MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 316
Reg: 08-21-03
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04-04-13 01:35 PM - Post#160007
I am a fan of good BBQ but find it is limited to Pecan Lodge, Lockhart's and the recent addition of Kenny's Smoke House. Granted these are all a bit pricey but they are good and IMO well worth the price.
Enter a new sheriff to the town. Frisco has a new BBQ named 3 Stacks. It is just excellent. Great food and a plethora of draft/craft beers - the newest Franconia is nectar. The beef rib is the absolute best I have had and the ribs are well within the best. However, the ribs should be good. Trace Arnold is the pitmaster and for those that follow the History Channel he had a show called The Rib Whisperer.
The downside of this place is the service tends to be a bit schizophrenic. They have a cafeteria-type line the goes past the meats and some wonderful cornbread and circles to a side dish bar. Then you get to the cashier. They also have service in the "dining room" sometimes and that is the only place you can get smoked salmon and a great BBQ pizza. You can also eat at the bar and the bartender tends to be very accommodating for food orders of all type.
I am sure the service, while really good, will become better. At about $15 per pound for the meats (Ribs, Pork and Brisket) it is nicely priced. A pound of meat is a lot of BBQ. 1/2 chicken is $6.50 and I forget the price on some of the other items. I have yet to try the desserts but they look as good as the BBQ - I would rather fill the space with Franconia.
Google the place and you can get the menu and directions. It is worth trying.
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5920
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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04-05-13 08:29 AM - Post#160028
In response to MCDUFF
Thanks ... I'm going to make it a point to try this place.
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Allennewguy
enthusiast
Posts: 240
Reg: 09-10-12
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04-05-13 09:35 AM - Post#160034
In response to MCDUFF
I am a fan of good BBQ but find it is limited to Pecan Lodge, Lockhart's and the recent addition of Kenny's Smoke House. Granted these are all a bit pricey but they are good and IMO well worth the price.
Enter a new sheriff to the town. Frisco has a new BBQ named 3 Stacks. It is just excellent. Great food and a plethora of draft/craft beers - the newest Franconia is nectar. The beef rib is the absolute best I have had and the ribs are well within the best. However, the ribs should be good. Trace Arnold is the pitmaster and for those that follow the History Channel he had a show called The Rib Whisperer.
The downside of this place is the service tends to be a bit schizophrenic. They have a cafeteria-type line the goes past the meats and some wonderful cornbread and circles to a side dish bar. Then you get to the cashier. They also have service in the "dining room" sometimes and that is the only place you can get smoked salmon and a great BBQ pizza. You can also eat at the bar and the bartender tends to be very accommodating for food orders of all type.
I am sure the service, while really good, will become better. At about $15 per pound for the meats (Ribs, Pork and Brisket) it is nicely priced. A pound of meat is a lot of BBQ. 1/2 chicken is $6.50 and I forget the price on some of the other items. I have yet to try the desserts but they look as good as the BBQ - I would rather fill the space with Franconia.
Google the place and you can get the menu and directions. It is worth trying.
It's a bit of a hike from Allen, but the original Sonny Bryan's near Love Field is still an excellent spot for BBQ!
Edited by Allennewguy on 04-05-13 09:36 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 316
Reg: 08-21-03
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04-05-13 10:38 AM - Post#160036
In response to Allennewguy
It is about 10 - 15 minutes from 75013. Not outrageous for great BBQ and beer. My favorite is Pecan Lodge and that is a hike and they have no beer.
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hollowel
enthusiast
Posts: 188
Reg: 01-29-07
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04-05-13 01:59 PM - Post#160037
In response to MCDUFF
Thanks McDuff!!! I went for lunch today and it was awesome. I got the meat lovers special which is 2 meats and a side with drink and it was very reasonable at $11.00 but my buddy got a sliced beef sandwich with 2 sides and it was $14. The meat are well priced for what you get but the sides are way over priced.
For the meats I got ribs and sliced beef and both were moist and tender with just the right amount of smoke. I will definitely be back when I can enjoy a beer with my BBQ. Also I'm going to have to try the BBQ stuffed bacon wrapped jalapenos.
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Bobcat
member
Posts: 51
Reg: 12-10-11
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04-08-13 01:31 PM - Post#160064
In response to MCDUFF
Went there for lunch with a few co-workers today and I'd have to give this place 2 thumbs up. We all got something different and then shared so we could sample a little bit of everything. Their ribs, brisket and hickory sausage - all were very good, but their bbq chicken was up there with the best I've had (and I grew up eating the bbq from Luling & Lockhart). For sides, I tried their potato salad and creamed corn - both excellent.
Glad this place is close to where I work, I'll be a regular there.
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MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 316
Reg: 08-21-03
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04-19-13 04:38 PM - Post#160345
In response to Bobcat
Check out The Ultimate Smoker and Grill! This is their truck/smoker. It is in West right now fixing and donating food for the workers and survivors.
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 859
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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06-03-13 12:44 PM - Post#161433
In response to MCDUFF
Tried 3 Stacks this weekend and I'm almost 100% sure I will never be back. So disappointed after reading all the good comments on here. We tried 4 different meats (turkey, brisket, jalapeno sausage and pulled pork). The Brisket was the only one that we both enjoyed. The turkey was ok, but not nearly as good as I've had at many places. The jalapeno sausage and pulled pork had horrible texture and were just flat out gross. They both also left us with a gritty and bitter after taste. For the sides we tried green beans, baked beans, mac n cheese and baked potato salad. All the sides were satisfactory (the baked beans were great), except for the green beans. They were easily comparable to canned green beans that were steamed in the microwave. We also tried the jalapeno corn bread muffin and cheese biscuits. Both were extremely chewy and again with a weird texture. The regular BBQ sauce was good but nothing to boast, but I like mine spicy and their hot version was basically just a mixture of vinegar and water and was absolutely disgusting. As soon as I tipped the bottle to give a gentle pour, the water-like consistency sauce POURED all over my plate almost like I just spilled my glass of water (and yes, I shook it prior). Thinking that maybe it was just our bottle I grabbed one from the next table to find that this was obviously normal.
I was already bitter before sitting down when it took us a good 20 minutes to get through the line. Why they only had one of the three registers up and running on a Friday night at 7pm when the line is to the door was beyond me. And I absolutely hated the fact that they expect a server to get your drink when the dispenser was on the dining floor and about 20 feet away from me. If that is their way of getting tips to their employees, it didn't work on me. I just stood in line for 20 minutes getting my own food and you are walking 20 feet away for the drink refills. I don't see that as being tip worthy, sorry.
The long wait to order and pay, the mediocre sides, the horrible hot sauce and the below average meats will definitely keep me from giving this a second try. Even when people say "you didn't get the right things". We got what we normally like, if they can't meet our standards on those items, why would I try with items I don't normally eat. We'll stick to Rudy's (Hell, I'd even take Dickey's over 3 Stacks).
Disclaimer: I am by no means a BBQ expert. Being from Michigan I have no idea what is considered "real BBQ" nor do I care. I only listen to what my taste buds tell me.
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MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 316
Reg: 08-21-03
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06-03-13 02:17 PM - Post#161434
In response to AA
Too bad you had such a bad experience. I am sure, however, that as soon as you mentioned your dissatisfaction to Jason he bent over backwards to make it right. He has a very simple motto, "Never let a customer walk away unhappy". If nothing else, I am confident, he comped your entire bill.
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 859
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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06-03-13 03:01 PM - Post#161435
In response to MCDUFF
I see where you are going but truthfully neither my wife or myself are very confrontational people unless absolutely need be so we did not ask for any type of compensation.
But in all fairness, just because somebody got comped a meal, I don't believe that it either over shadows the bad experience or takes away your right to voice your thoughts. Sometimes it may justify for a second visit to try again, but I just don't really think we would have even if we did speak up and/or got our meal comped.
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MCDUFF
enthusiast
Posts: 316
Reg: 08-21-03
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06-03-13 05:19 PM - Post#161437
In response to AA
I would just think they deserved the same courtesy as if they were, for lack of a better example, On the Border. In the case of 3 Stacks I know they would go out of their way to make sure everything possible was done to correct any problem. I would bet either Jason or Trace stopped at your table to ask if there were any problem.
Where I am going with this is the unfairness in not allowing them to correct your issues and condemning them for an issue they were unaware of.
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 859
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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06-03-13 05:42 PM - Post#161439
In response to MCDUFF
If they see fit, they can make corrections based off my soon to be review on yelp. Which I'm sure they look at. whether or not they act on those types of reviews is up to them. But we see what happens to places that don't (Tootie's, Nate's, etc).
in the end, I prefer places that don't have issues that need to be corrected. And there are plenty of them around. I'm sure they will do fine. I appear to be the minority in looking at other reviews.
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SB
enthusiast
Posts: 1551
Reg: 09-07-03
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06-03-13 08:17 PM - Post#161440
In response to AA
I'm with AA on this. Food is the core of a restaurant and if a bunch of foods are not to my liking, well there is a large world of other restaurants to try without trying to change each to my liking. The owner or manager should always be aware of how the food tastes and shouldn't need my input.
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Joe Armstrong
member
Posts: 78
Reg: 01-06-12
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06-04-13 02:06 PM - Post#161468
In response to SB
I will have to disagree that food is the core of a restaurant. It is actually near the bottom. If AA would not have had to wait as long in line and there were sufficient staffing to meet the customers needs , we would probably not be having this conversation. In ranks it is more like Location, Atmosphere and then Food.
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AA
enthusiast
Posts: 859
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 07-20-09
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06-04-13 07:08 PM - Post#161472
In response to Joe Armstrong
I will have to disagree that food is the core of a restaurant. It is actually near the bottom. If AA would not have had to wait as long in line and there were sufficient staffing to meet the customers needs , we would probably not be having this conversation. In ranks it is more like Location, Atmosphere and then Food.
Actually quite the opposite. I would, and have gone back if the food was good but received bad service. Hoping that just another server/night would treat me better. However, if I had great service but bad food between my wife and I's dishes (Los Charros, Papa Lopez) there is a very good chance I never will, and never have gone back. But when both aspects strike out (3 Stacks), it's a pretty good chance I'll never give it another chance.
If I want atmosphere and location, I will go to The Londoner or some other pub for happy hour or night cap. When I want go to a restaurant for dinner, I expect good food. Should be a restaurant's main focus.
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bsnelson
enthusiast
Posts: 873
Loc: Allen, TX 75013
Reg: 10-14-05
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06-04-13 10:07 PM - Post#161475
In response to AA
Totally agree that food should be king at a restaurant. I'll forgive almost any service issues if the food is good. An exception would be in a very high end place (in the >$50/person exclusive of drinks range).
Brad
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TheGame
member
Posts: 60
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 05-19-10
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06-05-13 10:27 AM - Post#161488
In response to bsnelson
I'm going to go ahead and jump on the pile and say that the food needs to be #1. If a place is close and the atmosphere is nice, but the food is awful to mediocre, I'm not going back. I'm more inclined to forgive a place for a bad food experience once, but never twice. There are too many options that are above average that I can patronize.
| “When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know.” - Bill Parcells |
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kzoch
member
Posts: 56
Loc: West Allen
Reg: 08-04-08
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07-11-13 02:40 PM - Post#162118
In response to TheGame
Just read Lockhart is opening a new location in Downtown Plano.
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5920
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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07-11-13 08:19 PM - Post#162125
In response to kzoch
Just read Lockhart is opening a new location in Downtown Plano.
    
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Raider18
enthusiast
Posts: 128
Loc: West Side
Reg: 03-07-11
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01-20-14 12:09 PM - Post#165670
In response to Al C
They are remodeling to become a full service restaraunt. No more lines!!
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