Sunday, February 8, 2009

Mike's Real Pit Bar-B-Q

GRAND PRAIRIE: Mike’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q
700 S. Belt Line Road

Grand Prairie, TX 75051

972-264-3820

Open M-W 11-2, Thur-F 11-8, Sat 11-4


Mike's sits across from the projects of Grand Prairie that I didn't know existed until this visit. The place is very popular with the military crowd as evidenced by the four tables full of uniformed patrons and photos of them on the walls. They must come for the ribs, because they were good. The fat was well rendered, and the texture required just a little tug to release the meat from the bone. The bark was well formed resulting in a good smoky flavor throughout the meat. The dry brisket didn't fare as well. The lean gray slices were nearly devoid of flavor, and they were a bit tough to boot. Stick with the ribs here and pair them with their specialty hand cut fries.

Rating **
Real Pit Barbeque on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps you should do a bit of research before you make assumptions (projects) regarding historical landmarks in Texas: Avion Village, Grand Prairie Texas Historical Marker

As early as the mid-1940s, housing was scarce in Dallas as well as in other centers of defense production and military activity throughout the nation. The private housing industry was unable to keep up with the demand for shelter in these areas. Some federal officials saw the situation as an opportunity for experimentation in architecture and planning, as well as establishment of a pilot program aimed at lowering the cost of quality housing through the use of prefabrication and mass production building techniques. Defense housing officials also wanted to introduce industrial workers to mutual home ownership as an alternative to traditional suburban home ownership. Avion Village was one of several early developments intended to be permanent additions to community housing stock. The facility's layout promoted both privacy and resident interaction. Built under the auspices of the Federal Works Agency and its assistant administrator, Texas native Lawrence Westbrook, the facilities were designed by Roscoe DeWitt and David R. Williams in cooperation with Richard J. Neutra. Avion Village was launched amid high media attention in May 1941 as two teams of workers raced to complete the first house in the planned 300-unit development. The first unit was built in less than one hour. The entire development was finished in 100 days with the help of an on-site makeshift prefabrication plant. Civilian employees of the North American Aviation Company were the first to live in the complex. The Avion Village Mutual Housing Corporation purchased the development from the federal government in 1948. Avion Village continues to be mutually owned by residents.

Anonymous said...

Mike's is great! A total gem hidden in plain sight. They are very military friendly. I too love their ribs. As to your assesment of it being in the projects would be wrong however. Avion Village is a historic neighborhood and one of kind in this country. To live in Avion is pretty exclusive. They have a 3 page waiting list and it's not for low income people either.

Michael said...

Whoever you are you are a total douche! This is by far the best bbq pit around! You can't get anything like it around the DFW metroplex. Try their BBQ and you will feel cheated anytime you get BBQ anywhere else! Ribs, brisket, smoked sausage, chicken, turkey... EXCELLENT! I give it *****

BBQ Snob said...

Michael - I've been to nearly every BBQ joint in DFW. Almost 200 of them. Mike's is not the best of this group, and your eloquent rebuttal hardly provides enough reason for a return visit.

DISCLAIMER:

Each joint is judged on the essence of Texas 'cue...sliced brisket and pork ribs. Sausage is only considered if house made. Sauce is good, but good meat needs no adornment to satisfy. Each review can only be based on specific cuts of meat on that particular day. Finally, if the place fries up catfish or serves a caesar salad, then chances are they aren't paying enough attention to the pits, so we mostly steered clear.

-THE PROPHETS OF SMOKED MEAT