Brooks' Place

Trent Brooks’ humble trailer in a parking lot next to an Ace Hardware in Cypress is a treasure trove of barbecue and a selection of sides that rotate through the weeks. A few of the sides are daily constants: Baked Beans, Bacon Onion Garlic Potatoes and Cranberry Almond Slaw. Diners can get a selection of specialty meats by the pound and select a few sides for a combination plate. People feeding a crowd, though, can phone ahead to arrange for a whole brisket, rack of ribs or smoked pork butt. On nice days, there are picnic benches under a metal awning to dine at. Otherwise, there is no indoor dining so plan to take your order to-go. Brooks’ serves the best barbecue in the area, hands-down. The fat rendering on the brisket can vary but there’s always a reliable crust, and barbecue fans should most definitely try the pulled pork, pork ribs, deer sausage beef ribs. Also, we’d be remiss not to mention that the well-regarded trailer is one of the few local restaurants that encourage open-carry, even offering an open-carry discount to open carriers with a valid concealed handgun license.