Mayor Rawlings said he wants Pecan Lodge to stay … in Dallas

Pitmaster Justin Fourton holds the infamous Slim Pickins sign given to the last person in line at Pecan Lodge.
(Photo@Daniel Goncalves/Fotobia.com)

There's a follow-up to our earlier item on the strange behavior of the new owners of the Dallas Farmers Market as they try, supposedly, to work out a deal to keep Pecan Lodge at the market.

Robert Wilonsky of The Dallas Morning News reports that on Friday – the day our item appeared – Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings stopped by Pecan Lodge for lunch and a chat with owner/pitmaster Justin Fourton.

Afterward, Rawlings made his position clear:

While he can’t control what the Farmers Market does -- earlier this year, the city sold the downtown landmark to private developers -- he’ll do whatever he can to make sure Pecan Lodge remains somewhere in Dallas.

“Let me say, as the mayor of Dallas and a big fan of Pecan Lodge, we’re not going to lose them to a different city,” the mayor told Wilonsky.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

Pitmaster Justin Fourton works the pit during the early days of Pecan Lodge. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

Will Pecan Lodge stay at Dallas Farmers Market?

I have no idea. And neither does anyone else writing on the subject.

My guess is there are two people on Earth who know the answer: Justin and Diane Fourton, Pecan Lodge’s owners.

Even they might not be sure.

As we’ve written before, the Fourtons have kept their cards close to their butchers’ aprons as they weigh their options. They say they’d like to stay at the downtown Dallas market where, in just three years, they’ve built one of Texas’ great barbecue joints. At the same, they know there are landlords all over town, including the suburbs, who would love to have them and the long lines of satisfied customers they attract every day.

Here's how you can beat the long lines at Pecan Lodge in Dallas

The legendary Trough at Pecan Lodge, with a side of mac & cheese. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

We just got this note from Diane and Justin Fourton, owners of Pecan Lodge, detailing some big changes at one of the great BBQ joints in Texas:

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we've been working on a few things to help make it easier for those coming down to eat with us. Starting today, we are happy to announce that the following options are now available:

1. A second cash register has been added that will primarily serve as an "Express Line" for those ordering 5lbs or more. This means at any time (without notice) you can walk up and place your order without waiting in the main line.

2. Pre-Orders can be made with 2 days advanced noticed by sending an email to catering@pecanlodge.com. Pre-Orders must be for whole products (whole briskets, racks of ribs, etc) and can be picked up anytime from 11am to 3pm on days that we're open.

We appreciate everyone's patience as we continue our journey...here's to sharing the love one smokey bite at time!

All the best,
Justin and Boss Lady

Pecan Lodge, 1010 South Pearl Expressway, Farmer's Market Shed #2, 214-748-8900. Open: Wed-Sun 11am-til the meat runs out.

Success brings a new smoker to Pecan Lodge in Dallas, say hello to "Big Rick"

Pitmaster Justin Fourton shows off his new smoker Big Rick at Pecan Lodge. (Photo ©Philip Lamb)

Posse member Phil Lamb checks in with Pecan Lodge pitmaster Justin Fourton at Texas Monthly's “Behind the Pit Dinner” event on Wednesday night. 

Phil writes:

We’ve known for a while that Pecan Lodge offers some of the best smoked meats around, but its status as an elite BBQ joint was solidified when it was awarded a tie for the No. 2 spot on Texas Monthly’s “Top 50” BBQ list. Now the lines at Pecan Lodge, which were already plenty long, frequently require “Lovers of the Lodge” to wait more than two hours to get their BBQ fix. The Posse may need to start a Pecan Lodge fan-club under this name.

From the Posse's view, Pecan Lodge holds all the cards in negotiations with Dallas Farmers Market

Meats on the smoker at Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmers Market. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

Posse member and Dallas Morning News assistant metro editor Bruce Tomaso gives us more details on the sweeping changes at the Dallas Farmers Market and how that might affect Pecan Lodge's decision on moving to a new location.

OK, let’s be honest:

In the $64 million makeover of the Dallas Farmers Market, there’s only one thing that barbecue aficionados care about:

What’s gonna happen to Pecan Lodge?

That’s the $64,000 question.

Our two-cent answer: No one knows.

Owners Diane and Justin Fourton have made it clear for months that they’re weighing their options. Justin told Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn that he and Diane have been scouting other potential locations as “part of a contingency plan depending on what happens at the market.”

Updated: Some thoughts on Pecan Lodge and a potential new location

The lunch line queues up at Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmers Market. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobia.com)

UPDATE: we received a Tweet from Pecan Lodge: @texasbbqposse @jimrossman: Thx for your thoughts. Adding 2nd cash register in next few wks. Already hv 2 cutters in kitchen. Doing our best.


So the BBQ blogosphere seems to be full up on stories about Pecan Lodge and whether or not it'll remain at the Dallas Farmer's Market.

The City of Dallas sold the property and there are plans to redo Shed 2, which apparently include tearing it up while a new sewer line is installed. Not exactly the right environment for any restaurant.

Nancy Nichols over at D Magazine's SideDish blog talked to owners Justin and Diane Fourton:

“They are going to gut Shed 2 and put in a new sewer line,” said Diane. “I just wish somebody would say ‘here is how we will help you run your businesses while we’re under construction.’ I don’t see how we, or any of us, can operate under those conditions. It’s crazy.”

So the thinking is Pecan Lodge may just move to a more hospitable location.

Dallas BBQ history made at Daniel Vaughn's book party with the first briskets ever cooked in Big D by Aaron Franklin

Aaron Franklin, center, works the serving line while Justin Fourton works his smoker "Lurlene." (Jim Rossman photo)

Friday was an historic night in Dallas barbecue.

The book party for Daniel Vaughn's Prophets of Smoked Meat at the home of Steve and Anne Stodghill brought together four of Texas' best pitmasters: Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge in Dallas, Tim Byres of Smoke in Dallas and Will Fleischman of Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas.

Video: Pecan Lodge's Justin Fourton shows you how to cook a great brisket

When it comes to smoking a brisket, Pecan Lodge pitmaster and co-owner Justin Fourton is among the best in Texas. Their recent appearance on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is further evidence of that fact.

However, our photo crew at the Dallas Morning News beat Guy Fieri to the airwaves by a couple of weeks with this video of Justin explaining how to prep, cook and cut a brisket. Staff photographer Vernon Bryant spent a day behind the scenes at Pecan Lodge to bring you some of Justin's secrets. Enjoy.......


Video: Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News, Photo: ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

Hipster pitmasters? Young guns of BBQ? Resurgence of Texas tradition? There's a BBQ revolution happening and we don't know what to call it

Pecan Lodge pitmaster Justin Fourton and his infamous "Slim Pickins" sign. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves)

As Posse member Jim Rossman and I ate at Pecan Lunch Thursday, we talked about how to characterize what's happening now in Texas barbecue. Something big is going on and it needs a name.

We had just heard BBQ Snob and new Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn call it a "resurgence." He referred to young pitmasters, like Justin Fourton at Pecan Lodge, adopting the old school ways and using only wood to cook for a new generation of barbecue fans.

(Note: To hold our place, Rossman arrived at 10:45 a.m., 15 minutes before opening, and was about 40th in line. Vaughn, by coincidence, was about 10 people ahead. So, we chatted.)

Previously, in Posse circles, we've talked about the new "young guns" of barbecue redefining how we eat the national food of Texas. Nice term.  Good for headlines. But does it really describe what's happening?

Then Rossman said: "Hipster pitmasters."

Pecan Lodge of Dallas wins best ribs in the Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Order of award-winning ribs at Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market. (Tom Fox/DMN)

While we wait for the full results of the Posse's recent Best of Texas barbecue tour to be published in The Dallas Morning News this weekend, we can reveal one more detail:

Pecan Lodge in Dallas won the pork rib category. Five of our six judges rated pitmaster Justin Fourton's ribs a perfect 10. The sixth judge scored a 9.

Portraits of the great pitmasters, from Best of Texas BBQ tour

Herschel Tomanetz, Snow's BBQ, Lexington. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves)

Check out this amazing set of portraits by Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer Daniel Goncalves, featuring the pitmasters behind the BBQ we ate last week on our Best of Texas BBQ tour. Daniel and his wife Magda recently moved to the area from Jacksonville, Florida.

His love for both photography and barbecue led him to get in touch the Posse, which is mainly made of photographers, writers and editors from The Dallas Morning News. We invited Daniel to come along and help us document the trip, while eating the best BBQ that Texas has to offer. You can see more of his work at www.fotobia.com.

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.