Bartley's BBQ

Ever since Texas Monthly came out with their most recent ratings of the Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas, I have been anxious to try Bartley's BBQ in Grapevine.  When the issue of Texas Monthly first came out, I was surprised to see it on the list because I thought I knew of all the highly touted barbecue joints in the Metroplex.  After doing a little research, I also found that D Magazine also had it ranked # 7 on their list of The Best Barbecue in Dallas (That's Not Really in Dallas).  My brother and I usually meet up and eat lunch at least one Saturday a month.  Since neither of us had ever been to this joint, we decided we would try Bartley's this past weekend.

We arrived at Bartley's just a couple of minutes after they opened.  The restaurant is located in strip mall and doesn't have the ambiance of your typical barbecue joint.  I ordered the three meat plate with sliced brisket, turkey, and hot links.  For my sides, I got pinto beans and green beans.  I also picked up some pecan cobbler, which happens to be one of my favorite desserts when cooked well.

3 Meat Plate with Brisket, Turkey, and Hot Links

The brisket had a nice crust and a noticeable smoke ring, but it was really chewy and dry.  I usually like going for barbecue right when a joint opens because the barbecue is usually right off the smoker and hasn't been sitting around long.  The flip side of going early is that you also run the risk of getting served yesterday's meats that were not sold.  I am afraid that the brisket on this day may have been the latter.  The turkey had a nice Cajun rub on it, but I didn't taste a hint of smoke and it was also dry.  The hot links and sides were both pretty unremarkable and very bland.  I was also served a hot roll with my meal that tasted great and was much better than the meats.

Unremarkable Green Beans and Pinto Beans

My brother got the rib plate and gave me one of them.  They had a sweet glaze to them and a were very flavorful.  The problem with them was that they were very tough and hard to get off the bone.  Toughness aside, they were the best meat I had at Bartley's.

Since I was disappointed with my meal, I didn't have high expectations for the dessert.  After the first bite of pecan cobbler, I knew that I had nothing to worry about.  The pecan cobbler was absolutely perfect and was some of the best I have ever had.

Pecan Cobbler

Despite the greatness of the dessert, I was very disappointed in this joint.  For the life of me, I will never understand how this place made the Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue Joints and a place like Smitty's did not make the list.  In my opinion, this place is highly overrated by Texas Monthly.  If you have eaten here and disagree, please feel free to comment on this post.

Bartley's BBQ
http://www.bartleysbbq.com/
Livin The Good Life Rating = 1