Amanda is giving me hell for missing this. Shes like "the meatup is more important than your work!" I tried to explain to her that its my work that let's me afford her. Truth be told I think she might have a thing for klflowers & Panhead John IM WATCHING YALL....
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Pit of briskets at Terry Blacks in Lockhart. We talked to the pitmaster for over 20 minutes. They get their beef from Oklahoma and their average brisket pre trim is 25+ pounds each. His brother works over at Barb's BBQ.
My lunch of fatty brisket, burnt ends, pork rib, cheddar cheese jalapeño sausage, coleslaw, onions, peach cobbler and a root beer. Very good.Comment
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It is rainy and dreary here in Houston and this thread is going to be the highlight of my weekend.
Wish I could have been there, but just wasn't in the cards this Spring.
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Sorry I missed it. My travel agent had other plans. SMHComment
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Day two on the kolache trail took me to Shipley Donuts.
The fruit filled were better than Dos Gatos. The jalapeno and cheese were good but Dos Gatos were better.
Lunch was Terry Blacks. The brisket was a little dry even for flat, but it would still cause a mile long line to form in Wisconsin. Along with the brisket we got ribs, very good. Turkey that was a good but not great example of turkey. The Jalapeno sausage was delicious. For sides we got the beans that were good, a potato salad that was a little bland for me, but Lisa liked it. And the Mac and cheese that was very good, but it's just a basic Mac and cheese done right.
For me, the real star was the peach cobbler. Perfect amount of sweet that just needed a scoop of ice cream to put you in food heaven.
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Several of us went to Terry Black’s in Lockhart today. I was torn between going to Austin with David today, or going with the rest of the group to Terry Black’s. So glad I went to Lockhart. As mentioned here before, the pit masters, along with everyone else, is so darn friendly. Several of us were staring through the screen to the pit room when we first got there. One of the nearby pit masters yelled, “y’all come on in!” We then spent a good 15 minutes inside while he explained their procedures for cooking their briskets and taking lots of pics.
BEEF RIBS
I ordered the pinto beans and Mexican rice for my sides, 1 jalapeño and cheese sausage link and 1 regular sausage link and 1 pork rib. I was also going to get a slice of brisket but here’s what happened. When ordering my meats I “joked” with the meat cutter about maybe getting a free burnt end, I was then going to order a slice of brisket. After asking about a free burnt end he said, “sure thing, I’ll fix you up”. I was expecting just a little corner cut, bite size piece. He proceeded to slice and slice and slice around the brisket point. He then put a large handful of burnt ends on my plate. Cool I thought, I’ll just have the burnt ends instead of a brisket slice, wondering how much they’d cost. I got to the register to pay, got my receipt and took a look……..there was NO CHARGE for all that brisket burnt ends he gave me. Wow, what a nice gesture! This is just one of the reasons I love Terry Blacks’s.
The free burnt ends I got….
NO BURNT ENDS ON MY RECEIPT….
On to the food….damn was that sausage good! The stuff I ate today was the best sausage I can remember eating in a long time! The ratio of jalapeño to cheese was perfect. The spice level was just right and the flavor of the cheese was just enough to notice without overpowering the sausage. Some places I’ve been to had so much cheese in them it masked the taste of the sausage…..and some had so little jalapeño in them it was hard to notice. My link of regular sausage was also damn good, full of flavor with a nice snap to the casing. Much better than what I had yesterday at the other place. The burnt ends were delicious! Tender with a nice dark crust, good seasoning and smoke flavor. My pork rib was also very good……beautiful bark and done just right, tender with a slight tug off the bone. The meats I had today, I’d put them up against any of the best joints in Texas. My sides were pretty decent but they can’t compete with some places like the Burnt Bean. If Terry Black’s would work on their sides, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to one day make The Top 10 List, or at least come close. Overall, when comparing things like food quality, decor, easy access to friendly pit masters and the ambience of Terry Black’s, it’s in my Top 2 of favorite BBQ joints.Last edited by Panhead John; April 18, 2026, 04:12 PM.Comment
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We ate at Barb’s today.
The top right was the green spaghetti and just below was the black bean charros and cornbread. In the center were the turkey, brisket, lamb chop and rib. At the top left was the upside down pineapple cobbler. The only thing that separates these places is personal preference. We had a record attendance this year.Comment
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After Micklethwaits I went to Parish BBQ for some Cajun influence. I got the brisket (best of the weekend for me), Pork Etouffe Boudin (pretty good boudin), brisket debris gravy over smoked gouda grits (very good, tastes like they used seafood stock for the grits), and crawfish cornbread dressing (very good). I'd say Parish BBQ did Louisiana proud.
Parish BBQ is a food truck located behind Batch Kolaches, a popular place in the area.
Large area in back of Batch, there was an event going on. There are two food trucks, Parish BBQ and Bummer Burritos.
Kid friendly
The line as I got there went fast but they were cutting some big orders and it took about 15 minutes to get my food after I ordered.
From the left: Brisket debris over smoked gouda grits, fried pistolette roll, crawfish cornbread dressing, pork rib (good flavor but falling apart), fatty brisket, pork etouffee boudin.
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I arrived home a little while ago. For a snack I ate the fried pistolette roll which is made from the kolache dough from Batch Bakery. It comes with Tabasco Hiney butter. I lightly heated it in the microwave and dang, this was great! Better than the pistolette rolls I can get around here. For those who don't know, a Pistolette is a fried roll (specifically a "pistolette roll" for some reason
) that is usually stuffed with etouffee. They are hella good!
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I can’t believe Panhead John missed your reference to "Tabasco Hiney". He’s been coasting ever since he appointed himself supreme leader.
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Last stop today and the longest line was a block away from Parish BBQ: KG BBQ. I've been here before but this Egyptian fusion BBQ is outstanding and today did not disappoint. Alas, Kareem wasn't there but he has a bigger staff than the last time I was here. It took about 10 minutes to get the food after ordering.
Menu board
From left: Pomegranate glazed ribs, lamb chop, chicken kabob - all was very good.
While awaiting the food I went next door to Oddwood Brewing for a beer: a porter called "Her Black Wings" which was good with the smoked meats.
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My take on Terry Black's. Great place, great people. Right before covid I wanted to order some sausages from them, but then covid hit and shipping costs skyrocketed. Fast forward to the last San Marcos meatup and I really enjoyed it. This time it looks like they upped the game even more. I thoroughly enjoyed it. When asked what I wanted to drink, I asked what time it was, and with no hesitation the clerk said it's 5:00 somewhere. So I got an Estrella. For my meal I got ribs (excellent), fatty brisket (almost Burnt Bean like), jalepeno and cheese sausage (excellent), turkey (pretty good), pinto beans (acceptable, needed hot sauce) and potato salad (meh).
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Hold on; this comes from a guy lacking in photo proficiency. I would like to see a group shot with names listed, or aliases, whatever.
Based upon the food photos, looks like everyone will put on 5 pounds over the weekend.Comment
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Really enjoyed Barb's BBQ today. Very friendly folks at the counter. Tried the brisket, Molotov pork rib, lamb chop, and a slice of turkey. Pork rib had great texture and bite. Lime zest is the kicker on the rib. Brisket was tender, moist with great bark. Lamb chop was very tasty, only comment that it was a touch salty on the rub. But I'd eat them again. I preferred Barb's to Burnt Bean.
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Dang it! The food pics are outstanding!!Comment
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More Barb’s.
First: we arrived right before 10AM and… NO LINE.
We still waited an hour, obviously, and by the time they opened the line was over an hour, but still.
Barbs is 180° opposite Terry Black’s, in feel, size, personality, everything. They are both excellent at what they do, it’s just different takes on the stuff. Black’s is a bbq factory, and a damn good one. Barb’s is a boutique, and a damn good one. And while both are bbq, they taste different. Pick the experience, and the taste, that you prefer.
I went simple and small on the meats; at Barb’s, for me, the sides are worth the calorie hit. I got a lamb chop, a single Molotov rib, and sides of green spagett their spelling) and pork stew. And the girl sold me on a corn bread!
I love lamb, and Mary Joan hates it. So I took my time and savored this beautiful rosemary crusted chop. The Molotov rib was excellent, but not perfect; a little mushy, I think. The green spagett… I just flat out dig that stuff. And the pork stew tasted like something I’d think up myself, in my own kitchen, when I’d toss stuff together and think, “Damn, if I was served that in a restaurant I’d be telling everyone about it!” So yeah, it’s a tautology, an ouriboros of an analogy, “if you like this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you’d like”… but, yeah, I like that sort of thing! The corn bread was really good, not too sweet and nice and moist, but it isn’t Ur-cornbread, it’s just really good cornbread.
Some of the other Barb’s plates:
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