MO's BBQ

Too bad. I remember this place being much better than I'm about to describe, and I'll haev to go back to double check it.

MO's is a popular place locally, and for good reason. There's a dearth of good BBQ in a city the size of Houston. Unfortunately my visit started off with the slowest order taker on the planet, who just could not get my order right, which was no surprise by the time I got to place my order because I'd seen her butcher four or five others before I got there. she also told me they didn't do beef ribs, and never had, although I've had them there before. It's been a few years, but I remember them being the best beef ribs I'd ever had. Whatever, I'm here for food, not service.

I ordered two two-meat plates to go. I was hungry. I ordered ribs, brisket, chicken, pork loin, slaw, baked beans, and a huge baked potato. Alright, my eyes may have been bigger than my stomach.

MO's has always had the leanest brisket I have ever seen. That makes it drier, but if you've read my other posts you know I'm ok with that. It is also smoked for a shorter period of time, but for some reason always has a good smoke flavor to it compared to the light crust on the meat. The brisket was a little tougher than what I remembered, but still very good.

The chicken was an outright disappointment. Well cooked and tender but firm, it tased more like an overcooked turkey than a chicken and had little to no smopke flavor.

The ribs were tender, but also had little smoke flavor. They were also fairly lean, but hadn't been cooked long enough so the fat that was there was still fairly white and gelatinous. Meh. Longer in the smoker would have fixed every problem they had.

The pork loin was very lean and well done, but a bit tasteless. Again, more time in the cooker...

The sauce was too smoky, almost in an effort to cover up the lack of smoke in the meat. If you're used to better places where sauce is almost never even wanted, you see through that real quick.

Their slaw was very good. Light sauce (or whatever you call it on slaw), it's shredded with carrots and tastes almost nutty--probably due to what looks like poppy seeds. I'll have to remember not to take a drug test for a few days. Anyway, it's very good, not the soupy, glumpy, mayonnaise covered goo that many are.

The baked beans are some of my favorites anywhere. Slightly zingy with a ketchupy hint that doesn't detract a bit. They feel slowly cooked, and I can't think of a thing wrong with them.

Like I said, I know they can do better. Hell, I've had better there.