North Main BBQ - Euless, TX

My friend, James Pulley, has been telling me about this place for at least six years. I always say I am going to go to it the next time I am in Dallas, but I missed it several times. This is mainly because they are only open on weekends, so you have to be there on the right days.

We stopped in and grabbed some pulled pork and a few ribs to sample the Q. There is no doubt this is a great place. I have to say the ribs are definitely the star here. The BBQ sauce is a bit different than most others. I liked it, but my wife wasn't too fond of it. I liked it so much I bought a bottle of the stuff to take home with me. But I digress. The ribs don't realyl need sauce. They were cooked to perfection and were easy to eat right off the bone. They were seasoned well. They might be a little salty for some people, but they were perfect for my tastes.





I would definitely recommend you check out North Main BBQ in Euless. If you fly into Dallas on a Friday, they are just one exit or so away from the south entrance of the DFW airport.

North Main BBQ
406 N. Main St.
Euless, TX. 76039
817-267-9101

Open Fri and Sat 11 - 9
Sun 11 - 4

www.northmainbbq.com

Hole In The Wall BBQ: Mount Juliet, TN

Shane's Rib Shack: Columbus, OH

Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous: Memphis, TN

Soulman's Bar-B-Que: Rockwall, TX

Smokin' B's B-B-Q: Monteagle, TN

Smok'n Pig B-B-Q: Valdosta, GA

BJ's Alabama BBQ: Tampa, FL

Pratt's BBQ: Kingsport, TN

Shurford's Smoke House Bar-B-Que: Chattanooga, TN

Virgils BBQ - New York City

Virgil's is just off of Times Square in downtown New York City.

Say what you want about New York, but Virgil's has authentic BBQ done right and some of the better stuff I have had. Good job!

Rick's Smoke House – Garland, TX

Like Scott I travel pretty often for a living. BBQ is not the only thing I look for but it ranks up there near the top. I like a unique experience with local food. BBQ is done differently all over the country so it fits that bill. I always wonder if certain places are successful because of where they are or what they serve.

Places like Interstate BBQ serve fantastic food but also happen to be very convenient to said interstate. Other places are so far out that you can't even see "the sticks" if you had a step ladder. Even still the people are there. If you cook it they will come, I guess.

Rick's Smoke House probably falls somewhere in the middle. Garland is a bit of a suburban wasteland bordering on converted cattle country outside of Dallas. It also happens to be home to a really really big international defense contractor. I was working there again for a week. While I was getting my papers and badge done I saw a pretty steady stream of employees wandering across the street to and from the food to the hive. I called my customer and said I'd be in after I grabbed some lunch and headed off.

They weren't too busy in the parking lot for a lunch hour but most people were walking in. I got inside and asked someone in line what he liked and was told "most anything but the chicken". That was good because chicken is meant to be fried, baked, broiled, or grilled but rarely smoked for BBQ in my opinion. There were a lot of choices so I got a rib sandwich which is no switch for me. This was especially good with the ribs on Texas Toast.

The ribs were good. Definitely not the best I had but they had good texture and flavor. Probably the best thing about the meal was the toast. The worst thing about it was the German chocolate cake. I don't know what my deal is with dessert, but it's a mixed bag. I seriously considered putting the sauce on the cake. It would have been an improvement.

I got the plate with two sides: cheddar potatoes and soup beans. The potatoes were so-so. The beans were awesome. Instead of baked beans they had white soup beans. Good stuff.

All in all, I have had worse BBQ in Dallas. Maybe I haven't found the world famous stuff yet, but for a town that prides itself on brisket, these pork ribs were pretty darn good. Sonny Bryan's is supposed to be top notch, but I found that it is just an average local chain now. Someday I'll get back to Angelo's in Ft. Worth -- I hear that is pretty good too. But for now if I'm at a certain government contractor, I may go there again.

Jim Dandy's Family BBQ: Sharonville, OH

I was recently on a business trip to Cincinnati, but even my business associates know that any trip is a quest for more Q! They recommended we try a new place just north of town called Jim Dandy's.

The smoker they use to cook the meat is right out front, so you know it's done using real hickory wood. The smoke permeates the front porch area and the inside, and there is an open, airy feel to the place.

Unfortunately, I couldn't focus as much on the food because I actually did have to talk some business. But was was able to take a quick snapshot of my meal, which was the pulled pork sandwich place with sides of beans and greens.


When ordering, it's more of a cafeteria style, where they put the stuff right on your plate as you order in line.


The pulled pork was good, and had a good amount of smoke to it. I would have liked to have tried the ribs, and I suspect I will be back to try them at some point. The sauces were red based sauces, and the hot one was really hot, and I liked it. The sides were OK. The beans were the best side. The greens already had vinegar added to them, when I did NOT like. I didn't care for the flavor. The tea was decent, and the cornbread was OK, but there was no "wow" factor going on for anything.

Considering there are few good BBQ places in Cincinnati, and the most famous one (Montgomery Inn) doesn't even count, this is fairly good for that area. I still prefer City Barbecue, but this place has promise. Overall score is a 6.5, dinged mainly for the sides. I'll retry the ribs later and up the score if it's worth it.

You can check them out at www.jimdadndybbq.com