THE FINAL REVIEW - Overall & Category Ratings

A lot of people asked for overall ratings, so here you go.

We totaled the ratings for each restaurant and divided by the number of categories – for example if a restaurant’s ratings were Sauce-3, Sides-4, Slabs-3.5, Steaks-3, Sandwiches-4 the total would be 17.5 divided by five = 3.5 overall rating.

Below is the order of restaurants based on overall ratings (listed best to worst).

OVERALL RATINGS:
The Salt Lick BBQ – Austin, TX – 4.25
Mr. K’s BBQ – Tucson, AZ – 4
Rendezvous BBQ – Memphis, TN – 3.9
Corky’s BBQ – Memphis, TN – 3.8
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ – Kansas City, MO – 3.8
Jack Stack BBQ – Kansas City, MO – 3.5
Hog Wild Pit BBQ – Wichita, KS – 3.4
Josh’s BBQ – Santa Fe, NM – 3.4
Sims BBQ – Little Rock, AR – 3.4
Ironworks BBQ – Austin, TX – 3.3
Rudy’s BBQ – El Paso, TX – 3.2
Earl’s Rib Palace – Oklahoma City, OK – 3.1
Cozy Corner BBQ – Memphis, TN – 3
Gates BBQ – Kansas City, MO – 2.9
The Big Texan Steak Ranch – Amarillo, TX – 2.8
Cowgirl BBQ – Santa Fe, NM – 2.5
Stubbs BBQ – Austin, TX – 2.5

We also calculated the best in each category. Below are the top two bbq joints in Sauce, Sides, Slabs, Steaks and Sandwiches.

SAUCE:
The Salt Lick BBQ– Austin, TX – 4.5
Mr. K’s BBQ – Tucson, AZ – 4.5

SIDES:
Jack Stack BBQ – Kansas City, MO – 4.5
Rudy’s BBQ – El Paso, TX – 4

SLABS:
The Salt Lick BBQ – Austin, TX – 5
Corky’s BBQ – Memphis, TN – 4.5
Rendezvous BBQ – Memphis, TN – 4.5
Ironworks BBQ – Austin, TX – 4.5

STEAKS (BRISKET)
The Salt Lick – Austin, TX – 4.5
Mr. K’s BBQ – Tucson, AZ – 4
Ironworks BBQ – Austin, TX – 4
Hog Wild BBQ – Wichita, KS – 4
Big Texan Steak Ranch – Amarillo, TX – 4

SANDWICHES (PULLED PORK, BEEF SANDWICH)
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ – Kansas City, MO – 4 (pulled pork)
Corky’s BBQ – Memphis, TN – 4 (pulled pork)
Cozy Corner – Memphis, TN – 4 (beef sandwich)
Rendezvous – Memphis, TN – 4 (pulled pork)
Rudy’s BBQ – El Paso, TX – 4 (sliced pork)
Mr. K’s BBQ – Tucson, AZ – 4 (sliced pork)

DAY 13 - El Paso to Phoenix

Tuesday morning we were up and out by 8am. It was only a five hour drive from Deming, NM to Phoenix. We planned to do lunch somewhere along the way but didn’t expect to experience one of the better all around bbq places on the trip.

Zena took the navigator spot

We saw some great mountain ranges on the drive; this looked like the mountains had a blanket of clouds over its back

We pulled into Tucson and since neither of us had been we explored a bit. We checked out 4^th Ave., a bit of the University of Arizona campus and finally Mr. K’s BBQ (see review below). It was an unlikely spot to get solid ribs, smoky beef and pork slices, tasty sides and one of our highest rated sauces.

We finished up the drive with a two hour trek into Scottsdale. We took a nice walk near the Phoenix Zoo and walked around downtown Scottsdale’s shopping areas. It had a Santa Fe feel, but with a little more city vibe.

Phoenix scenery

Mama D. exploring a park outsdie Scottsdale

Phoenix mountains have unique designs and erosion caves

Being our final evening we decided to do a nice dinner at one of Scottsdale’s premiere steakhouses - Mastro’s City Hall Steakhouse - www.mastrosrestaurants.com/cityhall-main. It is part of the Mastro’s Steakhouse family so it was no surprise the rib eye bone-in was one of the best steaks I’ve had in my life.

Mom and I leaving Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse in Scottsdale, AZ

At dinner it slowly set in that Wednesday is our last day of this epic BBQ Road Trip. A wave of reality hit and the thoughts of going back to everyday life came crashing in, which is fine in most aspects, but the freedom of travel will be missed. We lived it up and maximized the trip so no complaints.

Downtown Scottsdale at sunset

More Phoenix scenery

Zena was on the scent and dove face first into a gopher hole

On Wednesday we’ll explore Scottsdale a bit more and then make the six hour drive back to Orange County.

THE REVIEW - Mr. K's BBQ, Tucson, AZ

Some days you just get lucky!! Tuesday was one of those days. We pulled into Tucson, AZ to have lunch, but didn’t have a place picked out. We made a few calls, asked around and ended up at Mr. K’s BBQ a few miles from the University of Arizona. Touted as “Tucson’s best unknown BBQ hole in the wall,” Mr. K’s surprised us and was among the most well-rounded bbq joints we’ve tried on the trip. It was quality across the board and well above in some categories.

Mr. K's had a modest façade and even more lackluster interior; it had a small counter, a small prep area, two tables and two smoke barrels outside. It was surprising this good of bbq could come from such a small operation. There was no question that Mr. K’s produced bbq to compete with the big boys.

Smoker barrels at Mr. K's BBQ in Tucson, AZ.

Sauce – 4.5 – One of the best sauces, if not the best, we’ve had. It had nearly everything – nice spice, a tad sweet, great consistency, served warm and enhanced the meat flavor. Only qualm is it had a hint of marinara-style sauce, which isn’t bad, but not normally expected from a bbq sauce.

Sides – 3.5 – Nice assortment for such a small place and we really enjoyed the unique home cooking recipes they had. The coleslaw was creamy and sprinkled with cinnamon, which added a nice flavor; definitely something we hadn’t seen before. The sweet potatoes were loaded with ginger and a tad too sweet for my palette. The Texas beans had nice thick texture and were seasoned with bay leaves, again something we hadn’t seen before. Potato salad was the only traditionally prepared side with diced pickle, red pepper and celery.

Slabs – 4 – Great smoky flavor. It had a bonfire aroma. The dry rub resulted in a tasty spicy crust once cooked in the smoker. The meat was tender and pulled off the bone nicely. Only drawback was they lacked a sweet tone that normally comes from a nice glazed skin.

Steaks – 4 –The thinly sliced beef had the same delicious smoky flavor and aroma as the ribs. The meat was moist and tender. With the sauce it was a 4.5.

Sandwiches – 4 – The thinly sliced pork had the same smoky flavor as the other meats, but it was not as prominent. It had a bit of the crispy skin crust which enhanced it a bit. It was moderately moist and with the delicious sauce it was also a 4.5.

DAY 12 - Austin to El Paso...and then some

We knew we had a long drive today so we planned to make today about having a good time on the road as opposed to getting to our destination as fast as possible. Meaning if we saw a town we wanted to explore, we stopped; if we saw scenery we wanted to capture, we stopped; if we wanted to eat, we stopped. Sure it made the drive longer, but again it was about having a great time, not making great time.

With this philosophy we got to see several fun parts of Texas including Fredericksburg, a great little town about an hour and a half outside Austin. We did breakfast and some shopping – Mom greatly enjoyed both.

Fredericksburg greetings sign

A shot of the quaint town of Fredericksburg, TX

Everything really is bigger in Texas; this may explain why we were able to drive for more than 10 hours today

Mama D. was in quilt heaven in Fredericksburg; she'd been looking all trip and this place had every possible quilt

We captured some great scenic shots of the big Texas sky and rolling mountains on our drive.

We finally pulled into El Paso at sunset, but decided to keep going. We ended up in Deming, NM, a small town about three hours outside Tucson, AZ.

Sunset in El Paso, TX

El Paso from up on the hill