Who Makes DFW's Best Banana Pudding?

Most barbecue places don't have much to offer in the dessert department, but if you're lucky, banana pudding will make an appearance on the menu. As might be expected from someone who's eaten at seemingly every damn barbecue restaurant in the state of Texas, Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn has eaten more than his fair share of the stuff. He presents his top 10 picks along with 11 more runners-up over on TMBBQ, and several DFW-area puddings made the list.

Billy's Oak Acres in Fort Worth clocks in at number three for its unusual inclusion: "[Owner] Billy Woodrich trades the wafers for Pepperidge Farm chessmen butter cookies" and tops it off with caramel sauce and whipped cream. Pecan Lodge grabs the number four spot: "This one is heavy on banana flavor, and uses a classic custard for the base," says Vaughn. Hardeman's BBQ in South Dallas takes the number six spot, though you can only get it on Fridays.

Honorable mentions include 3 Stacks in Frisco for a tasty-looking version with bruleed bananas, Hutchins BBQ in McKinney ("it’s free and better than most that you have to pay for"), BBQ on the Brazos, and Richardson's Ten 50 BBQ. Of course, Vaughn's list is limited to banana pudding iterations found at barbecue places. To fulfill banana pudding cravings without a smoked meat prescursor, Glazed Donut Works frequently offers an awesome banana pudding doughnut, and the banana pudding cupcake at Society Bakery is also a winner. For something a bit fancier, Shinsei makes a banana parfait with caramelized bananas and crushed gingersnaps. Then again, you could try your hand at Vaughn's own recipe, which he says took him nine attempts to perfect.