Two little known facts about Slow Bone BBQ, the newest joint in Dallas

One of these places sells BBQ & one doesn't. Can you guess which is which? (Photo ©Chris Wilkins)

Every couple of weeks I've been cruising by the new location of Slow Bone BBQ, checking for signs of life. This is the joint started up by Maple & Motor owner Jack Perkins, located on the corner of Wycliff and Irving Blvd.

When word of the opening came out via CultureMap's Teresa Gubbins on January 1st, the Dallas food blogosphere lit up. After his highly successful run at the celebrated burger restaurant, Perkins was ready to take on the steadily improving Dallas BBQ scene.

I won't rehash everything that flew back and forth after Perkins basically said that cooking good brisket is pretty simple, but here's an excellent recap by Dallas Observer food critic Scott Reitz on City of Ate. If you're into the Texas BBQ scene, this was entertainment at its best.

A disappointing visit to Casstevens Cash & Carry barbecue in Lillian

A customer walks into Casstevens Cash and Carry BBQ in Lillian. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

Casstevens Cash and Carry is a BBQ joint I had been wanting to visit for several years. Located in an old Diamond Shamrock gas station in the tiny unincorporated town of Lillian, Casstevens made the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ list in 2008.

That's as good as it gets for Texas barbecue restaurants, unless of course you make their prestigious top 5. Just ask Kerry Bexley at Snow's BBQ in Lexington. Once they were named top joint in Texas in 2008, life was never the same.

Here's what Texas Monthly had to say about Casstevens in 2008, "Though several tables have been added since we last wrote about this obscure gem at a Diamond Shamrock station (there’s no sign outside to advertise the unbelievably good ’cue within), it’s still hard to snag a seat at Casstevens. The reason? Mesquite-smoked meats, including thick hunks of brisket that are generously rubbed with garlic, salt, and pepper before they’re left to blacken in the two huge pits for fifteen hours."

Video: What the Posse looks for in great Texas BBQ

A diner eats his lunch at City Meat Market in Giddings. (Photo ©Guy Reynolds)

Here's the third video from our Best of Texas BBQ Tour multimedia package on dallasnews.com. In this piece, Gary Jacobson, Jim Rossman, Bruce Tomaso and me talk about what we look for in great Texas barbecue.

When we sit down to a plate of brisket, ribs and sausage, here are the basic criteria used to judge what we're eating: Taste, tenderness, appearance, texture and smokiness.

Click the video below to see more of our tips on judging great Texas BBQ.

The 10 top posts of all-time on the Texas BBQ Posse blog

Posse members toast at Loco Coyote Grill in Glen Rose during our Brazos & Beyond BBQ Tour. (Photo©R.J. Hinkle)

We missed a couple of important Posse milestones recently. So, forgive us a few moments of backslapping as we catch up.

The very first item on this blog was posted March 7, 2010, just over three years ago. It likely will never be a trivia question, like "what was the first video played on MTV?" (Answer: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.)

But, still, it's kinda sentimental to us. The item was about our first trip to the Central Texas BBQ Heartland, which began with brisket for breakfast at Snow's. Until then, we didn't know what good barbecue was.

Video: How to plan your own Texas BBQ Tour

       The posse samples meats during our first trip to Franklin BBQ. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/The Texas BBQ Posse)     

When it comes to Texas BBQ tours, the Posse has a few tips to share with our readers.

We've had 12 BBQ tours since 2009, covering around 5,000 miles. Our last trip, the Best of Texas BBQ Tour, covered 700 miles and 10 top Texas BBQ joints over 48 hours.

Tip no. 1: Do your research and planning, have an agenda. Check out website's like Daniel Vaughn's Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog. Daniel has been to every BBQ joint in Texas and he can save you a trip to a pretender. In fact, his book The Prophets of Smoked Meat will be released in mid-May

Tip no. 2: Pace yourself, don't over eat at any spot, IE: judge but nibble. If it's not any good, stop eating the save room for the good joint down the road. (Think wine tasting.) Try to have some down time between stops.

Tip no. 3: No sides if going to a bunch of joints in one day, we learned that on our first tour four years ago. It just takes up room when you need to be enjoying great smoked meats.

Tip no. 4: Be on the look out for surprises along the way, follow the smoke. A great BBQ surprise is worth the trip itself.

Click the video below to get our tips on planning a great Texas BBQ tour.

Bikes, Blues and Barbecues: A father and son hit the Texas BBQ Trail on 2 wheels

Tim Landauer poses in front of the Texas Capitol, left. Son Robby rides between Taylor and Austin. 

Here at Posse headquarters, we've been feeling pretty good about ourselves and the nearly 700-mile Best of Texas Tour that we did -- by car -- over a long weekend.

Then we got an email from Tim Landauer, a North Texas resident who, with his son, Robby, took a 6-day, 276-mile tour of the Central Texas barbecue heartland by bicycle last May.

They ate at five of the same joints we did and arrived at the same conclusion: "Franklin's is the best we had," Tim wrote.