hard 8 but I don't care too much for their brisket... they carve off all the outter bark and flavor before serving it!!!

That's ok though, because the Chicken Brush Poppers are where it is at! By far my favorite thing in the whole place. I have to get a minimum of like 5-6 every time.
Their Jalapeno Sausage is usually fantastic and the Smoked Turkey Breast usually is as well.

Tell them you would like just a little bit of the the Smoked Sirloin chopped up for you to try and then be ready to enjoy that as well.
When asked if you want bread it MUST be the Jalapeno bread!!!! Lots of people don't even know about that bread and never know to ask for it, be sure you ask for it.

Their original BBQ sauce is very very good too. Not overly sweet or spicy and great all around flavor.

I usually avoid the shrimp poppers, kababs of any kind, the pork chop, and the chicken. Those are always dry because of how they keep all that meat in the big wood coal heated warmer thing you order from.
Enjoy it thoroughly for me! :)

(visual to explain how they hold and server meat and why those specific cuts dry out)

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds like Great Eats, Tall !!
However if I was able to get to Texas, my first stop would be in East Texas, @ Gary's House, for some Fantastic Brisket !!
I Like the interesting run down on Great Smoked Meats. though

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Sounds like Great Eats, Tall !!
However if I was able to get to Texas, my first stop would be in East Texas, @ Gary's House, for some Fantastic Brisket !!
I Like the interesting run down on Great Smoked Meats. though

Bear

Yeah I'm sure Gary's brisket would destroy the Hard 8's brisket. Most of the best brisket in TX is being made in a backyard.

The Hard 8 has an amazing assortment of BBQ and smoked/grilled items as you can see from the picture. They used to do Bob White Quale and Cabrito (goat) on the weekend but that went away.
You can't see it in the picture but they also do pork spare ribs which are better than average and pit smoked ham which is good but doesn't outshine other other items. They keep a bucket of butter with corn on the cob as you can see on the pic BUT will dip anything you want in that bucket of butter hahahaha.

The grilled corn is good and they make good use of the heat from that thing there where you can see the foil wrapped potatoes that naturally get backed in the heat of that giant meat cambro thing.

I love the Hard 8. Oh get this. You get all the free pinto beans you want inside. They are cooked with plenty of onion, jalapeno, and sausage or bacon (whichever that have more of on hand).
Hard 8 usually has some kind of live music on the weekends as well. No big people but sometimes you get to see some people who come up and turn out fairly big on the Texas Country Music scene. We pretty much have our own kind of genuine country music that us the Okies do a good job at creating. None of that bro-country, sexy tractor, pontoon, state to state "borderline" horse crap lol

 

[Weaverspitbbq]

Thanks for the insight. I board a plane for Dallas in 45 minutes.

Any opinion of Hard 8 BBQ? I've been there twice to indulge my inner carnivore. There is an Arlington location & a Dallas area one. Hard 8 is similar to a Salt Lick.

Try smitty's in lockhardt or

Thanks for the insight. I board a plane for Dallas in 45 minutes.

Any opinion of Hard 8 BBQ? I've been there twice to indulge my inner carnivore. There is an Arlington location & a Dallas area one. Hard 8 is similar to a Salt Lick.

city market in luling

 

[LazyK68]

Try smitty's in lockhardt or city market in luling

The next time I head to San Antonio or Austin, I'll have to make a road trip.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Weaverspitbbq]

Dont go to Blacks in lockhardt overrated

 

[LazyK68]

I did clean my plate at Hard 8. I still liked everything, but I agree I was sad when I watched the meat cutters 'clean up' the brisket. One note of interest, I saw the meat crew adding rub on the foil as they were wrapping briskets.

1/2 rack pork ribs, 1/2 lb brisket, 3 shrimp poppers, okra & corn. Added beer & some beans to top it off.

 

[tallbm]

I did clean my plate at Hard 8. I still liked everything, but I agree I was sad when I watched the meat cutters 'clean up' the brisket. One note of interest, I saw the meat crew adding rub on the foil as they were wrapping briskets.
View attachment 405470
1/2 rack pork ribs, 1/2 lb brisket, 3 shrimp poppers, okra & corn. Added beer & some beans to top it off.

Mmmmmmmmm looks damn good!

Also if you watch Sunday Night Football when the Dallas Cowboys are playing, at some point when they go to or from commercial break during the game, they will show a shot of a guy opening up a giant pit warmer to display some TX BBQ and Cris Collinsworth will comment on it. What they show is the Hard 8 in action where you "order" the food.
I think Cris is in love with it because it is like EVERY time. You can count on this happening and him making mention of eating bbq hahaha!

 

[tallbm]

So an update. I had a friend move to the Dallas area recently and they wanted to try a bunch of different BBQ places so we've hit up Terry Black's in and Pecan Lodge both in Deep Ellum (down town area'ish of Dallas).

Long story short. I liked the flavors at Pecan Lodge better because they use Mesquite, but both are fantastic and have some strengths over one another.

So here is the report.

Terry Blacks:

• Excellent quality meat all around, like very noticeable
• Has.... BEEF Plate RIBS!!!!!! Soooo good to get beef ribs at a bbq place and not be back ribs. This is the start if you've ever had beef ribs
• Brisket is really great too. My brisket has better flavor because I use Mesquite vs them using Oak BUT they clearly have me beat on meat quality, consistency, and things like that. When you see their cooked briskets they are tiny BUT I believe it's because they carve away 50%+ of their high quality brisket to have this perfect oval shaped brisket that cooks up perfectly and consistently and is the best part of the brisket. I don't go nearly that far but could if I wanted to turn a 15 pound brisket into a 5 pound finished brisket but the best 5 pounds possible out of the whole thing lol
• Sides: had pinto beans which were also very good and the green beans which were very very good too, they were flash fried and fresh snap crisp not fried crisp
• Turkey was also very good as well and no hint of dryness. They do not even offer chicken so be sure to try a slice or two of the turkey for your bird bbq meat
• The place was so comfortable, well put together, and staffed to the rafters with people working to serve you, help you, and get you through. It runs like clock work!
  The place looks amazing inside.
  Also OMG, a diverse and good looking assortment of people, families, singles, etc. in there. Currently as a single guy I would not hesitate to start an early weekend evening in there for dinner, have drinks at the bar, and see what kind of mischief might be possible, but the place is not geared that way. It just happens to have everything you could want in a place going on in there :D
  
  
• Price was outrageously high but to be fair, I ordered almost every meat they offered so I knew I was going to take a beating on the wallet.
  They carve the meat up right in front of you which looks and feels very cool. Great for experience and starting your eating experience wit your eyes. Also allows you to order any amount or any way you like, they just keep asking and you keep ordering if you want :D
  I got a beef rib (it's giant) the smallest portion is a whole rib. I got a couple slices of brisket off the point end and smallest amount is 1/4 pound. I got a jalapeno and cheese sausage (smallest you can get is a whole link). I got some turkey slices and smallest amount you can get is 1/4 size
• The jalapeno and cheese sausage was fine but not the normal TX style bbq sausage I think of and enjoy. It leans more towards a brat than bbq sausage TX is known for. My friend got the regular sausage and it was very lack luster in comparison to the jalapeno and cheese one but still not horrible, just not that good either
• They clearly smoke with Oak. It is fine but oak is so beat to death with me for BBQ in TX that it isn't anything special at all.
  
  
• To do it all again I would be smarter and stick to brisket or rib and turkey. Sides are sides but I know pinto beans (their homemade ranch style version) and the green beans are rock solid. I tasted my friends mac n cheese and it was nothing too special
  I think I could get in and out of that place satisfied for maybe $35 by getting some brisket, turkey, and a couple of sides and a water. That still seems high but I think their meat quality, taste, facility, atmosphere, and overall experience is easily worth $35 for a good meal out.

Pecan Lodge:

• They clearly have upped their game from the many years ago I last had them
• The meat quality is great as well though I think Terry Blacks has a slight edge but the difference is basically negligible, like a grade of 95 at Pecan lodge vs 100 at Terry Blacks out of 100
• They were out of beef ribs do didn't get to try :(
• Brisket... phenomenal!!!! They smoke with Mesquite and the flavor shows. So far, best tasting brisket in Dallas and I say their brisket is better than mine simply because of the meat quality + the mesquite flavor. I do mesquite but I don't generally do above Choice grade and I don't go through painstaking processes to ensure the meat comes out so consistently perfect like these places do.
• I also got some smoked turkey. It was good but didn't wow me and wasn't dry but also wasn't terribly juicy either. Terry Blacks is clearly better, but if I wanted some bird I wouldn't hesitate to order a little at Pecan Lodge. Though I would rather have double brisket instead :D
• I also got the spicy sausage. It was fine as well BUT once again, not what the Texas style of bbq sausage that I'm looking for. It also was more of a brat type sausage. I tried my friends regular sausage and it was good as well but not as good as the jalapeno but much better than Terry Blacks regular.
• I got pinto beans for my side and they were fine but also didn't blow me away. Terry Black's homemade ranch style beans were way more memorable.
• Facility and atmosphere... basically hole in the wall style and not too big at all. It feels like bigger "mom and pop" style and I can see a log jam happening in a heart beat. Terry Black's hands down, 20x over has a better facility, atmosphere, and operation going where when even packed, moves along.
• Price, basically you get a combo option or your can tell them what you want at the counter and pay for it. They will then bring it to your table. So really racking up a bill is not as easy as Terry Blacks BUT it also lacks the feeding your eyes experience of seeing amazing BBQ right in front of you. It just comes out to your table, which is fine but not as fun.
  
  
• To do it all again I really would like to figure out when they have beef ribs in stock (they had already run out at early dinner time... Terry Blacks will NOT run out) and get that experience. Omitting this situation, I would hands down get this brisket all day, any day, every day, and nothing but the brisket as my meat. The brisket is best tasting in Dallas so far as I have found.

Overall I will go to either place without hesitation and if one was crowded I would have no problem walking down the road to the other (they are within walking distance of each other).
If I wanted a sure thing easy and enjoyable experience with great BBQ I would choose Terry Blacks.
If I wanted the best tasting BBQ beef flavor I would go to Pecan Lodge but at a time I knew I could get in without so much hassle (it's a smaller and less streamlined operation).

For all of you who are not from TX or in TX you might be thinking "What he hell you ate no pork....", I wish I had that feedback for you but maybe some day in the future. Beef is king in TX and when you get beef bbq like this you don't really think about pork lol. Maybe some day I'll try the pork ribs and if they offer pulled pork maybe try that as well, but honestly skipping the beef feels like a crime hahaha!

Well that's my new and latest BBQ adventures in Dallas (not a super great BBQ city due to lack of options all around the area) so I figured I would share it with all of you :)

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Rudy's in Allen let me down today. I always ask for moist Brisket and it was tough today. I should of just went back up to counter and they would of made it right but I hate doing that. At least this the only bad one I have had from them!

 

[LoydB]

My company is based out of Dallas and I drive up from Austin regularly. Hard 8 is some of the best I’ve had anywhere.

 

[tallbm]

Rudy's in Allen let me down today. I always ask for moist Brisket and it was tough today. I should of just went back up to counter and they would of made it right but I hate doing that. At least this the only bad one I have had from them!

That sucks. Yeah must have been a one-off bad case because they've never failed me on brisket there.

My company is based out of Dallas and I drive up from Austin regularly. Hard 8 is some of the best I’ve had anywhere.

Oh yeah I love me some Hard 8 even though I never get the brisket lol.