The Food Hedonist

I love BBQ.  Having grown up in North Carolina I’m rather partial to BBQ pork with a thin vinegar based sauce… But every time I’m in Texas I always try to go to a few joints to see what the deal is with Texas BBQ.

Goode Co. BBQ.  We stopped here on a whim.. Dana had been here before and said it was good so I was game.

First thing I noticed was the stacks of hickory wood.. that is typically a good sign.. unless its a place trying to fool people into thinking they are actually smoking their meat.  In this case… the wood was not a prop.

Wooden floor, poor lighting, menu scrawled on multiple chalk boards, the smell of BBQ, beer on ice in #10 wash tubs, rude people behind the counter…. seems pretty authentic to me…

I don’t really remember exactly what I ordered.. but it was a sliced brisket plate of some sort with a side of pinto beans and some jalapeno bread.  Dana just had the sliced brisket sandwich and potato salad.  I also had a Shiner.

You order in this place in a “cafeteria” style manner…as is the case with most Texas BBQ joints I have decided.  There is a little station to grab extra accoutrements if needed.. (I always need my extras stuff to add on).. In this case I just got some extra onions and jalapenos.

In Texas they give you sliced white bread with your BBQ.  I’m not a fan of this practice.  In fact the whole “sliced white bread with your BBQ” pisses me off.  I normally will just go with a “plate” unless there is a sandwich option with a nice bun of some sort… and that is never the case in Texas.  In this case the jalapeno bread, that appears to be made fresh on the premises, helped me past my “sliced white bread” hang up.

Typically, in Texas, you have brisket, sausage and ribs in pretty much all BBQ joints.  I’ve never been a fan of gnawing tiny bits of meat off of ribs and while I love smoked sausage, It’s not really what I’m wanting when I go for BBQ.  I always go for the sliced brisket plate in Texas.. and since I live here once again.. unless I can find a BBQ place that is doing some magical things with a pig down here.. I guess that’s what I’m sticking with.

The food?  It was O.K.  The brisket was kinda dry.. Maybe it was the day.. Nothing remarkable about the sauce..The beans seemed like little went into them after they opened the can.  The jalapeno bread was good.

Maybe I’m not “used” to Texas BBQ.  I’ve had it many times in my day.. even lived in Texas for nearly two years prior to this time.  It just doesn’t seem like BBQ to me..  Maybe if I look at it differently.. like smoked beef.  I do like a properly done brisket.. In fact.. Ive eaten some very good ones… This one was not the worst…but certainly not the best.  BBQ will always be about swine to me.  Pulled pork sandwich for me please.

I don’t remember the pricing.. but it seems like the sliced brisket plate was around $7 or $8.

This place apparently has been around since 1977 and has BBQ, Seafood, Mexican restaurants, does catering and has a “doo-dad” shop (As I later discovered)…  In my opinion.. they are spreading themselves too thinly rather than focusing on doing one thing well.  Stop trying to build some sort of “half assed food empire” and pick one and do it well… In the long run you will be far more successful that way. 

No need to seek it out… If you find yourself there.. You probably won’t die.