One of these places sells BBQ & one doesn't. Can you guess which is which? (Photo ©Chris Wilkins)

Every couple of weeks I've been cruising by the new location of Slow Bone BBQ, checking for signs of life. This is the joint started up by Maple & Motor owner Jack Perkins, located on the corner of Wycliff and Irving Blvd.

When word of the opening came out via CultureMap's Teresa Gubbins on January 1st, the Dallas food blogosphere lit up. After his highly successful run at the celebrated burger restaurant, Perkins was ready to take on the steadily improving Dallas BBQ scene.

I won't rehash everything that flew back and forth after Perkins basically said that cooking good brisket is pretty simple, but here's an excellent recap by Dallas Observer food critic Scott Reitz on City of Ate. If you're into the Texas BBQ scene, this was entertainment at its best.

We haven't heard much since then, though I've seen smoke coming out of the stack on the roof several times. The building, which once housed the failed BW's BBQ, looks repainted, rehabbed and ready to go. All that's missing is a sign out front.

Which leads us to the two little known facts about Slow Bone BBQ.

First, their neighbor to the north on Irving Blvd. is a convenience store with one of the true cult classic BBQ signs ever seen. Having viewed this several times on the web, I had always wondered where the BAR-B-QUE DRUGS sign was located in Dallas.

Despite numerous attempts to find it on Google, I had come up empty. Until this week, when I discovered that it's right next door to Slow Bone.

For the record, I've always believed that good BBQ is like good drugs. And they don't sell any barbecue, but there's a taqueria inside. Which takes us to fact number two.

I wandered over to the side door of Slow Bone, where I saw some activity inside around a large black industrial pit that looked like a Bewley. It looked like they were quite busy, so I didn't ask too many questions.

Just the one everyone wants to know, when are they opening?

An employee told me that Slow Bone BBQ will open in "two or three weeks." So there you have it, I buried the lede again.......

Slow Bone BBQ's location at the corner of Wycliff & Irving Blvd. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)