Loop 9 BBQ

April 13, 2023

505

Written by Charles Crews

Photos Will Crews

Grand Prairie has a new Barbeque restaurant. LOOP 9 BBQ in the EpicCentral district.

I have been a barbeque guy for years and have been to some of the best barbeque places in Texas and other states along the way. My favorite places so far in Texas are Franklin Barbeque in Austin Texas, which earned the #1 spot in Texas Monthly Magazine’s top 50 but is currently #7, another favorite is Hutchins BBQ in McKinney Texas, also on the top 50 list. I am looking forward to trying Goldee’s, which currently holds the #1 spot and is just right down the road in Kennedale, Texas.

So, when my brother ask if I wanted to try the new BBQ place in Grand Prairie for my birthday lunch, I’m like heck yeah let’s go. Grand Prairie hasn’t had a really good BBQ restaurant since Reds BBQ closed years ago IMO. I have tried all the current BBQ restaurants here in Grand Prairie and while some were ok, I was looking for great. My pick for Grand Prairie’s top BBQ would be Loop 9 BBQ, with Zavala’s on Main Street coming up next.

LOOP 9 BBQ

My first impression was, this place is cool and looked almost too nice for a BBQ joint, the bright red smoker setting at the front of the restaurant was something I wish I had in my backyard. We were the first to arrive at 11:00am and were greeted by Britt, one of the managers. After talking to him for a little bit he ask if we would give him some feedback on the Barbeque and side dishes. Oh no, someone wants my opinion about their BBQ, Hey, I’m all in lol. First, I love BBQ, second, I got opinions. I figure if you ask, hey you better be good. Well, after getting in the line that had formed, we got our order in and we both had what else, that’s right, brisket. I had half a pound of sliced from the flat part (lean) and the point part (moist). The point is the fattier part of the meat, my favorite! My brother had the lean. We had the potato salad, and he had the Borracha Beans. Britt brought out some coleslaw and Mexican corn for us to try. I had the corn which was surprisingly good, the coleslaw was a little lacking in my opinion. As we were finishing up Britt brought over some dessert, key lime pie, and banana cream pudding, both were very good. After we finished, Britt gave us the grand tour and I must say the Smokers were a couple of impressive, massive custom built wood rotisserie smokers!

Two large custom smokers that hold up to 85 briskets at once.

The atmosphere was nice. They played some great music. It was relaxing sitting in the outdoor dining area, overlooking the water of Epic Central. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

Okay, so let’s get to the most important part, THE MEAT! The meat was tender and moist, the fat was rendered nicely and very juicy, it was smoked fat side up, so not a heavy of a smoke ring. Fat side up is the Texas way to smoke brisket to get that nice bark. A lot of Pitmasters will smoke fat side down, so they get that pronounced pink smoke ring for presentation for the judges. So, what did we think of Grand Prairies’ new BBQ restaurant? Not bad, actually the meat was dang good! Was it as good as some of the top 50 that we have tried? Almost! I will say if you get a chance, make sure you stop in and check it out for yourself. I highly recommend it if you like really good BBQ, I believe you’ll like LOOP 9 BBQ in our Grand Prairie town.