Pleasanton, CA: Armadillo Willys

While at Livermore, CA we had a chance to eat at Armadillo Willys in Pleasanton, CA. The place has a nice atmosphere but in the end the food was nothing to write home about. The brisket and ribs were okay but not great. The side might have been the best part of the meal though not memorable.

Though out of all of this the smoked andouille cajun links were outstanding. I would go there just for the sausage alone. As a matter of a fact, next trip out I will go there just for that.

Hard to rate the food since it has been several weeks. But the sausage would be a 4.5 or better.

On a side note: It appears a Dickey's BBQ place opened in Livermore itself.

Also a recent hint came about Serious Texas BBQ in Durango with one opening Farmington. Heard that we had to try it. I am dubious since they really push their pulled pork.

Dickey's BBQ: Albuquerque, NM

M.E. and myself dropped into Dickey's BBQ in ABQ on our way back home after dropping family off at the airport last Sunday. Though we have been to Dickey's before, we have not reviewed. Dickey's is usually not one of our choice BBQ in NM spots but we decided to try it again since it is something different.

We split the three meat plate (two helpings of brisket and one of smoked sausage) with no sauce on it. Our sides were mashed potatoes, tater salad, and hot rolls.

This meal was a pleasant surprise. M.E. enjoyed the brisket very much and I enjoyed the sausage and hot rolls. I enjoyed them so much that I may just stop in every now and then just for those two choices for a meal.

The brisket was moist and tender with a very mild flavor. I liked it but would prefer a stronger smoked flavor. Boy, the sausage is definitely not "store bought" and has a very nice flavor. Unfortunately it has a lardy after taste that is easy to overlook. The hot rolls are homemade and have a generous helping of butter.

The tater salad is a mustard salad and was chilled. It has a nice flavor though a tad sweet. I enjoyed it. M.E. had the mash potatoes and said they were like mashed potatoes which is her way of saying they were a thumbs up.

Overall, for the very selective choices we made, it was worth our money and time. Definitely I will return for sausage and hot rolls every so often.

NOTE: This Dickey's appears to have closed!

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Rating:
Brisket 3.25 (tender, moist, with very mild flavor)
Sausage 3.7 ( good but lardy after taste)
Tater salad 3.75 (mustardy but sweet)
Mash taters 3.0
Hot Rolls 4.0 (homemade and buttery)

Pits Happen: Pit Stop Across Texas

Steve just returned from Texas and brought us a gift. A poster with a montage of BBQ pit stops signs from all across Texas. The website is Pits Happen and has an image of the poster as seen here. The website is pretty cool check it out.

Thx Steve!

Dickey's at DFW

On the way back from the UK, Steve and I stopped at Dickey's at DFW airport. I forget which gate it was near. It was a bit like a cafeteria style and not like the resturant.

After being without BBQ for over a week or even in the country then Dickey's BBQ did just fine. Usually I am not real impressed with Dickey's. It is okay if you have nothing else but in this case it was fair to midland.

The sausage was definitely not store bought and better than I remember the Dickey's in ABQ, NM being. The tater salad was pretty good. And the sweet tea hit the spot.

For some reason they do not serve their hot rolls which are usually one of the brighter spots at a Dickey's.

Since we were very tired and in a hurry then I will not rate the visit. But I would stop there again if in DFW airport.

Cousin's BBQ at DFW (near Gate D30)

Steve Nolen and I stopped at this Cousin's BBQ in the DFW airport on our way to England. The food was good. It is a small place near Gate D30. Perfect for a quick meal since they serve cafeteria style. The sausage was good and definitely not store bought. We enjoyed it.

Will definitely need to try one of the larger restaurants one day.

Not much more to say other than the rating which I recorded at the time back on June 6th.

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Rating:
Brisket 3.75 (tender, with a nice flavor)
Sausage 3.5 ( okay but definitely not store bought with a nice flavor)
Tater salad 3.0 (paprika, needs more mustard, needs small chopped taters.)
Green Beans 4.0 (had onions)
Sweet Tea 4.5

Would return. Sausage is good enough. A great last meal before heading to Europe. ;)

Junction: Cooper's BBQ

On our wading trip on the head of the Llano river, we headed over to Junction (about eighteen minutes away) to try Cooper's BBQ. We were hungry from wading the river in warm sun and wind.

Interestingly enough we unsure what the JR's Restaurant sign above the green roof building is about unless it is left over from the restaurant before Coopers. The building is a nice limestone rocked building consistent with the Texas Hill Country style. The wood burning pits are at the back where it appeared to be mesquite and maybe liveoak but we did not stop to inspect the wood this time. But it was wood and the meat is smoked and cook by fire!

When you enter Coopers you are served cafeteria style with plenty to choose from meat. Brisket, sausage, chicken, cabrito (kid goat), and ribs. They serve by the pound, plate, or sandwich. The plate comes with two meats and two sides. The sides where beans, tater salad, or cole slaw.

We order one plate with sausage and brisket along with beans and tater salad. And a half pound of goat which was mostly bone but plenty of meat to pull of for our needs. We had enough food for the three of us with our main intent on reviewing the BBQ. None of the meats needed sauce so we cannot rate the sauce....this is a good thing.

The brisket was moist and tender and had a nice rubbed flavor on the outside but the inside did not have a lot of flavor. It was a nice brisket but nothing to get carried away with around here.

The sausage was definitely not store bought and had a nice flavor. Definitely a meat we would return for seconds. But M.E. and D.B. both think Rudy's sausage is better.

The goat was excellent. Moist, tender, and had a nice flavor inside and out. All three of us (M.E., ALB, and D.B.) really enjoyed the goat and rate it the best of the three meats we tried.

The sides were good. The beans were pinto beans with a bit of black pepper in them. All of us like the beans and would get them again. Very nice. The tater salad was good for what it is. It was more of a mayonnaise tater salad with a hint of mustard. But even so it was a nice tater salad that would be ordered again. Gwen would enjoy the salad a lot.

We did not try the ice-tea since they had Big Red and RC at the fountains.

Overall we would eat here again and found the BBQ to be good. The atmosphere was definitely Texas Hill Country style with plenty of mounted wild animals indicative of a hunters economy. There was a small but nice kids playground outside.

We all enjoyed the food. :)

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Rating:
Goat (cabrito) 4.5 (The best of the best. Tender, moist, sweet.)
Brisket 3.5 (tender, moist, with a nice rubbed flavor on outside with mild to no flavor on inside.)
Sausage 3.5, 4.0 ( okay but definitely not store bought with a nice flavor)
Tater salad 4.0 (More a mayonnaise but very good for what it is)
Beans 4.25 (Larger helpings would be nice)

Would definitley stop there again. Good Texas-style BBQ.

Rudy's BBQ: Albuquerque Update - Wood

To followup on an earlier post about Rudy's BBQ, in Albuquerque, where live oak wood was used and we visually verified it. Now we know, from our financial adviser who lives there, that they have it shipped out of Llano, Texas to Albuquerque. Along with some mesquite. That is way cool and definitely consistent with Texas-style BBQ.