Hungry Hippo

We had barbecue at three different places--Pappa's, Otto's, and Goode Company. I kept it real with consistency at each place--I sampled the pork platter, with baked beans and cole slaw, every time. In my experience with Texas barbecue, I think the sauce should have a tangy, rich tomato flavour. The meat should be well seasoned, to the point of being flavourful all the way through, and should be so tender that it's falling off the bone or that the nudge of the fork is all that's necessary to eat it, without having to wrestle it off the fork. All three places had the texture more or less right, but were quite different in other respects.
Downtown Pappa's had flavourful, well-seasoned pork and nice beans, but obviously lacked smokiness in its meat. It was pretty good overall, and the fact that I didn't manage to get a photo here before scarfing it all down is pretty indicative.
Otto's was the worst; the beans tasted as though someone threw in some high-fructose corn syrup and the meat, with or without sauce, was very one-dimensional in flavour. The fact that the meal was served in a styrofoam didn't help either--I find styrofoam to be one of the most objectionable inventions ever. Maybe this below-par experience was because the Otto's we visited was in the Houston Center food court, but we all agreed that we had some very unsatisfying barbecue. I confess that we crossed the mall and order some chicken strips from Chik-fil-a immediately after polishing off our lunch from Otto's.
Finally, Goode Company, oh Goode Company, had the greatest barbecue. I had the pork ribs, which were mesquite smoky, with a great, tomato-ey sauce that is perfect for sopping up with their jalapeno cheese bread... mmmm... And of course, the pecan pie is truly heavenly. All this, while sitting outside at a picnic table, listening to classic, Grand Ole Opry style, country music.