BBQ you’ll think about for weeks
Every 4 years — much like the Olympics and the World Cup — Texas Monthly magazine releases its list of the “50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas.” In 2017, it boastfully proclaimed the dawning of the “Golden Age of Barbecue,” with exemplary new restaurants sprouting up across the state to give patrons the kind of meat sweats that linger in your memory. Debuting on Texas Monthly’s 2017 list at #9 and reappearing at #8 in 2021, Evie Mae’s comes extraordinarily acclaimed.
Technically located in the town of Wolfforth, Evie Mae’s often bills itself (including on its own website) as being a part of its Hub City neighbor, Lubbock. It’s not much of a stretch, as Evie Mae’s is only a short 12-minute drive from Jones AT&T Stadium, home of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
I stopped in on Sunday following Texas Tech’s gut-wrenching loss to Oregon the night before. Evie Mae’s opens at 11am and closes whenever they sell out, so I arrived about 10 minutes early in anticipation of a line as soon as the doors opened. As expected, there were about 20 early birds who arrived ahead of me.
The toughest part of arriving when I did is that I ended up standing almost directly adjacent to the area where the smokers reside. There was no missing the aroma of post oak smoke wafting through the air as I counted down the minutes until opening time. There was lots of murmuring, some hushed discussions of “Have you been here before? No? Oh, man. You’re in for a treat!”
Promptly at 11am, the doors swung open. I kid you not, people in the front of the line audibly cheered. Being the staffer assigned to door-opening duty seems like both the best and worst job simultaneously.
As everyone filed inside, the distance between us began shrinking as we got closer and closer to meat nirvana.
The line is made much shorter once you enter the building, as you’re greeted with taps and cups to fill your own free beer — either Shiner Bock or Dos Equis. Compared to packing your own ice chest to wait for 90+ minutes at Franklin BBQ in Austin, this was already a superior experience.
My immediate reaction upon looking around the place is that it’s on the larger end of the top Texas barbecue spots I’ve visited. There’s a ton of seating, and the overall setup is more efficient than, say, La Barbecue in Austin. Aside from the self-serve beer taps, there are separate drink stations for filling your own iced tea and/or fountain drinks, freeing up the counter servers to focus solely on getting your food to you quickly. While not having two completely separate areas for meats and side dishes like Terry Black’s in Dallas, Evie Mae’s does have separate in-line stations for meats, sides, and payment. In both restaurants, this setup makes a noticeable difference in how quickly the line moves.
Desperate to try a little of everything (how often do I make it out to West Texas?), I ordered a slice of moist/fatty brisket, a few spare ribs, and a link of green chile & cheese sausage.
I supplemented those meats with a side of green chile cheese grits and was hoping to add a side of brisket chili. Unfortunately, they were out of the brisket chili, so I made the second side a dealer’s choice. Creamed corn was the result.
Planning for this to be my only meal of the day, I figured a dessert was also necessary, so I went with a classic BBQ sweet: banana pudding.
While I love a good beer with smoked meats, I also grew up along the Gulf Coast and lived in Georgia for several years. So to me, sweet tea goes with barbecue. Don’t ask me to explain; it just does. Even in Texas.
So that was my meal. How was it?
To put it simply: Evie Mae’s exceeded the considerable hype. It was nothing short of extraordinary.
The fat in the brisket was perfectly rendered, with a peppery rub and the perfect amount of smoke flavor; the sausage was juicy a not overly cheesed-up, with a snappy, smoky casing; the ribs were more balanced than most you get in Texas — not too peppery, not too heavy on brown sugar — and were perfectly cooked and rested; the grits were smooth and creamy with a slight kick; the corn was a surprising showstopper with solid, but not overwhelming, heat; the banana pudding was fresh and had a nearly ideal wafer-to-pudding ratio; and the sweet tea would’ve made even the lady from the Popeyes commercials give props.
All told, there wasn’t a single disappointment on the entire tray. Every single item was an 8.5 or above, which is rare even for the most venerated Texas BBQ institutions.
Hot takes be damned, I believe that Texas makes the best BBQ in the country. Brisket is the ultimate smoked meat and no one has perfected it like the beef-loving folk of the Lone Star State. So when it comes to ranking the best BBQ, I’m hard-pressed to look beyond the Texas borders.
Now there will always be debate about what actually constitutes a “college town,” but I know that Austin no longer belongs in that category, while Houston and the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex have never fit the bill. As a result, I’m willing to crown Lubbock, Texas Tech, and Evie Mae’s with the title of Best College Town BBQ in the country.
Random note: the restaurant is not pronounced EE-vie Mae’s, as I assumed. It’s pronounced EH-vie Mae’s, short for the name of the owner’s daughter, Evelyn Mae.
CFB Travel Guy 