Tell a Texan about a competition that will determine the best barbecue joint in the world and you will get an insincere, “That’s nice.” Tell that same person that Texas Monthly Magazine will invite all the best Texas joints together, open it up to the public and let them decide and you will get a stampede.

The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival was held on the patio of the Long Center in Austin. Those 918 lucky (and quick) enough to get a $15 ticket to the bash (tickets were snatched up in one day and were reselling for upwards of $200 on Craig’s List) got to sample and vote for who they thought was the best. Among the field were such heavy hitters as Smitty’s Market, Louie Mueller’s and Kreuz Market.

Since the early 70’s, the most anticipated Texas Monthly edition has been the semi-decade top 50 barbecue issue. In a state where barbecue is serious business, inclusion on that list is very, very good for, as they say “bitness.”

If your ‘que finds its way to the top of the heap, then the eyes of Texas will be firmly affixed upon you (which sets off a reaction of tongues awagg’n and teeth achew’n) as was the case with tiny Snow’s of Lexington in the last barbecue issue in ‘08 who held that coveted top position.

Food editor, Pat Sharpe, recalls the meeting when they were discussing hosting an event. “We were thinking of a Freetoe pie cook-off. Then someone mentioned how about a barbecue cook-off? A resounding ‘Duh’ swept across the room.” The first (and surly annual) Texas Monthly BBQ Festival was on its way to becoming a reality.

Being held in Austin, it was a given that there would be some first rate live music. There were also cooking demonstrations, but make no mistake, the belle of the ball was the barbecue.

Just in case you were wondering how the editors of Texas Monthly’s darling, Snow’s stacked up with the paying guests/judges. They were everything advertised, taking home a tie for best brisket with Buzzy’s of Kerrville. Other winners were Stanley’s Famous of Tyler in Pork Ribs and the biggest winner was Cousin’s of Fort Worth who took home best beef ribs and sausage.

Photo courtesy of David Gelin

David Gelin is the author of the book BBQ Joint, Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue Belt. He and canine co-author, Buddy, are currently on the barbecue trail finding new joints. They feel that they are only telling half the story, hence they are gathering the other half of the story, not joints, but people with day jobs. If you would like to nominate someone as a future BBQ Person, send a brief description to bbqpeople@mindspring.com.

50 BEST PLACES TO EAT BARBECUE IN TEXAS

50 BEST PLACES TO EAT BARBECUE IN TEXAS

Watch Nick & Jonathan prepare a brisket on "In the Kitchen" -- KLTV Channel 7

Pit Master (and super great guy), Jonathan Shaw, gathers the fuel for the fire...

STANLEY'S MAKES NATIONAL NEWS!

OUR FRIEND DAVID GELIN, AUTHOR OF "BBQ JOINTS", WAS INTERVIEWED ON

ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA

WE SENT SOME RIBS TO NEW YORK CITY AND GOT A NICE PAT ON THE BACK!!

.

By STEWART SMITH

Staff Writer - IN Magazine

History is often relegated to museums, roadside markers, books and other rather impersonal avenues. However, at Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Que, a landmark of nearly 50 years, still lets its customers not only experience this small part of Tyler’s history, they’ll even let you take a bite of it.

Currently under the ownership and management of Nick Pencis, the restaurant was originally opened by J.D. Stanley sometime between 1959 and 1960. The timeline is vague, but that’s because even Stanley’s surviving children don’t quite remember. What they are certain of, though, is that their father opened the restaurant to help make a better life for the family, Pencis said.

The story goes that Stanley, an oilfield worker at the time, was called out to work one Christmas morning. As he put on his boots and pulled over his jacket, Stanley made a promise to his wife and kids that this would be the last time something like this would happen.

“So he quit the oilfield and opened this restaurant,” Pencis said.

One restaurant soon turned into five, with locations on the downtown square, on Gentry and Beckham, in Green Acres shopping center, on Broadway Avenue where Shoguns now stands next to Sonic, and the original location, which still stands, near the corner of Beckham and Houston Street.

Two restaurants occupied the space before Stanley’s came about, Pencis said, though he’s unsure of what they were or when they came about. The only clue is the date “Dec. 21, 1945” inside the cooler in the back of the restaurant.

Culinary Identity

Like any respectable barbecue joint, Stanley’s offered the standard assortment of ribs and brisket and sausage and turkey, but it wasn’t until Stanley began offering his signature sandwiches that the restaurant began to form its identity in the East Texas barbecue community, most notably The Brother-in-Law. Now, to understand the origin of the Brother-in-Law, or simply the Bro, as is shouted when an order for one is taken, one must first understand the origin of its precursor: The Shrove (or Scherove, depending on which menu you’re looking at). Named after Shrove Day (aka Fat Tuesday), the Shrove contains ham, cheese, brisket and sauce on a toasted bun.

“They basically put as much freakin’ meat on there as they could,” Pencis said. “So I guess one old man in particular didn’t care for ham and told J.D., ‘put me a link on there. I don’t want that ham on there.’ I don’t remember if the guy reminded J.D. of his brother-in-law or if he just said, ‘Well this is going to be the brother-in-law of the Shrove,’ the name just kind of came out of their conversation, and the old man kept coming in and was like, “Make me one of them brother-in-law sandwiches.’”

The Bro wasn’t on the menu for years until Chris Smith took over in 2000 and became confused when customers would constantly come in and request the sandwich. Upon discovery precisely what it was they wanted, the mountain of brisket and hot links was promptly added to the paper menu stapled to the wall.

Pencis took over management and ownership from Smith in 2006 and has allowed customers to help the menu evolve, just as the old man did who birthed the Brother-in-Law, which now has turkey and pulled pork variants and even various bread options such as the jalapeno cheese sourdough bun.

“The Ex-Wife is sort of the same thing,” Pencis said. “A guy in line said, ‘Make me a sandwich with pork and sliced beef on it and I’m gonna name it after my ex-wife, because she was a fat cow with a pig’s (posterior).’”

He’s made some other modifications to recipes – they no longer put eight cups of sugar in their potato salad, for instance – but Pencis said he tries to remain true to Stanley’s recipes when possible while still being a bit more health-conscious. However, one thing that has remained constant? The sauce, the recipe for which Pencis still has on hand-written pages from Stanley.

“The sauce is exactly the same, as is the hot barbecue sauce,” he said.

Blowing Smoke

As any fan of ‘cue knows, the cooking method and flavors of barbecue are as diverse as the regions they are served in. Barbecue in Central Texas will taste completely different from barbecue in Tennessee or the Carolinas due to preferences of sauce, the meat served and even the type of wood burned in the cooking process.

“There’s a lot of argument with Texas barbecue in general, like, if you’re not in Lockhart or Llano or Luling or Elgin or any of those places down in Central Texas it’s just not Texas barbecue,” Pencis said. “That’s how the really, really hardcore barbecue people are. And I get it, man. These places are over 100 years old and it’s just wild to see how they did it.”

Pencis said he tries to honor the history of Central Texas barbecue, but also tries to forge his own identity which, for him, largely comes down to one thing: Smoke. Stanley’s has its signature sauce, but Pencis said he’s never focused heavily on rubs like in Central Texas or sauce like in Tennessee.

“Here, it goes straight in the fire and that’s it. Down (in Central Texas), a lot of those guys cook hotter and shorter, but we cook lower and longer,” he said. “Down there it’s all post oak, because it’s really prevalent. Up here it’s mesquite or hickory, but I use pecan tree. I wanted to be different. Originally, J.D. was a hickory guy, but it was a decision I made to kind of help us stand out. It’s just pretty subtle. It smells different in the air.”

But while he has his preferences, Pencis said he’s never above experimenting and trying new things to get new, better flavors.

“I’m not as crazy as some of these people though, who are all, ‘You’ve gotta use this wood that’s chopped down on the third moon of the fourth high tide.’ There are some people that are that crazy,” he said.

Pencis also realizes that barbecue can often be as much an emotional connection as much as it is a taste preference, hence the extreme loyalty some customers have to their favorite ‘cue joint.

“People’s preferences of barbecue and the way they judge it, it comes down to the place that’s closest to your house, or where you go to the most often or where did your grandpa take you, that’s the bar to clear,” he said.

Grooves and Grub

Pencis said he takes his work very seriously and aims to give the best service possible to his customers, but also to provide a little slice of something different as well, hence his desire to prominently feature live music during most summers, like a small piece of Austin come to roost right there in Tyler. The combination of food and music was a natural one, the direct result of being raised by a chef father.

“My dad was an executive chef. He’s been a chef all over the world. He cooked for Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Club, he cooked at The Hilton in New York, back when that was a big deal. I literally remember growing up in the kitchen,” Pencis said. “He was also at one point the general manager at a country club. And they’d have a big party and I’d be in the kitchen playing with the lobsters and watching the guys make the crazy sculptures out of butter. And when I would get bored in the kitchen, my dad would take me out behind the dance stand, put me in a chair behind the drummer and told me to stay put. So I’d just sit behind the drummer all night and watch him. That’s how music and food really kind of came into play.”

After spending several years on the road as drummer for a rock band, Pencis decided he’d had enough of schlepping equipment and crashing on floors and decided to come back to Tyler where his family still lived. His intent was to get a Master’s of business administration and own his own business, but when his friend, Smith, decided he was ready to move on, Pencis took a leap of faith in taking over the operation.

The decision seems to have worked out so far with business still as fervent as ever. Pencis -- who said he still remembers that first revelatory bite of a Brother-in-Law he took nearly ten years ago – said he simply feels fortunate to help run such a distinct part of Tyler’s history.

“I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to own a small business with the history that it does. They could go to a bunch of places around, but they come here,” he said

FROM THE TULSA WORLD NEWSPAPER

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5TH, 2008

CLICK THE ARTICLE TO OPEN SHARPER .PDF FILE

Stanley's is featured in the new book

BBQ JOINTS by author DAVID GELIN

click to watch a clip about Stanley's from CBS 19 News