I'm extremely suspicious of Houston bbq after years of morons touting Goode Co. When I lived here last the only decent brisket was Gatlin's and that was hit and miss. I don't count Killen's really, it's too far away. It's fantastic though. I hope these new places are worth a shit.
In town you have Feges Roegels Pit Room Pinkertons Gatlins Jackson St Willows That’s more than enough great bbq without having to go to Killens, which is still a must visit. Goode Co is trash and meant to satisfy out of town demand.
Im skeptical of Roegels. edit: wow Texas Monthly is high on them! Baker's Ribs was pretty average. Jackson St. is nothing special. Gatlins would barely be top 10 in Austin. The Pit Room looks very promising. Pinkertons looks like it could be a solid 2nd tier spot.
You’re right about Gatlins. Them barely being top ten in Austindoesnt necessarily disqualify them as quality bbq. Jackson and Gatlin are the same people, FYI. Never had Bakers.
The Roegels people were running Baker's for a long time. Maybe they actually decided to start making serious bbq but I doubt it unless they hired a legit pit guy. I heard that Thursday reuben is legit though.
I’ve heard about the Reuben too but haven’t tried it. One of the restaurant people in town said its his favorite thing in the whole city.
Roegels is the shit. Top notch brisket every time I’ve had it. Had Jackson’s once and won’t go back, much worse than Gatlins imo.
Some quick BBQ thoughts from the old man of the group: -I grew up on Goode Co and Demeris, but there are so many better options now. I rarely go to Goode Co anymore and as someone else noted, it seems more for tourists/out-of-towners and their long time loyal followers. It has gotten way too expensive, too, same for their taqueria and Armadillo Palace IMHO. Armadillo used to have one of my favorite sandwiches in town, but they got rid of it when they changed the menu like 9 months ago and I haven’t been back. -My wife went to college with Greg Gatlin (I graduated the year he was coming in, but got to know him through a lot of mutual friends) and they catered our engagement party and we had it for my groomsmen on my wedding day. I’ll always think highly of the food and them, they’re really good folks. But living around Montrose (near Revelry) and working in Greenway, I rarely feel the need to drive over there with other solid options closer. -The chopped beef sandwich at Pinkerton’s was probably one of the favorite things I had last year; I can still think of how moist the meat was and even how much I liked that bread/roll. Went to the same high school as Grant and support some similar causes, he’s a really good dude, seems genuine and down to earth, just wish he didn’t tweet so much about UT football ;) Regardless, I’d go much more often if it were closer. -Pit Room is down the street and their chicken tacos are one of my favorite bbq options in town; I like some of their sausages and sides, too. -I went to Roegel’s probably 10 years ago, maybe more, and clearly I need to make it over there again. -Most recently I’ve really been enjoying Feges BBQ, it’s a 5 minute walk from my office and they’re really good people. Patrick’s wife handles all of the sides and she actually won an episode of Chopped a few years ago. -If you ever see a pop-up for Eddie O’s BBQ around town, then give them a try. My wife had them cater my 41st birthday at Baileson’s in April (she was stuck out of town for work for my 40th at buffalo bayou brewery last year) and we all enjoyed it and they’re a really nice family. -And Demeris doesn’t really stand out compared to the options above, but every now and then when I want to go overboard, I will hit up their all you can eat ribs (and two sides) on Saturdays (~$15.95). Sometimes I wonder if I do it more for the all you can eat mac & cheese as one of my sides—and I don’t go very often—but not a bad deal for the price. I also like their salad special (with one meat) on Thursdays. -Finally, one of my close friends from college is a huge bbq guy (& artist) and has developed a bit of a following on Instagram due to some of his food pics; in fact, his account was even mentioned in this Texas BBQ Road Trip article from last year (see #6 at the very bottom): http://specials.mystatesman.com/texas-barbecue/ . He also has gotten to know a lot of Texas BBQ folks not surprisingly and he’s a good follow: https://www.instagram.com/packysaunders/ . I’ve met Patrick Feges through him, as well as one of the Pit Room guys (Bram), and in addition to Eddie O, Grant Pinkerton, and Greg Gatlin, they’re all really good people. That’s one of the coolest things about these relatively new BBQ options in town—it seems like a really solid community of good folks all trying to support each other. And don’t get me wrong, the Goode family is well known for taking good care of its employees and Levi Goode is a great businessman; I’ve heard good things about Demeris, as well. But at this point, I find myself more interested eating at and supporting these newer spots. P.S. When I mention going places more often if they were closer, I just don’t get out as much as we used to and don’t go too far when we do. My wife and I both have full time jobs and we have 2 young kids (almost 6 yrs and almost 3 yrs), so it’s harder to get out for meals on weekends and I try to limit my long lunch breaks (and when I do take them, it’s to run errands, meet my HS crew somewhere, or to walk to Regal for a movie ;) . That said, I do still need to try Killen’s sometime, just need to find a good time when I can make that drive and wait in line for a bit.
Couldnt figure out that shitty smell then i realized i was on the 610 loop and it was just Houston. Hahaha got you fuckers good.
Charles DeMar i have noticed the killens lines have gone down significantly since they’re open for dinner now
Armadillo palace really bothers me. They had a great affordable menu then seemingly made it fancy and more expensive. Their drinks aren’t cheap either. They get really good live music but it’s never crowded. Used to love going there
thanks for the heads up sir, i had no idea, i may try to run over there for dinner sometime in that case
Anyone wanna come to st Arnold’s with me and 47 straight tomorrow night? We need to apply the full court press in the recruiting process of getting him to move here