Stressed. Rough week. What's a great BBQ place in Dallas/Arlington area?

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

So it's been a rough week, or FEW weeks. Son is turning 16, and we're leaving in a few minutes to take him to Dallas to go to Six Flags and such for a sorta treat.

I HATE theme parks most of the time anymore. Yay me.

So it's gonna be a 20 hour day by the time we get there. I think he wants to go to Texas de Brazil, I don't want that one, I want Fogo de Chao, we have Texas de Brazil 50 miles from our house, and I like Fogo better... but I'm sure The Wife is gonna make sure Fogo doesn't happen. That's a whole other long story...

But I'd like to try a good BBQ place in the area while we're there.

Twisted Root Burger Co. is one of my favorite places to go, but I dunno if we'll do that one or not.

So I'm kinda pissy, tired, irritated, now I gotta pack and drive 5 hours tonight down to Dallas (it's already 6PM). I hope the weekend gets better.

Give me something to look forward to - a real GREAT BBQ place in the area to try out, huh?

Thanks!

[glitchy]

Can’t offer any Dallas BBQ advice. but I do hope you have a better day tomorrow. If nothing else people watching at an amusement park can be entertaining. My guess is the best BBQ in Dallas is probably in Ernest ‘s backyard.

[Ernest]

I'm inclined to agree with there LOL

[Jerod Broussard]

fracmeister should know some great places

I had planned on some Saltgrass a couple weeks ago but issues with wheel locks on my vehicle had me headed out of Dallas ASAP.

[Huskee]

I moved this post from Off Topic to BBQ Joints & Steakhouses > Texas. Until you get more recommendations, and when you have a couple minutes, try scanning this main Texas channel here and see if there's any topics for the Dallas area.

Have fun!

[Huskee]

This list migth help: https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/th...ints-in-texas/

Also I've heard good things about Pecan Lodge, real smoked meats but not the wait-in-line-5-hrs kinda place. From what I understand it's more of a restaurant bar & grill atmosphere. Sounds like it might be more family-friendly in that regard.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Good point, Huskee, I shoulda mentioned - we're not waiting in line. I doubt I'll ever go to Franklin's, that kinda thing ain't in my future. I'd rather have "really good" and wait 15 minutes than "life changing" and wait 6 hours in a line.

Same problem I have with theme parks, or at least ONE of the problems...

[Texas Larry]

Don’t have much Dallas bbq experience, but you might check out Terry Black’s, based on this review by wcpreston.

https://youtu.be/rXqoexxl_H8

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Thanks for the link, I didn't catch this. Looks like Heim, Pecan Lodge and Terry Black's are all good options. Dunno if I'll convince The Wife, though. She doesn't like to spend a lot eating out, so... well. We'll probably end up with Wendy's or Burger King.

[glitchy]

Look at it this way, when you put your foot down and say we are eating somewhere nice, you'll be able to sleep more upright in the recliner reducing the reflux that could happen from over indulging :-)

[wcpreston]

I'm sorry my review of Pecan Lodge was not "good place." It was actually my least favorite on our tour. Brisket and ribs were OK, pulled pork was inedible, and the constant din of the announcement lady drove me insane. SO LOUD.

[fracmeister]

The best BBQ in Dallas is in Fort Worth.

[wcpreston]

Heim was better than Terry Blacks, IMO. So, yeah. But TB was still very good.

[T-bone]

Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse (Downtown area) are excellent choices. Cattleack BBQ in North Dallas is amazing, but it has limited hours and usually a line.

[Bruce Z]

I agree, I'v been to all 3, even had Pecan Lodge cater a birthday party. Hard Eight in Coppel by DFW Airport is above average.

[jfmorris]

The only BBQ I ever had in the Dallas area was at Hard Eight BBQ, mostly as it was convenient to my hotel and the airport. I liked it and would eat again. It even reminded me of Six Flags - you went through a turnstile outside and wound around past the BBQ pits and told the Pitmaster what meat you wanted on your tray, then they weighed it and you got your sides and drinks, then paid. They have several locations around Dallas.

[Oak Smoke]

Hard Eight is a good place to eat. We go to the one in Stephenville several times a year. It’s the real deal, pit smoked, and fresh. As I recall their onion rings are exceptional. There shouldn’t be much of a wait

[jfmorris]

Oak Smoke I agree - I think Hard Eight won't have a big wait, and the food was good. I was there for dinner on a week night though, while in Dallas on business.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Well, I'm not sure we'll make it anywhere for BBQ. I did talk her into Fogo for Saturday night, we're going to have a number of friends with us - turning it into a graduation, college sendoff, multiple birthday party, it looks like. Man, it's gonna be a loud group with a bunch Caribbean people - Caribbean people are... let's just say "boisterous" in groups.

But today is Six Flags, so I doubt we'll be out looking for BBQ tonight, it'll likely be late when we leave the park and we'll be dog tired, I'm sure. It'll probably be a drive-thru kinda dinner.

Yesterday we went to MicroCenter and I got to browse for a good long while and made some purchases, so that was nice. Then we went to Grapevine Mills and wandered for a few hours - dinner was at the food court, which unsurprisingly was terrible.

So anyways, unless I can convince her to stay until lunchtime Sunday and try something before we leave town, it doesn't look like "real Texas BBQ" is probably going to happen this trip. <sigh>

[Huskee]

I feel your pain. I recently went on a 9-day trip to central Kentucky then to Branson, MO and thought for sure I'd hit up 2 or 3 BBQ joints. I ate more Chick-Fil-A in that time than anyone should in a year and only 1 BBQ joint and it wasn't even that great. Trips have a way of flowing on their own and it's not always how we imagine. I hope you're able to enjoy the time you're spending with your family, you never know if one day you'll look back on this and wish you could repeat it.

[Ernest]

DogFaced PonySoldier There is drive through BBQ that's decent Rudy's. Ask for moist brisket. Other than that the only place I can recommend with reservation is Pecan Lodge

[Ernest]

I just refuse to eat out, especially BBQ.