City Market

12/12/12 12;00 - made yet another visit to one of the best barbecue joints in the state. City Market has made top five in Texas Monthly since 2003. Eager to see how my scoring system matched up to undoubtedly some of the best barbecue in the great state of Texas.

I scored City Market a 94 out of 100. This is Grand Champion Texas Barbecue without a doubt.

Smoke: Real pit barbecue smoked with oak.

Brisket: Excellent. A respectable 3/8in smoke ring. Great beautiful black bark. Hard to beat that. Tested tough of tender but was adjusted up to tender after eaten. Full smoke flavor with oak adding a nice little bitter saltiness to the bark. This was one of kind flavor. No sauce needed.

Rib: Excellent. Wish I had ordered a full rack. A little tough of tender due to slight crust but left a clean bone. Very flavorful. Great natural pork salty flavor. Some sort of slight sweetness spritzed over the ribs. Made me want to lick 'em instead of eating them. Maybe a fruit juice spritz. Heaven. Just the right amount of smoke. No sauce needed or recommended. These ribs stand on their own.

Hot sausage: Great. Famous for their fresh handmade hot sausage links. Course ground and loose packed beef and pork sausage. Very fresh, good flavor, good smoke, and had a little bit of a smoke ring. Did not have much of an after taste. No sauce needed.

Sauce: Excellent. Famous for their mustard based with vinegar sauce. Unique and delicious by itself. Did not really enhance the flavor of the brisket or the ribs but did wonders for the hot sausage.