Pinkerton’s Texas Pit Barbecue

I feel obligated to start with this whenever I write a blog post about Texas Barbecue.  I am originally from Kansas City, Missouri therefore I see KC Barbecue as the pinnacle of good barbecue #dontdebateme.  As such, I am typically iffy about trying out barbecue spots here in Texas despite all of the hype and praise.   Well a few months back, I had a sample of Pinkerton’s at the Houston Chronicle Culinary Stars event.  It was a small brisket slider on a jalapeño bun, but it won me over enough to at least stop by.  So I did just that… twice actually and trust me when I say Pinkerton’s Texas Pit Barbecue is GOOD and worthy of this blog post.

Location/Setup

Pinkerton’s is located off of Airline (near the Heights) which is a bit of a drive for me, but I gotta say it is worth it.  Once there you will discover a small parking lot so keep your eye out for street parking nearby.  Then when you walk inside you are likely to be greeted by a line.  I will not lie to you and say “oh it moves SO fast” because to me it does not! I have just been lucky enough to stop by when the line was not too bad.  They do have a good efficient setup going; there are just some elements that take a bit longer.  For example, all of the meat is sliced and diced right in front of you.  This to me was a highlight of the restaurant, so I will deal with a longer line just to keep it!

The Food

Alright here is the fun part, the food!  The restaurant is semi-cafeteria style.  On the first part of the line you pick out your sides which come in individual sizes or larger ones to share.  I am admittedly greedy so I load up on the cheaper smaller ones so that I can try more!

On my most recent visit, I ordered mac and cheese, jalapeño cheese rice and a side of duck jambalaya.  My sister joined me and grabbed an order of South Texas beans and potato salad too.   The cheese rice would probably be my favorite of these dishes as it has a great spice to it.  For the jambalaya note that it has a tomato base which I know everyone does not love.  In this case though something about the duck and sausage takes this jambalaya up a notch!  I ate it for leftovers the next day after those seasonings sank in deeper and it was even better!  For the other dishes, I really think you cannot go wrong with those either although I will note that the beans are not baked beans, but rather a ranch style bean.

Jambalya

Mac and cheese!

The beans!

Potato Salad

Rice!

Enough about sides! The real reason Pinkerton’s won me over would be the meats! I have only tried one thing here and it is what I suggest to you all as well my friends.  Get yourself a barbecue sandwich, preferably brisket on that jalapeno bun and I promise you will NOT regret it.  Like I said above, they chop the brisket up to order and pile it on high.  If you want sauce, they will add that too or put it on the side.   In the end you have yourself a perfect greasy barbecue sandwich!  The brisket is top notch y’all, but what sends this sandwich to the next level is that bun! Trust me on this.

THE sandwich!

The Takeaway

Look folks, I am picky about my barbecue and I don’t rave about just anywhere.  I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Pinkerton’s though and can guarantee that I will be back!  If you go, please let me know your thoughts!