Originally Posted by violist
Don't fool yourselves about Texas Q ...
it may be true that you can go to any old place in Texas and
get decent stuff, whereas if you try elsewhere (Massachusetts!)
your chances of passing success are way less. But the best I've
had hasn't been in Texas, not by a long shot. For example, what
I had at the "Texas-style" place in Anacortes, Washington beat
anything I've seen from Dallas to Luling (except for the chicken,
but then chicken is to bbq as diet coke is to wine).
I can readily believe that the best barbecue you ever had wasn't in Texas -- there are a lot of great places out there. I'm looking forward to doing a big sampling of Tennessee here over the next couple years. I just happen to have a personal preference for the Texas style because it's like a "big tent," including all the meats that are outstanding when slow-cooked in barbecue fashion (and that goes for chicken, turkey, and duck, too, darn it). But you've got to be fooling yourself if you think the best Texas-style barbecue you had was in Washington. You clearly, then, haven't made a serious effort to sample real Texas barbecue. Even in Dallas there are good options ... and I don't begrudge Dallas much at all. Still not convinced, then if you're ever in Houston, I'm happy to change your mind. That's a standing offer to any FTer.