Dallas' Most Interesting Restaurants No. 48: Pecan Lodge

Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul. 

Hundreds of barbecue restaurants are strewn across Texas, and scores around the Dallas area, but that doesn't mean good brisket is easy to find. Most restaurants produce dry beef the color of wet newspaper, with little fat and little flavor. When you pick up a slice of great brisket, it feels soft and supple in your hand. The surface of each slice glistens with moisture and rendering fat, and both mean flavor.

You'll find great brisket and other smoked meats at Pecan Lodge. Pitmaster Justin Fourton comes from an unlikely background as a consultant who grew tired of business rules. He and wife Diane decided to turn a backyard hobby into a barbecue restaurant that eventually became recognized as one of the state's very best. There's more to the story, including a wrestling match with the city and a scramble to find new digs, but you care most about the brisket and sides.

The best way to get to know Pecan Lodge is to order the trough. You'll need at least four friends and you'll spend the rest of the day in a coma, but you'll have sampled a little of everything from the entire menu. Brisket and the beef ribs are stand out, but everything is good, including the sausage that's made by hand at the retaurant.

A few years ago, exemplary brisket required a long journey. Now Dallasites only have to venture to Deep Ellum.

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