Another list based on internet reviews. Take with a big grain of salt. In Texas, it puts San Antonio ahead of Houston and DFW. Austin is number one. I am surprised not to see 2M, Barbecue Station, or Pinkerton's on the SA list.
Remember folks, when it’s great BBQ you want, forget Houston, Tx….mosey on over to Tulsa or Honolulu! Yelp’s list last year was almost as laughable as this one. 🙄
Last edited by Panhead John; May 7, 2025, 02:20 PM.
Good grief! Looks like someone trying to cash in on Texas Monthly BBQ list popularity. Be careful who you let pick where you eat. What’s the old saying? You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can’t pick your friends nose. Anyway be picky who you listen to.
Don't sleep on Tulsa. You won't find much central Texas brisket there, its closer to Kansas City style. People I talk to in Tulsa really like a place called BurnCo, that makes unique barbecue. Ribs are all baby back. And everything they cook is on Hasty Bake charcoal/chunk smokers. Steven Raichlen visited there, and raved about their fatty.
Most of northeastern Oklahoma bbq is rooted in comp bbq. For some reason, comp really grew there.
We stayed in a small CO town and Wendys was #2. We ate at an Italian restaurant which wasn't listed and the food was fantastic. Disappointed that Denver didn't beat out Houston, what's wrong with Yelp?
This is an actual Yelp review for a Dickey’s BBQ location here in Houston…… Remember folks, when looking for the best BBQ anywhere, look no further than Yelp!
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I won't pay 2 cents for Yelp's opinion on anything, but surprisingly, I can't find a lot wrong with this list.
Honolulu leaves a big question mark. But upon further review, I watch a lot of Guy Fieri's Triple D, and he's been to some places in Hawaii that makes the mouth water. There's a lot of Asian fusion. But barbecue , hey, IDK bout that.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
Brooklyn, NY – Saul Feldman Reviews Texas Brisket
“Is It Brisket? Technically, Yes. Spiritually? That’s Complicated.”
*“Let me start with this: I’ve eaten more brisket in my life than most Texans have said the word ‘y’all.’ I’ve had brisket at Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, and one poorly timed bris. So when someone says ‘brisket,’ I don’t think of smoke—I think of Grandma Ethel, an overcooked pot, and a sauce so sweet it could put an insulin pump in a coma.
But Texas brisket? That’s a different animal. Still a cow, sure. But a different spirit.
They bring it out on butcher paper like it just got off parole. It’s got bark—what they call the blackened outside—that looks burnt but tastes like judgment in the best way. One bite and I understood why Texans look you in the eye when they eat: they’re daring you to flinch.
It’s smoked for half a day over oak, maybe mesquite, maybe some wood from a mythical tree that only grows behind the Alamo. It’s not boiled. It’s not braised. It’s not sitting in a pot next to two sad carrots and a collapsed onion. It’s commanding.
Let me be clear: it’s delicious. Deep, smoky, complex. You chew, and the flavor unfolds like a family argument—slow, intense, layered, with a hint of bitterness that somehow feels nostalgic.
But here’s the thing:
It’s not my brisket.
There’s no ketchup-based sauce. No Lipton onion soup mix. No tinfoil pan half-melted from four hours in the oven. No memory of Aunt Miriam complaining that hers was “too dry last year but this time I added a little Coke.”
Texas brisket is a performance.
Jewish brisket is a memory.
So is it brisket? Sure. Is it good? Absolutely.
But don’t tell me it replaces what I grew up with. One is barbecue. The other is therapy.
Still, if someone handed me another slice, would I eat it? What am I, meshuga? Of course I would. With both hands.”*
Warmly,
Saul Feldman
Critic, Eater of Things, Son of Ruth
Yelp’s list last year was almost as laughable as this one. 🙄
Remember folks, when looking for the best BBQ anywhere, look no further than Yelp!
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