Monday, October 2, 2017

Pecan Lodge – Dallas, TX



While in Dallas for a big roller derby tournament, DreadPirateNick and I needed to eat some BBQ. A friend of mine from the Twin Cities. Fire Wally, said we needed to hit up Pecan Lodge. I did some additional checking and all of the lists recommended this place as one of, if not THE, best place for BBQ. The recommendations also came with multiple notes about waiting in line for two or three hours and you should bring water, especially if it’s hot outside (which it ALWAYS is in Dallas, apparently). We were worried about the wait, but we were willing to put in the time.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find the line NOT very long. So we got in it. We probably waited about 10 minutes, but by the time we got to the front of the line, the back of the line was out the door. Perfect timing.

This place has the usual suspects (although, they were sold out of pork ribs when we showed up), but there were a couple of unique items, including a deep fried rib. We were tempted to share “The Trough”, which has a little bit of everything they offer, but it seemed overwhelming at the time. I opted for a 3-meat combo plate. I got brisket, pulled pork, and a jalapeno and cheddar beef sausage. I also got a side of mac and cheese and another side of collard greens. Oh yeah, AND a deep-fried rib. Don’t judge me.


This place is well known and highly rated for a reason. It’s pretty darn incredible. Here’s how it stacked up. The beef sausage (something Minnesota is woefully lacking) was the winner of this meal. Delicious beef flavor with some jalapeno flavor, but not the heat. The cheese flavor was barely there, but every once in a while, you’d be like, “ohhhh yeaaaaaah, there it is”. So delicious.

The mac and cheese was second-best, and it was great. Lots of bacon on top, and not that cafeteria kind of cheese. They do it right here.

The deep fried pork rib was pretty incredible. Unusual, but really good. The fried parts made a very unique “bark” and the sauce they had on it was more of a glaze, almost candied. The blue cheese crumbles on top were a really fun touch and I’d definitely get this again.

The Pulled pork was some of the best I’ve had – tons of bark pieces without them being burnt. Super tender meat without being sloppy and saucy. Just tons of flavor.

The collard greens were top notch. Lots of meaty juice in here and the greens still weren't sloppy. Just tender and tasty. Love me some authentic southern collard greens!
 
Oddly enough, the brisket was the lowest on the totem pole for this meal, and please don’t think I’m saying it was bad. It would be head and shoulders above most BBQ places I’ve eaten, but stacked up against these other glorious meats, it didn’t stack up. Normally, I’m not a sauce guy with my brisket, but when I added the house BBQ sauce, it moved it up the rankings even more. But as it stands on its own, it was just really good. Hahaha. I loved it!!!

You’re going to have some tough decisions in line when ordering this food, thankfully, there is usually a line to give you some stall-time to help decide. This place is number one for a reason – so much flavor and generous helpings. Fire Wally was right – you DO need to go here.

I’m not going to do a Top and Bottom 5 since there really were not bottom anything. Just go here.

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