The thrill is gone from New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ

Everyone in the Posse -- all five of us on this trip -- looked forward to our visit to New Zion Missionary Baptist Church Barbecue in Huntsville, the first stop on a 700-mile, 35-hour tour last weekend to the Texas Gulf coast.

Some love the Church's food and wax poetic about the atmosphere. But we were disappointed. Really disappointed.

"It was like a bubble burst," said Posse member Phil Lamb. "Boy, the romance is gone from that place."

"It was probably good yesterday," Jim Rossman said after tasting the brisket. No smoke, no taste, and the meat looked as if it had been reheated. The ribs and sausage were also routine.

"Our brisket at the K.C. hall is better," echoed Jim's dad, Tom, making his first tour with the Posse. Tom lives in Katy. He said his Knights of Columbus council cooks more than 100 briskets at a time for special occasions.


The first tip-off that things have changed at the Church's barbecue joint sat right outside the front door: a still shiny Ole Hickory smoker, mainly gas fired.

When did you get the new smoker? we asked the order taker.

"October," he said.

Does that thing use wood?

"Yes, some wood," he said.

We each ate a rib and finished the sausage but we couldn't eat all the brisket.

"When has the Posse last left brisket on its plate?" Lamb asked as we left.

Exactly.

The Church, aka: New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ, 2601 Montgomery Rd, Huntsville, 936-294-0884. Open Thur-Sat 11 am-6 pm.


Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

Avoiding the dreaded barbecue belch

On a barbecue tour, sometimes wisdom sneaks up on you.

And so it was in Galveston on Saturday when Leon O'Neal told us his secret to preventing his customers from burping after they ate his smoked meat.

Use dry wood, the owner of Leon's World's Finest In and Out B-B-Q said, standing in front of a tall wall of cut oak. "That's where the after belch comes from."

In other words, sappy wood is burping bad.

Some might put this wisdom in the same category as always buy brisket from the left side of the cow, which we wrote about a while back.

Perhaps.

But Leon, with his straw cowboy hat, red apron, patent-leather-shiny black shoes, white mustache and soul patch, is the most stylish barbecue proprietor we've ever met.

So, until proven otherwise, we're cutting him some slack.

Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

Follow the Texas BBQ Posse on Facebook and Twitter

The Texas BBQ Posse began in November 2009 when six friends took their first BBQ road trip to Central Texas. As we sat beside the smokers at Snow's BBQ, our lives changed with the first bite of brisket during breakfast at the legendary Lexington joint. Stops at Louie Mueller, Smitty's and Kreuz Market followed that day. We started the Posse blog shortly thereafter.

Since then, we've driven 4,000-plus miles of Texas highways and backroads. Whether on organized tours or meandering road trips, we're always searching for the best BBQ in the state. We've reported on our adventures on the blog, on Facebook and sometimes in The Dallas Morning News, where about half of the Posse members work as writers, photographers and editors.

While the Texas BBQ Posse blog is the online foundation of our group, you can also join the Posse facebook page or subscribe to our Texas BBQ Posse twitter feed. Each outlet serves a different purpose as we combine channels to share everything we can find on the subject of Texas barbecue.

Our Twitter page is used for for breaking barbecue news, fun links or to alert followers of a new story on the Posse blog. It's our hope that the Posse Facebook page can serve as a digital community meeting place for all fans of Texas barbecue. Please help us spread the word by inviting your BBQ friends to check out the page. Also, always feel free to post your photos and stories on the page.

We promise to do the same as we continue to follow the smoke in search of the best smoked meats in the greatest state in the union!

Thanks/Chris Wilkins & Gary Jacobson

Katy Trail Ice House: The new kid on the BBQ block

We had the pleasure of checking out the latest serious BBQ player in Dallas on Friday. The Katy Trail Ice House, located on the trail near Reverchon Park, has been cooking BBQ on a huge custom-built smoker for the past two months. The results are quite impressive, especially given the short time they've been smoking meats.

Alerted by a recent blog post on written by Stephen Doyle on cravedfw, we rounded up a group and headed there for lunch. BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn also rounded up a posse of five from nearby Good Fulton & Farrell, the architecture firm where he and photographer Nicholas McWhirter work.

We took over a table on the huge patio, named last year by D Magazine as the "Best Big Bar Patio" in Dallas. This is the kind of place you could easily spend the afternoon nibbling on some BBQ while diving into their huge beer selection. We sampled ribs and brisket, both chopped and sliced. They usually serve sausage, made for them by Rudolph's Market in Deep Ellum, but they didn't have any on this visit.

The consensus from our table of eight was two thumbs up all the way. The meats were cooked very well, with nice rub. The brisket was central Texas style, salt and pepper, and the ribs were cooked just right by my standards, very tender but not quite falling off the bone onto your plate. Posse member Phil Lamb likened the cole slaw to Salt Lick and the beans were very original, in a thick gravy.

We enjoyed meeting general manager Jimmy Fell and pitmaster Eduardo Flores. They really believe in doing things right, low and slow, and not taking shortcuts. Though neither has cooked BBQ commercially before, they each have a wealth of experience in the restaurant business. Currently, BBQ is usually only served only on Saturday & Sunday. We got lucky on this Friday, though Jimmy says they plan to expand to Fridays soon. We'll put out an update when they do.

It's hard to fully grasp a BBQ joint based on one visit, so we won't try to. Daniel mentioned he plans to make another visit of two before bestowing his coveted star rating on the Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog. Not to be too dramatic, but if Katy Trail Ice House can keep up this quality of BBQ on a consistent basis, Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse will have some company atop the Dallas BBQ mountain.

Katy Trail Ice House, 3136B Routh Street, Dallas, 214-468-0600. Open Mon-Fri 11am–2am, Sat-Sun 10am–2am. BBQ served only on Saturday & Sunday.

The patio at Katy Ice House was voted "Best Big Bar Patio" last year by D Magazine.

Pepper coats some just-sliced brisket, hot off the pit.

Our posse digs into a big spread of sliced & chopped brisket and ribs, along with cole slaw and beans.

Ribs and brisket were on the menu this Friday, they usually have sausage as well.

BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughan shows off a huge burnt end right before we devoured it.

The next day's briskets, rubbed in salt and pepper, get started on the smoker in the early afternoon.

Katy Ice House general manager Jimmy Fell loads more red oak wood in the smoker. 

Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

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)

UPDATE: Fatboy's BBQ in Ladonia - Live to ride, ride to eat

UPDATE: Fatboy's BBQ has moved to a new location in nearby Cooper and opened last April. The new location at 850 W. Dallas Ave. in Cooper gets much higher traffic, but Shannon and Heather will be serving up the same great BBQ. They are open Mon-Fri 10:30am-6 pm. Their new phone number is 903-300-3287.

Original post

About 80 miles northeast of Dallas, you'll find some of the best barbecue in North Texas. Fatboy's BBQ is located on a narrow side street in Ladonia, population 691. It's well worth the drive or ride from DFW.

Shannon Bankston and girlfriend Heather Hoff started Fatboy's two and a half years ago. They are both from the area and know the majority of their customers by name. A steady stream of lunch customers came and went as Marshall Cooper and I visited on a recent weekday.

The joint is named after the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, a softail-style cruiser motorcycle. Fatboy's BBQ is described as "Biker owned, biker friendly" on their Facebook page. Both Shannon and Heather ride, though not as much as they'd like since they started the restaurant.

As a result, they started "Biker Night," so they could at least be around bikes even if they don't have the time to ride much. Biker Night will resume again on Saturday March 24 from 7pm-10pm, with music form the Delta Crossroads Band. It's BYOB and they will of course be selling BBQ. You can keep an eye on the Fatboy's BBQ Facebook page for more news and announcements through the spring and summer.

A pile of pecan wood sits beside the smoker at Fatboy's BBQ in Ladonia.

Our lunch at Fatboy's: The sampler platter including seven meats and two sides.

Marshall and I looked over the menu and gravitated toward the sampler platter. We got an amazing spread of meats (around a pound) and two sides for $11.50, including sliced brisket, chopped beef, pork sparerib, pulled pork, pork sausage, jalapeno sausage and smoked ham. Sides were Texas toast, potato salad and cole slaw, both recipes from Shannon's mom. We ordered an extra rib so we could each sample one.

The meats were bathed in pecan wood smoke, something you don't find a lot these days as joints cook hot and fast to meet demand, resulting in smokeless meats. There are no shortcuts for Shannon, it's old school Texas BBQ. No rubs or mops either. The meats are tender and full of flavor. Though you don't really need it, their BBQ sauce is very good as well, a family recipe from Shannon's dad that adds a little bite and flavor.

Fatboy's also offers a Psycho BBQ sauce, made with Naga Jolokia or Ghost peppers, among the hottest in the world. Of course Marshall had to sample it, I passed. He was blown away how it started sweet but morphed into pure heat. As we visited, a regular customer came by and ordered her "usual," a chopped beef sandwich with psycho sauce and jalapenos. That was impressive.

Left: Smoke pours out of the smoker at Fatboy's. Right: Pitmaster Shannon Bankston talks BBQ with the Posse.

Pecan wood stacked up near the smoker.

What impressed us the most was Shannon and Heather's devotion to being a great BBQ joint. As we arrived around noon, he was putting on the briskets for the next day. They'll cook until 8 a.m. the next day, a total of 20 hours. With the "hot and fast" revolution hitting some Central Texas joints, this isn't something you're seeing or tasting much these days.

Shannon says they set the alarm for every 3 hours during the night, alternating between him and Heather as to who gets the wakeup call to tend the smoker and check the meat during the wee hours. Fortunately they live next door to Fatboy's.

"People just don't realize how much work goes into it," Shannon says. "But we love doing it."

Marshall Cooper and Heather Hoff talk BBQ. 

Customers enjoy their meals at Fatboy's picnic dining area.

Fatboy's will be moving in early summer to Cooper, a town located 15 miles from Ladonia, between Paris and Sulphur Springs. They'll be moving their current building and smoker to the new site and have high hopes for the future. The new Fatboy's will be located on Hwy. 24, in an area with much higher traffic than they have now. Stay tuned to their Facebook page for news on the move, we'll keep you updated as well.

Fatboy's BBQ, 850 W. Dallas Ave, Cooper, 903-300-3287. Open Mon-Fri 10:30am-6 pm.

Co-owner and operator Heather Hoff takes a break during a BBQ Thursday at Fatboy's.

Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse