pork

Order the smoked pork chop at Slow Bone BBQ

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Name: Slow Bone BBQ
Date: 9/9/25
Address: 2234 Irving Blvd, Dallas, TX 75207
Order: Quarter pound brisket, quarter pound sausage (jalapeno cheddar and black pepper), 1 bone smoked pork chop with collards and beans (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: This year, a lot of the places I’ve visited have been on last year’s Texas Monthly United States of Barbecue for best Texas-style places outside of the republic: Dampf Good BBQ, Shotgun Willie’s, Owens & Hull, City Limits Barbeque.

The latest version of Texas Monthly Top 50, the list released every four years for joints within the state, was released earlier this year. I don’t make it to Texas a ton but a work trip brought me to the Dallas area and after a quick scan of places that were open on a Sunday and made the top 50, I headed off to Slow Bone.

The smoked Berkshire pork chop headlines the proteins I tried that day

The Sunday/Monday special is a smoked Berkshire pork chop that takes 3 weeks to prep, from the initial seasoning to sitting uncovered in the walk-in cooler where it cures for two weeks before a light smoking and vacuum sealing for another week.

Then, on the day its being served it is crisped in the oven and then cooked on a flat top once its ordered. That might seem unnecessary to us lay folks, but the results seem to bear out the complex process. It was by far my favorite protein that day, juicy and full of flavor with a kick on the back end. It made me happy that circumstances put me there on a Sunday. Just look at this beauty:

Being solo, I opted to just try a quarter pound of the brisket and sausage in addition to the pork chop. I got each of the two varieties of sausage with the jalapeno cheddar and the black pepper. Both packed a nice kick, and made me wish I had gone ahead and ordered another Lone Star with my meal.

I don’t normally mention brisket last, especially at a Texas joint, but that’s not a knock on the brisket itself and more just a reflection on the quality and depth of the meats I tried at Slow Bone. This was a good, solid Texas brisket.

As for sides and accoutrement, each tray came with a savory hush puppy and a piece of honey cornbread. A nice combo of salty and sweet between the two. I have been on record for the 13+ years of this blog of loving a sweeter cornbread and this was S-tier. The collards and beans were solid but unspectacular compared with the rest of the platter.

Conclusion

Chef Jeffrey Hobbs and his team are doing great things at Slow Bone and based off my one visit their status on the Texas Monthly Top 50 is well deserved. The smoke Berkshire pork chop is in contention for my favorite barbecue bite of the year. Texas certainly does not lack for quality barbecue joints, but you can certainly do worse in the DFW.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork Chop – 5 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

A Thousand Words: Whole Hog, Take Two

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Monk: Last weekend, I cooked my second whole hog. I’ll be following up on my “Seven Things I’m Going to Do Differently” post in due time to update on how I did on each one, but in the meantime, here are some photos from the weekend.

I got the fire started shortly after 10 on Friday night and got the hog on about an hour later.

The Jon G’s Beer from Town Brewing was a good call for the cook on Friday night.

After an all night cook, the hog finished up early afternoon and I got ready to feed the 350 or so people who had RSVP’d to the event, which was officially the Second Annual Pig Roast for my neighborhood swim club. Last year, I had it catered but wanted to take on the official pig duties this year.

What a fun, tiring experience. I don’t know when my next hog will be, but I had a blast for this one.

My 5 favorite barbecue bites in 2025 so far

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Monk: It’s been a lighter year, barbecue-wise for me but I have managed to hit several big hitters across the southeast (including four restaurants on the Texas Monthly United States of Texas Barbecue list from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). I’m looking at it as trying a few worthwhile places instead of a bunch of mediocre ones, and hopefully in the second half of the year I’ll get to a few more places to round out my list by the end of 2025.

In chronological order, here are the best things I have eaten from the first half of the year:

Smoked half chicken from Union Barbecue (review from 2024)

Last year, the carnitas from Union Barbecue was one of my favorite bites of the year (not to mention the brisket and the out-of-this-world Big Deborah oatmeal cream pie). On a subsequent stop in January I tried the smoked half chicken topped with white sauce, salsa macha, and cilantro for a change of pace and found it to be a nice, lighter alternative to the heavier meats.

Pork from Shotgun Willie’s (review)

Shotgun Willie’s outside Nashville did a lot of good things fairly well – brisket, sausage, Brunswick stew – but their pork shoulder dusted with pork rub was my pick of the platter.

Smoked brisket burger from Dampf Good BBQ (review)

While there was a lot to like at Dampf Good BBQ earlier this year, the smoked brisket burger took the cake over the brisket, ribs, and sausage. So much so that I forgot to take photos of it until I had taken a few bites of the delicious burger made from smoked brisket trimmings and topped with cheese, pickles, and mayo on a potato bun. It was a special on that day, but be on the look out if you are checking them out in Cary.

Beef cheek from Owens & Hull (review)

I live by a simple rule: if I see beef cheeks on the menu, I’m going to buy it. Maybe I’ve been lucky but the two places I’ve tried – Palmira Barbecue in Charleston and Owens & Hull in Smyrna – have put out some seriously tasty renditions that are must orders at their respective restaurants.

Chopped pork with crispy skins from City Limits Barbeque (review)

Robbie Robinson mixes in pork belly with his whole pork shoulders and then chops in some crispy skin to finish it off. It’s going to take a lot to knock this sandwich from the West Columbia restaurant off its perch as my favorite bite of barbecue in 2025. Honorable mentions to the barbecue hash and the sweet jalapeno pimento cheese.

City Limits Barbeque has my favorite bite of the year

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Name: City Limits Barbeque
Date: 6/14/25
Address: 1119 Methodist Park Rd, West Columbia, SC 29170
Order: Quarter pound brisket, half pound chopped pork, chopped pork sandwich with crispy skins,1 mild sausage link, hash and rice, sweet beans, collards, shells and cheese, jalappeno pimento cheese (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Have you been to a James Beard-nominated barbecue joint? There are only but a few of those around, so chances are you might not have. How about one that’s been nominated as a semifinalist twice in two years, believed to be the only joint to have that distinction? Well if you’ve been to City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia, SC, you can say that you have. It may also hold the distinction to be perhaps the only James Beard nominee to display their nomination next to a loaf of Wonder Bread:

My visit to City Limits had been years in planning before I finally made the trip. I had previously met owner and pitmaster Robbie Robinson through Garren Kirkman of Jon G’s but had only tried his food once before: his barbecue hash over Carolina Gold rice at last year’s Carolina Barbecue Festival in Charlotte. It was one of my favorite bites of the festival and on this day was a close second to my favorite bite of the day and possibly the year.

Speaking of which, the chopped pork sandwich with crispy skins mixed in holds that particular distinction. Robinson smokes pork shoulders as well as pork bellies over direct heat with just a salt rub and chops them together. You can choose whether to have the skins mixed in or not, but I beg you to please get the crispy skins mixed in. It’s then placed upon a nice hefty bun that can withstand the generous portion and you won’t be disappointed. I certainly wasn’t.

In addition to being a James Beard nominee, City Limits also has the distinction of being one of the top 50 Texas barbecue joints outside of the state of Texas according to Texas Monthly. I tried a slice of the fatty brisket and while Robinson wasn’t thrilled with the look of the slice I got when I spoke with him at the register, it was more than solid. Being a Texas-style joint, there were a couple of house made sausages on the menu, and I went with the mild hot link which was above average like the brisket. A few days later, I put these two leftovers together into a fold over on a piece of white bread with a dill pickle and had a great snack.

All of the sides at City Limits are scratch made, and there wasn’t a miss in any of the ones I selected: sweet (pinto) beans, shells and cheese, and collards which were Mrs. Monk-approved. I can’t forget to mention the jalapeno pimento cheese, which we saved to eat a few days later during our week at the beach.

Robinson likes to say that it’s better than the pimento cheese at the Masters, and after visiting myself earlier in the year for the first time I can’t disagree. My only complaint was that I didn’t buy a bigger tub of it; it’s a must get.

Unfortunately, Robbie and team (all of which were able to attend the awards ceremony in Chicago with him in person) did not take home the award for Best Chef: Southeast last Monday; instead it went to Jake Howell of Peninsula in Nashville. However in this case it’s not cliche to say that it’s an honor just to be nominated; particularly when its twice in two years.

If you get there during or just prior to the lunch rush at City Limits Barbeque, be prepared for roughly a two hour wait; that was our experience getting there at 10:30am Saturday before an 11am open. Another potential approach would be to wait until 2 or 3pm once the rush has died down. You may risk some items being sold out, but this past weekend I saw someone was still able to nab a beef rib so you never know.

In any case, don’t be a dummy like me and delay your visit to City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 5 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Barbecue Hash – 5 hogs
Sides – 5 hogs
Overall – 5 hogs