I am a barbecue afficionado. When I told some friends in Houston that I was going down there, and could they suggest somewhere to eat, the name Williams’ Smokehouse came up. They said it was the best place in town. One of my friends, who happens to be on a championship competition barbecue team as well as a judge, says he’d like Williams’ ribs to be his last meal.

We had originally planned on meeting up at Williams’ Smokehouse for dinner, but plans were changed and we ended up actually at our friend’s house. He picked up the barbecue for us earlier in the day. This turned out to be even better, because we could eat in comfort without worrying about the kids or being kicked out at closing time (7 pm).

This also gave our friend a chance to showcase his own barbecue, in this case some chopped pork butt that he had smoked on his Weber Smoky Mountain. He also provided the cole slaw and buns.

So here on the plate are brisket and ribs from Williams’ and chopped pork and cole slaw from my friend Pete.

These ribs were the best ribs I have ever had. Seriously. They were cooked tender but not dry, flavorful but not overly spicy or smoky. The brisket and pork were also delicious. But oh, the ribs!

I’m so sad we ran out. We should have picked up another rack.

More pics from our Texas trip on my Ball of Dirt journal: http://www.ballofdirt.com/journeys/17578.html

Aloha, Nate

Edit: So sad to note that Williams’ Smokehouse burned down, and the proprieter had no plans to reopen. Where now can we get perfect ribs?