Texas Trip Ideas

Lowcountrygamecock

I’m planning a texas trip around a work trip and need some help. I’ll be flying into Dallas/Fort Worth and staying in Fort Worth a couple days. Planned on renting a car and touring texas for a couple days after the meeting. What are the can’t miss BBQ stops and other stuff we need to see. 

Skims_Smokehouse

I’ve never personally been there, but Goldee’s BBQ snagged the #1 rank in Texas Monthly top 50 bbq joints.  That’s in Fort Worth.

lousubcap

Google Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ Joints for all you need to know about Q stops.  I recall the #1 place is in Fort Worth.  Austin as an anchor for Central Texas brisket can more than take up all your discretionary time.  You can easily road trip to the Alamo (San Antonio) as well.  
Clearly not a Texan so I will let the true experts more than fill your plate.  
Enjoy the trip.  

EzraBrooks

Not BBQ related, but for me a can't miss spot in Dallas is the Sixth Floor museum. https://www.jfk.org/

There is good Q nearby of course - two of my favorites are Lockhart Smokehouse https://lockhartsmokehouse.com/

and Pecan Lodge https://pecanlodge.com/

Griffin

Terry Black's in Deep Ellum (Dallas) is pretty good, but Goldie's is supposedly number one. You have to get there early and I think its only on the weekends. 

Lowcountrygamecock

Lockhart, goldee’s, terry blacks and pecan lodge seem to make a lot of the lists. I ate heim last time I was in Fort Worth and loved it so we’ll probably hit that one night too. 

lousubcap

@Lowcountrygamecock - PM sent that may be of use to you.  

TechsasJim

Depends on how far you want to drive.    Ft Worth to Austin is an easy trip down I-35 for Interstellar and Franklin's.    From there if you wanted to drive to Houston you can go through Luling for Luling City Market.    So many options, kinda depends on what else you want to see/do other than BBQ crawl.

Lowcountrygamecock

Definitely planning on franklins. Open to other ideas for things to see and do. 

JohnInCarolina

Lowcountrygamecock said:

Definitely planning on franklins. Open to other ideas for things to see and do. 

If you are going to make it all the way to Austin, you definitely want to get over to Valentina's to grab one of their breakfast tacos.  In particular, the Real Deal Holyfield.  That thing is as good as it gets.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

If timing works out, I’ll gladly meet you over in Austin and take you to a few honey holes if you want. 

Although Franklin is the Mecca, there are plenty of other places you could go without spending 5 hours in line. Mid week lines have subsided a bit but still, you could hit Interstellar, Valentina’s, LeRoy and Lewis and have a few beers in a dive bar before you got served at Franklin. 

Ft. Worth- Goldee’s and Panther City are both top 10 in Texas (currently 1 and 10 respectively). 

Dallas- Cattleack bbq (#6) 

Austin: Interstellar (#2) , LeRoy and Lewis (#5) , Valentina’s(great breakfast spot- grab a real deal Holyfield taco and prepare for a nap), Franklin (#7) if you must.

Lockhart- skip it. But go to Burnt Bean 30 min further down the road in Seguin (#4) this would be a good segue if you were going to Houston for…

Houston- the Truth (#3) 

so much more to see and eat besides bbq so let me know if you are feeling adventurous and I’ll send you a list. 

TEXASBGE2018

Lowcountrygamecock said:

I’m planning a texas trip around a work trip and need some help. I’ll be flying into Dallas/Fort Worth and staying in Fort Worth a couple days. Planned on renting a car and touring texas for a couple days after the meeting. What are the can’t miss BBQ stops and other stuff we need to see. 

In Ft. Worth Heim BBQ is good.
In the Dallas Area I'd recommend going to Hutchins BBQ in Frisco or Mckinney. They used to be so/so but about a year ago had John Mueller (prior to his passing) come in and transform the way they cook. I would now put it up there in the Top 25 best in the state. As far as elsewhere in the state Centex knows Austin, if traveling to east Texas go to the original Bodacious BBQ in Tyler on frankston hwy.
Stanleys in Tyler is also good.

caliking

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

If timing works out, I’ll gladly meet you over in Austin and take you to a few honey holes if you want. 

Although Franklin is the Mecca, there are plenty of other places you could go without spending 5 hours in line. Mid week lines have subsided a bit but still, you could hit Interstellar, Valentina’s, LeRoy and Lewis and have a few beers in a dive bar before you got served at Franklin. 

Ft. Worth- Goldee’s and Panther City are both top 10 in Texas (currently 1 and 10 respectively). 

Dallas- Cattleack bbq (#6) 

Austin: Interstellar (#2) , LeRoy and Lewis (#5) , Valentina’s(great breakfast spot- grab a real deal Holyfield taco and prepare for a nap), Franklin (#7) if you must.

Lockhart- skip it. But go to Burnt Bean 30 min further down the road in Seguin (#4) this would be a good segue if you were going to Houston for…

Houston- the Truth (#3) 

so much more to see and eat besides bbq so let me know if you are feeling adventurous and I’ll send you a list. 

This. I can't deal with waiting in line for that long. Don't care how good the brisket is. 

The Truth is excellent. If you go to the orginial in Brenham, the Blue Bell ice cream  factory is just a hop away.

The Burnt Bean in Seguin is also ridiculously good. They're new on the Texas Monthly list this time. 

Let me know if you're interested in South or East Asian eats in Houston. 

TechsasJim

I know Texas is the mecca of beef bbq but I'd focus some efforts on Tex Mex joints.    They don't get better than here.    Albeit you'll likely put on 10# but man do we have some gems.

littlerascal56

TechsasJim said:

I know Texas is the mecca of beef bbq but I'd focus some efforts on Tex Mex joints.    They don't get better than here.    Albeit you'll likely put on 10# but man do we have some gems.

Agree with @TechsasJim that your best bet will be Tex Mex.  My brother lived in Ft Worth and did bbq catering there, and he said we had much better bbq in Kansas City.  But they had best Tex Mex, and he made a lot of money cooking it. I have to agree!

lousubcap

@littlerascal56 - how many brisket places did you sample in Texas compared with the burnt ends of Kansas?    

littlerascal56

lousubcap said:

@littlerascal56 - how many brisket places did you sample in Texas compared with the burnt ends of Kansas?    

Frank- had a couple of brisket dinners in San Antonio, and one in Ft Worth and just north of Dallas.  Still liked KC QUE better. Maybe it was the strong mesquite flavor I didn’t care for? 

littlerascal56

BTW- my neighbor said to try the B&B comp charcoal logs in our Bronco smokers.  Said we should get several more hours of cook time vs briquettes or lump.  Bought 2 bags today at ACE!

TechsasJim

 B&B is my favorite lump.    Probably biased but the oak is my favorite.   

JohnInCarolina

TechsasJim said:

 B&B is my favorite lump.    Probably biased but the oak is my favorite.   

Isn’t all of their stuff kiln dried?

Edit: sorry, you’re talking lump, not wood.

TechsasJim

John, I am unsure but it burns long and clean.    I’ve never done a deep dive into it.   I like the oak variety and it has worked great every time.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

JohnInCarolina said:

TechsasJim said:

 B&B is my favorite lump.    Probably biased but the oak is my favorite.   

Isn’t all of their stuff kiln dried?

Edit: sorry, you’re talking lump, not wood.

Yes, you could say it’s kiln dried…to death

GregW

EzraBrooks said:

Not BBQ related, but for me a can't miss spot in Dallas is the Sixth Floor museum. https://www.jfk.org/

There is good Q nearby of course - two of my favorites are Lockhart Smokehouse https://lockhartsmokehouse.com/

and Pecan Lodge https://pecanlodge.com/

I agree, the Six Floor Museum is worth visiting. It is still a place of profound sadness. The most remarkable thing about this location is how unremarkable it is. It is hard to imagine that such a horrific tragedy could have happened in such an ordinary place.

GoldenQ

Try the thick pork chop at Perrys steak house.  several over Texas    See the Perrys pork chop thread on this site

TechsasJim

GoldenQ said:

Try the thick pork chop at Perrys steak house.  several over Texas    See the Perrys pork chop thread on this site

Yes!    This is absolutely amazing and on Fridays it’s their special for very little $ for what you get.   Never seen anyone eat it all as we go there often for business lunches.    

bobroo

I think it would be obligatory to stop at a Buckee's on your trip.

And then stop again because it is hard to believe just what the hell goes on at a gas station.

Lowcountrygamecock

We just got a buckee’s close to us. That place is crazy!!

Legume

I would try and hit @TechsasJim garage for a bourbon tasting.

TechsasJim

And yes, Bucee’s is wonderful.   For being a gas station (with 50 pumps) and a convenience store the size of grocery stores…well it’s just something that needs to be experienced - and their bbq ain’t half bad for a “convenience” store.    

Acn

It probably won’t work for your trip, because it is remote from everything and would take 3+ days, but Big Bend NP is amazing, and should be experienced by more people.

Lowcountrygamecock

Acn said:

It probably won’t work for your trip, because it is remote from everything and would take 3+ days, but Big Bend NP is amazing, and should be experienced by more people.

I google mapped it yesterday wondering how far out of the way it was. We know we’re heading to San Antonio but it looks like a haul from there. Probably 3 days like you said by the time we drive there, check it out and drive back.