Stanley's Famous Pit Barbecue

            Nestled about one hundred miles southeast of Dallas, Tyler, Texas is home to approximately one hundred thousand residents. It serves as home to the University of Texas at Tyler and a branch of the University of Texas Health Center. Brookshire’s, the East Texas-Northern Louisiana grocery store chain is also headquartered there. Thanks to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the good folks at DGA have spent a lot of time in Tyler over the past ten or fifteen years. Our frequent visits to Tyler mean we’ve gotten to know the city quite a bit. So this week we decided to start by introducing one of our favorite spots to eat in Tyler: Stanley’s Famous Pit Barbecue.

The Exterior of Stanley's 

            While Stanley’s itself opened in 1958, the location of the restaurant had been home to another barbecue restaurant that had two different owners. J.D. Stanley opened the current restaurant in 1958 and it has been in continuous operation for almost sixty years.  J.D. Stanley owned the restaurant until his death in 2006. Rather than continue to run the business themselves, Stanley’s family sold the restaurant to Nick and Jen Pencis. The Pencis’ renovated the interior of the restaurant, expanded the pit, and added an enclosed patio that features live music six nights a week. They also expanded Stanley’s alcohol menu to include a variety of craft beers from Texas and over 70 types of bourbon, whiskey, and rye.

            Back in 2012, as the restaurant was undergoing renovation, Pencis’ decided to change some of the restaurant’s signature items as well. Instead of serving lightly seasoned brisket without any fat, he embraced a heavy coating of salt and pepper and instructed servers to leave the fat on. The highlight of Stanley’s menu is the pork ribs. Covered in an 11-spice mixture, the ribs fall off the bone. The smoked turkey is peppery and moist. Stanley’s pulled pork has a little bit of bark mixed in with a strong vinegary sauce. The Pencis’ also expanded the food menu to include vegetarian options, threw out the commercially made sausage in favor of one from a local butcher shop. Unlike most barbecue restaurants, Stanley’s is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At breakfast there are breakfast bowls, sandwiches and burritos. The lunch and dinner menus are more traditionally barbecue with sandwiches, meat plates, and a variety of homemade sides.

            As a result of these menu changes and the Pencis’ devotion to the staple items at Stanley’s, Daniel Vaughn at Texas Monthly Magazine has consistently included Stanley’s on his list of the 50 Best BBQ Restaurants in Texas and the world. So the next time you find yourself in Tyler, make sure you give Stanley’s a try.

Visiting Boston Part Two

            Originally, our things to do in Boston list was only going to be one post. Boston, however, has too many places to visit to cram into one little blog post. So we decided to expand it to another. (Honestly, we could probably make a whole series about this… and we just might.) So this week, we decided to offer five more things to do in Boston.

Fenway Park: The home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park is the oldest baseball stadium in the United States. Opened in 1912, just days after the sinking of the Titanic, Fenway is nestled in the Kenmore-Fenway neighborhood resulting in the ballpark’s quirky dimensions. The location of Lansdowne Street forced the construction of the fabled Green Monster, a 37-foot tall wall spanning left field. From April to October, Fenway hosts 81 Red Sox home games. Thanks to the ownership group that took over the team in 2003, Fenway has undergone significant structural improvements and has played host to numerous concerts, soccer games, and outdoor hockey in the winter. The new ownership group also created a new section of seating on top of the Green Monster, offering a great spot to watch a game.  

Make Way for Ducklings! 

Boston Common/Public Garden: Nestled under Beacon Hill and the State House, the Boston Common is the oldest public park in the United States. Opened in 1634 as a place for Puritan settlers to graze their cattle, the Common has remained in continuous use since then. After the city of Boston banned cattle grazing in the 1830s, the park took on new life as a green space inside the ever-growing city. Today, it serves as the beginning of the Freedom Trail, and boasts softball and baseball fields, and numerous walking trails. In the winter, Frog Pond serves as a public ice-skating rink. Next to the Common is the Public Garden which includes the famous Make Way for Ducklings installation in honor of the famed children’s book by Robert McCloskey.

North End: Surrounded on three sides by water and Interstate 93 on the other, the North End is Boston’s oldest neighborhood. Originally settled in the 1630s by the Puritans, the neighborhood has been populated by a variety of ethnic groups. Beginning in the early 20^th century, Italians came to dominate the neighborhood. That influence continues today. It’s nearly impossible to walk 10 yards down Hanover Street (one of the North End’s biggest streets) without encountering an Italian restaurant. Any trip to the North End requires a trip to Mike’s Pastry for their world-famous cannoli. The North End also houses much of Boston’s colonial history including the Old North Church and Paul Revere’s house.  

Newbury Street 

Newbury Street: Located in the Back Bay and running from the Common to Brookline Avenue, Newbury Street is famous for its quirky shops and restaurants. Newbury Street emerged as a shopping district in the 1970s with the opening of the original Newbury Comics. The comic book seller and music store sparked an outpouring of new art galleries, eateries, and independent book stores. Over the ensuing decades, many of the independent businesses have closed or moved due to increasing rents. They’ve been replaced by high-end chain businesses seeking to capitalize on Newbury Street’s reputation. Despite the encroachment by big business, the street has retained its charm.

Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market: Faneuil Hall opened in the 1740s as a market house for Boston’s merchant class. During the run-up to the American Revolution, it hosted speeches by Samuel Adams and James Otis. Throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries, Faneuil Hall served as a public meeting place for the citizens of Boston. It is currently part of the Freedom Trail and the Boston National Historical Park. Located right behind Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, a historic market dating back to the 1820s. Currently, the lengthy rectangular building houses a wide range of restaurants and storefronts. It is a popular lunch spot for tourists and locals alike.

Visting Boston

            Boston is one of America’s oldest cities. It is rich in history and culture. Despite its small size (relative to other metropolises like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) and occasionally brutal weather, Boston has remained a hub of education and innovation. We at DGA have many friends there and have been travelling to Massachusetts for years. So if you’re thinking of going to Boston, we decided to offer a few spots that you should visit while you’re there.

Freedom Trail: The Freedom Trail is a two and a half mile walking trail that passes through downtown Boston. It begins at Boston Common and weaves its way through the North End before culminating at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. The trail provides an easily accessible path through Boston’s colonial history. Highlights include the State House, the site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s House, the Old North Church (of “1 if by land, 2 if by sea” fame) and the USS Constitution. For anyone interested in the history of Boston or Colonial America, the Freedom trail is a must.

A Triceratops Fossil at the Museum of Science 

Museum of Science: Located just across the Charles River, the Museum Science is a science museum and indoor zoo. It features over 700 interactive exhibits, many of which are specifically designed for young children. The Museum also houses a planetarium that features daily movies and presentations about space and the solar system. The Mugar Omni Theater is New England’s only domed iMAX theater that shows a variety of programming geared towards adults and young children alike.  The indoor zoo features over 120 species and many of the animals have been rescued from less reputable zoos and animal habitats. Overall, the Museum of Science is a place that’s great for families or just adults.

New England Aquarium: The Aquarium, located on the waterfront, features a 200,000 gallon tank simulating a Caribbean coral reef. The tank houses sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, eels, barracuda, and a host of other fish. A spiral walkway surrounds the tank allowing visitors to observe the marine life from a variety of angles. Another prominent feature of the Aquarium is the penguin exhibit that is home to a variety of penguin species. The Aquarium also hosts a large exhibit housing a number of different types of seals, including harbor and fur seals and California sea lions. The rest of the Aquarium is filled with a variety of exhibits that feature marine life from around the world. Like the Museum of Science, the Aquarium is a great spot for families and adults alike.

A Humpback Whale from a recent Whale Watch 

Whale Watching: From April-October, the Aquarium also runs whale watches. The four-hour trip takes visitors out to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary about forty miles from Boston. This sanctuary is rich in marine life and has long been a popular spot for whales in the summer months. The feeding ground attracts a variety of different types of whales including humpbacks, finbacks, minke, pilot, and occasionally right whales. Over the years, the scientists who work alongside the whale watch have named and identified the whales that return to the sanctuary year after year. Humpbacks, for example, have life expectancy of 60-100 years and will return to the same feeding grounds for years. They are also curious and friendly creatures, so they frequently swim right alongside the whale watching vessels.  

Museum of Fine Arts: The fourth largest museum in the United States, the MFA features more than 450,000 works of art. Due to the size of its collections, the MFA has a wide-ranging and comprehensive collection. It features a large collection of Egyptian artifacts, French Impressionist and post-Impressionist works including originals from Gauguin, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and Cezanne. Due to Boston’s historic location, the MFA also boasts an impressive collection of American artists including John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Gilbert Stuart. It houses over 5,000 pieces of Japanese pottery and a Japanese garden.