Garland, TX - One of the least inspiring towns of my BBQ travels.

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Goncalves 2013

On the second day of the Texas BBQ Posse's "DFW 7 Tour", we planned on congregating at MeShack's in Garland. At the end of May, Matt Gross and I had stopped by on the day the Texas Monthly Top 50 list was released. Unfortunately, MeShack's had sold out by 2:30 pm.

Matt and I solicited for a while, pestering the very patient lady at the window for any scraps, leftovers or "hidden stashes" they may have. I felt like a seedy drug addict in the bad part of town. People were still pulling up for Travis Mayes' product as well and we started telling folks they were out, while selfishly hoping we would be handed anything to try. Nada. Travis came out to shoot the breeze with us for a bit and he said that "some days you love your job, but some days you wake up and you don't love your job." That day was a day he didn't love his job and decided not to smoke as much meat. Disappointed. He had also entertained the idea of taking a few days off within the next couple of weeks...

...Fast forward a couple weeks to present day. I was looking forward to my revisit of MeShack's so I could have them hold the sauce this time and enjoy the naked meat. Well another disappointment came about as I parked my truck, walked up, and didn't see any smoke or smell one whiff of pecan. The joint was closed. No notice. No sign. No explanation. Then my memory retrieved the conversation Matt and I had with Travis..."thinking of taking a few days off within the next couple of weeks." Dammit. Our tour visit may have fallen into that "couple of weeks."

There was a joint right around the corner we decided to try. The name will not be mentioned but the high reviews on Yelp confirm the abundance of ignorance which oozes on that site. Quotes such as "The sausage and brisket seemed pretty normal to me nothing out of the ordinary, but not bad. I think this BBQ joint is first place I've ever seen fried rice as a side, but it's cool," from a 4 star reviewer. Then you have a 5 star reviewer that proclaimed, "Everything here is good, but these items are particularly great. Like other reviewers have mentioned, the portions are generous and the price is right. Once you eat here you'll never go back to Spring Creek BBQ or Dickey's." Speechless. After eating there once I'll never go back period. Needless to say, I'm seriously questioning the origin of the grey slab of beef we ate. Along with the reheated and boiled ribs...which should be forgettable if not for being so bad. Jim Rossman of the Texas BBQ Posse uttered the words "Never speak of it again please." Let's just say Daniel Vaughn gave them 2 stars. I will give them nothing more than my $12.

The group stood in the parking lot defeated again. Chris Wilkins mentioned to me of a new place a few miles away which recently opened. Holding on to hope, I wanted to salvage my drive to Garland.

Double S Texas BBQ had just opened back in September of 2012 in an old shopping center near 635 and Northwest Highway. The sausage was Eckrich so I skipped that although they are working on a recipe and ordering a grinder to make in house sausages. I ordered the two meat plate but be careful...ribs are an additional $2. Two meats and two sides for $15 is pricey considering the deal we had at Hutchin's in McKinney the previous day. The brisket lacked of pecan smoke from the gas assisted Ole Hickory smoker. Brisket also lacked of bark as pitmaster Darren begin to scrape it off when he unwrapped the meat. There didn't appear to be much to start with regardless and there was very little seasoning also. The ribs were quite unique with a pronounced flavor of cayenne, cumin and a sweet glaze, though missing the smoke as well. The texture almost seemed as if they had been boiled for a bit.

Wanting to see Double S succeed, Darren asked what I thought. He seemed genuinely interested in my pointers, saying he could work on them and appreciated my input. I complimented the ribs and said I looked forward to trying the handmade sausage soon. On this visit, I would have to deal a 2 star rating with it close to a 3 star. I hope these adjustments can be made for the betterment of the Garland, TX BBQ scene.