Thelma's BBQ (Houston, Tx)

Really?

This place came under the recommendation of a BBQ Documentary I watched called "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story". I took this recommendation in good faith because it was a great documentary. I'm going to have to rethink my product review on that documentary now. Thelma's BBQ was also voted in Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ in Texas. I'm also going to have to rethink my feelings on Texas Monthly magazine. Thelma's BBQ is also a BBQ staple in Houston. Again, I will be questioning the character of Houston and their BBQ from this day forward.

Thelma's was horrible. The sauce was a diabetic nightmare which tasted like Sweet and Sour Sauce from a Chinese restaurant. They just dump the sauce right on it. Imagine a red soup and you have to fish bbq out of. That my friends was my experience at Thelma's BBQ. There was more sauce than meat (and there was plenty of meat mind you).I'm a no sauce/no bullshit kind of guy when it comes to bbq. I like to taste the meat, texture, and enjoy the moistness of a good rib/brisket. I read a sign that said "Sauce on Side - $2". Yea...F* That.

Atmosphere was horrible. Granted it's in the middle of the hood, but I don't like watching talk shows and listening to AC window units in the background while I try to enjoy my food.

My advice. Skip the BBQ at Thelmas and go down the block to Frenchies which is closer to U of H...it's like a home cooked menu from Popeye's.




Also, I stepped in horse shit on the way out. That's never helped anyone.

Thelma's will be receiving a 2 out of 5 stars.

Goode Company (Houston, Tx)

I was drunk yall. However, in my drunken state I found it to be Goode, just not Greate.


I recall the brisket being a little dry with very little flavor and the jambalaya being a Texas-sized joke. However there were some highlights. Thumbs up on the Jalapeno Cheese Bread and green beans.







The best part was...Drum roll...without a doubt...The Pecan Pie. Oh yes, I might of been drunk but I remember being all up in that.





Here is a blogpost recipe from http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2007/11/pecan-pie.html that is supposedly the closest recipe found that imitates The Goode Co. Pecan Pie.

Pecan Pie

for the crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
10 tablespoons cold butter
1 tbl sugar
1/4 cup ice water
for the filling:
4 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup (like Karo)
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
4 tbl unsalted butter, melted
1 tbl lemon juice or bourbon
1 teaspoon mild vinegar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup whole pecans

equipment: a 9 inch pie pan, preferably deep dish ceramic

1. Prepare the crust: Place the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub with your finger tips until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in the cold water until the mixture comes together, form the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to chill for at least half an hour.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. Transfer to your pie pan and trim the edges. Place in the freezer to chill until ready to use.
3. Make pie: Set an oven rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a bowl, beat the eggs with brown sugar until combined and thick. Add the dark corn syrup, melted butter, lemon juice and vinegar. Add the chopped pecans to combine. Get the pie crust out and scrape in the filling. Put the whole pecans in the bowl that had held the filling, and toss them around to coat with the remains of the corn syrup (they won’t be completely covered, but it’s a nice gesture). Arrange the pecan halves over the filling. Bake the pie for about 50 minutes, until the filling is set and only jiggles slightly in the middle. You will probably have to cover the pie with foil in the last 15 minutes of cooking to prevent the top from burning, keep an eye on it. Uncover and cool to room temperature.

Recipe Notes:
1. In my opinion, there's no real substitute for dark Karo, however, if you live somewhere where it is unavailable, golden syrup(like Lyle's) or treacle are good alternatives. I'd also like to point out that while it is corn syrup, it is made by a different process than high fructose cornsyrup.
2. I skip blind baking the crust and simply bake the pie in the lower third of the oven, and I find no harm is done. If you are using a metal pie pan you should keep an eye that the bottom doesn't burn.
3. If buying the pecans by weight, you'll need about 8 oz pecans total.
4. If you are the kind of person who really likes the custardy layer underneath the pecans (I know who you are), then you can omit the chopped pecans or reduce them to a half cup. If you are the kind of person who likes your pie to be full of pecans, leave it as written, and if you think pecan pie should really be more like a pecan tart or a pecan bar you can even increase the chopped pecans to 1 1/2 cups. Personally, I think it’s just right as written.

But if you want the real thing and you're not driving distance to Houston, you might want to order it from their website. Here's the link.

As far as the BBQ goes....ehhhhhhh. Had better. If you live around the corner from this place, it's not a bad stop. If you are on a BBQ roadtrip, you might as well keep on driving to Luling.

Goode Co. will be recieving a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars.


UPDATE: 9/23/2011

I was just in Houston and Burns BBQ was closed. I figured I'd take my friends out to what I thought was the 2nd best BBQ in Houston. DISGUSTING! their BBQ Sauce tasted like Marinara. Everything was Super Underwhelming. I love BBQ. I also love many other styles of food to a little lesser of an extant. I vow that I will never go back. Their score has officially dropped from a 3.5 out of 5 to a new score of...

2 out of 5 stars