BBBBQ Review

Who cares about the citizens of the Fort enough to subject his body (and that of his friends) to heart disease, obesity and awesomeness? I do. In the name of truth and honor, I have reviewed the BBBBQ in the great Fort so that you, my loyal reader (yes, thats singular) may know exactly where to eat when the fat bomb is craving ignition.

If you'll recall, I set out to try the numerous BBBBQ places throughout a 100 mile swath in order to provide you with the greatest places for BBBBQ. This will no doubt cause many to be upset, but it will cause many others to be relieved. Now you don't have to bother eating bad BBBBQ. I am going to announce the top three, and then I will comment on the remaining. In order to protect the hard working families that run many of our places, I will not disparage a place by crowning them as "last" place. There's also a "Best Place for a Friday Afternoon" and "The Place you must go on Saturday". I made these up as I was typing.

Myself, two lawyer friends, and sometimes my wife and I attempted to eat BBBBQ across the Fort and rated them on the following characteristics: sliced beef sandwich, ribs, beans, one cold side, cobbler (if its cheap), beer availability, overall cost, ambiance and overall intangibles. We missed out on a few of these, but seriously...what did you do for us? So we're even now.

Here it is:

Second runner-up:

Tie. Yep. It's a tie between Railhead and Angelo's. Is it a cop out? No, here's why:

Angelos: The other reviewer's favorite place of these two. Had one of the best BBBBQ sliced sandwich. Has the history and ambiance and is affordable. However, it has beans that taste similar to what the styrofoam it comes in tastes like. The potato salad tastes comparable to the beans. This is never a good quality. Plus you have to ask for BBBBQ sauce. I want that stuff on the table. It stayed in the top three because of its sandwich, beer and history.

Railhead: This was my favorite of these three. The sandwich meat was a bit drier than Angelos, but the sauce, fries, cold beer and patio kept Railhead in the top three. A cold beer with ice crystal foam is pretty helpful on a hot Texas summer day. Plus, this place has some great ambiance. The ribs got a good score here as well. I would say the beans and potato salad are good here, but don't mess with that, get the fries. Overall, this is the place I would be most likely to go but I'm not sure my reviewers would agree.

Railhead -

Angelo's -

First Runner Up:

Wilson't BBBBQ - 5633 Lovell Ave, just south of the Camp Bowie and Horne intersection. One of the best all around meals with great potato salad, beans and wonderfully flavored and tender meats. The ribs weren't that good and the brisket was sliced a bit thick, but the juicy-ness and flavor of the brisket made up for it. You will smell like BBBBQ when you leave. I think they cook it in the back of the building without a vent. Whatever...if every breath after lunch tastes like BBBBQ, thats fine with me. It almost makes you want to jog just so you can breath more BBBBQ. But lets be honest...who jogs and eats BBBBQ? Commies. Thats who. When you order a sliced BBBBQ sandwich here, you're given a plate of BBBBQ and two slices of white bread. They lose a few points because of a lack of bun, but they made up for it with the odd stares from the lady taking orders (thinking we were lost) and the deliciousness. I don't think they serve beer, but you can probably get some next door.



First Place BBBBQ in the Fort:

I'm going to preface this with this statement: I rarely feel scared in the Fort, but waiting for my friends before eating here, had my wondering how fast my truck could get out of the parking lot.

Mom's at 1509 Evans Ave.

This was recommended by a reader and was the unanimous favorite. The brisket, ribs, beans, and potato salad were all tops. I don't think they serve beer, but food was cheap. Also, ambiance scores are high because of how scared we were. We were forced to give high ambiance scores. Along with all the greatness, the BBBBQ sauce was one of the favorites with a nice vinegary flavor.

Ok, so thats the top three. I want to thank my reviewers for their help and perseverance. We ate at more BBBBQ places in the last few weeks than I care to think about. We're all plumper and happier for it though. Immediately below are our honorable mentions. Below that is a general review of a few of the other places we ate at but is by no means a comprehensive list of every BBBBQ place in the Fort. I have separated these portions because the reviews below contain more of my personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of my fellow reviewers.

Best Place For a Friday Afternoon award goes to Railhead. With the patio shaded by trees, the big center bar just waiting to serve you an ice cold beer .... And the fries... Does it get any better? The beer is notorious for its ice coldiness and the patio is famous among its patrons. There is a friday club called the "FARTS". Or something like that. Its old guys that decided to make hats to commemorate a restaurant. I have already submitted an application for admittance.

The Place You Must Go On Saturday Award goes to Hard Eight. This award was limited to places within 100 miles and Hard Eight falls into the category, by being in Stephenville at Hwy 67 and Hwy 281. Tacky interior, great beans, country music and great BBBBQ that you order outside from a giant pit then they weigh inside. The sweet tea is delicious and doesn't give you a headache from over sweetness (I'm from Texas, not Georgia). I would also recommend getting a turkey sandwich with the jalepeno bread. Delish. Thats a word you should not say here. You will be taken out back.

General Reviews:

Baileys - downtown on Taylor. If you could eat smell, you'd be getting a good deal. The BBBBQ is fine but not really worth a special trip.

Feedstore - Southlake - White Chapel - The brisket was a bit grity to me, but the sides were decent and the sauce was good. I like to go in and pretend like I'm really rich and then look down on all everybody else. Then I eat my BBBBQ with a specially designed silver fork and talk about Jeeves.

Hard Eight Coppell - You know how you felt about the first Kincaids to open outside of the Grocery Store? Yeah...its the same thing.

Jasper's - Plano - Upscale BBBBQ. I know, I know. But I have to give it some props (because thats what lawyers do). The meat is tender and the flavor is good. But its in Plano so...you know...yeah. Forget I put this on here.

Sonny Bryan's - Great sauce, original BBBBQ place over in Dallas is worth a trip because it satisfies the hole in the wall criteria. The consistently good BBBBQ in a dirty place makes you almost forget you're in that other city.

Cousins - McCart, south of I-20. I was skeptical when I found out that it was in a strip center. Skepticism founded. The brisket was good, but this tasted like every catered BBBBQ meal I had ever had. Not really my style, but it seems popular. Plus, bottled Big Red is pretty cool.

Longoria's - The BBBBQ is loved by many and has good flavor but the real key here is the brisket sausage. I don't know how it works but its awesome.

I know there are more places in the Fort, but do you need more? I gave you the top three...

Please give me your thoughts on the state of BBBBQ in the Fort.