Dallas - Fort Worth Mini Meat Up

[LA Pork Butt]

Well, Purc were charged with the responsibility of checking out BBQ joints in the Dallas - Fort Worth are for a possible October Meat Up. So,we began our long suffering sacrifice at Panther City BBQ in South Fort Worth which was rated #10 in Texas Monthly. Our next stop is Cattleack BBQ rated # 6. I don’t know how much longer we can endure this responsibility! LOL I sampled the Slammer and a side of Spicy Mac and Cheese along with the creamed corn. The Slammer is a giant bun filled with a layer of smoked bologna, then brisket, then pulled pork and finally topped with jalapeño cheese sausage. I consider it a bargain at $19. Here it is with a picture below and a commentary to follow.


I can’t eat as much as I could when I was younger, so what you see on the tray could feed me for 3-4 meals without eating the bun. What you see on top of the bun is a pork belly burnt end. It was good, but it was my 1st taste of that delicacy and I have nothing to compare it to. The Jalapeño cheese was good, but might be a little too cheesy for some. The pulled pork was flat, but maybe that had something to do with my LA Pork Butt Avatar. The brisket was cut about half inch or so thick very moist and had good flavor. I love fried bologna on white bread with mayo, but this is first taste of smoked bologna, I always wanted to so some myself, so this might push me over the hump. The pickled onions and the vinegar slaw below the onions were both good. The he spicy mac and cheese and creamed corn were both good, but they broke my spicy threshold and I broke out in a sweat. In fact I think the creamed corn was hotter that’s the spicy mac and cheese. Would I do it again? Absolutely! But, I think I would eat it as a sandwich with some of the fixings added. It reminds me of the Jasper I had at Meshach’s a number of years ago - more than you could eat.

Having eaten at the Burnt Bean in Seguin, I can see why they are rated # 4, but that’s isn’t a reason to stay away from Panther City. We’ll keep you posted on our continued sufferings and we work our way to Goldie’s at # 1! LOL

[Mosca]

Oh, Sunny. The sacrifice you’ve made!

If there’s a meetup in Dallas in October, keep it away from a Cowboys home game! (And if it’s in Lafayette, same with the Saints!)

[Jerod Broussard]

Lafayette is plenty distance from New Orleans to be safe. Baton Rouge maybe not so much.

[Jerod Broussard]

I made pork belly burnt ends last year. You'll eat your weight in those things and then wonder where they went cause they were just here sitting on the stove in foil.

[Purc]

LA Pork Butt and I had the same Southside Slammer sandwich with sides of the spicy cream corn and I had Flacos half baked loaded potato salad and 1 pork belly burnt end. This huge sandwich is a great way to sample 4 meats. The sausage was jalapeno cheese. This meal is plenty for two to share. My leftovers are for dinner tonight. Food was very good. Good value for the quality and quantity. Quick and pleasant service. Inside, outside and to go dinning is available. I will be back. Thanks to Sunny for suggesting we hit these Top 10 BBQ places in DFW.

The 5 pounds I have lost since the recent Texas Meat Up were just put back on with this meal.

[Panhead John]

How about pics of the outside and inside of the places you visit, their signage, maybe pics of the menu, people in line, waitresses in skimpy outfits, etc..Just a friendly suggestion….🤓

[LA Pork Butt]

Panhead John I fully intended to do that. We arrived about 10:45 and the open the doors before the 11am opening. Bill and I tried to get a bite sized of everything, but we couldn’t get the to move on that. Then we got to enjoying the food and talking. We left discussing what we should write and complete forgot. I’ll try to do better at the next place.

[Panhead John]

No problem Sunny, I’m glad y’all are sacrificing yourselves for the good of The Pit! Not many people would want to go through all that….🥸

[randy.56]

I'm feeling sorry for ya'll having to go through this. Don't know how you do it.

[Purc]

We don't shy away from taking one for the team.

[Purc]

Photos from the Panther City BBQ website
www.panthercitybbq.com

[Finster]

Two takeaways for me…
1. Market shortage on Turkey Breast seems a bit disconcerting to me for some reason.
2. Is there a BBQ place anywhere that doesn’t have banana pudding on their dessert menu?

[LA Pork Butt]

Finster The best I can offer you is a maybe on the banana pudding! LOL

[Troutman]

Purc Yea I was physically worn out by that experience. I literally crashed in my hotel room that night after suffering from the "meat flu". Back in the day I could do that and more easily but these days, forget about it.

[klflowers]

I'll have Hells Half Acre. For a few days lol

[Clark]

Be sure and check out Hutchins BBQ in McKinney. We were there last month and it is still terrific in every way.
You can walk into the pit areas and they will answer questions. The system is cafeteria style, with the meat cutters first, then the sides and drinks. Condiments are in the next room along with complimentary (delicious) warm peach cobbler and banana pudding. The meat servers have great personalities and will joke with you, instead of the bored look that is common in some places. Prices are much more reasonable than most I'm seeing on several bbq sites.

A manager was walking around constantly, checking with diners to make sure everyone was happy. All of the employees were friendly and seemed happy, which was a pleasant change from most business today.

You can't go wrong there. I've not eaten at their Frisco location so can't comment on it.

[LA Pork Butt]

I have eaten there and I would agree with your commentary. Lately I have been hearing that the Frisco place is better. The McKinney site is plenty good enough, so I am not sure the Frisco site merits a special for comparison purposes. But, maybe one day when it is convent. Both places are about a 45 minute drive.

[Sid P]

My wife and her Plano coworkers are huge fans of the Frisco location. They "drag" her there a couple times a year.

[Troutman]

Totally awesome guys👍👍👏👏👏. All three are on my list for sure. I’m slowly knocking off the top 10 and attempting to make a dent in the top 50. I’m all in on future meat-ups up there, count me in.

(so many places, so little time)

[Panhead John]

Mosca Hell, a lot of us in Texas didn’t know about Valentina’s! I learned a lesson though, next time I’ll be sure to read some online reviews as we get a little closer to the visit.

[Troutman]

Yea Valentina's was a shock to me as well. I ended up going to lunch in Schulenberg with PJ on Thursday on the ride up to San Marcos but had originally planned to go to Valentina's for lunch. I mean the new place hadn't even been opened a year. I was in the mood for some of their tacos. That said it's sometimes hard to predict your experience at any of these places. Sometimes you just hit a dud.

[Panhead John]

Oh, not a big deal but Texas Monthly does their Top 50 BBQ Joints every 4 years. The next one should be in 2026.

[Sid P]

Thanks guys, you’re doing the Lord’s work. There’s a good chance I’ll be in Plano in September, so I’m taking notes. Of course I’ll post about it in case anyone wants to meat up.

[LA Pork Butt]

Give me a shout when you come and maybe we can Meat Up.

[Sid P]

LA Pork Butt You and Purc will know well in advance.

[Mosca]

You should have come with us to #2 Interstellar in Austin. It was epic for sure. But I guess spelunking was on the menu that day.

Man, I’ve thought about that one. I hate that I gave up the trip to Austin to go to the caverns, but I am really glad that I went there. Either was an experience that I could only get in Texas.

I made the decision based on 1) the fact that I was completely stuffed and might not have been able to completely enjoy Austin, and 2) what I call The Disney World Principle: It’s not going anywhere. It will still be there next time. With #1 as the modifier, the decision to go to the caverns became more appealing, even as I sort of knew I was missing something else.

Of course, The Disney World Principle only works if you go back. So that die was cast a couple-t’ree weeks ago.

[Troutman]

Well at least you can say "I never got the food but I walked away with a tee-shirt"

[Mosca]

Dude that tee is awesome. Every time I see it I see you smiling. Thanks.

[Panhead John]

I agree Tom, I was stuffed also. The caverns were pretty spectacular, I’m glad I went!