The great BBQ debate

A visit to one of the noted barbeque joints in Texas today led me to an online BBQ debate tonight.

The Demon basketball team had lunch at Hintze's Barbeque along U.S. 59 outside of Wharton, about 60 miles southwest of Houston.

On the wall was a page from a 1995 Food & Wine magazine feature listing the country's best barbeque joints. Guess who No. 1 was?

Like the Football Bowl Subdivision, when it comes to barbeque ratings, we will never know for sure who is the best. But the Demon basketball team would definitely give high marks to Hintze's, and so does baseball legend Nolan Ryan, whose letter of endorsement adorned the wall leading to the promised land -- the counter where you place your order.

There's also, however, a stuffed squirrel along the way. Don't know the story, just hope he wasn't cooked. Didn't see it on the menu. The restaurant also had various mounted animals, including a moose head, and full bodied mounts of a mountain lion (don't know where it came from), a modestly sized deer, a turkey, ducks and other birds.

The travel party, heading toward Corpus Christi for Thursday night's game, enjoyed lunch, to say the least!

Tonight, wanting to pinpoint the location, I did a google on Hintze's, and found a chat board discussion of the best Texas BBQ joints. There's not really a wrong answer to a question like that.

So I will chime in with my take on the best BBQ places that I've enjoyed during travels with the Demons. Perhaps my buddy Patrick Netherton will offer his picks, too. Here's my Top 10 rankings -- excluding the great Grayson's in Clarence, Red's and the Tin House in Natchitoches, because that's backyard BBQ for Demons:

1 - The New Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville
2 - Jack Stack BBQ in Kansas City
3 - Hintze's
4 - The Rendevous, Memphis
5 - Dreamland, Tuscaloosa
6 - McClard's, Hot Springs
7 - Cobb's BBQ, Bossier City
8 - Country Tavern, Shreveport
9 - Podnuh's, Monroe
10 - Jamil's, Tulsa

1 - "The Church" may not be what it once was, a truly epic experience, but for sheer volume, unique atmosphere, and variety, you cannot do better than the family style, all-you-can-handle platter served up here. The ribs are the biggest and juiciest. There's something about walking in past the grill where the ribs are being smoked that just drives you crazy. I love the sweet tea, too, and it's the most unique setting you can get.

2 - We stumbled on this at 9:30 on a Friday night before the 2006 football game at Kansas. Jack Stack BBQ is shipped nationwide, and with good reason. It was "upscale" for a BBQ joint, the kind of place you wouldn't walk into with suspenders on. This was probably the best barbeque dinner I've had, but since there was only one visit it can't top years of trips to worship at "The Church."

3 - The side dishes are tremendous here, along with really tasty beef and ribs and ham and sausage and ...

4 - Right down the alley from the fabled Peabody Hotel, where the ducks walk, the Rendevous is a southern classic. My friends from Memphis swear Corky's BBQ is better, but the location and the vibe (again, an upscale place, with a great Friday night crowd enjoying libations while waiting on their seats) combine with wonderful ribs to make this high on my list.

5 - ABC announcer Keith Jackson helped spread the word about Dreamland. The ribs are huge. It's off the beaten track and the kind of place where if you are not wearing suspenders and dirty boots, you're almost the odd man out. I remember thinking as I left, the Church was slightly better, but as Bum Phillips said about Earl Campbell, maybe he's not in a class by himself, but it don't take long to call the roll.

6 - McClard's was made famous by Bill Clinton, but it was an institution long before then. The walls are filled with photos of famous folks who came by, many due to him. They all left happy. It's basically a little diner, with tiny booths and an old style drug store counter. The food is tremendous, the service incredibly good, and somehow you must save room for dessert.

7 - Mr. Joe Cobb knows how to treat beef. His brisket is astounding. Thanks to Mike McConathy for turning me on to Cobb's.

8 - Country Tavern, I know, is high on Patrick Netherton's list. Mine too. Coach Billy Montgomery took us there in Coach Mike's first season. I've been back several times since. Simply put, it's tremendous. A nicer restaurant than most BBQ places, with a little more varied menu, but try the barbeque first.

9 - A personal favorite, from the many trips to Monroe through the years. Great beans and potato salad. Country Line BBQ in the DFW metro area is along the same lines, but the tie goes to the home state.

10 - Not a barbeque restaurant per se, but they serve great ribs. You get more food for your money here than almost anywhere else. The walls are lined with sports photos, just an interesting place.

By the wsy, Coach Mike is on a vegetarian kick at the outset of the year and only had side dishes today at Hintze's. If I hadn't seen it, I would not have believed it. We can tell you their okra gumbo is incredible.

Pass the Pepcid AC, please! Seeing as we are smack dab on the Gulf of Mexico, literally a couple hundred feet away right now, I pledge to have some grilled fish for lunch tomorrow. Healthier, for sure!

Doug Ireland, SID