Pecan Lodge-Deep Ellum

I do not usually have multiple blog posts about the same restaurant, but I decided to make an exception for Pecan Lodge.   The restaurant was recently forced out of it's location in the Farmers Market and had re-opened this past Friday in Deep Ellum.  My first visit to Pecan lodge was blogged about in 2013.  In that blog post, I declared that Pecan Lodge was the best barbecue in Dallas.  Texas Monthly later agreed with me and voted it the #2 ranked barbecue joint in Texas behind Franklin Barbecue in Austin.  Pecan Lodge has also been praised by several other publications and featured on more than a few TV shows, so pitmaster/owner Justin Fourton continues to be one of the busiest guys in the barbecue business.

By 11:00 a.m. the line was getting long

My brother and I arrived at the Deep Ellum location at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday and we were surprised that there were only thirty or so people in line.  By the time the restaurant opened at 11:00 a.m., the line was easily over 150 people and snaked around the block.  Once again, I felt like we timed our arrival just right.  When the restaurant opened, the line moved fairly quickly and we were able to order by 11:20.  

Pecan Lodge Bar and Dining Area

The new restaurant features ample dining space and a bar that serves local craft beer.  It also has an outdoor patio area with additional space for patrons to dine.  Although I am usually nostalgic about original restaurant locations, I immediately saw that the move from the Farmers Market to Deep Ellum was a good one.

The Menu

On this visit, I ordered brisket, pork ribs, jalapeño and cheddar sausage, and the daily special of burnt ends.  Since I needed something to offset the massive amounts of meat, I ordered some fried okra because it had been fantastic on a previous visit.  The slow-cooked brisket was excellent and just as good as it had been on my previous visits.  My slices were smoked to perfection and the fatty slices almost melted in my mouth.  The house made sausage was also delicious, but plays second fiddle to many of the other meats.

Burnt ends are my favorite barbecue item and I order them every time I see that someone has them on the menu.  I have had some great burnt ends in my life, but the ones at Pecan Lodge are out-of-this-world amazing.  When I looked back and tried to remember all the great burnt ends I have sampled, I honestly can't remember any that I have had that were as good as the ones I tried on this visit to Pecan Lodge.

Amazing Burnt Ends, Jalapeño and Cheddar Sausage Link, and Fried Okra

During my previous visits to Pecan Lodge, they had ran out of pork ribs prior to my arrival at the counter.  I was pleased that I finally got to sample the pork ribs and I was was blown away with this menu item as well.  They had an excellent smoky flavor, easily pulled off the bone, and even had an excellent bark on them.  

Considering the fact that this was only the second day that Pecan Lodge was open at this new location, Justin Fourton deserves kudos for the consistency and quality of the meat.  There is little doubt in my mind that the new location in Deep Ellum will be an even bigger attraction than the previous location.  One of my best friends got hitched a couple of weeks after this visit and we took him to Pecan Lodge for his last meal as a free man (picture below of what the four of us shared).  This place keeps getting better with every visit and is peerless in the DFW area.

Meal we had two weeks after this first visit-Burnt Ends, Sausage, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Brisket, Okra, Mac n' Cheese, and Cole Slaw

Pecan Lodge

http://www.pecanlodge.com

Livin the good Life Rating =5

Pecan Lodge BBQ

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:

Texas Monthly BBQ Newcomer 2012

Five Stars- Full Custom Gospel BBQ

South's Best Butt -Southern Living Magazine, June 2012

Best BBQ in Dallas -Best of Big D 2011, 2012, D Magazine 

Best BBQ in Dallas- Best of 2011 List, Dallas Observer

Best New Restaurant Award Winner 2010, D Magazine

Diners Choice Award Winner, Chefs For Farmers 2011 

Best Ribs Award Winner, 2010 Oak Cliff BBQ & Bandits Cookoff

Dallas Eater's 38 Essential Restaurants List- # 4: Pecan Lodge

City of Ate's 100 Favorite Dishes List- # 27: Sliced Brisket at Pecan Lodge

BBQ Posse’s Top BBQ Restaurants in Texas-#2: Pecan Lodge

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!