|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
WESLACO — My editor, Mark Reagan, has been nagging me about going to review Teddy’s Barbecue since he read about them in the “failing New York Times.”
I was more than happy about the prospect of finally having The Monitor pay me to try what is being hailed as one of the premiere barbecue joints in all of South Texas, but that date continued to be delayed for various reasons.
Well, that day finally came, and it was glorious.
I anticipated that there might be a line of people waiting prior to 11 a.m. when Teddy’s opens, so I arrived roughly 30 minutes early. Due to the hellish heat, I waited in my car, as did most of the others who were waiting as well.
As I sat in my car, I noticed a couple of highway patrol vehicles pulling into the parking spots behind me. My heart rate increased as I stared at my registration sticker, which has expired since 2019.
Listen, I don’t condone my actions, and I’d like to apologize to the nice men and women who’ve pulled me over and let me off with warnings. I promise to take care of this as soon as I fix my brakes and whatever is causing my car to shake violently every time I drive faster than 45 miles per hour. I am not a crook.
I’m going to miss all those dashboard warning lights.
At 11 a.m., the doors were opened, and I stood behind a group of patrolmen who occupied those vehicles. They were members of the Florida Highway Patrol. I asked them what brought them to South Texas, and they said that they were here to “help with the border.” This sounds like something we should be reporting on, but that’s not my beat, and I don’t get paid enough to follow those leads. (Hence, the beat up car.)
As I waited in line, I took in all the heavenly smells and sounds; post oak, pepper, beef, the sound of a meat cleaver chopping away while country music played in the background. When it was finally my turn to order, I went with some moist sliced brisket, some pork ribs, jalapeno and cheese sausage, rice, beans, mac and cheese, and some beef fat rendered flour tortillas.
“That’s a good looking plate,” one of the workers told me, and I couldn’t agree more. I took a seat, and I was soon joined by my editor, Mark, who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the much-hyped barbecue.
Needless to say, Teddy’s is well worth the hype. We dug into the brisket first, and to my chagrin, I quickly discovered that I am nowhere near articulate enough to properly describe the absolute perfection of these few strips of brisket. Let’s see… soft, smokey, moist, succulent, delectable — I could probably go on for a few pages in my thesaurus.
I placed a slice of brisket in one of the flour tortillas and drizzled some of the tangy barbecue sauce on top. A truly Tex-Mex experience.
The pork ribs were not fall off the bone, yet tender and moist and full of flavor. The real surprise were the jalapeno and cheese sausage.
“Holy sh-” Mark said, who we all know is a frequent church-goer. The casing had the perfect snap, and the pork and seasoning complimented the smokiness of the post oak perfectly.
“I’m actually not a big fan of sausage,” Mark said. “I usually skip it.”
As for the sides, I poured the beans over the rice, and I was not at all surprised that they were absolutely divine. The mac and cheese was creamy and delicious, but regardless of how good those sides were, the meats were simply so good that we had hardly enough room in our stomachs for the sides.
The small dining room remained full for the entirety of our dining experience, and the line never ceased to dwindle — with barbecue enthusiasts lining up outside of the building even as we were leaving.
Give Teddy’s Barbecue a try. Teddy’s is located at 2807 N. Texas Blvd. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
