On Bisons and Unicorns

GOODE CO. TEXAS BAR-B-Q

8911 Katy Freeway, Houston

Full disclosure: I’m a Virginian who can trace my family back to Colonial times. I also have some North Carolinian family ties as well. So for the first thirty years of my life, barbecue was pulled pork with vinegary sauce. Sometimes, we topped the pork with creamy coleslaw and ate the whole thing on a bun. Then I met my husband (aka “Hubby”). 

Hubby was born and raised in Texas. His maternal grandfather resided in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was a talented grill master and smoker of meats. Hubby is a talented hobby pit boss who knows his way around a smoker and makes his own rubs and mops. Shortly after we started dating, we hosted a Texas Independence Day party featuring imported Elgin sausage and Hubby’s brisket. This was my first experience with Texas-style barbecue and I felt my exclusive loyalty to North Carolinian barbecue waning with each bite.

We spent our first weekend in H-Town in unpacking and organizational mode. On Saturday, we met family for dinner at Goode Co. Texas Bar-B-Q. The exterior of the restaurant resembles a saloon. Inside, the décor is Western full of saddles and taxidermy. My East Coast born son took one look at the bison head above the menu and exclaimed, “Look! A unicorn.” Yep, we got a lot to learn about Western fauna, little guy. Let’s schedule that trip to the zoo ASAP. 

Goode Co. has a cafeteria style set-up where you place your order at a long counter and friendly workers fill your plate with barbecue goodness. Based on a review I read prior to visiting Goode Co., I ordered the turkey breast.  For sides, I selected the rice and Texas green beans. Hubby opted for ribs, and our kids ordered ham. My sister in law and brother in law ordered ribs and a baked potato filled with toppings. We were loaded down with two trays filled with food and drinks (including our precariously placed glass bottled adult beverages) and two exhausted kids. A kind employee saw us struggling and offered to carry our trays to the table. It was such a kind gesture and I was reminded, again, of how nice people seem to be in Texas – even in a big city like Houston.

We settled in and sampled the barbecue. The turkey was excellent. I generally despise the word moist and avoid it at all costs, but there’s no better description for Goode’s turkey. So, there you have it, the turkey was moist (don’t expect to see that word on this blog with any frequency). The sides were okay. The rice was not especially memorable. I took a bite and decided to save my calories for dessert. The green beans were spicy, but so much so that I lost the flavor of the beans. I also sampled the much lauded jalapeno cheddar bread. When I first learned that Goode Co. featured jalapeno cheddar bread, I was really excited. But, this bread left me a little flat. I wanted something densely cheese. But, this bread was more of a white bread with little flecks of jalapeno and cheddar throughout. It was perfectly fine, but I was a bit underwhelmed. So, I focused on the turkey and felt very content.

I didn’t really want or need dessert. But, Hubby is a sucker for a slab of pecan pie and we’d heard that Goode Co. does pecan pie well. For those who don’t know, the pecan tree is the state tree of Texas. Hubby’s family has a pecan orchard in Tulsa, and he knows a thing or two about pecan pie. He took one bite and shoved the plate toward me instructing me to take a bite. So I did… and then I took another and another. This was easily the best restaurant pecan pie I've ever had. Let me reiterate: Best. Restaurant. Pecan Pie. Ever. The pecans were crunchy and the filling was a perfect balance of sweetness for the pecans. In short, the perfect ending to a hectic day of unpacking.

I have a feeling there will be many more barbecue adventures for our family here in Texas. I’m looking forward to really hitting the Barbecue Trail once we settle in a bit. But for now, Goode Co. provided solid meat offerings and fabulous dessert just a few miles from our new base of operations. We’ll be back to visit again, Goode Co. Hopefully, the next time we return, our kids know the difference between a bison and a unicorn.