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.