North Main BBQ

I love food shows. I often schedule my gym trips according to what is on TLC, Discovery Travel, or Food Network. I know it's probably not the best way to pick your workout time, but you have to enjoy your gym time. Recently food network had a BBQ special on the Best Thing I Ever Ate. Some of the dishes were a little off beat like BBQ shrimp while others were pretty common like the BBQ combo from the Salt Lick in Austin. The Salt Lick is supposed to be one of the greatest places for BBQ enthusiast. I plan to go soon. North Main BBQ's brisket was the best thing that Ted Allen ate. The show from what I recall focused more on the dish and not the whole experience of dining at the establishment. It's also mentioned in the book America's Best BBQ for their ribs. America's Best BBQ is one of my favorite BBQ books. This book show recipes, tells stories, gives rankings, business advice, and so much more. So if this place get's so much press they must be doing something right.

On my recent excursion out of the state, to the city of Dallas, I had the opportunity to eat at North Main BBQ in Euless, TX. I know what you're thinking, where the heck is Euless, TX? It's three miles away from DFW Airport. It's a suburb, but I wouldn't have known that I left Dallas unless I looked up and saw a sign. This place is pretty modest. The sign is pictured below. The parking lot was small and full of cars. The full parking lot was a good sign. We got there fairly late for dinner, about 8 PM. I thought that it was weird that this place is only open Friday through Sunday with odd hours. You may want to check before you go. When we walk in the decor is very dated. The posters are fresh as can be from the eighties. An example of this would be the Miller Beer poster with the girl with the big hair. The walls are made of brick that remind me of my elementary school's gym, painted cinder blocks walls. The tables are covered with picnic style checked plastic. The place is a dive.

When we went there a staff of about a dozen or so folks were working away. There were two or three guys serving the food, two cash register staff, and a few others who were milling around the restaurant performing various task. At North Main, you are presented with two options sandwich or all you can eat. The sandwich comes with one side and goes for about six dollars. The all you can eat runs about twelve dollars. From all the press this place has gotten, I had to try both the ribs and the brisket, so I got the all you can eat. I failed to read the signs and understand how the system of the restaurant works so I ran around with the wrong colored plate. If you grab a white plate it's all you can eat and the black plate is the sandwich. You're only presented with two options for beverages, sweet tea or water. Anything else you want, you have to bring. I'm thankful I knew this information and brought some beers from Texas, "when in Rome" or in this case when in Texas. We had Ziegen Bock and St. Arnold Fancy Lawn Mower, which is a German style Kolsh. The Ziegen Bock complemented the BBQ more than the Fancy Lawn Mower did. After the friendly staff got me lined out and my friend paid the cash register lady, I understood the system. So if you go, first decide all you can eat or sandwich, then grab the black plate for a sandwich or white plate for all you can eat. Then you work your way down the food line. Some of the items are placed on a plate for you while others are self serve. For main dishes they had spare ribs, beef brisket, sausage, pulled pork, chopped beef, and chicken breast. The side dishes could have been better, but they were the standard offerings of beans, coleslaw, and potato salad. I did try the beans and coleslaw. They were pretty good, but nothing exceptional. The beans were overcooked and were not holding their shape too well. The ribs have won many accolades and awards over the years, but I think that Kansas City BBQ society may have ruined me forever, with their standard definitions of what good BBQ is. The taste of the ribs were great, but they were very tender and I pulled more meat than what I had bitten into. The brisket was amazing. It was not too tender or to tough. The flavor was very good. I've heard that brisket has an short time span of cook time where it is the perfect texture, to long and it is too soft and too short and you're eating leather. When I pulled the the brisket the meat strands pulled apart with the right amount of effort and did not shred. I thought it was cool that this place served chopped beef. Brisket is a real challenge to make well and they do it very well. The sausage, chopped beef and pulled pork were OK, but the chicken breast was as good as the brisket. I have had smoked chicken breast before, but the ones I have had were pretty dry. This smoked chicken breast was tender, moist, and great smoked flavor.

The staff was very hospitable and accommodating to my barrage of questions. I asked one of the staff to see their smokers and they were enthused to show me the six smokers. I know six huge smokers for one operation is nuts, but they must make a lot of meat. One of the six smokers is pictured to the left. I did get a look at the wood pile which was uniformly cut hickory blocks. There was a lot of wood out there. I know commercial most places use natural gas to cook their meat, but I was surprised to see a propane tank on the side of their commercial sized smoker. I would think that a natural gas line would have been a more cost effective, but maybe they move these unit around a lot or something. The staff member that took me on the tour also showed me their travel rig which was hooked up to a pretty nice RV. The travel rig is shaped like an armadillo. The picture of the rig is to the right.

The staff suggest that I go introduce myself to Don, the owner of North Main BBQ. I did take that opportunity and he was very friendly and willing to answer my questions. He explained to me that the smoked chicken breast was so tender and moist due to the rotation that the smokers provide. I know there's more to it, but it was cool to hear that he credited good tools. I can't recall how we got on the topic, but it was the reasonable price point that is available at his restaurant. They offer a limited menu that is very basic. I am still amazed that they can get enough volume through there for a low cost on being open three days a week. North Main BBQ is doing something right.

North Main BBQ is a total dive, but it has a lot of charm. I like that I was able to bring my own beverage. The trophies and banners are always a good sign of great BBQ. I like how the focus here is the meat. The sides and sauce were OK, but the meat was the main attraction. I would give North Main BBQ four stars out of five.

http://www.northmainbbq.com/