Photo by Joshua Justice

Trent Brooks, pitmaster and owner of Brooks Place BBQ, earned a well-deserved spot on the list.

The last time Texas Monthly released its list of the 50 best barbecue joints in Texas was 2008. During that five-year interim, a lot has changed. Namely, the Austin-based magazine now boasts its very own barbecue editor -- the only publication anywhere to have a single person devoted to the cuisine.

That barbecue editor is Daniel Vaughn, the much-discussed and highly respected former barbecue blogger who's noted for two fairly amazing accomplishments as of late: First is his book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, which is the debut title under Anthony Bourdain's line of books for publishing company Ecco.

The second accomplishment is driving more than 10,000 miles for that book as well as for Texas Monthly's latest barbecue guide. Indeed, between Vaughn and longtime food editor Pat Sharpe, the team covered an accumulated 33,168 miles and visited 658 places across the state before deciding on the final 50.

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Mai's bo luc lac is perfect every time.

It starts out innocently enough. With a long day spent squinting at a computer screen behind us and the glistening sun beckoning us to one of Houston's many patios, we find ourselves letting loose at a happy hour with friends. Fast-forward a few buckets of beer and a handful of increasingly sloppy games of bags later, and we realize we've gotten a little too loose and have completely "forgotten" dinner once again. Enter Mai's -- the land of post-party misfits in dire need of some grub.

And excellent grub at that. While some may have their woes with the midtown Vietnamese restaurant, I love it each and every time I visit (and yes, that includes non-intoxicated meals). Perhaps, though, that's because I know what I like -- and I get it every single time.

You probably should, too, because it's freaking fantastic.

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Photo by Joanna O'Leary

Where's the beef? Who the f*ck cares? Camel rocks!

I was intent on ordering the antelope.

Sammy's Wild Game Grill offers a variety of exotic meatstuffs, but I wanted to try something really, well, wild. The last time I remember seeing the word "antelope" on the menu was eight-odd years ago at Jiko in Walt Disney World. But at the time I went for something tamer because I was a cranky, unadventurous tweenager.

I didn't anticipate, however, that Sammy's would be offering a special that would make antelope seem pedestrian and render my interest in it obsolete. "Camel $11.95" read the blackboard list of seasonal meats.

Well, yes, yes, I will have dromedary for dinner.

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Monty Python's Spamalot will be coming to Houston's Theatre Under The Stars soon, running from May 14 through May 26. To pay homage to the musical, we've compiled 5 Spamtastic Recipes for y'all to try.

Time to "eat ham, and jam and Spam a lot."

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Holy shit, you guys. I made Pappa Geno's Wicked Philly at home and it was the best thing ever. For real -- this cheese steak is legit. Like MC Hammer legit. Maybe I'll call it the MC Hammer. Or maybe the BV Hammer. I don't know, I'll have to think about it and get back to you.

If you haven't had the Wicked Philly, you must. It's some sort of sick Philly-Chicago cheese steak hybrid loaded with juicy steak, cheese, mayo, and hot giardiniera. Like I said, LEGIT. Also now that I've written legit three times in the matter of a minute I'm going to see how many times I can stick it in this post.

Pappa Geno's original is obviously legit and all (4), but sometimes I don't feel like having a 4,000-calorie sandwich for lunch. My version is by no means a diet dish, yet somehow I feel its a bit lighter...like at least a little. Maybe. I hope. Whatever -- it's definitely smaller and has substantially less oil and mayo. Shut up.

Here's how to make it:

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Photo by SeabrookeLeckie.com.

Stop your yapping and get in the pot.

Even though I grew up in central Pennsylvania and have a spot for Punxsutawney Phil, I still get annoyed that we give credence to meteorological predictions made by buck-toothed rodents.

When I lived in Massachusetts, I used to get downright angry at these woodchuck forecasts, especially when they involved many more days of snow, ice, and freezing rain. (Note: This year for once Phil seems hopeful.) More often than not, these pronouncements of six more weeks of winter become weird self-fulfilling prophecies in which people bleakly resign ourselves to remain in grouchy winter mode even if four out of seven days of the week the sun is shining brightly.

Well, if you're like me (and the Addams family), perhaps you'll get some vindictive pleasure in being able to feast on those who would subdue you. Because as it turns out groundhog can be mighty tasty:

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This year will mark the 136th time the Cattle Raisers Convention has met, but it's in a climate that these cattlemen haven't battled for a long time. More than 2,500 ranchers and landowners are convening in Fort Worth this March to discuss a trifecta of issues that won't easily be solved.

Ranchers throughout Texas -- and, increasingly, the rest of the country -- are now faced with three distinct but interwoven challenges: a deepening financial crisis that is decreasing consumer demand for beef, the lowest cattle supplies since the 1940s and a lingering drought that has expanded to other parts of the country. This time last year, we explored that last issue in our cover story, "Meat Market."

During the worst of the 2011 drought, more than 80 percent of Texas cattle ranchers were forced to cull or entirely liquidate their herds. Tough news for a state in which cattle ranching accounts for an enormous portion of our total agriculture industry. It exceeds the value of all other Texas crops -- from cotton to corn -- combined.

Just last week, Cargill Inc. -- the largest privately held corporation in the United States, which supplies roughly 22 percent of the domestic meat market -- announced that it was closing its beef processing plant in Plainview due to the decreasing numbers of cattle. The plant employed 2,000 people.

"Ranchers are headed toward an unprecedented crossroads that is sure to be a critical point in the history of the Texas cattle industry," said Joe Parker Jr., rancher and TSCRA president.

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It's the end of the world as we know it, but we'll still dine...

As the Mayan Apocalypse is upon us, we polled, well, ourselves, to find out what we'd want our last meal on Earth to be.

From local favorites paired by Houston's finest to a seven-course meal ending in a dessert of opium, here's what our EOW bloggers had to say:

John Gray
A Starch Parade with a Side of Opium, Please

"My dream end of the world meal, huh? Wow. I guess the appetizer would be buffalo wings from the Panama Grill that burned down in 1994. I've never had wings that tasty and tangy before or since. Main course, I'm going to go with my Memaw's chicken and dumplings. For sides...macaroni and cheese the way Boston Market used to do it years ago before they changed all their shit up. Mashed potatoes from the Kelley's in Pearland with their house gravy. Then let's finish this starch parade off with a dessert of a pumpkin, cream cheese, and ginger snap crepe from Melange Creperie. For beverage I'd like a Dublin Dr Pepper, and since it's the end of the world, if I could get some opium in that, that would be great."

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It just feels right...

Remember the McGangbang? Yeah, sorry...We're sorry we brought it up again, too. But it got us thinking: Surely there have to be other "secret menu" items lurking out there, just waiting to be discovered. And because we live in a sick, sick world, there are. So we dug them up for you, because we're just as sick.

Check out these 5 "Secret Menu" Fast Food Sandwiches & Wraps:

Disclaimer: You may not be able to order these items by name, but if you seek mediocre thrills in life and want to give it a go, don't forget to document it on YouTube for the rest of us.

See also: 5 Fat Food "Secret Menu" Burgers You Probably Shouldn't Try

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Photo by Tiff_Sin

We heart meat.

With this week's news that meat magnates Ronnie Killen of Killen's Steakhouse and Ricky Craig of Hubcap Grill are teaming up to create a mega-steakhouse, Wonder Twins-style, it seems as good a time as any to examine the steakhouse scene here in Houston. (It should also serve as succor for those carnivores turned off by last week's list of the Top 10 Vegan Restaurants.)

While we're not quite the steakhouse town that we used to be (you can thank the oil boom and, later, the Enron crash for that turn of events), Houston still has some top-notch steaks for those willing to splash out the cash. And believe me -- these are some pricey places. For the cost of one ribeye steak and a side of brussels sprouts at Morton's ($57 before tax and tip), as an example, you could also have a four-course meal at Oxheart and have money left for a glass of wine.

That said, if you're looking for a terrific piece of meat and the swank atmosphere that comes with dining in a luxurious, well-appointed steakhouse -- these are the places to beat right now.

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