Beaver's

HOUSTON: Beaver's
2310 Decatur Street
Houston, TX 77007
713-864-2328
Open Tues-W 11-10, Thur-F 11-11, Sat 12-11, Sun 11-10
beavershouston.com/

Beaver's is the darling of many a food blogger in Houston, the praise just usually isn't for the BBQ. I found it a great choice for a watering hole with a few of these adoring bloggers, and they realized that my presence would require that we order some of the smoked meat offerings. So, along with our crudo (excellent), lamb ahogada (prefectly messy) and numerous drinks, we ordered a 'smoker sampler' with brisket, pork ribs and house made sausage.



From all of the food we sampled at Beaver's, the ribs were an aberration. Although well seasoned, they were dry beyond belief, and chewy to boot. With little smoke flavor, they failed to get eaten bewteen the group. Brisket (dinner only) was a huge improvement. A thick slab of smoky, moist beef was layed out with a nice line of fat still attached. The meat was cut very thick, but it was still plenty tender. The rub created a burst of flavor, and the smoke penetrated the meat. After that experience, a bite of the vinegar-laced pulled pork was bracing. The meat had all the looks of great smoked pork, but the heavy dose of this intensely flavored sauce hid any of the flavor that it may have had coming off the pit. To prove that they do know pork, Beaver's offers a jalapeno pork sausage with a hefty dose of garlic. With a great mix of bold seasoning and hefty dose of smoke all wrapped in a snappy casing, this was some of the best sausage I've eaten.

While I must recommend trying the wide array of quality food on this menu, for the BBQ I'd suggest skipping the pork and the ribs. The brisket and sausage were just that much better, and are alone worth the trip to Beaver's.

Rating ***

‘Prophet' Of Barbecue

A new article just went live this morning in the Tyler, Texas newspaper about Full Custom Gospel BBQ. Thanks to Leigh Vickery for the great story, and to David Woo of the Dallas Morning News for the use of his ribtastic photo. A special thanks to my wife Jennifer who accompanied me to most of the 15 joints mentioned in East Texas. Sorry honey, there are still so many left to try.

- BBQ Snob

Phil's Texas Barbecue

HOUSTON: Phil's Texas Barbecue
110 South Heights Blvd
Houston, TX 77007
713-862-8600
Open Sun-W 11-10, Thur-Sat 11-1am
http://www.philstxbbq.com/

Update: This joint is CLOSED.

2010: Phil's a new place in Houston that offers a BBQ in either a sit-down portion of the restaurant, or in the expansive bar. We stayed at the bar which proved to be a great place to watch a game with plenty of options to quench your thirst. Based on the how dry the brisket was, you're gonna need a drink.



The meat had little flavor, and no smokiness. All of the fat had been trimmed, and the meat was bone dry. Ribs were a bit better, but suffered from just the opposite problem. The meat was overly moist and bordered on mushy. The sauce slathered on top didn't help the texture. The flavor from the rib lacked smoke, but they were well seasoned. Beans and cheese grits on the side were superb.



Not pictured is the best item sampled. Bananas foster bread pudding was outstanding. A nice blend of spices and sweetness from the caramelized bananas. If they deliver barbecue as good as their sides and desserts, then they may start living up to their tagline "It's why Texans brag."

Rating **