I swear that half the reason I wanted to move Texas almost 20 years ago was Texas barbecue. During my job interview in Houston, my future boss took me to lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall joint that was actually more “side-of-the-tracks” – called Railroad Crossing BBQ – off Hempstead Highway in northwest Houston. They had all the standard BBQ meats and sides, plus IBC root beer on tap that you drank out of Mason jars. It was a certifiable dive. But I couldn’t get enough of it. So when we moved to Houston, we had two go-to BBQ places – The County Line BBQ, on Cutten Road in the Champions area, and Goode Company BBQ down near the Museum District on Kirby.

Sadly, both County Line BBQ and Railroad Crossing BBQ have shut their doors. But Goode Company continues with a number of outlets across the Houston area. I have always loved visiting the original location on Kirby Dr. When the Goode Co. BBQ Cypress restaurant opened, my wife and I went within a few months. Sadly, we were not impressed with that location at all. So I have not returned in years. But not long ago, I figured it was time to give them another try. I was hoping that the new pits were now much more seasoned and that the meat would be better. However, once again I was disappointed. I ordered the Texas Trinity of brisket, ribs and sausage, and had potato salad and french fries for sides. Details follow:

Brisket – I asked for moist with some extra barky pieces. Sadly, there was no real bark to speak of. The texture was mushy and the fat was not well-rendered. And it did not really have a pleasing flavor. Very disappointed. Strike one.

Pork ribs – What the cutters gave me were straggler end cuts from two different racks of spareribs. The flavor was ok, but nothing special. And they were very dry. End cuts have a risk of drying out anyway. And I am afraid my straggler cuts had also been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile. Strike two.

Sausage – I chose their jalapeno sausage. It had decent flavor. But I am not a big fan of the grind of the sausage or how chewy the casing was. Sadly, it was the best meat of the day.

Potato salad – Even the potato struggled. It was mushy. I understand that there are different schools of thought with potato salad. This one definitely leaned to the very “creamy” side, and did not have much flavor.

French fries – They were over-cooked, not totally burnt, but very dark and not how I would have hoped for such a simple side.

Overall I was again not impressed at all with this location. Their barbecue just feels very commercial. I truly hope it is just this location. I have not tried the original on Kirby Dr in many years. Looks like I might need to. But for a drive to that area on Kirby, I’d rather go to The Pit Room, which has some absolutely spectacular barbecue. I hope Kirby is better. I’ve not ever had a good experience at the Cypress location. Don’t waste your time going there. It’s not worth it.

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