Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A longtime area favorite and a relative newbie are the talk of the towns this week. The Schooner is in a coastal roundup Texas Highways good eats and Texas Monthly has listed Redbird BBQ  high up in its always-anticipated barbecue list. Here’s the deal:

 

Redbird BBQ in Port Neches has made the Texas Monthly has made the Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas list and locals are pretty excited. Dubbed some of the best in barbecue in Texas, Amir Jalali is giving us some seasoning. The No. 4 ranking mentions tender, glazed pork ribs for sweetness and glossy slices of wobbly brisket pleasantly salty and smoky. Here’s a quote: The smoked koobideh sausage might be the most unusual link in this region known for its beef sausages. The Persian-inspired beef-and-onion mixture is flavored with saffron, mint, and turmeric. To bring it back home to southeast Texas, Jalali also adds some green onion before casing and smoking the sausage. Jalali’s father, Hamid Jalali, an Iranian immigrant, bakes pita to wrap each sausage in; the whole thing is topped with fresh Shirazi salad and a whipped sauce of yogurt and feta. It is truly singular in the Texas barbecue landscape. The sides are no afterthought, either. Heavily dressed Caesar slaw is topped with croutons made from leftover house-baked rolls. The fresh rolls are served with honey butter. The red beans and rice and the roasted-garlic potato salad are thoroughly satisfying, but the cheesy scalloped potatoes already have a spot in our sides Hall of Fame.

 

“Reel Deals” – The June Texas Highways mentions some area hot spots we love in a roundup of 20 timeless coastal eateries. The Schooner in Nederland is noted for crabs.

“Hardcore coastal road-road trippers will want to start at this easternmost seafood house owned by the Megas family since the 1950s for a plate of its legendary barbecue crab,” the mention begins. Singaree Restaurant & Marina of Crystal Beach is called out for platters of Cajun seafood and the view of tugs, barges and fishing fleet. Take the Plunge is the header for a round up of good vibes at seafood stalwarts along the gulf. I wish I’d had this assignment. 

 

Texas Stats Baby – 6 Singing Mockingbirds, 5 Yellow Cactus Flowers, 3 Busy Oil Pumps and 2 Lowing Longhorns. Every Texas family wants their little star to learn the

Lone Star State’s wonders. It’s adorable and on target. “Count on Texas: Baby’s First Book About the Lone Star State” is a thick, touchable read by Nicole LaRue from Gibbs

Smith. Too soon to think stocking stuffers?

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for summer flavors. Share your ideas at darraghcastillo@icloud.com