On the return leg of my trip to Austin, I had a long layover at DFW so I got the chance to eat at Cousin's Barbecue, a small Ft. Worth chain that's opened up an outlet at Gate D28.
Both the food and the service were far better than what you usually get in an airport.
About Cousin's
Not only has Cousin's been named to Texas Monthly's list of the Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas, but over the holidays a journalist flew from airport to airport simply to eat at the different restaurants. The over-gorged reporter declared that the DFW location of Cousin's was one of the best airport eateries he tried.
I had also read that the location in Terminal D was better than the one in Terminal B, so that's where I went.
The Food
Cousin's is best known for their brisket, so I tried a two-meat platter that included beef brisket and German sausage. Given a choice of two sides, I selected the mashed potatoes with gravy and macaroni salad.
The brisket was carved in thin, tender slices from a huge slab. I saw fatty portions on the slab but all of the meat I got was lean though still tender. It was very good brisket but I didn't get enough of the burnt crispy parts that I love in barbecue.
The sausage was similar, though not quite spicy enough for my taste. But perhaps more spice would have conflicted with the very sharp, piquant taste of the barbecue sauce, which I requested be supplied on the side. The sauce was very good and a perfect complement to the meats, but masked the very smoky flavor of the brisket.
The sides were pretty good too, with the surprise being the strong black pepper taste of the mashed potatoes (in the potatoes themselves, I believe, rather than the gravy).
The Service and The Weather
The service at Cousin's was friendly in a polite, competent way, which wouldn't be remarkable except for the fast food counter format and the airport location. The next time I go through DFW I'll try Cousin's again and perhaps pick up a bottle of the sauce.
It felt a little strange to be eating barbecue at 9 am but I justified it since a) my body's internal clock was really on East Coast time and b) the airline had awakened me at 4 am to reschedule my cancelled flight out of Austin. By the time I got to DFW I was pretty hungry, not having had the chance to grab breakfast as I hurried to make an early flight.
The winter storms that hit Texas this week had left DFW with a sheet of ice, so much so that they had to tow our plane to the gate and our outbound plane took about an hour to break out of the ice that encased it.
Airport or Shopping Mall
I had never been in Terminal D before and as I said, it is both huge and filled with stores and restaurants. (An advertising poster said something like "A place the size of Manhattan needs plenty of places to shop and eat.")
I took the new SkyLink monorail to Terminal D since I had time to kill and wanted to try it. It wasn't particularly fast and there are times it would be quicker to walk, especially if you need to cut through the middle of the airport, but it was clean and modern.
I found it interesting that the airport had invested so heavily in large pieces of artwork. Right next to Cousin's was a structure that looked like a warped skyscraper city-scape:
I liked this mosaic in the floor:
I never figured out this circular blue glass work (Circling by Christopher Janney), even after reading the (confusing) riddling instructions embedded in the middle. (I mean, which way is north?) There was a kind of crystal tone sound in the structure, but it didn't seem to change when I walked through it. I think it only works if you walk in the correct pattern.
hi! wondering if i can use your image of the facade of the restaurant for an article i'm writing for taste of home? we'll link back to your blog! thanks.
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