Pecan Lodge - Dallas, Texas
It has been over a year since I visited Pecan Lodge in Dallas, Texas, but the memory still haunts me like a smokey ghost casting its pink pall over every piece of brisket I have eaten since.
Having followed Texas Monthly BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn since his Blogspot days, I trusted his judgment when picking bbq spots while in the Metroplex report this story on the General Motors’ SUV plant in Arlington. The article was mediocre, hacked up in editing, but the bbq was sublime at all three locations.
Still, there can be no doubt: Pecan Lodge serves the best brisket I’ve ever eaten. It was almost a religious experience. That first bite might be the most delicious piece of meat I’ve tasted in my life. But we will get to that.
I’d be more nervous about writing a review so long after the fact, but I have my notes, scribbled between a grotesque display of lip-smacking and finger-licking. Also, our trusted video producer Zach was back more recently and confirmed the quality hasn’t wavered. He got to sample the massive burnt ends, which I didn’t get try on my visit. He says they were even better than the stellar fatty brisket slices, which is hard to believe.
I arrived at Pecan Lodge at 10am, an hour before it opened, where I found only one person in line. A former summer employee at the GM plant, he graciously allowed me to take his place when he found out my job and that I’d traveled all the way from Detroit to sample their barbecue. Pecan Lodge is in Deep Ellum, just East of downtown. It looked Dallas’ equivalent of the Short North in Columbus: as hipster as you can get in the land of Cadillac Escalades and Chevy Silverados.
By 11am the line stretched down the block, but was still passable. Many diners appeared to be chefs and employees at nearby hotels and restaurants, always a good sign, along with an ample showing of local businessmen and office workers out for a long lunch. How they go back to the office after pounding a pound of smoked meats, I can’t pretend to understand.
When the doors opened I headed to the counter, where I was given first pick of all the choicest meats. I ordered collard greens, and the Texas Trinity, the usual criteria for this column: fatty brisket (with bark of course), pork spare ribs, and sausage, in this case my favorite: jalapeno and cheddar cheese. The greens went neglected, since I prioritize happiness over heart disease.
My half pound of brisket was served in two picture-perfect slices, pencil-width, swimming in melted fat and jiggling like a fat kid with a hula hoop. The texture was impeccable, all tendons and excess fat broken down, with a thin but tasty stripe of black bark marking the top of each slice. It draped over my finger like a limp piece of rubber without breaking, but pulled apart at the slightest tug, the true sign of an expert pitmaster.
That first salty, smokey, peppery bite was a revelation. This is what brisket, no, meat, is supposed to taste like. I felt like my entire culinary life up to that point had been a lie. Why hadn’t anyone told me that food could be this good? Who cares about culture or cosmopolitanism? I would gladly buy a pickup and wear a cowboy hat, if only to eat like this everyday.
I devoured the first slice and made my way to the second, barely stopping to swallow. I didn’t consider tasting the rest of my order until the brisket was gone. When it was, I took a long look at the line, wondering if it would be worth another wait. By that time it was almost noon, and the queue stretched well out the door and down the block. Resigned, I turned to the ribs.
The ribs didn’t quite measure up to the brisket, but that would have been nearly impossible. They were delicious, but slightly over-seasoned to my taste, which is a tough since I love my meat salty, spicy, and over-seasoned. The ribs were cooked to perfection and left clean bite marks without pulling away from the bone. They could have been maybe a bit sweeter, but that is splitting hairs.
The sausage was excellent, one of the best I’ve eaten, but I barely had room to sample it at that point. I packed it to go, where made an excellent breakfast the next morning eaten cold. My greens were left almost untouched, but they were good.
I stood up slowly, gazing around wistfully, and reluctantly left, having cycled through every adjective in my head without finding one adequate to the task. I stumbled out of the building in a meat coma, jealous of the waiting crowd and the delights they were about to consume.
I haven’t been to Franklin BBQ in Austin or the town of Lockhart, so I understand there might be better brisket out there. I have yet to taste it. If you are the kind of person that would travel hundreds of miles solely to eat smoked meat, the brisket at Pecan Lodge is worth the journey. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
If you go:
Address: 2702 Main St, Dallas, TX 75226, USA
Hours:
Friday 11AM–10PM
Saturday 11AM–10PM
Sunday 11AM–3PM
Monday Closed
Tuesday — Thursday 11AM–3PM
Pro tip: If you’re with a group or just really hungry, you can skip the line for any orders over 5 lbs. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.
