The hue and cry of Smitty's in Lockhart, Texas being left off the Texas Monthly Top 50 is baffling.

If you eat with your eyes then yes, the old smokehouse would be in the number one position. There is none finer. But the meat is routinely tough, underseasoned and rushed off the pit before it even approaches being servable.

Dodging the big fire on the floor in the meat room is easily the best part of the experience at Smitty's.

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We expect Alto Shaam sales to skyrocket in the wake of Franklin Barbecue's victory in the battle for ascendancy in the world of Texas barbecue.

You got to keep the meat hot for service, and there is no finer way to accomplish this than through the use of the almighty kitchen appliance, the Alto Shaam.

Put to good use each day at Franklin.

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Weathered old pit boss Larry McGuire's Lambert's Barbecue's inclusion on the Texas Monthly BBQ Top 50 list comes as a surprise to no one.

The little smoke shack down on Guadalupe is the destination of barbecue pilgrims from around the globe, and you'll find McGuire down there 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing what he does best: quietly tending the fires, reading old Louis L'amour novels and wallowing an old cud of Redman around amidst the ruined pegs of what were once perfect teeth.

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Some of the omissions on the list are so glaring we wonder if the authors have ever even broken bread in Texas. We'll have a more detailed analysis up later. For now, here's the list:

Alamo The Original Willie's

Amarillo Tyler's

Austin Franklin, John Mueller, LA Barbecue, Lamberts, Stiles Switch. Google map of all 50 after the jump

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Busy Bee, East Austin's most famous bookie has seen it all in his 40+ years on the East Side. We sat down with him for a few minutes recently at the Cesar Chavez watering hole where he plies his trade, taking bets on everything under the sun.

The Bee had called us up on the phone, and wanted to let us know he's taking book on the big Texas Monthly top 50 barbecue list.

Then he dropped a bombshell.

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Has it really been a full year since we gassed up the Econoline and hit Shep's Barbecue for some of the best pork ribs in Texas?

http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/2/

Born February 18, 1932

Died April 28, 2013

Lee Hays Chambers opened Chambers Grocery and Market in downtown Luling, Texas in 1969. He would remain open, vending green groceries, meats, and sundries til retirement in 1994.

After 8 years of wool-gathering, Mr. Chambers stepped back into the meat world by opening Luling Bar-B-Que in 2002. His smokehouse was recognized by Texas Monthly as being one of the top 50 in the great state.

Quite the accomplishment considering there are 1000s of pit rooms across Texas.

Hico native Chambers had previously operated Chambers Bar-B-Que in Wimberly, Texas.

Sadly, we have written dozens of obituaries for this site http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/RIP-Rest-

This is article number 2000 on the Scrumptious Chef site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Just when we'd given up hope on the Austin Chronicle, the old dowager reaches deep into her battered purse and issues an excellent article from the pen of Kenny Pailes.

We have no idea who Pailes is, but he's crafted a very fine example of barbecue journalism with his "La Barbecue Turns Up the Heat With Secret Pit Technology"

John Lewis is one of the top young gun pit bosses in Central Texas, and he's also a part-time welder who has constructed a brand new pit for his south Austin meat joint.

Read the narrative http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/food/2013-04-26/la

and please hire Kenny Pailes full time so we won't have to put up with the over hyped and breathless prose from Virginia "fangirl" Wood http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/22

One of our favorite Austin honkytonks, Giddy Ups down near Manchaca, is hosting a barbecue party/benefit for Robert Grubb this Saturday at 2pm.

It's a combination bake sale, barbecue and cheap beer party to raise money for one of their patrons who is ill.

The poster has all the details.

Giddy Ups is one of the last of the old timey Central Texas honky tonks and is our all time favorite bar to watch the Kentucky Derby in in Austin.

It's called Giddy Ups for a reason y'all.

When was the last time you had brisket so bad it threatened to put you off barbecue for a minimum of one year and potentially a lifetime? If you want to relive that feeling, motor on up to The Stallion, the venerable Airport Blvd meat n 3 that recently served me a brisket sandwich so bad I wanted to bring in Terry Funk from Amarillo to wipe the floors with their sorry excuse for a pit boss.

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Lots of blather coming out of New York City. Robert Sietsema had clown suit makers scrambling across the USA last week when his issued a broadside claiming that NYC barbecue is easily on par with traditional centers of smoked meat like Kansas City, Memphis and Central Texas.

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