A friend of mine sent this to me and I totally agree. I asked him if he would like to be a guest writer in the online magazine, but he said no. However, I am going to use this as the foundation of this article because I totally agree with him. And this is the main reason that Texas Barbecue came out with our 2022 Top 25 and then our 2026 Top 50. Without any type of direction, our almost 100 judges went out and found the best BBQ in Texas. Did some of them have a bias based on any other lists and then unconsciously give them a higher score because of it? Well, I’m sure they did, but that is just one of the consequences of what we do. Places like Snow’s Barbecue, Burnt Bean Co., and Franklin BBQ could be #1 any day of the week and on anyone’s list. So, was there any bias to purposely keep them from receiving a higher score than they did on our Top 50 list? Well, I hope not, but I have to think it had to be in someone’s unconscious decisions on how they graded them, but it is a fact of life.
However, agreeing with my friend’s point and again without any direction from me, the Texas Barbecue judges went out and found not just one hidden gem but sixteen. Sixteen different places out of fifty that other lists have basically ignored, and I have to tell you, I am very proud of that. Sure, we made some people mad because we didn’t follow suit with the monkey see, monkey do attitude, but again, that’s life. I’m proud of my judges for their integrity and hard work. And I personally live by that same standard. No politics, no games, just barbecue.
Below are my friend’s thoughts.
We all see it on BBQ pages: Who has the best BBQ? Same question, over and over.
But for me, it ain’t about what I read in some publication or what some influencer tells me I’m supposed to like. BBQ is personal. Everybody’s got their own taste, their own opinions and not everybody sees it the same way.
When I pull up to a new spot, I’m not chasing some list. I’m looking for what makes that place stand out. What are they doing differently? Where’s the heart in it? What are they putting into that food that separates them from everybody else?
Most of these lists? Same spots. Same names. Over and over.
Overhyped. Overrated. That popular cool kids club, just like back in high school. People go there because they’re told to and told to like it.
But what about the thousands of spots nobody talks about? The hole-in-the-wall joints. The hidden gems. The ones grinding every day with no spotlight. Those are the ones I chase.
Like the nerds back in school, the ones nobody paid attention to because they weren’t cool enough. Meanwhile, they had everything going for them; you just had to look. I don’t need someone telling me what’s best. I’ll make that call myself.
That’s the problem now, monkey see, monkey do. Too many followers, not enough people thinking for themselves.
So wherever BBQ takes you, keep it simple:
Does it look good?
Does it taste good?
Was it worth what you paid?
Live by that, and you’ll start realizing real quick a lot of those overpriced top list spots ain’t all they’re cracked up to be. At the end of the day, BBQ joints don’t stay alive off hype
They stay alive off their regulars. Not the window lickers.
Just my two cents on what the best BBQ really is.
