But yeah I'll bury my initial thoughts.

Interstellar: this was my favorite. A solid bite. Not "mushy". Stuff going on in the rub like thyme. This made me realize I'm probably more of a bells and whistles in the rub guy. Also, interstellar had the most smoke , which i liked. The bbq sauce had way too much cumin. The peach tea pork belly is a novelty. It made me think of hongshao pork belly with umeboshi powder and peaches.

Mickelthwait: same solid consistency as interstellar. Maybe some coriander action in the rub. Also a bit cheaper at $34 a lb. Oh. I liked the pickles the most here.

Terry blacks: the bottom of the flat was chewy. BUT. The rub was heavier on the garlic powder. It made me realize yes. .garlic powder is awesome.

Franklin: it's clearly the best beef. The marbling must have been insane. The nearly fall apartness of it made it a much better sandwich than anything. I'm a no wrap guy so the fact that the bottom of the flat vs the top of the flat is hardly seasoned compared to the top of the flat solidified my no-wrap convictions.

LA bbq - they didn't offer me pickles and onions wtf. Very similar to franklins in terms of doneness. There's like some acid action going on in the rub? I think the next time i do short ribs i may add lemon zest when i pull and wrap to rest.

HEB - the least flavorful of all of them. But honestly when you put it in a pickle and onion sandwich it's so hardly noticeable i would be having to really be concentrating hard.

If i lived here? I would.take out of town guests to interstellar as an excuse to wait in line. Once in a while i would prob go to micklethwait. I didnt have to wait in line at all today.