On the fourth day...The Beef Rib was created.

  

Vince Lombardi's quote "If you're 10 minutes early you're on time, if you're 5 minutes early you're late", wasn't a guideline...but a rule to live by. I'd say I generally attempt to be 10 minutes early for most anything. Adhering to this has at times caused about as much conflict as a game of Paper, Rock, Scissors with girls from my past.

This works both ways...a man must learn patience and a woman should really try getting ready 10 minutes earlier. At some point you think women would get tired of running to the car barefoot, heels in hand, curls in hair or attempting to paint their face while testing my driving skills at 90 mph down the highway. Either way I was at Pecan Lodge approximately 10 minutes before Chris Wilkin's 11:30 am timeline for the fourth day of the Texas BBQ Posse "DFW 7 tour".

Having to skip the visit to Lockhart Smokehouse and initially not planning on heading to Pecan Lodge, I fell out of the loop that Chris would be in line at 9:30 am with the rest of the Texas BBQ Posse and surprise guests including, Leslie Brenner (Dallas Morning News dining editor) arriving at 11:00 am. I walked into Shed #2 and was taken back by the length of the line which had to be similar to when the Egyptians were passing stone to erect the pyramids. Strolling up and down I didn't recognize any of the Posse members so I knew what to do...head to the dining area. Ah ha.

There they were situated around a round table, happily plowing their way through two platters of meat. There I was with arms raised, "I thought 11:30 was 11:30!" Much like Charlie Brown's teacher, I couldn't make out anyone's response from the mix of laughter and mouths full of food. To my advantage there was enough meat to try and I managed to skip the line. This would be my first time tasting the pulled pork, beef rib and jalapeno sausage. The brisket was still smooth but I was excited for the other products. The pulled pork was short of flavor and this was confirmed by a couple others. The sausage was great although I enjoyed their original much more but the winner today was the beef rib. For a while I've wanted to use the word "succulent" and now I can when describing this rib. The mesquite smoke was not overwhelming and it actually tied the salt and pepper rub together. The pepper wasn't too strong leaving more of the smoke and salt to blend. This massive singular cow rib is something definitely worth gorging on.

All in all, a good outing with good people. I walked away satisfied but not full although missing out on a pork rib. Tomorrow is the wild card as we travel with Indiana Jones like uncertainty to Bartley's in Grapevine.