Lines, lines, everywhere we go there are BBQ lines

Long lines at Franklin BBQ in Austin, top, and Pecan Lodge in Dallas. (Photos © Daniel Goncalves)

Aaron Franklin has made it cool to stand in a long line for barbecue. That has been the norm at his joint in Austin going back to its trailer days in 2009.

Now, the phenomenon appears to be spreading, as we discovered on our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour.

A respite from brisket, ribs and sausage on the Best of Texas BBQ tour

The Posse digs into a Brother-in-Law sandwich at Stanley's. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves)

Discipline and portion control were the guiding principles of our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour. They have to be when you eat at 10 places over a period of about 48 hours.

But while we focused on -- and scored -- only brisket, pork ribs and sausage, we did manage to sample other fare on the first day of the tour, when we visited only 3 places.

Tuel's M&ET Barbeque - Doing it right in Gilmer

On our way to Jefferson to last Saturday, we discovered an interesting new BBQ joint on Hwy. 154 about three miles west of Gilmer in the Kelsey bottom. Tuel's M&ET Barbeque was just about to finish their fourth week in business the following Tuesday.

Rebuilt from the ground up, Jospeh's Riverport BBQ is back in a big way

There were smiles all around on Saturday at Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Cue in historic downtown Jefferson.

Five and a half months after a devastating fire that completely destroyed the building, owner and pitmaster Stephen Joseph reopened on Thursday to swarms of old friends and townsfolk who appreciate some of the best BBQ on this side the state.

Joseph's Riverport BBQ in Jefferson reopens tomorrow

Here's the news we've been waiting for. Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Que is reopening tomorrow, Thursday June 28, after a fire that totaled the restaurant last January.

Owner/pitmaster Stephen Joseph sends these photos of his new joint, which was rebuilt from the ground up on the original location at 201 N Polk Street in downtown Jefferson. He installed a new Bewley pit, which he has been breaking in for the past couple of months.

UPDATE: Joseph's Riverport BBQ expected to reopen in 6-8 weeks

UPDATE TO AN UPDATE: Just heard some great news from owner/pitmaster Stephen Joseph about the reopening of Joseph's Riverport BBQ in Jefferson. The restaurant was totally destroyed by a fire in January.

Here's Stephen's note: "It's probably about 6 to 8 weeks away from being ready. The exterior is about complete but the interior is unbelievably tedious and complicated. The new pit from Bewley should be ready in about 2 weeks and I'll be doing a lot of test cooking."

We can't wait to head east to Jefferson and check out Stephen's new joint. I'm sure they will reclaim their spot as one of the best BBQ joints in east Texas.



Here's the original blog post from Fall 2010:

Born on the Bayou - Joseph's Riverport BBQ in Jefferson

A couple of blocks off the Big Cypress Bayou in Jefferson, Texas, you'll find one of the best barbeque joints east of Tyler.

I visited Joseph's on a recent Friday afternoon after a full morning of antique shopping with my wife Michele in historic Jefferson. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! In return for a loyal day of antiquing on my part, Michele agreed to share a three-meat platter with two sides for lunch.

We ordered and I started taking photos, as usual when visiting a new joint. Before I knew it, I was meeting pitmaster and owner Stephen Joseph, who suspected I might be with the Texas BBQ Posse when he saw the camera, he had been following our BBQ adventures online.

Stephen invited me to visit the smokers after lunch and Michele and I dug in. We ordered sliced brisket, ribs and turkey along with potato salad and cold slaw. Despite eating after the lunch rush hour, everything was perfectly cooked, moist and smokey. They provided a phenomenal and award-winning homemade sauce, warmed up and ready for action. The sides were great as well.

After lunch, Michele headed back out into antique land and I headed back to the smokers with Stephen. We talked meat smoking techniques, he cooks fully unwrapped around 220 degrees using oak wood. I had to sample some sausage, my fourth meat there. It was made locally and very good as well.

He explained how he opened the joint in 1993 and it took four or five years to really figure out the business. "The cooking part was a lot easier than the business part," Stephen shared. He thanks his parents, both successful business people, for helping him put all the pieces together.

So, if you find yourself on a romantic bed & breakfast getaway in Jefferson with your significant other, I have a plan of action to pass on. Drag yourself from antique store to antique store with a smile on your face. Then, when the subject of lunch comes up, say "I know just the place!" Then head to Joseph's Riverport BBQ and tell 'em the posse sent you!

Joseph's Riverport Barbecue, 201 N Polk St, Jefferson, TX, 903-665-2341. Open Tues-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-2pm.







(Photos ©Chris Wilkins)

Heading east to Big Smith's Bar-B-Q in Sulphur Springs

We first heard of Big Smith's Bar-B-Q after our first East Texas BBQ Tour story was published in The Dallas Morning News a couple of years ago. Several readers wrote to tell us we had missed the best BBQ in East Texas. They urged us to visit Big Smith's, located 8 miles south of Sulphur Springs on on Hwy 154.

We put it on the list and intended to get there for a visit. The problem was, we always try to hit two or more joints when we head out of town, getting a sample of BBQ available in the area. Quite frankly, we couldn't find a decent BBQ joint anywhere nearby. And that's good for business as far as owner/pitmaster Steve Smith is concerned.

We drove right by Big Smith's the first time, the little BBQ joint made out of an old barn kind of sneaks up on you. We hooked a u-turn and pulled in the gravel parking lot. As usual, Marshal Cooper and I started our visit by trying to do some intel around the pits and woodpile.

Around the corner came a big guy who looked like he owned the place. "Can I help you with something." he asked. Marshall responded how we came from Dallas, how he was a backyard cook, how we love to eat BBQ.

The tension was broken and that's how we met Steve Smith, aka "Big Smith." They were past the lunch rush, so we nibbled on a three-meat plate and talked the barbecue with Steve for most of the next hour. He has been in business for 22 years and knows the BBQ business inside and out.

Big Smith's is a very comfortable joint, with peanut shells on the floors. The walls are covered with taxidermy, antiques and country kitsch. Thousands of empty Tabasco bottles line the ledges near the ceiling in the main dining room. That's a lot of heat that has been consumed at Big Smith's over the years. In fact, Steve says he ran out of room for more bottles five years ago.

The joint has been added onto twice and now seats around 100 customers. We saw a steady stream of folks stop by on the lazy Thursday afternoon we were there. He says they are always full for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

"I'd rather have a small place that's full than a big place that's half full," Steve says.

We ended up ordering a three-meat plate with two sides. Unfortunately they were out of ribs, though both pork and beef ribs are on the menu. We had already visited another joint that day, Fatboy's BBQ in Ladonia, so we opted for a double order of brisket and one of smoked turkey. For sides we got fried okra and french fries.

Both meats were smokey and cooked well. The turkey was tremendous, reminding me of the turkey at Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in Tyler, which is among the best I've had. The lean brisket had a good smoke ring and crust and wasn't too dry, sometimes an issue with the flat end of the brisket.

After we ordered, I was busy taking photos as a couple of the locals got their orders. Marshall urged me over to check out the chicken fried steak one of them had ordered. It was as big around and three times thicker than the dinner plate it came on, topped by Texas toast. This steak could feed a family of four.

The guy who ordered it said Big Smith's chicken fried steak is legendary in the area. I watched as he polished his off his meal, no problem. He smiled and said, "If you think this looks good, you better try the onion rings next time."

Note to self: Always check in with the regulars and locals before ordering at a new place.....

Big Smith's Bar-B-Q, 9601 Texas 154, Sulphur Springs, 903-383-2706. Open Wed-Sat 11 am-9 pm, Sun 11 am-2:30 pm.‎

Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

The Barbecue Chronicles: Back to East Texas where we find proof that wood rules

It had been a few months since the Posse’s last barbecue tour. So, we reminded ourselves to be conservative and not overeat at the first stop.

“I’m just going to have one rib,” said tour veteran Marshall Cooper as he drove east from Dallas on I-20.

His passengers laughed.

“Well, if they’re good I might have four or five,” he conceded.

In the end, somehow, Texas barbecue always manages to bring out the truth.

For this chapter of our barbecue chronicles, we traveled 290 miles over 10 hours on a beautiful spring Saturday that was chilly when we started and warm when we finished.

We ate at five places in East Texas, including four of Texas Monthly’s Top 50 joints in the state: Stanley’s in Tyler, Stacy’s in Jacksonville, Baby J’s in Palestine and Cripple Creek in Athens. We had been to Stanley’s before, but not the other places.

Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins, a photo editor at The Dallas Morning News who planned the itinerary and served as chief navigator, also left some room for serendipity.

“I know we’re going to find something,” he said. “Keep an eye out for smoke.”

Our first stop was Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, located near the medical center. The Posse, a dozen strong, converged in four vehicles, just after 10:30 a.m., a half-hour before the doors opened. Tour veteran Jim Rossman, a tech expert for The News, cut a fine figure riding solo in his wife’s red Miata. A big guy, he looked like a teen-ager who had outgrown a childhood toy. To fit, Rossman rode with the top down.

“It got a little cool on the way over,” he admitted.

Also on the tour were veterans Bruce Tomaso, Ahna Hubnik and Gary Barber, who all work at The News, and Gary’s brother, Michael, making his first trip. For the Cooper family, barbecue is a family affair so Marshall, a commercial real estate broker, was joined by his wife, Sheilagh, and their seven-year-old son, Mark.

Two other first-timers made the trip: Phil Lamb, an attorney, and Chris Post, a banker. They are regular readers of the Posse’s blog www.texasbbqposse.com.

Stanley's in Tyler

The last time we visited Stanley’s, about a year ago, the ribs were sold out by 11:30 a.m. and we didn’t get any.

“Sold out,” of course, can be a relative term in barbecue. Before our first visit, pitmaster Jonathan Shaw had cooked only a half-dozen racks. Since then, Stanley’s ribs have won a Texas Monthly competition and Shaw is cooking a lot more racks.

“We won’t run out on you today,” Shaw said as he greeted us outside while we waited for the place to open. Owner Nick Pencis was away on a catering job.

Along with the ribs, we were anxious to sample Stanley’s turkey breast, the favorite from our first visit, and the Brother In Law sandwich, a Stanley’s specialty made with chopped beef, sausage and cheese.

We ate outside on the big patio. “A great spot to start the day!” Sheilagh Cooper said.

Post said he never would have thought to combine the sandwich items and he liked the turkey so much that he bought a pound to take home.

The ribs, finished with a glaze, were nicely tender and had a slightly sweet taste. Marshall Cooper admitted eating four, “maybe five.”

Rossman called the ribs the best he had eaten in months. He ate five and most of a brother-in-law sandwich. Then he went back and bought a rack of ribs to take home.

Before moving to Dallas, Rossman said he lived in Tyler for 10 years, less than a mile from Stanley’s. He worked for the Tyler newspaper, but never ate at Stanley’s. “I’m kicking myself if it was always this good,” he said.

As we were leaving, we asked Shaw how he was able to keep the turkey breast so moist. He said he puts them on the pit after most of the other meats have come off. He cooks them for about three hours at 300 degrees, until the internal temperature reaches 165.

“We use a little more mellow fire because we don’t want too much smoke on them,” he said.

Oh, yes, one other important development. Stanley’s now serves Big Red on tap.

Stacy's in Jacksonville

From Stanley’s we drove south, through town, and got caught a mid-day traffic jam in southern Tyler. “The traffic is as bad as Plano,” Wilkins said. “It wasn’t like this when I was growing up here.” Wilkins now lives in Plano.

Stacy’s Barbecue is located in an old house, near a shopping mall on Highway 69 in Jacksonville. As we walked through the front door, we saw a small jar of ashes on a shelf. A note said: “Ashes of unruly customers.”

Nearby, a sign read: “This is not Burger King. You don’t get it your way. You take it my way or don’t get the damn thing.”

We liked that attitude, but the meat under whelmed us.

“I just don’t know how brisket can look that good and taste that bland,” Tomaso said. Lamb echoed the sentiment.

After we ate, owner Ron Davis showed us his two, nearly 30-year-old gas-fired pits, which, he said, can cook a total of up to 100 briskets at a time. He said he doesn’t use rubs or seasonings. “We throw some hickory on for flavor,” he said.

Davis said Stacy’s, named after his father, once used only wood, but that meant staying up most of the night tending the fire. If the pit crew lost control of the heat, there were problems.

“One day the briskets would be like charcoal and the next as raw as can be,” Davis said.

It’s much easier cooking with gas, he said. Set the temperature, go home and sleep. And, he said, his customers like the food.

We found Highway 79 and headed southwest to Palestine.

Baby J's in Palestine

There, just outside of town, we ran into the most unusual pit any of us have seen. A giant black metal box on short stilts with a smokestack reaching 20-feet high, located just out the side door from Baby J's Bar B Que and Fish.

With a flick of his wrist, Jeremiah "Baby J" McKenzie toggled one of the huge counterweights and a door magically lifted, exposing eight rotating cook racks filled with chicken and ribs.

An identical cooking chamber was on the opposite side. "That's just heaven," said Marshall Cooper, clearly smitten with pit envy. In Cooper's case, that takes some doing. He owns a Jambo J-3.

McKenzie calls this unique smoker Big Baby. He can load 10 logs at a time in the converted firebox underneath.

"This had gas when I got it," he said. "We don't want gas."

Nearby was another pit, unused this day, housed in a trailer. “Danger men cooking,” said a sign on the side.

You gotta love barbecue humor.

McKenzie then led most of the Posse on a slow procession to the parking area in front of his building where a more conventional, tank-style pit was smoking away.

"The big one don't pass my test on brisket," Baby J said. "For chicken, ribs, it's perfect. But for brisket, this one here made my reputation."

He removed a padlock from one of the cooking chambers and started unwrapping a couple of the foiled briskets.

"This still has about an hour or so to go but you can get an idea," he said as he cut samples and passed them to reaching hands.

The pieces were hot, dripping in juices, and a little more than one bite in size, which made for some interesting contortions as we tried to eat without burning our mouths or getting grease on our chins and clothes.

"Outstanding," said Lamb. "Can I buy half of that brisket?"

Baby J nodded yes. He explained that he cooks his briskets for 18 hours or so, never allowing the temperature to go above "boiling."

"I never get in no hurry," he said.

McKenzie, the youngest of eight children, therefore Baby J, said he learned his craft from relatives at family gatherings and has been cooking since he was a kid. (He said he turns 39 this month.)

He started his joint in 2007 and made Texas Monthly's Top 50 list in 2008. He closed for a while but opened again last year.

Enticed by his brisket samples, we anxiously went inside and ordered from his menu.

Post called the pulled pork “exceptional, very smoky and surprisingly moist.” Lamb called the catfish the best he had ever tasted, unexpected on a barbecue tour. “But you learn to take what the tour gives you,” he said.

The brisket was tender but not as tasty as what we had right off the pit. McKenzie said he uses a machine to slice an entire brisket at once and then lets the slices sit in a secret broth -- “Baby Juice,” he called it – before they are served.

The ribs were tender and tasty. The pies were wonderful.

“Who made the pies?” asked Hubnik after eating a slice of coconut cream.

“They’re homemade,” Baby J said.

“But who makes them because I want to hug her,” Hubnik said.

“She’s not here,” Baby J said.

Later, his wife, Linda, the pie maker, arrived and Hubnik delivered her hug.

Baby J also offered samples of his sausage, chicken, ribs right off the smoker and beef jerky, all very good. The ribs were better than those we had ordered earlier.

“You’re like a crack dealer,” Rossman told McKenzie as he took a sample of the jerky. Wilkins and Lamb each bought some to take home.

For a decade, McKenzie has also been pastor at One Way Apostolic Church in Palestine.

"Do you ever use barbecue in your sermons?" we asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "I say in the Christian religion, you can't be fast. You gotta go slow. When you go fast, you mess up."

We could have stayed longer, but we finally said good-bye to Baby J and headed north on Highway 19, toward Athens.

Butt Nekkid in Montalba

In a few minutes, as we passed Montalba, Wilkins spotted smoke on the side of the road. He had been crying wolf all day long with false sightings of cool joints, but this was the real deal.

"We probably should turn around,” Wilkins said. Wheelman Marshall Cooper, leading the Posse procession, obliged.

And so we pulled into Smokin' Jay Galloway's Butt Nekkid BBQ.

"We don't put anything on our brisket except smoke," Galloway said, explaining the name.

Open about a year, Galloway said he cooks every night and sells out every day. He offers a chopped beef sandwich special with chips and a drink for $5, sales tax included.

He was out of ribs when we arrived about 4:30 p.m. We ordered some of his brisket and sausage and decided it would be nice to visit again when he still had ribs.

The joint itself, with its loose brick entryway and hand-strung, lighted "BBQ" sign, is unique. Some would call it cute or quaint. Sheilagh Cooper called it "eclectic." Tomaso said "faux rustic."

However you describe it, it's one of a kind.

Cripple Creek in Athens

Our final stop was Cripple Creek BBQ in Athens, where the specialty is hog wings, a unique cut of pork that Rossman described as a “meat lollipop.”

We each had one. The meat itself was bland. No smoke. But the sauce – Mae Ploy – was great.

“I drank that sauce,” Marshall Cooper said. Several in the Posse bought bottles to take home.

Calling out Texas Monthly

Driving back to Dallas on Highway 175, we were stuffed, but also reflective about what we had learned on our tour.

"Someone needs to call out Texas Monthly on its Top 50 BBQ joints," one Posse member said.

We were discussing the huge difference in taste between the gas-fired joints (Stacy’s and Cripple Creek) and the wood-fired (Stanley’s and Baby J’s). To us, the gassers didn’t come close. Yet they all were Top 50, according to Texas Monthly. How could that be?

"They should have separate lists," someone said.

"They shouldn't include the gas guys," another said.

"They should at least tell you when the place uses gas," another said.

None of the criticisms came lightly. We consider Texas Monthly's once-every-five-years ranking the bible of Texas barbecue. But we also think that real Texas barbecue means wood-fired.

The day after our tour, the Coopers asked their son, Mark, if he had a favorite place.

"I liked Baby J's but the ribs were salty and didn't have much flavor,” Mark answered. “I liked Stanley's ribs best, but they were a little sweet.”

No mention of the gas-fired joints. Even for a 7-year-old, wood rules.

East Texas II BBQ Tour itinerary April 16. 2011

9 a.m.: Leave Dallas
11 a.m.: Meet at Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, 525 S. Beckham Ave., Tyler, 903-593-0311. Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.-til the meat runs out.
1 p.m.: Stacy's Barbecue, 1217 South Jackson Street (Hwy 69), Jacksonville, 903-56-1951. Open Tues-Sat 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
2:30 p.m.: Baby J’s Bar-B-Que & Fish, FM 2419 at U.S. 287, Palestine, 903-729-8402. Open Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.   (Note: this joint is now closed. 7/14)
4:30 p.m.: Smok'n J's Butt Nekkid BBQ, Hwy. 19 at FM 321, Montalba, 903-373-2956. Open Wed-Sun 10 a.m.-7 p.m. or when the meat runs out.   (Note: this joint is now closed. 7/14)
5:15 p.m.: Cripple Creek BBQ, 500 S. Palestine Street, Athens, 903-677-4226. Open M-Thur 11-8, F-Sat 11-9.
7 p.m.: Back in Dallas

Story by Gary Jacobson
Photos by Chris Wilkins

Cool photos from the East Texas BBQ Trail

Photos by Ahna Hubnik, Gary Barber & Mike Barber, shot on iPhone 4 with Hipstamtic app

Best name ever for a barbecue joint? Smok'n J's Butt Nekkid BBQ

We were driving on Highway 19 between Palestine and Athens when we spotted the smoke.

No one wanted to cram an extra stop into our East Texas barbecue tour last weekend. We were stuffed after eating at three places and we wanted only to sample the Hog Wings at Cripple Creek in Athens before returning to Dallas.

But the smoke on the side of the highway in Montalba was enticing. We drove past, but Posse co-found Chris Wilkins said, "We probably should turn around." Wheelman Marshall Cooper obliged.

And so we pulled into Smokin' Jay Galloway's Butt Nekkid BBQ.

"We don't put anything on our brisket except smoke," Galloway said, explaining the name.

Open about a year, Galloway said he cooks every night and sells out every day. He offers a chopped beef sandwich special with chips and a drink for $5, sales tax included.

He was out of ribs when we arrived about 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon. We sampled his brisket and sausage and decided it would be nice to visit again when he still had ribs.

The joint itself, with its loose brick entryway and hand-strung, lighted "BBQ" sign, is unique. I would call it cute or quaint. Tour veteran Sheilagh Cooper called it "eclectic." Bruce Tomaso said "faux rustic."

However you describe it, it's one of a kind.

Smok'n J's Butt Nekkid BBQ, Hwy. 19 at FM 321, Montalba, 903-373-2956. Open Wed-Sun 10 a.m.-7 p.m. or when the meat runs out.

Photos by Chris Wilkins

Pitmaster and preacher, Baby J McKenzie wins BBQ converts in Palestine

It's the most unusual smoker any of us have seen. A giant black metal box on short stilts with a smokestack reaching 20-feet high, located just out the side door from Baby J's Bar B Que and Fish near Palestine.

With a flick of his wrist, Jeremiah "Baby J" McKenzie toggles one of the huge counterweights and a door magically lifts, exposing eight rotating cook racks filled with chicken and ribs.

There is an identical cooking chamber on the opposite side. "That's just heaven," says Posse veteran Marshall Cooper, clearly smitten with an acute case of smoker envy. In Cooper's case, that takes some doing. He owns a Jambo J-3.

Jeremiah calls this unique smoker Big Baby. He can load 10 logs at a time in the converted fire box underneath.

"This had gas when I got it," he says. "We don't want gas."

Then, on a beautiful East Texas Saturday afternoon, he leads the Posse, 12 strong, on a slow procession to the parking area in front of his building where a more conventional, tank-style pit is smoking away.

"The big one don't pass my test on brisket," Baby J says. "For chicken, ribs, it's perfect. But for brisket, this one here made my reputation."

He takes the padlock off one of the cooking chambers and starts unwrapping a couple of the foiled briskets.

"This still has about an hour or so to go but you can get an idea," he says as he cuts samples and passes them out to reaching hands.

The pieces are hot, dripping in juices, and a little more than one bite in size, which makes for some interesting contortions as we try to eat without burning our mouths or getting grease on our chins and clothes.

"Outstanding," says Phil Lamb, an attorney making his first tour with the Posse. "Can I buy half of that brisket?"

Baby J nods yes. He explains that he cooks his briskets for 18 hours or so, never allowing the temperature to go above "boiling."

"I never get in no hurry," he says.

McKenzie, the youngest of eight children, therefore Baby J, started his joint in 2007 and made Texas Monthly's Top 50 list in 2008. He closed for a while but opened again last year.

For a decade, he has also been pastor at One Way Apostolic Church in Palestine.

"Do you ever use barbecue in your sermons?" I ask.

"Yes," he replies. "I say in the Christian religion, you can't be fast. You gotta go slow. When you go fast, you mess up."

We'll have more later from our East Texas tour, including why Baby J padlocks his pit.

Baby J’s Bar-B-Que & Fish, 111 ACR 1405, Palestine, 903-729-8402. Open Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

On the road again: East Texas II BBQ Tour begins tomorrow at Stanley's

The posse returns to one of our favorite joints in the state on Saturday to begin the second East Texas BBQ tour. Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler was the starting point for our first East Texas tour in February 2010.

We've gotten to know owner and pitmaster Nick Pencis pretty well since then, he's one of the "young gun" pitmasters who are leading the next generation of great Texas BBQ cooks. We can't wait to try Stanley's ribs, considered by many to be among the best in the state.

The first time the Posse was there, a customer bought out all the ribs by 11:15 a.m., so we didn't get a taste. Nick has been anxious to get us back since then.

All four of the scheduled stops are Texas Monthly top 50 joints. Of course, we'll let you know what we discover and also hope to find an off-the-radar joint or two along the way.

Here's the plan for Saturday. If you happen to be around any of these stops, please keep an eye out for the Posse and let us know what you think.

East Texas II BBQ Tour itinerary April 16. 2011

11 a.m.: Meet at Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, 525 S. Beckham Ave., Tyler, 903-593-0311. Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.-til the meat runs out.
Stop no. 2: Stacy's Bar-B-Q, 1217 South Jackson Street (Hwy 69), Jacksonville, 903-56-1951. Open Tues-Sat 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
Stop no. 3: Baby J’s Bar-B-Que & Fish, FM 2419 at U.S. 287, Palestine, 903-729-8402. Open Thur-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Stop no. 4: Cripple Creek BBQ, 500 S. Palestine Street, Athens, 903-677-4226. Open M-Thur 11-8, F-Sat 11-9.

Photo by Chris Wilkins

Sad news for fans of Pat Gee's BBQ in Tyler

The first time I stepped into Pat Gee's Barbecue in the late 1970s, Vida Gee was manning the counter as husband Pat handled the smokers and cutting board. Mrs. Gee greeted you with a smile and some of the best BBQ to ever come out of the piney woods of east Texas.

After Pat died in 1999, she continued to run the historic BBQ joint with her sons Arthur and Billy. My family members were regulars at Pat's, so I continued to go there through college and then on visits back home in Tyler over the years. I really enjoyed visiting with Mrs. Gee and catching up on what had gone on since the last time we talked.

She worked well into her 80s and the last time I saw her was a couple of years ago, before she entered assisted living. Vida Gee died on December 16, 2010, but Pat Gee's Barbecue goes on under the stewardship of her sons. Posse member Tom Fox stopped by Pat Gee's this weekend and Arthur told him it was his mom's dying wish that her sons keep the BBQ joint open and that's why they've continued on. Mrs. Gee was a truly special person and will be missed by all of those who were lucky enough to know her.

Click here to see Vida Gee's obituary in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. The photo of Pat Gee's shown above was shot by Tom Hackim in 1977, the year I was introduced to the little BBQ palace in the woods.

Visiting friends in East Texas- Pat Gee's & Hickory Hill BBQ

We took a slight detour Saturday afternoon on the ride back to Dallas from Jefferson, exiting from I-20 on to Hwy. 31 west at Kilgore. The plan was to check in on a couple of friends on the east Texas BBQ trail, one old and one new.

Our first stop was Hickory Hill BBQ, a fun little joint east of Kilgore on Hwy. 31. We got to know the husband and wife team of Kerry and Kelly Shaw during our East Texas BBQ Tour last February.

Kelly greeted my wife Michele and I with her 100-watt smile, which can light up a room. She caught us up on the past six months at Hickory Hill as we ordered some chopped brisket and hot links. On the Sunday our tour story ran in The Dallas Morning News, people were lined up at the door with the newspaper under their arm, ready to sample the brisket, ribs and sausage at Hickory Hill. Business has been booming in the past six months and Kelly and Kerry recently completed their first year in business.

The second stop of the day was Pat Gee's Barbecue, a joint east of Tyler that I've been visiting since my high school days in the late 1970s. In those days legendary east Texas pitmaster Pat Gee ran the smokers. He passed away in 1999 and his sons have kept the tradition of Pat Gee's alive. On our visit, Arthur Gee was manning the chopping block and brother Billy Walker was on sauce and counter duty. Arthur said they are still getting traffic from our tour story and blogs, including a group last weekend from Dallas that was following our February trip.

When you're on the road, there's nothing better than dropping in on friends to say hello and sample some great smoked meats......

Hickory Hill BBQ, 20101 Highway 31, (903) 566-7923, Tyler. Open Fri-Sun 11am until the meat runs out

Pat Gee's Barbecue, 17547 Jamestown Rd., (903) 534-0265, Tyler, TX. Open Fri-Sun 11am-until the meat runs out.
(Photos by Chris Wilkins)