Stiles Switch BBQ - Austin, TX
I discovered this place while reading last May's
Texas Monthly's BBQ edition so I had to give it a try. I visited Stiles Switch last November while visiting family in Austin. We all got there just after 11 AM and were ready for some BBQ. I ordered my usual, ribs, brisket, and sausage so here's how they fared.
Sausage - I tried their spicy variety of sausage and it is spicy. That part was good, however, I thought the sausage itself was a little over smoked. The smokiness of the meat was a bit over powering and the filling tended to fall out of the casing when cutting or biting into it. Ribs - the ribs were tender and full of flavor. They were the highlight of the trip and I highly recommend them. On to the brisket which I have always found is the true test of a barbecue joint. Brisket - a bit disappointing, it looked good with a well developed bark and smoke ring but as my grandfather might have said, "Was as dry as a popcorn fart!". I don't know if I got a brisket left over from the prior day but again it was very dry. I might have to go back to give them another try on the brisket because all said it done the "Q" was pretty good but not great like you'd expect in Austin. Especially when you're listed in the top 50 barbecue places in Texas via
Texas Monthly magazine.
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Maybe they were hiding the brisket
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Stiles Switch BBQ
6610 Lamar
Austin, TX 78757
512-380-9199
Closed Mondays
Sunday 11AM-9PM
Tuesday-Thursday 11AM-9PM
Friday-Saturday 11AM-10PM
The Slow Bone - Dallas, TX
I found this place in
D-Magazine's restaurant review under the barbecue category and it was listed as D's best so I gave it a try. Before going I read
Texas Monthly's review by Daniel Vaughn who is the magazine's barbecue critic (the only on staff barbecue critic for a magazine in the country). Before further reading of my opinion I have attached the link of his review here which will give a bit of a back story on the place and why I was a bit skeptical of trying this place out.
http://www.tmbbq.com/the-slow-bone-barbeque-2013/
If you didn't read the
Texas Monthly review here is a quote by owner and operator, Jack Perkin's, that raised an eyebrow: "You can master this process fairly quickly." My response to this is um no you can't and you haven't. Anyway, onto my experience at the Slow Bone.
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The "finish-out" is nice and inviting
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The placed opened last April so it has been around for a while. I visited the Slow Bone on a Monday shortly after 11 AM and I found myself only 4 people deep in line. I would have expected more of a wait at a D's Best barbecue joint. As I approached the chopping block they had just pulled a new brisket out and I asked for some slices off of the "moist" end of the brisket. I also ordered ribs and sausage that they placed on a cafeteria tray with sauce in its own reservoir. I chose mac-n-cheese, beans, and hush puppies as my sides. I grabbed a Big Red from the fountain and headed to my table. The ribs were actually pretty good and came off the bone with some ease from one bite to the next. Their flavor was good and smokey. The cilantro sausage which is prepared offsite in Austin at Hudson Meats was a bit bland with not a whole lot to report. The brisket was a bit of a mystery. Absolutely no smoke ring was visible and although I ordered "moist" it was dry with very little flavor. The developed bark didn't even help it because I couldn't really taste anything. A good brisket should be kept simple, just rubbed with some salt and pepper, I'm not even sure what the rub is because I could place what I was tasting. The brisket over all tasted like it came out of an oven not off a wood fired pit.
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| "Meh" |
I continued to taste everything but was puzzled at the lack of flavor over all. In my bewilderment I decided to check Yelp for some reviews on this place. Maybe I was just missing something. I did find many favorable reviews by I honed in on the not so favorable and to my relief I found people who experienced what I was currently experiencing. Just goes to show not everyone knows what good barbecue is and should be. I wanted to like this place but I wont be wasting my time on a second visit. The good things I can say about the place is the ribs are good and so are the sides but it's about the meat. You can get good sides at Luby's.
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No smoke ring on the dry brisket
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The Slow Bone
2234 Irving Blvd
Dallas, TX 75207
214-377-7727
Open Everyday
11 AM - 3 PM
Couldn't find a website but here's their Facebook page
More posts to come!!
I decided to cozy up to the bar and place my order. I ordered my usual sampling of barbecue, ribs, sausage, and brisket. I also ordered some burnt ends as well with sides of potato salad, beans, and cheesy corn-bake. Food came out on real plate ware and the presentation was very nice, what you would expect from a full-service operation. And by the way the service was really good. Upon ordering the brisket I was asked lean or moist so with that attention to detail my apprehension started to be put at ease.
