Dallas

Pecan Lodge – Dallas, TX

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Name: Pecan Lodge
Date: 10/12/14
Location: 2702 Main St, Dallas TX 75226
Order: 1/2 pound of brisket, 1/2 pound of pork ribs, mac & cheese, fried okra (link to menu)
Bill: $25

Rudy:  I don’t make it up to Dallas very often, so when we planned a trip to the Texas State Fair in October, a visit to Pecan Lodge was an absolute must. Texas Monthly listed it as one of the top 4 barbecue joints in the state, so I had high hopes going in. Spoiler alert for the rest of the review: my expectations were more than met.

Pecan Lodge began in the Dallas Farmers Market, but recently opened it’s own brick and mortar location. Having experienced some of the long lines for top places in Austin, I didn’t want to run the risk of getting a place too far back in line, so I got there at 8:20 in the morning.  Sometime after that, many of the employees showed up. The next person in line showed up at 9:30, and at 10:30 the line was only 20 deep. So yeah, I was a little over-zealous, but at 11:00, the line was around the block.

The atmosphere, while waiting for Pecan Lodge to open, was the most unique and the least enjoyable aspect of my visit, but something I wouldn’t hold against the restaurant. The second guy that showed up came dressed like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation, all the way down to the hat and probably the metal plate in his head, which made for great conversation. At one point he had to grab something from his car, and as a way to thank me for holding his spot, he brought me a warm homemade beer in a plastic water bottle. I politely declined.

Monk: Aw man, you should have tried the “beer.” At the very least, it would have made for a good story.

Rudy: Then about 45 minutes before opening, the store owner across the street (who is a vegetarian) began blasting cow mooing sounds. If it was an attempt to run off business, it didn’t have the intended effect. Pecan Lodge had a line all around it’s building, and this guy had nobody enter his antique store.

The best part of arriving early and being first in line, was getting to ring the dinner bell that hangs at the cash register, thus signaling they were open for business. I rung the bell, ordered, and found a seat.

Monk: Awesome! I only wish you had a photo capturing yourself doing this.

Rudy: I know, it would have been cool. When I got to the front I was worried about holding up the line, so I felt in a hurry.

One cool thing that Pecan Lodge offers is an express lane for people ordering in bulk, plus a bar that you can sit at and order as well. This is a great way to get as many people through the lines as possible.

I knew right away that the brisket was going to be amazing. It came in 2 big thick cuts, which kept it moist. There was a great amount of bark and seasoning, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The fat was perfectly rendered and just melted in my mouth. If the line wasn’t so long behind me, I would have gone up and gotten more. It was everything that I had dreamt it would be and more.

Next came the ribs. Normally I skip ribs and go for sausage, but for some reason I decided to try the ribs here, and it was a great decision. Many times they can be dry or not very meaty, but that was definitely not the case here. There was so much meat on these ribs, they were moist and had a slight sweet taste to them. There was plenty of tug on them, so they didn’t fall apart, but the meat was tender and cooked perfectly. They were by far the best ribs that I have had and would be reason enough to go back.

Pecan Lodge offered a bit more than the typical sides of beans and potato salad. I opted for the mac & cheese and fried okra. Both of them were good, but not great. I think it was hard for either of them to stand out when they were being compared next to the brisket and the ribs.

Overall Pecan Lodge lived up to all the hype. The brisket and ribs were unbelievable and it had a great atmosphere. Considering you don’t have to get there 3 hours before opening (even though I came close) to enjoy such incredible barbecue, I think they could take over my top ranking. They are every bit as good as La Barbecue and Franklin’s, I only wish they were closer to me.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance –  5 hogs
Brisket – 5 hogs
Ribs – 5 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 5 hogs
Pecan Lodge on Urbanspoon
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Linkdown: 10/29/14

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– Creative Loafing: Is there an Atlanta barbecue? With quotes from our friend Grant from Marie, Let’s Eat (via)

But is there an “Atlanta style” of barbecue? Arguably the unofficial capital of the South, Atlanta should be known as a barbecue mecca the way Memphis is, right? Or Austin? Hell, even Lexington, N.C. — with a population of fewer than 20,000 — is more of a bona fide barbecue destination than we’ve ever been. Atlanta is situated in the heart of barbecue country, but when you ask some of the area’s best barbecue bloggers and chefs to explain the city’s place in the wider world of ‘cue, you get more hemming and hawing than from a pitmaster being grilled on what’s in his top-secret rub.

– Speaking of Atlanta, the latest barbecue stops for Marie, Let’s Eat are Poole’s Bar-B-Q, Joe’s BBQ, and Sam’s BBQ-1 West

– In this past weekend’s third annual Tempeh Challenge in Asheville. a tempeh from The Bom Bus captured the People’s Choice Award with “its black bean tempeh and North Carolina-style barbecue sauce served with sweet potato mash and sweet potato chips”

– Eight years in, southern Californian Carolina Panther Ryan Kalil knows the difference in barbecue between the two areas…kinda

Q. What has become your favorite Southern tradition?

A. Barbecuing’s a big deal in southern California and it is here, too.

Q. Different styles though, right?

A. Different style, different lingo. Like back home you say, ‘Are you going to a barbecue?’ Here you say, go to grill out. I’m like, ‘Grill out?’

Q. What’s the food at a California barbecue?

A. Different kinds of burgers, steaks. Here it’s like pulled pork.

– A video feature on The Great NC BBQ Map from High Point’s Fox 8

– WRAL’s pick for favorite entree at this year’s NC State Fair was a barbecue sundae

Carthage’s own Pik-N-Pig offers the best entree option at the N.C. State Fair – The Barbecue Sundae. Now, it isn’t a traditional ice cream sundae. It is more like a barbecue parfait with layers and layers of goodness. The barbecued pork is topped with a layer of baked beans, then a layer of coleslaw. Just add your favorite sauce on top (we like a mix of both sauces), and you are all set. Served in a convenient 20 oz. plastic cup, you are able to walk and eat quite easily with this blend of sides and meat. Don’t be surprised if you end up finishing it, because it is not nearly as heavy as it sounds.

– WRAL also reviews The Fire Pit, a new barbecue restaurant in Wake Forest

– On Sunday, Sam Jones hits Dallas with his brand of North Carolina whole hog awesomeness for Dia de los Puercos

– More info on Dia de los Puercos from TMBBQ themselves, noting that the “hogs that Samuel Jones will be cooking are a Texas-raised heritage breed,” plus this cool photos

– Lexington is #4 on this list of the 12 meat cities in the US, and for good reason:

Of the many “barbecue capitals of the world,” Lexington is by far the smallest. There’s a barbecue restaurant (19) for every thousand people, and most are world class.

– Finally:

Linkdown: 4/23/14

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– Giving a whole other meaning to barbecue hash, the owner/operator of Smokey’s BBQ in Dallas, NC charged for selling marijuana in and around his restaurant

– The NCAA recently allowed unlimited snacks for “student-athletes” and this article runs down the best advantages gained by schools due to local cuisine (many of which are not coincidentally barbecue)

NC State: The Wolfpack will attempt to turn the ACC’s best prospects away from Tallahassee by offering unlimited whole hog barbecue and vinegar-based sauce from The Pit in Raleigh. The toughest recruiting battles on Tobacco Road will be between NC State and North Carolina, which will attempt to lure recruits with fried chicken-and-cheddar biscuits from Chapel Hill’s Time-Out (available 24 hours a day, of course).

– A Barbecue Bros hometown joint gets a shout out from The Great NC BBQ Map

– Is Durham becoming a barbecue mecca? BBQ Jew thinks so.

– The Barbecue Bros tend to stay out of political debates and focus on barbecue, but this final paragraph in a story about last night’s debate of GOP candidates for Senate in NC caught our eye

In a lightning round at the end of the debate, the candidates were asked to pick their favorite style of North Carolina barbecue. Three picked Lexington, which is built around a vinegar-based red sauce.

“I love it all,” said Tillis, smiling coyly.

– The latest stops on Marie, Let’s Eat!’s epic NC barbecue road trip finds him in Hill’s Lexington Barbecue in Winston-Salem, Deano’s in Mocksville, and Carolina Bar-B-Q in Statesville; gotta say I’ve definitely enjoyed reading about Grant’s NC travels (barbecue-related and not) the past few weeks