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.
“Barbecue will be well represented at the awards ceremony. Many pitmasters have celebrated their invitations publicly, and a few others have informed me they were included. All of our top ten barbecue joints in major metro areas have been invited, including Goldee’s Barbecue and Panther City BBQ, in Fort Worth; Truth Barbecue, in Houston; Franklin Barbecue, LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, and Interstellar BBQ, in Austin; Cattleack Barbecue, in Dallas; and, of course, Burnt Bean Co. In addition to Barbs B Q, 2M Smokehouse and the Barbecue Station in San Antonio, Brisket & Rice in Houston, Corkscrew BBQ and Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q (the only truck on the list) in Spring, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya in Austin, Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, and Smoke’N Ash BBQ in Arlington are also in the running.”
That is so cool! Not they needed it, but the Michelin selections just goes to show you, Texas Monthly usually gets it right. I’ll be scanning the web on November 11 to see who wins a star. I’m rooting for The Burnt Bean myself. I honestly think they’re worthy.
The local news talked about this prior to our Meat Up but they didn't have the complete list. LA Pork Butt and I are planning a trip to Cattleack in the next few weeks. We have already been to Panther City. I need to try Smoke'N Ash BBQ since they are only 30 minutes away.
Thanks for sharing.
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.
Panhead John I have to agree. It’s a total package: food, service, innovation, atmosphere, and hospitality. Interstellar fits that, as well. It will be interesting.
As much as I love Barb’s, I don’t think it deserves a star, and getting one might destroy it (like being on DDD killed a lot of restaurants). Chuck is having trouble serving the customers she gets, only two days a week. She couldn’t scale things up enough to handle the business. She really needs management help. The food is absolutely worth the wait, though. The next time I go there, I’ll try for half an hour earlier; that half hour while closed is worth a full hour after the doors open.
Burnt Bean for the win in my book. But I haven't been to many of the others. I thought Terry Black's was a close second. I need to spend more time down there
If anyone’s interested, YouTube will be live streaming the awards ceremony, held right here in Houston, at 7pm Central Time Zone. Apparently there are16 Texas BBQ joints that were invited to attend. The results will be posted here in this link later courtesy of Culture Map, if you don’t want to watch the ceremony.
Missed out on one of the coveted invites for Monday night’s ceremony that will reveal which Texas restaurants are included in the state’s first ever Michelin Guide? Fear not.
Last edited by Panhead John; November 11, 2024, 06:15 PM.
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.
This Michelin stuff is wild. There are several lists, all with different foci. You have:
Michelin Star (15, of which Houston got six)
Michelin Green Star (2)
Bib Gourmand (45)
Recommended (57)
As you get down into the "Recommended" category, they start getting interesting. 'Brisket and Rice' caught my eye so I went to look it up.....and it is in a.....gas station?!
Some of the best fried chicken is in Texas gas stations....why not brisket?
The first MICHELIN Guide Texas selection has been revealed, and it features 15 one-MICHELIN-Star establishments and two MICHELIN Green Star eateries. The
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.
Looking at the qualifications for each Star level, I agree with most of them, but I would say that Burnt Bean and Interstellar are equal. My guess is that the distinction between the two has more to do with location, and the qualification for each level: One Star means “worth a stop,” whereas Bib Gourmand means “friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.” Since the Michelin visit was partially funded by a $2.7 million grant from the state, with half of that coming from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas, and the whole idea is tourist related, it makes sense. If I were in Austin, I wouldn’t travel to Seguin SPECIFICALLY to go to Burnt Bean! But if I’m near there? Damn right I’m going to Burnt Bean.
It’s interesting that Barb’s, with its limited space, seating, hours, menu, and location outside the target cities, got a Bib Gourmand. At a certain point you have to wonder if some hype is kicking in. I love the place, but I’ll only wait in line so many times to get the same food I had before. And as far as friendliness, on our first visit everyone was very friendly, but that slowed down the line; on our most recent visit, they were trying to be friendly while working at 100% speed, and it felt rushed. Be more friendly and service suffers, or provide better service at the expense of friendliness? If you have to make that choice, that’s a sign of trouble to me. (That being said, Barb’s would be one of the places I’d take a Texas BBQ newcomer to, just to compare the experience to BB, Interstellar, T Black’s, etc.)
It does not surprise me that the City of San Antonio contributed so much. After being named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017, they have really leaned into that.
(There are only 49 in the world and only two in the United States; the other is Tucson that received the designation in 2015.)
Wow.....so yesterday Kâu Ba in Montrose won one of the Bib Gourmand awards. Today it issues a press release that it has closed. (Apparently, it has been closed for several weeks.) Its assets were purchased and the new owners will be replacing the restaurant with a new Peruvian-Vietnamese concept named Alora.
Not to take away from the honor of being able to boast of obtaining recognition from Michelin but with it comes the problems which has been written about for decades.
“Michelin still holds a withered widow’s grip on the aspirations of cooks. Few will criticize the guide publicly. Privately, there are many who despair of its limited scope, its snobbery, its fatty favorites. Off the record, one starred chef told me that he dreaded its annual publication not because he might lose his status but because for the next month the booking would be full of customers with faces like smacked bottoms who complained about everything. He says the temperature in the dining room drops until you can almost see your own breath. Michelin has produced a legion of miserable gourmands, people who care more about the valet parking than conviviality—which I suppose was rather the point in the first place.”
And, outside of Europe and some major urban centers there still is that pay to play thingee that hangs over these new area guides.
As far as BBQ in Texas is concerned, I put more faith in Texas Monthly than I do Michelin. Not to take away from the winners, but I was surprised by a few of the awards. And Donw is correct about the “pay to play” aspect. Texas had to pony up over a million dollars for them to produce the Texas Guide.
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.
Wow.....so yesterday Kâu Ba in Montrose won one of the Bib Gourmand awards. Today it issues a press release that it has closed. (Apparently, it has been closed for several weeks.) Its assets were purchased and the new owners will be replacing the restaurant with a new Peruvian-Vietnamese concept named Alora.
Only in Houston.
They’re closed, but their website is website is up and running, and you can still make reservations. Only in Houston, I guess!
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