BBQ Tour Smokin’ Good

by Steven Doyle                   photos by Stephanie Tann

I hopped on a bus for a BBQ tour this week from the people at RVC Promotions, these are the same people who do multiple weekly pop up dinners and cooking classes with great chefs from around the DFW area. They are also doing a series of BBQ tours which have taken guests to the Hill Country and all points in Dallas and Fort Worth. 

For this particular tour I paired up with Plano Profile photographer Stephanie Tann. We started the tour by meeting at Noble Rey Brewing Company which is owned by Chris Rigoulot who opened the brewery in 2015 and has an outpost at the Dallas Farmers Market. There you may taste some of the very small batches of beer that is not canned, but instead offered up as a limited prize for those who frequent the brewery.

Also wonderful about Noble Rey is that they partner up with Proper Baking Company, the DFM geniuses who prepare delicious British baked goods such as hand pies. Glorious.

After enjoying a nice reception beer at Noble Rey we loaded up the bus, which is typically a British double decker. The crowd was happy as the RVC people passed out even more beer from Noble Rey.

Our first BBQ destination was Mike Anderson’s BBQ on Harry Hines across from Parkland. The hours are smart as they only open for lunch, and serve their BBQ old school cafeteria style. We recently did a review that you may find here.

Mike Anderson’s BBQ

Mike Anderson is the man you will generally see carving the meats as you pass through the line. He has been doing this since the 80’s and has a passion for great brisket and ribs. His sides are pretty special and taste very homemade. Especially good this trip were the ribs and his special bacon wrapped, brisket stuffed jalapenos which are massive in size.

After chatting up Anderson for a bit in a small Q&A session, we boarded buck up on the bus for more beer and a trip to Slow Bone, owned by chef Jeffrey Hobbes.

Hobbes was waiting for us with massive amounts of brisket, ribs and sausages, along with some tasty sides. Remember, Hobbes is a classically trained chef and knows his food well, so the sides are insanely good. We did not sampe, this trip, but his fried chicken has won awards.

Slow Bone

Chef Hobbes toured us through to see his smoker and we witnessed him prepping about a dozen briskets that he loaded into his smoker as we watched. This was a treat and also did an informal Q&A for the crowd.

More beer and we aimed the bus to Big Al’s Smokehouse, a haunt I have not tried in the past for whatever reason. I see the place daily on Inwood and think to myself how I need to go in sometime. That conversation with myself has been going on for years, and to my detriment.

Big Al’s Smokehouse

The brisket at Al’s is smoky and rich with layers of good fat that has been rendered with success. Moist, there’s that word, and tender with a great smoke ring and slightly crisp bark. Excellent. The ribs had a great bite but a bit sweet for my taste. the crowd enjoyed.

After finishing up more BBQ than a man should be allowed, we loaded back up and headed back to Noble Rey for another beer, others grabbed an Uber home for a great nap. The latter was me.