Tex-Mex and BBQ in Dallas area

[achevres]

I’m just back from Dallas, where I was visiting my best and oldest friend. She moved there from Corpus Christi a few years ago and has been looking for good (Tex-) Mexican food and good BBQ since. It turns out that, unlike other cities and towns in Texas, restaurants serving these 2 cuisines are not as common in Dallas (and we would love to stand corrected, so tell us if you have other favorites). She finally found great Tex-Mex at Mia’s and I (!) finally found good BBQ at North Main St BBQ.

Mia’s Tex Mex restaurant, located at 233 Lemmon Ave, Dallas TX 75219, is the home of the amazing brisket tacos. I went there 2 years ago and this was my third and fourth time there. I have tried a bite of the carne asada and a bite of the chicken sour cream enchiladas, and these are really good, but it’s the brisket tacos I dream of. Tender, juicy flavorful brisket meat with asadero cheese (I think) and onions on corn tortilla (flour also available). Two of these are served with a little cup of what I call brisket juice, which is the broth and it’s great to dip the taco in before biting, Mexican red rice, refried beans and a lettuce, tomato and avocado salad. Yum, Yum. As good as the refried beans are, I recommend also trying the bean soup, which is along the lines of “frijoles de olla,” beans in a substantial broth made with tons of bacon, onion, a little garlic and a little tomato (I got this info from the owner). They are soooo good! The best beans I’ve had in a long time.

We also had the frijoles nachos which were made as they should be. Each of the 8 freshly-fried tortilla fourth was covered with refried beans and mild cheddar and topped with strips of jalapeno and the cheese totally melted. They were greasy in the best way.

Those are the 2 items I had both nights I was there, and also the 2 nights I was there 2 years ago. Maybe I’ll branch out next time….

The service is fast and friendly. For most of the dishes, the waitress goes to the kitchen with the order and the cooks fill the plates as she is calling them out and she leaves with the filled tray. The bathroom is next to the kitchen, so I could see all the action.

You will probably have to wait to be seated 15-30 minutes, since it's usually full. They are pretty accurate with the estimate. You can get a drink and wait outside on the tables set up just for that purpose.

Four entrees, the nachos, 4 soft drinks and a beer were $53.42 + tip.

North Main BBQ located at 406 North Main St in Euless, TX 76039, a suburb of Fort Worth, is an all-you-can-eat-for-$12 that is only 10 minutes from DFW airport.

For the $12 you get BBQ chicken (breast and drumsticks), brisket, spare ribs, sausage and pork shoulder (like pulled pork but without the vinegar sauce), great BBQ sauce on the side, great ranch beans, potato salad, cole slaw, pickled okra, jalapenos and regular pickles, white bread (we made pulled-pork sandwiches) and also great iced tea. It’s BYOB. You can also get sandwiches for about $6 and also take out. No doggie bags, for obvious reasons. It' open only Saturday and Sunday.

As you go through the buffet line, there won’t appear to be enough quantity of the meats, but that is on purpose, as they are constantly slicing fresh meat. I tried everything and the only thing that wasn’t great was the chicken breast, which was a little dry (what did I expect?). Actually, I think it just seemed dry in comparison with the other juicier meats. We’ll definitely go back.

[planojim]

I know what you mean. It's always amazed me about the lack of really really good BBQ in Dallas. I was down in the Austin area last week, and there was good BBQ everywhere. Dallas....none. Some people rave about Sonny Bryans, but I wouldn't feed that stuff to my dog. North Main is a winner. I went to a BBQ class a a couple of months ago that the owners of North Main were teaching up at Market Street. Super nice guys. The rub that they use is awesome.

Clarks, in Tioga, is still good, but even that's gone downhill some since the owner passed away some years ago.

Smokey Joes, on 35 near the intersection of 20, is pretty decent, although not in the best section of town.

[ladyyoung98]

i beg to differ..we do have good bbq places in the dallas fort worth area..

ok while i do live in denton and its a little further north than dallas...i still maintain that we do have good bbq places...for instance right here in denton we have a wonderful place called Rudys...its off I35...u cant miss the place

and my fiance who lives a little closer to dallas than i do...also knows some other wonderful bbq places...

as for tex mex...ok it may be fast food ..however its still good...try taco cabana...i love their barbacoa (otherwise known as brisket)...

on the non fast food front..we also have mazatglan over on E 380 (university)

we also have el guapo. (and while im not real impressed with it... many others i know are)

its nto that we dont have any really good bbq places or tex mex places...we do......but u really do have to look for them..and they may not be the most fancy places on the face of the earth and they just may happen to be a little out of the way...last time i checked... the dallas forth worth area is still very much a part of texas...and therefor we do have some realy good bbq and tex mex places...IF U BOTHER TO LOOK FOR THEM

Edited June 21, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[achevres]

I wasn't impressed with Sonny Bryant's either. And the sauce was awful.

[Kevin72]

Hate to tell you this ladyyoung but Rudy's is a chain . . . from Austin. I think Dallas holds its own in Tex-Mex and taquerias (unless we're throwing San Antonio into the mix), but barbecue, well . . . Ft. Worth has Angelo's and Railhead's pretty good. I continuously hear good things about Peggy Sue's but have yet to confirm it myself.

As for Austin barbecue, I mean, c'mon, they've got all the Central TX temples right there! Who can stand a chance against that?

[ladyyoung98]

oh puleeze....hate to tell u this kevin but we r still part of texas..and hate to disapoint u but we still do have tex mex here...as to rudys..it scarsely matters if it is a chain out of austin or not.. the point is that we still have it..providing it is indeed part of the same chain....there is no one city that is better than any other..each city regardless of where it is in this state does have some real good bbq and tex mex places ...and u cant put a city down and say it doesnt have any good ones if u have not taken the time to look for them...i was raised in san antonio and last tiem i checked yes they did have some great places there...on the other hand..my fiance was born and raised right here in the dallas fort worth area and while im sure he hasnt been to every tex mex or every bbq place in the area...hes had many years to check out quite a few and they have been great places...some r nothing more than ahole in the wall but still good places...however i do realize that everyone has their own personal tastes for what they personally like...i just dont think its fair to critisize a city by saying there is a lack of really good tex mex or bbq places in that city..when one hasnt been there long enough to have taken the time to look...as to personal taste..hey i love rudy's chain or no chain..no matter where it came out of..point is that its here now and im not in austin...and while i love the food...im sure there r others who dont..again subject to one personal tastes..

everyone is a critic..even me...but truthfully im not goign to sit here and make a broad statement such as was made without havign bothered to really look around either..and that too goes for those who also live in the area who have not bothered looking either..so that being said..i would most definitely encourage anybody to go out and find those places because i know they r there...and when u do find them ...... bon appetite

Edited June 22, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[irodguy]

Well since for all practical purposes Tex Mex arose in Dallas about the same time as San Antonio. Not counting the "authentic" Mexican in Dallas as restaurants like El Ranchito, Herreras and Rositas. I simply have not had any better Mexican in Austin or San Antonio.

Now while the best BBQ is in the hill country there are several decent places here. Smokey Joes and all though I cannot tell you the name there is a great one over on 175 all though you have to brave the area.

In Ft. Worth you have Angelos, Risckys and if you are looking for a fun dive try "the smoke pit"

And oh yah I personally think North Main is fine. Yes and while Rudy's is out of Austin it's still here. The thread was tex-mex & bbq in the Dallas area not necessarily "local joints"

[planojim]

Unfortunately, in my 15 years of living here in Dallas, I have tried a lot of the BBQ places in the DFW area. Thanks for assuming that I haven't though.

I will admit to not having tried Rudys. I've been to Marshalls, Baby Back Shack, Andersons, Angelo's, Bakers Ribs (decent ribs), BBQ Barn, Big Daddy's, Bone Daddys, Bulls, Colters, Dicky's, Double Deuce (worst ever), Hickory House, Holy Smokes, Hutchins BBQ, North Main, Outlaws (pretty decent), Pappas, Peggy Sue's, Randy White's, Red Hot and Blue, Rib Rack, Rick's, Riscky's, Sammy Walkers (good sausage), Sammy's, Shady Oak, Smokestack, Smokey Joes, Smokin Tom's, Sonny Bryans, Soulman, Spring Creek, Porkies, and Clarks, to name a few.

I'm not saying that the BBQ in the DFW area is bad, I'm saying that there are not a lot of places that I've been to that have been great. Not many places I walk out of saying, "I can't wait to get back there" Clarks was one, North Main, Smokey Joe's and Angelo's the others. Besides those four, it's been mostly, "eh, it's OK"

We're the 7th largest market in the country. Shouldn't there be more than a handfull of GREAT BBQ places?

And hey, if you know of some that I didn't list there, let me know. I'm always on the lookout for BBQ.

[Kevin72]

Reviving this thread after a disappointing first visit to Peggy Sue this weekend. Everything I read raved about the sides, but they're in these miniscule bowls. With Babe's visit fresh on our minds, the sides couldn't even begin to compare.

And the barbecue sauce was pretty bad; too much cumin and chili powder.

[cstrombe]

For texmex, I highly recommend Avila's on Maple. Nice little place with fresh food. Just down the street is Ojeda's, much larger and not bad at all. I also recommend heading into The Cliff to Casita Lupe--all you can eat for $4.95 (if I recall). Homemade tex mex. Pix here: Casita Lupe Dallas Pix

[Johnny]

Unfortunately, in my 15 years of living here in Dallas, I have tried a lot of the BBQ places in the DFW area.  Thanks for assuming that I haven't though.

I will admit to not having tried Rudys.  I've been to Marshalls, Baby Back Shack, Andersons, Angelo's, Bakers Ribs (decent ribs), BBQ Barn, Big Daddy's, Bone Daddys, Bulls, Colters, Dicky's, Double Deuce (worst ever), Hickory House, Holy Smokes, Hutchins BBQ, North Main, Outlaws (pretty decent), Pappas, Peggy Sue's, Randy White's, Red Hot and Blue, Rib Rack, Rick's, Riscky's, Sammy Walkers (good sausage), Sammy's, Shady Oak, Smokestack, Smokey Joes, Smokin Tom's, Sonny Bryans, Soulman, Spring Creek, Porkies, and Clarks, to name a few. 

I'm not saying that the BBQ in the DFW area is bad, I'm saying that there are not a lot of places that I've been to that have been great.  Not many places I walk out of saying, "I can't wait to get back there"  Clarks was one, North Main, Smokey Joe's and Angelo's the others. Besides those four, it's been mostly, "eh, it's OK"

We're the 7th largest market in the country.  Shouldn't there be more than a handfull of GREAT BBQ places?

And hey, if you know of some that I didn't list there, let me know.  I'm always on the lookout for BBQ.

←

I've lived in Dallas all my 40 years and I could'nt agree more with this assessment. I've been to all the above mentioned, and good CUE is very allusive in the Big D. I basically go to different places for specific stuff: 1)Sonny's on Inwood for sliced sammy only 2)Bakers for ribs and smoked chicken breast 3)Angelos's for the brisket, beer, and atmospere.

[Chris Amirault]

I was starving coming back from the convention center on the DART and, at the West End stop, saw the Sonny Bryan's sign. Surely it couldn't be as bad as the food at the Sheraton, I thought, so I went in.

Big mistake.

I got the 3/4 lb sampler platter, which allows you to get three meats. I got brisket, of course, plus the regular sausage and pork ribs. Sides were fried okra (very good) and beans (lousy).

The meats were really, really disappointing. The pork ribs had been steamed; I suspect that the aluminum foil packages in the oven contained the ribs, on which the character-free sauce had been smeared. The sausages had good definition and texture, and they were nicely porky, but they were so oversalted that they were inedible (even with two Lone Stars).

And the brisket. If it had been smoked, there was little evidence. And the meat itself was terrible: stringy and spongy with no discernible flavor of beef. (Perhaps it had been there once, but after sitting in a steamer pan for a few hours and being doused with that awful sauce, it wasn't there when I ate.)

I know, I know, shooting fish in a barrel, especially at the West End tourist trap. But I guess I'd hoped that the Sonny Bryan's folks would have put out at least a passable product to us northern rubes. Nope.

[Richard Kilgore]

A search in the Texas forum for barbecue and/or Sonny Brian's has saved many a poor starving soul from 'cue grief. Thing's have not been the same since they expanded from the original shack on Inwood Rd. and Sonny Brian passed away.

[Chris Amirault]

Yep: I knew it wasn't outstanding. I just didn't think it would be really bad to inedible.

Mia's last night, and those brisket tacos are one of the best things to eat in the world.

[Rico]

Has anyone found great 'cue in Dallas in the past year since the last time anything was written on this thread? And, of course, I mean brisket. Baker's Rib is great ... but you know, it's great ribs. What kills me is that Dallas barbecue (and I've lived here for all of my tender 29 years) is so lacking, yet Dickey's barbecue (which originated here) is the face of Texas barbecue for a lot of major cities outside of Texas now - at least, that's the impression I have. Can someone tell me a great place in Dallas that I can say to my outside-of-Texas friends and family 'Well, yeah, you've had Dickey's, but that doesn't represent Dallas. What you should really try when you're in Dallas is ..." I've tried to find one for so long, now. What I have found is nothing. Nothing that even compares to Goode Co. in Houston, not to mention anything in Lockhart ...

[bmdaniel]

I think it's unfair to say nothing compares to Goode Co - there is plenty of equally mediocre BBQ in Dallas.

I've been meaning to try this new place: http://drbellsbbq.com/index.php?id=2

Anyone been?

[Jaymes]

I think it's unfair to say nothing compares to Goode Co - there is plenty of equally mediocre BBQ in Dallas.

You're right that Goode Co sets the standard for mediocrity.

And most of the 'cue I've had in Dallas easily lives down to that standard.

I don't understand why Dallas and Houston have such mediocre barbecue. It can't be just because they are large metropolitan areas. I've spent a lot of time in Kansas City and, while even the best of the legendary Kansas City bbq joints do not match the best of the iconic Central Texas smoked-meat markets, they are much better than what I've found in Dallas. The sad fact is that the average Kansas City barbecue lover is eating much better 'cue on a regular basis than the average Dallasite.

_________________

Edited December 7, 2009 by Jaymes (log)

[Busboy]

While this is near the top of the charts, let me add a special request for anything in the way of 'cue or Tex-Mex on the greater Richardson-Fort Worth corridor. Christmas and brothers' house in Richardson and probably over to FW for the museum/heck of it Saturday or Sunday. We will travel outside that for wither variety though it, sadly, sounds like we'll be far from prime brisket country.

Speaking of which, are either types of spots traditionally closed Sunday?

[Kevin72]

To get Rico's back for a second, Good Co. Barbecue was really good (not Lockhart good, but better than anything I've had in Dallas), back in the late 80's early 90s when they weren't afraid to use spice and seasoning. I remember their jalapeno cheese bread as being damn near inedible to my virgin taste buds. But I went there several years back and it had fallen far from grace.

Busboy I think you might have better luck with both 'cue and taquerias in Ft. Worth. Any good taquerias in the Dallas area will be either downtown or on Beltline close to 35, which sounds pretty out of the way for you. BBQ wise in Ft. Worth you have Angelo's or Railhead, which are still better than anything i've had in the Dallas area.

[Andrew Chalk]

Any good taquerias in the Dallas area will be either downtown or on Beltline close to 35, which sounds pretty out of the way for you.

Tacqueria El Fuego - Richardson, TX

Several on Maple

La Paloma -- chain. The one on Ave. K in Plano is OK.

[Kevin72]

Hmmm. I stand corrected. Thanks for the tips. Looked for Paloma on K before but didn't find it.

[Andrew Chalk]

Hmmm. I stand corrected. Thanks for the tips. Looked for Paloma on K before but didn't find it.

It is east to drive past as it is where the road splits:

La Paloma Taqueria

1603 K Avenue, Plano, TX

(972) 578-2267‎

http://maps.google.com/places/us/plano/k-ave/1603/-la-paloma-taqueria

[Rico]

Worzel, would you say La Paloma and El Fuego are 'Tex Mex' or just Mexican? I think I would say the latter, but I'm all about the semantics (slapping self on forehead for being that guy that wants to point out the difference between Tex Mex and Mexican in Texas ... on a Friday night)

Edited December 11, 2009 by Rico (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

There are Hispanic/Mexican restaurants, taquerias and taquerias in Mexican markets on Beltline at Josey, which is about 1 1/2 miles east of IH35W. These are all more Mexican than Tex-Mex. This is a great food intersection with two bahn mi shops, a Viet/Filipino market, a few pho shops, a Mexican market, a couple of Mexican restaurants, at least two taquerias, the only Columbian restaurant in the DFW area, a little Greek place, First Chinese BBQ....

There's a La Paloma a couple of miles further east, but I thought it was so-so.

[Andrew Chalk]

Worzel, would you say La Paloma and El Fuego are 'Tex Mex' or just Mexican? I think I would say the latter, but I'm all about the semantics (slapping self on forehead for being that guy that wants to point out the difference between Tex Mex and Mexican in Texas ... on a Friday night)

I would say Mexican but point out that virtually all Mexican restaurants in Dallas have a Tex Mex section of the menu so don't be surprised to find that you can, for example, buy a burrito!