6 things the Posse learned from its DFW Top 7 BBQ Tour

Lockhart Smokehouse, Dallas, Texas. (Photo ©Daniel Gonclaves/Fotobia.com)

1. Pecan Lodge, without a doubt, is the best joint in DFW. We already knew this, but it was reinforced as we toured the 7 area places that made Texas Monthly's new Top 50 list. There isn't a weak spot in pitmaster Justin Fourton's smoked meat lineup.

2. Bartley's BBQ in Grapevine and Cousin's Barbecue in Fort Worth don't belong among the Top 50, for food or atmosphere.

3. Call ahead to Meshack's to make sure it's open. We didn't and we paid the price when the place was closed. We wound up eating bad barbecue at a place we wish we had never tried.

4. Tim Hutchins of Hutchins BBQ in McKinney is the state's next hot pitmaster. He regularly benchmarks his food against the best joints and wants to constantly improve. "I'm trying to bring the level up across the board," he told us during our visit.

Bartley's BBQ popular with the locals, not so much with the Posse.

Bartley's BBQ is located in a strip mall on E. Northwest Hwy. in Grapevine. (Photo©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) 

Friday brought the Texas BBQ Posse to Grapevine to eat at Bartley’s BBQ, a joint that none of us had heard of before it made the 2013 Texas Monthly Top 50 list. After one visit, we’re wondering how they made the list.

It was crowded and the line remained a steady 15-20 during the lunch hour. Service is cafeteria line-style with self-serve sides that were mostly very good.

As for the meat, we sampled the brisket, pork loin, pork ribs, turkey, hot links and the smoked bologna. The meat was dry – all of it.

Honestly, if that meat was cooked for the lunch service today, the staff at Bartley’s needs to figure out a new way to store the meat before serving.

Posse visits Texas Monthly's "DFW 7" top BBQ joints this week

After Texas Monthly announced their Top 50 BBQ list in mid-May, we thought one of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of seven DFW-area barbecue restaurants on the list.

The last Texas Monthly list in 2008 had three places in DFW: Baker's Ribs in Dallas, Cousin's Barbecue in Ft. Worth and Big Daddy's Roadhouse BBQ in Lavon. Cousin's is the only holdover on the new list.

As a group, we have been numerous times to Pecan Lodge, Lockhart Smokehouse, Longoria's BBQ and Meshack's Bar-B-Que Shack. However, we've never visited Bartley's BBQ, Cousin's Barbecue or Hutchins BBQ on a BBQ tour.

Thus planning for a tour of the newly-named "DFW 7" was set in motion.