Sunday, May 3, 2009

Eddie's BBQ


Eddie’s BBQ
1324 East 50th (west of MLK)
Lubbock, Texas
806-747-3736
Open M-F, 11am-3pm
Eddie DeLavan, Prop.


Guest Contributor: Midnight Smoker sent in this review from the Panhandle. Expect him to be a future contributor for other joints in his area.

Eddie’s Bar-B-Que is a lunch-only joint located in an industrial neighborhood on Lubbock’s east side. Eddie’s been at it for about 3½ years now and has developed a pretty good following at lunch, when I am a regular customer. Last Friday, though, I passed up my regular sliced brisket sandwich in favor of a Three Meat Combo with brisket, sausage and pork ribs. I was glad I did.

The best part of a meal at Eddie’s is always the brisket. Over the years I’ve been a regular at a few places and know that the quality of smoked brisket can be inconsistent. Just last week I ate at a Texas Monthly Top 50 joint with brisket so dry I had to drown it in sauce and wash it down with coke. Eddie tops his brisket out and uses the bottom portion for his “sliced beef”, so the slices are naturally very lean, yet they are always tender and moist and nicely smoked. Today’s serving was no exception, and though I forgot to request sauce on the side (rookie mistake, I know), I did not need it.



The pork ribs were also delicious. The dry rub formed a flavorful crust
and even though my ribs were huge, the meat was easily pulled off the bone from end to end, smoke penetration was easy to see and taste, and the fat was well rendered throughout each one. Eddie’s sausage is a hot link delivered from Houston that he smokes before serving. It was smoky and moist and spicy but not too spicy (still, next time I’ll just go with the brisket and ribs). The from-scratch side of pintos was good, with a peppery taste I like, but the potato salad was pre-made and not that great – next time I’ll try the slaw. Eddie’s sauce is on the sweet side and can dominate the meat if care isn’t taken, so it’s better to get it on the side.




For about $11 I got the combo and a coke and was able to eat my fill at lunch and have enough left over for dinner that night. Eddie’s is a pretty easy drive for me, but if it wasn’t I’d be taking a few long lunches, for sure.

Rating ***
Eddie's Barbeque on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

HEMPHILL BARBECUE in HEMPHILL, TX is the best!

Tom & Bingo's in Lubbock is another place to try. My boss says they are good.

Louis said...

Tom & Bingos chopped beef sandwhich is what it's all about

Anonymous said...

When I saw a listing under "The Panhandle", I really expected it to be either Old Sutphens' in Borger or Dyer's in Pampa. Both are excellent and actually in the Panhandle.

Anonymous said...

Tom and Bingos for sure!

Midnight Smoker said...

Wow, people left comments! Cool. As y'all can see by now I did in fact review Tom & Bingo's earlier this week - check out the review and use the comments to tell me how wrong I am. And thanks for the "Panhandle" suggestions. I look forward to trying Old Sutphen's or Dyer's someday soon.

Banditof87 said...

Had Eddie's today. I always trust a place that serves BBQ till they run out. The atmosphere was beyond cool; not to mention that Eddie's is BYOB (it is hard to sell beer in Lubbock).

I got the three meat plate. Brisket, Pork Ribs, and Sausage. Overall I wasn't impressed. The sausage served doesn't look like the one in the picture above. The meat came already covered in sauce. No smoke ring or smoky flavor at all. It was my first time here, so I'll give it another shot before I graduate this fall.

**

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