Hot Links

BBQ has been in the news, especially with the beginning of summer coming around. Road trips are as popular as ever, and Jayne Clark shared her Texas BBQ Trail experience in USA Today over the weekend, while the Dallas Morning News crew took a DFW road trip inspired by this blog.

Some bad news came out of Kansas City a few months back when LC's was shut down by the health department. They're back up and running, while Burn's in Houston is still recovering from their shutdown. I hope they're back open by the time I get back to Houston for another 'cue tour.

The Oklahoman's own Dave Cathey continues to try an answer a question that I posed last year. Does Oklahoma have it's own BBQ identity?

Finally, Robb Walsh shares his harrowing experience of promising a BBQ Snob a kobe brisket, only to realize it wasn't a brisket at all. Thanks Robb and family for a great Memorial Day. We had a blast and the food was great.

- BBQ Snob

Four Seasons Market (Addison)

After trying some great pulled pork from Double Throw Down BBQ at the Four Seasons Market at Firewheel in Garland, I got a tip from the owner of DTD that they'd now be serving brisket and sausage in addition to pulled pork at the new Four Seasons Market in Addison. You see, they had a no compete clause at Firewheel because Brisket Heaven was a vendor, and there are no such issues in Addison.

They had enough room to bring out their competition rig which included a menacing looking smoker.



After being a bit disheartened that they only offer pre-chopped brisket, I ordered a sandwich anyway.



I apologize for the unclear photo. I was starving and for some reason sauce and hot relish sounded good. I took a few bites of the well seasoned meat (pre-sauce) and it was moist and smoky. The sandwich itself was great, which just made be yearn even more from some good sliced beef. The good news is that DTD will keep coming out to Addison, and they plan to offer sliced beef and possibly even tri-tip in the future. I'll let you know when they get that going.

-BBQ Snob

James Brown Backroom BBQ

DALLAS: James Brown Backroom BBQ at the Dallasite
4822 Bryan Street
Dallas, TX 75204
214-826-3670
Open M-Sat 10-2am, Sun 12-2am
www.dallasiteclub.com

Update: This joint is CLOSED. The Dallasite is still there, but no BBQ is coming out of the back room.

2010: Potential is so fleeting. On my first trip to the Dallasite, the 'cue showed so much promise, but on this follow-up visit, the meat was dull, and covered in a thick, sweet sauce.



You'll notice in the photo that the three meats are visibly indistinguishable, and they were about the same on the palate. The pulled pork was the best meat, and went well with the sauce. It's flavor barely stood up to the sauce, but it was tender and moist. The ribs were simply mush. They fell from the bone, and had very little flavor on their own. Brisket was the worst with a chewy texture, and absolutely no flavor that could stand up to that sweet sauce. Potato salad tasted like it was straight from the Sysco truck, and the beans were plain and flavorless. So much for potential.

Rating **

02/2009: I just heard about this joint from a few sources (thanks Nancy and Reid) and was so excited to try it, I headed over after having lunch with my wife. When I told her about the place she reminded me that I had announced a month-long BBQ hiatus to her only a few days before. As I parked the car next to the fuming barrel smoker in the parking lot, I heard a voice from the street. She had followed me just to humorously chastise me, but I had to try it.



The Dallasite took over this former Asian pool hall caddy corner from Jimmy's after their former building on Ross was leveled. This is primarily a bar and their food offerings include a number of bar food favorites, but the back of the paper menu is full of their new BBQ offerings. I went with the rib sandwich and the sliced beef sandwich.



Both sandwiches were packed with meat. There were six good sized ribs on two slices of white bread. Although a thick bark had not developed, the ribs were smokey. They were lacking some flavor due to very little seasoning, but the ribs were well cooked, and needed just a tug to release from the bone. Brisket slices were piled high on a grilled bun, but all fat had been trimmed away. What remained was a well formed crust and a nice smoke ring. Bites away from the crust lacked the intense smokiness, and the slices were a bit dry, but the overall flavor was good. These boys have just set things up here, and they're off to a good start. I'll stop by again after they've been around for a few weeks.