LINDSAY: Smokehouse Barbecue
307 E Hwy 82
Lindsay, TX 76250
940-665-9052
Open M-Thur 10:30-9:30, F-Sat 10:30-10, Sun 11-9:30
Lindsay is just a blip on the highway just past the Gainesville Airport, but it's home to two standout BBQ joints. For being just three doors apart, both joints have oddly similar menu items. Everything from BBQ to pizza, salads, burgers and sandwiches are available on these menus, but BBQ was the only item that got my attention on Smokehouse's menu. Dine-in is an option, but we chose to get our order in the drive-in. A 1/2 lb. of ribs and 1/2 lb. of brisket cost only $8.15, so this joint looked like a good bargain.
On the ride back to Dallas, I sampled some of each not wanting to wait until we got all the way home. My impatience was rewarded with large, lean and long slices of moist, salty brisket. I can still smell the smoke on my fingers as I type, and every bite, every chew, every morsel of this meat was heaped with smoke flavor, which was to be expected from the well formed crust and rosy, yet thin smokeline. The ribs were almost as good, but lacked the savory character of the beef. The crust was well formed and smoky, and the fat was well rendered. The tender pork from these smallish spare ribs was neither chewy or mushy, but had just the right tooth to it. Next time I'm in Lindsay, I may stop next door for a steak, but the Smokehouse is where I'll go for good 'cue.
Rating ****
I agree that Smokehouse is the better of the two Lindsay joints. For whatever reason, the locals (at least in the late '90s when I was last there) seemed to prefer Dieter's so that is where we would generally go just because of the company once you get there.
ReplyDeleteEven though this is beyond the scope of this blog, the sides at Smokehouse are good too, especially the small mountain of fresh onion rings. Stay away from the too-strong ice tea, though.
6/19 excursion with the BBQ Posse from the DMN. The last time i had brisket that bad was in elementary school. Had probably been sliced on a machine two days prior. Dry to the point of crumbly. Sad vortex of bad BBQ. Onion rings good but too far to drive two hours for.
ReplyDelete8/4/2010 - Just got back from the Smokehouse. I'm not quite as down on the place as "Anonymous" was on 6/19. The fried okra and onion rings were very good. The potato salad and cole slaw tasted and looked like they were fresh off the food service truck. The barbecue sauce looked, and tasted, like catsup with some brown sugar added. Mercifully they served it on the side, which is pretty much where it stayed.
ReplyDeleteBut what about the important stuff - the barbecue? The sliced brisket had a smoke ring about 1/4" deep, and there was a fairly decent smoke taste. However, the meat was an overall unattractive gray color, it was very dry and we didn't finish ours. The ribs were good, but not especially memorable. They had a nice black crust and the meat was fairly moist. There wasn't as much smoke taste as I'd have liked. The sausage was very nice - the pick of the litter - which may have had more to do with whose sausage they were using than what they did with it.
All in all, I wouldn't drive there just for the 'cue, but might stop there if I was in the neighborhood.
Maybe the blog author stopped there on a good day and we stopped on a bad one.
You guys are crazy. Go back to the city to that junk you call barbecue.
ReplyDelete