Dayne's Craft BBQ, Aledo 9/5/26

 

https://daynescraftbarbecue.com/

sampled 9/4/26 about 1:30 pm

I have been hearing a lot about BBQ joints suffering from a lack of customers and the high prices of beef.  We had a different experience today.  My Mrs. decided she wanted to go out to Aledo to pet her nephew's young Longhorns (yes, that's a thing).  I was tempted with Dayne's to tag along.  We got there about 12:45 pm and the line was out the door.  Not too far out the door, but it took about 10 minutes to get inside to the AC.  It took another 15 min or so to get to the cash register to order and another 10-15 minutes to get our food.  If you notice on the receipt below, I was customer #200.

I ordered my usual Texas Trinity plus a quarter pound of bacon brisket for me, with a sliced fatty brisket sandwich and broccoli grape salad for the Mrs.  Everything was outstanding, as always.  I even got some brisket burnt ends and a bacon brisket burnt end.  It was all scrumptious, super moist, and tender.  I still miss the chocolate lasagna, but I would eat at Dayne's every day if I could.  Thank goodness their meat is so good it doesn't need sauce.

I told my wife's nephew his cows looked delicious.  Hopefully they will end up on Dayne's menu some day.

225 degree BBQ, Arlington 8/27/26

 

https://www.facebook.com/225BBQ/

sampled 8/27/26 about 11:15 am

Our buddy John was in town this week and gave us an excuse to revisit 225 Degree BBQ.  We had been up to Roy Hutchins in Trophy Club a couple of days earlier, so this would be a good comparison visit.  We arrived about 11:15 am and found no line and just 1 other customer in the building.  I was customer #2.  I ordered the 3 meat plate with the Texas trinity and added a quarter pound of pork belly burnt ends and a couple of Texas twinkies.  The spicy rice dish I loved last time was not ready yet so I tried the chorizo beans.

Once again, this place knocked it out of the park.  There was great smoke flavor in the brisket, ribs, and twinkies.  Brisket and ribs were moist and tender and the sausage was as good as last time.  Their sausage is almost as good as Kreuz, which is my favorite.  The pork belly burnt ends were not as tender as my last visit, but still tasted great.  The beans had an interesting and different spice content that was excellent.  On future visits I will go for the rice and chorizo beans and skip the mac and cheese. Our buddy John said those may be the best ribs he has ever had.  He's a big rib guy and has eaten at all the best joints, so that's saying something.

Our second visit has confirmed this is a joint worth your attention.  A couple of our friends visited after our first visit and came back with similar rave reviews.  The nice lady who brought us our food said they rely entirely on word of mouth to build their business.  They don't even have a website, yet, just a Facebook page.  I am convinced if they are able to hold on until the next Texas Monthly Top 50 is announced, that they will be on that list.  They are that good.  I'm a little worried about them making it as there have never been many customers there.  There should be a line out the door at 11 am.  I think there were another 8-10 folks that came in after us.  We will be back.  They are a bit off the beaten path where Main Street dead ends, so it's not a place you will just come across.  It's well worth the side trip.

Also, pay attention to the receipt below.  This place charges almost half of what the other craft BBQ joints charge and they are generous with their food.  Go once and you will be using your word of mouth with your friends.  Go while there's not a line out the door.  There will be, if they can hold on.

225 degree BBQ, Arlington

 

https://www.facebook.com/225BBQ/

sampled 8/6/26 about 11:30 am

Scott had a birthday last week, so to celebrate, we went out to try a couple of joints we had not tried before.  This one is a winner.  We arrived about 11:30 and found no line and only a couple of other customers in the building.  Usually not a good sign.  I got my usual Texas trinity and added some pork belly burnt ends.  It took a few minutes before the lady delivered our trays but the first bite got our attention.  The brisket was top notch with great smoke flavor.  It was super moist and tender.  Ditto the ribs and sausage.  The jalapeno cheddar sausage had a very nice spice and the green flecks were visible in every bite.  The pork belly burnt ends were also awesome.  I thought the mac & cheese was pretty average, but the rice was very tasty and not something you see on too many BBQ menus.

This place is less than 1300 feet, as the crow flies, from top 50 Hurtado BBQ.  I have eaten at Hurtado many times, but I think this joint is better.  It's a little off the beaten path, but I think it deserves some serious attention.  I will be eating there again very soon to confirm our first visit.  Oh, and the plate I had cost just $47.  That's a big bargain compared to many other joints around town.  I don't think this secret will last long.

Jambo's Barbecueshak, Arlington 8/6/26

 

https://jambosbbq.com/

sampled 8/6/26 about noon

I had a taste of Jambo's a couple of months ago at a music festival and wanted to give it a try at the restaurant.  This is another place that does not include ribs on their plates.  Instead you have to order a rib plate, then add other meats.  I have never understood why some joints do this, but that's what I did, adding brisket and jalapeno sausage.  I also tried a popper, plus some mac & cheese and tater salad.

The brisket was so dry it was almost crumbly and there was zero smoke flavor.  The ribs were ok, but also pretty dry.  I think I might have gotten the regular sausage instead of the jalapeno because there was no spice and no sign of green in the sausage.  Overall, the best thing on my tray was the mac & cheese, made with white cheddar.

Brisket smoke, 7/23/26

 

We had two bargain briskets ($1.97/lb) sitting in my Mrs.'s nephew's industrial freezer out in Aledo.  With a long string of 100 degrees plus temperatures we figured it would be a good time to thaw them out and smoke them.  We got the first one done yesterday and will do the second one tomorrow.  This first one weighed out at 16 lbs plus, but I had to trim off almost 4 lbs of extra fat.  We followed the usual procedure; cut the brisket in half to fit our little bullet smoker, douse liberally with Mr. Green's All-N-1 seasoning, smoked for 7 hours with oak and pecan, followed by 6 hours at 250 in the oven in a cooking bag, then rested over night in a cooler wrapped in towels.  We will do the second brisket on Saturday and I won't change a thing.

Smoked Hatch Chiles, 7/23/26

 

On sale this week, so my Mrs. bought a bunch and we smoked them good.  Half went in the freezer for making queso later and the rest into the fridge and soon into my tummy!

There was a 16 lb brisket, too.  Photos tomorrow after it rests overnight in a cooler.

Not yet!

 

Scott sent me this and I laughed out loud.  It's Ai generated and not real, yet!  Plus we all know the baked beans don't fit.  Must be some Ai from Boston.  A Texan would include some jalapeno pintos or some tater salad, or better yet, a Texas twinkie.  Still good for a nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

Kafi BBQ, Irving 6/28/26

 

https://www.kafibbq.com/

sampled 6/28/26 about 11:15 am

After seeing a story about this joint online and seeing some rave reviews I asked Scott if he would like to check it out.  He was down, and off we went on a Sunday morning.  I got there a little later than him and found a line of about 6 people behind Scott.  The doors opened promptly at 11 am.  Be aware they do not accept cash, cards only.  

This is a halal BBQ joint with no pork on the menu or in the building.  They do have chicken and lamb, but most of the offerings are beef.  Because of the special halal processing, the prices are through the roof.  To paraphrase Hubert Green, "Good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't good."  I wanted to try a bit of everything and the tray above cost me $161, plus tip.  That's the most I have ever spent on a tray of BBQ, by far.

The brisket was moist and tender but I did not detect any smoke flavor.  The beef back rib was excellent as were the lamb ribs.  The brisket burnt ends were also moist and tender and the pomegranate sauce was very good.  The twinkies were a bit different.  These just had brisket inside and the pepper was wrapped in beef bacon.  Very tasty.  They had 3 different beef sausage links to try and I asked for the Iraqi sausage and the jalapeno cheese.  I think there was a mix up because there was no cheese or jalapeno in either sausage.  I think I got their specialty sausage instead, which was ok because both sausages were excellent.  The Iraqi sausage had a nice spicey zing and the other was an excellent beef sausage.  If I had to pick a favorite for the meal, it would be the Iraqi sausage.

The steep prices may discourage some folks and that is too bad.  There is some pretty good BBQ here.  In fact, I suspect they will make top 10 in the next Texas Monthly listing.  The lamb ribs are very good but the requirement of buying half a rack may keep folks from trying them.  I wish more BBQ joints would experiment with lamb and goat.  With the price of beef skyrocketing, that might just happen.  

Mail Order BBQ!

 

https://www.kreuzmarket.com/

sampled 6/24/26

So I asked my Mrs for just one thing for my birthday.  I asked for enough freezer room for 100 crappie fillets.  I got my wish, but my crappie guide has gone soft in his old age and no longer fishes in the Summer heat.  Drat.  So I decided to pivot and ordered 50 jalapeno cheddar sausages from Kreuz Market down in Lockhart.  They were shipped Tuesday and arrived on my doorstep Wednesday around 7:15 pm.  As you can see above, they arrived plenty cold, even though the styrofoam shipping box split down the sides during shipment.  With the 2 day shipping it came to around $5/link.  They even threw in a Lockhart postcard.

Yes, it's still my all time favorite sausage.  My freezer is full, my belly is full, and all is right with the world again!

Railhead Smokehouse, Fort Worth 6/3/26

 

https://railheadsmokehouse.com/

sampled 6/3/26 about 11:30 am

A friend of a friend has been raving about this place every time we see him.  The same guy said he found Dayne's "disappointing".  I ate at Railhead long ago (they have been open for 40 years) but have not been back in a long time.  I just needed an excuse to drive over there.  Scott said he wanted to try it so off we went.

We got there about 11:30 and found no line, but a mostly full parking lot and plenty of folks dining inside.  Scott had noticed their prices on the website and I was sure they just hadn't updated their website.  Nope, the prices were still pre-pandemic.  $22/lb for brisket and $19.50 for ribs.  That's almost half of what we pay at the craft BBQ joints.  Well, you get what you pay for.  The brisket was dry and almost crumbly with zero smoke flavor.  The ribs were good, but a bit dry, and the sausage was average.  My bill for the tray above was just $24.65.  These days, even for average BBQ, that's a deal.  That would barely get you a half pound of brisket at Roy Hutchins in Trophy Club ($38/lb).  The tangy tomato sauce helped a lot.  I can see why this is a long time Fort Worth favorite along with Angelo's, but I believe I will keep on driving to Dayne's or Panther City, where I've never been disappointed.

When we left they had a long line to the door, proof that there is a market for all kinds of BBQ and a tribute to their many successful years in operation.

Dayne's Craft Barbecue, Aledo 4/30/26

 

https://daynescraftbarbecue.com/

sampled 4/30/26 about 11 am

I had a couple of buddies who had never been to Dayne's and I'm always looking for an excuse to go back.  Today was the day.  I-30 is even more screwed up than usual due to construction.   A light rain had the construction stopped, which helped a bit.  I got there just before 11 am and found my friends waiting inside.

I recommended the Texas Trinity Platter for them to share, and I got a Trinity plus some bacon brisket and no sides.  Everything was as impressive as ever.  One of my friends loved the sausage and even got a package to go.  The other loved the ribs.  Both were mighty impressed and said it was well worth the 100 mile round trip from Big D in the rain.

I still miss the chocolate lasagna, but I would go again tomorrow.  Just give me an excuse!

Jambo's BBQ, Cockrell Hill 4/25/26

 

https://jambosbbq.com/

sampled 4/25/26 about 4 pm

This is a joint that has been on my list to try for awhile.  Unfortunately, I have to pass Hurtado's in Arlington to get there so I have not made it yet.  We were out at a small concert at the Stevie Ray Vaughan Park in Cockrell Hill, Texas.  When they listed the vendors on the video screen, I saw the Jambo's name pass by.   Well alright!  They brought the mountain to Mohammed, sort of.

I was hoping for a standard 3 meat plate, but they were operating out of a pop up tent and had a limited menu.  

I opted for the chopped brisket sliders and the stuffed jalapenos.

The chop brisket was a bit dry with no smoke flavor and the poppers were small but tasty.  It was pretty good finger food for a concert and I went back for a second round.  I really do need to get down to their restaurant and give them a real try and shall do so soon.