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Originally posted by 69deer:
We winter in Clearwater Beach here in Florida. We go to a great bbq in Clearwater. This old black man starts his smoker at about 4 in the am. He smokes ribs, chicken, brisket and beans. The food is to die for. He has a little white building. Is only open for the weekend and usually runs out of food every day. The man loves his smoking of meats. Carry out only!

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Originally posted by Gatogordo:
I had to make a quick trip to Cotulla Texas last Thurs and Fri to look at a ranch I was considering buying. I could have flown with a friend who was considering partnering the deal with me, but I elected to drive so I could visit a few more Q joints. I was lucky and went to two of the top 5 in Texas Monthly's rating last year. It killed me to drive right by 3 or 4 more really highly rated places but there is such a thing as Q overdose and I'm doing this for fun, not profit.

First place I visited was:

23) Louie Mueller Barbecue, 206 W. Second, Taylor Tx. Tied in Texas Monthly's ratings with 4 others at a perfect 5.0 for second best in Texas. Mentioned in almost all Q books which cover Texas Barbecue.

I got there after a pretty long drive at 5 after 6 PM Thurs aft. Pulled into parking lot and my heart fell, sign said, 10-6, Mon-Sat. I though, "This is a real bummer, missed it by 5 minutes.", but I saw someone inside so figured maybe I could beg a brisket out the back door.....went in and found that they had extended their summer hours and were open until 7:30. That was the best news of the day, closely followed by their having Shiner Bock on draft. Even tho alone, I wanted a good sampling so I ordered a pound of brisket, a pound of ribs (they only had a 1/2 pound left so I took that), a pound of pork loin, and a ring of sausage. Nothing like a light repast.

Place is huge, used to be girl's basketball court way back when, has walls about 18-20 feet high and has 3 pits stuffed with post oak in back. They've been cooking great Q on this spot since 1959, started by current owner's Daddy. He hasn't lost the family touch.

They serve their draft beer in frozen pint jars. Worked for me. The bartender/cashier, a very friendly lady named Sonja, served me a couple and a smile.

Now to the point of this, the Q. They cook their Q with a rub of cracked or very coarsely ground peppercorns and probably a bit of salt. It comes out a helluva lot better and more complex than that would indicate. Brisket was heavily smoked and very tender. Just about as good a Brisket as you can get. I wouldn't say the best I've had, but certainly a very strong contender. You can eat different styles that you may appreciate more, but it would be hard to eat better pure Texas Brisket. Surprisingly, the ribs, cooked with the same rub were nearly as good, athough the Brisket was the star of the ball, without doubt. I don't recall any place I've visited yet that had the main two meats so close in quality. The pork loin was somewhat disappointing, possibly because of the dryness of the meat initially (meaning they can't smoke it for very long or it will really dry out) it had little real smoke flavor or penetration. Good meat, but not great Q. The sausage was good but not great. I'm not a real sausage aficionado, I make my own, and, while I still haven't perfected my processes, I am not fond of the overly fatty products sold commercially. This was good but not great. I should have tried the jalapeno style, but you can't try everything in one trip. I will be back. Only real bummer was the barbecue sauce. It was basically drippings, with little added flavor or spice. I didn't hate it, but it didn't add much or change the meat impact for the better. The quality of the sauce was not approaching the quality of the meat and was best left off for my tastes.

I guess, taking it all into account, atmosphere, history, and, of course, by far the most important item, the Q, I'm going to give it a solid A for an overall grade, my highest so far. Better sauce would have added a plus, for sure.

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I stopped at Jordan's BBQ in Farmersville, Texas Tuesday. I "landed" there about 1:00pm.

The owner was there visiting with two friends that were eating when I walked in. One other table was occupied for a minute or two. About twenty tables were empty. One young lady was working behind the counter. That was it. If I wanted to rob the place, 1:00pm would be a good time.

The place is very nice and clean. A real small town vibe working. You'll drive by it before you see it on the square. No sign out front, just painted on the window.

I ordered the two meat plate with brisket and ribs. The plate was $13.00 with two sides. I chose the green beans and "spicy" pinto beans. The pinto beans weren't spicy. The green beans were very good. Tasted home made but probably weren't. I got the tail end of the brisket point. It was OK, but a little too fatty for my liking. The ribs were spectacular. Very meaty, perfect bark on the outside, and perfect bite, leaving your bite mark and requiring a hint of a pull.

They had spicy and regular sauce. I chose the spicy, and it was excellent. Not overly spicy, but definitely spicy.

They gave me one piece of bread. I could have used three.

The sweet tea was good.

I have a feeling the owner is a micro-manager, or else the girl was new. She didn't know any answers to any questions, and he stayed on the phone for the most part.

The tools were plastic, but of sufficient quality not to break on you. A napkin came in the little plastic pouch with the tools. I unfolded it, and found it to be about 6" x 6" and thin enough to read a magazine through. I started looking around for a roll of paper towels on the tables, and found none. Finally I spotted one roll of paper towels back up at the counter. I would have appreciated a heads-up when I ordered so I wouldn't have to get up and walk over to get me something to wipe my mouth.

The place has been there for 30+ years. I view it as mainly for locals. I wouldn't drive out of my way to get there, and I would have to drive by Hutchins in McKinney to get to Jordan's, and that's not going to happen.

I will remember those ribs for a long while though.