Pecan Lodge BBQ has been getting a lot of publicity the last few years. After a recent article I read in the Dallas Morning News that ranked Pecan Lodge as the second best BBQ joint in the state, I decided to make a trip to downtown Dallas. This restaurant, located in shed #2 at the Dallas Farmers Market, has also been reviewed very favorably by several other publications. It even appeared on a episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network. Below are some of the accolades it has received since opening its doors in 2010:
My wife and I decided to see what all the buzz was about and headed that direction on a recent Thursday morning while we were off on spring break. We arrived at 10:30 and there was already a line of about 75 people in front of us, anxiously awaiting the 11:00 a.m. opening. I had heard rumors of long lines and waits up to 2 hours, but I never imagined this would be the case on a Thursday morning. Don’t these people have jobs? Who knows, maybe they are all educators off on spring break too.
 |
| The line behind me prior to the restaurant opening |
By the time Pecan Lodge opened at 11:00 a.m., the line was well over 200 people deep. My wife thought I was crazy for wanting to get there at 10:30, but it turns out we were lucky we got there when we did. We also had some friends that met us at Pecan Lodge and kept us company in line. The line did not move very fast, but time did seem to fly by while we conversed with our friends. My wife kept my oldest daughter occupied by giving her ice cream. Yes, she gave my daughter ice cream before lunch. I know that my wife just wanted to make sure my daughter was getting her proper servings of calcium. We are both waiting for the official notification of her Mother of the Year Award for 2013.
 |
| As they run out of items, they place an x on the chalk board beside the item. |
A little after noon, we finally arrived at the register to place our order. I was disappointed to find out that they were already out of pork ribs, which were highly praised. No worries, there were plenty of other items on the menu I wanted to try. We ordered brisket, beef ribs, “Hill Country” sausage, jalapeno cheddar sausage, Fried Okra, and West Texas Pinto Beans. Since I had been waiting in line for over an hour and a half, I couldn’t wait to dig in.
 |
| Brisket and Beef Ribs |
 |
| Loved this sausage! |
The brisket was absolutely smoked to perfection, had a perfect smoke ring, and was one of the top three briskets I have ever had. The beef ribs were perfectly seasoned, very juicy, and the meat was falling off the bone. I was also impressed with their two types of sausages, which they make themselves unlike most of the other BBQ joints. Both were flavorful, but I particularly liked the extra kick that the jalapeno cheddar sausage had. Even the beans were out of this world tasty. The fried okra was good too, but paled in comparison to the beans. If you absolutely have to have BBQ sauce on your meat, their sauce was pretty good but you are doing this meat a disservice by adding any sauce to it.
 |
| My meal on a plate. Everything on here was delicious. |
After eating at Pecan Lodge, I can honestly say that I finally found a great barbecue restaurant in the DFW area. Ever since I moved to the area in 2002, I have looked far and wide for good BBQ and finally my search has paid off. This place was far better than any of the DFW barbecue places I have tried and rivals some of the best in the central Texas. I would rate Pecan Lodge a 5 on a 5 point scale. I thoroughly enjoyed this dining experience and believe this place lived up to the hype. My wife raved about it on the way home and our friends seemed to really enjoy it as well. I don’t know how soon I will be willing to go back and stand in line for 90 minutes, but I will do it again sometime and order extra to take home!
 |
| The owner came out and put this sign on this gentlemen to inform those behind him that they were most likely out of luck today! |
No comments:
Post a Comment