Our 2021-2022 BBQ Project

20211202_110731 — AT BURNT BEAN CO, IN SEGUIN, TEXAS, ON DECEMBER 2, 2021 -- OUR FIRST STOP ON OUR BBQ PROJECT.

Our 2021-2022 Barbeque Project

A Little Background Information…

I have always loved Barbeque. I daresay that I am a self-appointed “Barbeque Aficionado”. Growing up in Orange, Texas, one of my fondest memories involved barbeque. My father would take me with him when he occasionally went to Charlie Sprott’s place and picked up barbeque. Charlie’s place was a bootleg operation as far as I could tell. His pit was in his backyard under an open shed-like structure. In those days, there was no advertising (except perhaps in The Green Book), no signage, no scales, no plates or utensils — you had to bring your own pot, and Charlie would fill it up with savory barbeque brisket, swimming in sauce. I was always fascinated by the sights and smells of Charlie’s pit, and by his effervescent smile and warm personality. He also had a cute little daughter named Whiffle. But the real payoff was when we got home — the barbeque was delicious!

20211203_124506 (1) — THIS IS MY DAD'S BARBEQUE POT -- THE VERY ONE WE TOOK TO CHARLIE SPROTT'S PLACE. MOM KEPT IT ALL THESE YEARS AND WHEN SHE DIED, IT PASSED TO ME.

For a brief history of Texas barbeque, look here. Back to the origins of this project. I did not start eating barbeque on a regular basis as an adult until Dorothy and I bought our little house in West University Place in the mid 1980s. Very near to our home was Jim Goode’s original Goode Company Barbeque. His barbeque was excellent. It was always cooked consistently and to perfection. His jalapeno cheese bread was worth a trip by itself (and I don’t like jalapenos!). And his original restaurant at 5109 Kirby Dr. in Houston was, the way I saw it, the perfect barbeque venue. Interesting decor, food prepared in full view of the patron by serious, yet personable staff, and ample outdoor seating are elements that to this day I judge all barbeque joints by. It was Jim Goode’s barbeque that got me back on track and eating barbeque on a regular basis. I don’t believe I went anywhere else for barbeque while we lived in Houston, except for the occasional visit to Pappas Barbeque, but that was mainly because of their addictive french fries (try the sliced poor-boy basket!). When we moved up to our lakehouse, we had to find a new place to satisfy our barbeque cravings. We have settled on Granzin’s Barbeque in New Braunfels as our “go to” barbeque place, but occasionally, we make the drive over to Texas Pride Barbeque, especially if we have out-of-town visitors. [My good friend Charles Pollard, who traveled all over the state as a private investigator, told me about Texas Pride. Charles knew I was always on the lookout for good barbeque!] If I find myself in San Antonio and I need a barbeque fix, I am partial to the no frills fare at The Barbeque Station. And, for convenient and utilitarian barbeque, Bill Millers is the place — you can find one on every corner in the San Antonio area (at last count, there were 78 of them)! I would be remiss if I did not mention that, on the trips between Houston and our lakehouse, we would occasionally stop in Luling, for barbeque at the classic Luling City Market (talk about ambience!).

Our Barbeque Project…

While standing in line at the grocery store recently, I noticed that the November 21, 2021 issue of Texas Monthly was their barbeque issue, where they purport to identify the fifty best barbeque joints in Texas. So, I bought the magazine, took it home, and read about their picks for the fifty best barbeque places in Texas. The first thing that jumped out at me was that a restaurant in Seguin with the unlikely name of “Burnt Bean Co” was ranked as number four on the list. My impression is that, to make the top ten on this list, you have to be pretty special, but, I realized, I have never eaten at a barbeque joint that was rated as one of the ten best by Texas Monthly. I was also struck by the fact that, although I consider myself a serious barbeque man, I had not eaten at a single one of the fifty places named in the article.

So, Dorothy and I put our heads together and decided to embark on a Barbeque Project — to visit and review as many of the barbeque places identified by Texas Monthly as we could during the remainder of 2021 and during 2022. I doubt we will come close to getting to all of them, but we are going to give it a try. Below, you will find a list of the barbeque joints we have visited. Click on the name of the joint and you will be taken to a page that contains photos of the establishment and their barbeque and our honest assessment of each place’s product. The list is in no particular order, we will just list them as we visit them. We decided what better place to start than right in our back yard with the Burnt Bean Co.

(Note: Joints That Made the 2021 Texas Monthly Top 10 List Are In Red)

1. Burnt Bean Co, Seguin, Texas

2. Helberg Barbecue, Woodway, Texas

3. Guess Family Barbecue, Waco, Texas

4. Hays Co. Bar-B-Que, San Marcos, Texas

5. Baker Boys BBQ, Gonzales, Texas

6. Lavaca BBQ, Port Lavaca, Texas

7. Feges BBQ, Houston, Texas

8. 2M Smokehouse, San Antonio, Texas

9. Miller’s Smokehouse, Belton, Texas10

10. Desert Oak Barbeque, El Paso, Texas

11. Rejino Barbeque, Olton, Texas