Central Texas Style BBQ

PEARLAND: Central Texas Style BBQ
4110 Broadway Street
Pearland, TX 77581
281-485-9626
Open Daily 10-9
www.centralbbq.com

Driving south away from Houston towards Texas's Gulf Coast is not where you'd expect to find smoked meat similar to the hallowed dining rooms of Central Texas, but right in the middle of Pearland is a joint named 'Central Texas Style BBQ'. For effect, I expected to see large smokers on display and meat served on butcher paper. Instead, I got a styrofoam container of tough meat soggy from a bath in a thin acidic sauce.



Even covered in sauce, the brisket was ironically dry. It had been trimmed of all its fat, and held no smoke flavor. The slices were tough to chew, and had little redeeming quality. Ribs had a bit more smoke, but were also dry and chewy. The had good seasoning, but were just average ribs. Pulled pork was a bit better with good smokiness from the crusty bites, but it was hard to separate the meat from the off putting sauce.

As I ate, I felt absolutely duped. Based on the name, I was expecting at least a mediocre attempt at what is truly Central Texas Style BBQ. Instead what I got was a below average version of East Texas 'cue with poor version of the region's sauce. Now I really can't wait to get back to Lockhart.

Rating **