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Ridgewood Barbecue, a different -- and secret -- taste

Customers arrive at Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee. Photo ©Sherry Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) In Bullock's Hollow, there are culinary secrets galore. Amid the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Tennessee, you'll find Ridgewood Barbecue. It opened in 1948 and still attracts a full house of customers, even on a recent Friday not long before New Year's. That's when Sherry and I visited with friends Phillip and Trish Townsend, who live an hour or so away in North Carolina. The secrets? Start with the recipe for the tomato-based sweet and sour barbecue sauce, which goes on much of the food the place…

Joints - 01/20/2020

Buxton Hall, the Pulled Pork Palace of North Carolina

Paul Wise, left, and David Phelps unload half a pig from the pit at Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville, N.C. (Photo ©Gary Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) Make no mistake. I’m partial to Texas style barbecue. Nothing compares. But when in Rome, or in this case Asheville, N.C., it’s O.K. to be venturesome. We weren’t disappointed. As we walked into Buxton Hall Bar-B-Cue just after 2 p.m. on a recent weekday, we immediately got a glimpse of barbecue as performance art. Workers lifted half a pig off the pit and put it on a cooling table with the other half. "As a…

Joints - 10/21/2019

The Texas BBQ Posse's Favorite 41

Customers stand in line at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue in Austin. (Photo ©Tom Fox) Others may have their Top 50 or Top 40 lists. Not the Texas BBQ Posse. After years of eating and months of debate, we’re listing our Favorite 41 joints in the state, including a ranking of the Top 10. 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio is No. 1. Of course, there wasn’t universal agreement among Posse members so we’ve included Top 5 lists from others elsewhere in this package. Austin/San Antonio region Brotherton's Black Iron BBQ, Pflugerville: Traditional Texas barbecue and creative sandwiches including brisket grilled cheese,…

Joints / Popular / Posse's Favorite 41 - 07/09/2019

See the photos: Hurtado Barbecue grand opening in Arlington

A.J. Ramirez shows off his lunch at the grand opening for Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington. (Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/Texas BBQ Posse) The barbecue scene in Arlington just got stronger last Saturday with the grand opening of Hurtado Barbecue. Pitmaster Brandon Hurtado has set up shop outside of Division Brewing, located on Main Street just north of the UT-Arlington campus. They will be open on Saturdays from 11am until the meat is gone for now, though Brandon says they may expand to Sundays or Fridays in the near future. The barbecue trailer operation is the culmination of a dream for Brandon, who owns and…

Joints - 03/15/2019

Sneak peek: Zavala's Barbecue reopens this weekend in Grand Prairie

Friends & family enjoy a party at Zavala’s Barbecue's new location on 421 W. Main St. in Grand Prairie. Zavala's will reopen this Saturday Feb. 16th. (Photo ©Tom Fox/Texas BBQ Posse) Great news for DFW smoked meat lovers, Zavala's Barbecue reopens in their new location this Saturday, February 16th. The Posse got a sneak peek last weekend as partners Joe Zavala Jr. and Drew Wright fired up the pit and invited friends and family for a soft opening party. Zavala's originally opened as a pop-up across from the Farmer's Market on Main Street in downtown Grand Prairie last March. They…

Joints - 02/11/2019

The BBQ Posse journeys into the heart of Texas

Pitmaster & owner Michael Wyont greets customers at Flores Barbecue in Whitney. (Photo @David Woo/Texas BBQ Posse) EDITOR'S NOTE: We're sorry to report that Flores Barbecue has closed effective Sept. 2019, after moving to a new location in Fort Worth. If the Texas BBQ Posse has a fault, it might be it’s bluntness. We talk bluntly — positively and otherwise — about our favorite food, barbecue. So, on a recent Saturday while I was telling Michael Wyont, pitmaster and owner of Flores Barbecue in Whitney, how much the Posse liked everything he served, I added that at least one of us could…

Joints / Roadtrips - 11/27/2018

First Look: Uptown Bar-B-Q in Dallas

Three meat plate of brisket, ribs and jalapeno sausage with pinto beans and potato salad at Uptown Bar-B-Q in Dallas. (Photo ©Jim Rossman, Texas BBQ Posse) Editors note: Good news, we got an email that Uptown Bar-B-Q is open again under the ownership of Al Heidari. I ate lunch at a new barbecue joint this week called Uptown Bar-B-Q, which is aptly named, as it shares space with venerable uptown Dallas restaurant The Old Warsaw. Uptown Bar-B-Q shares space with the legendary Old Warsaw restaurant. (Photo ©Jim Rossman, Texas BBQ Posse) Robert Austin, who had the Baker’s Ribs franchise in Grapevine until late…

Joints - 11/13/2018

2M Smokehouse No. 1 Posse Favorite

Lunch spread at 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio, the Posse's favorite BBQ joint in Texas. (Photo ©Tom Fox/Texas BBQ Posse) If you’re a regular Posse reader, you know that we’ve been high on 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio since it opened a couple years ago. So, naturally, we'd take a close look at the place as we put together the Texas BBQ Posse's Favorite 41, our list of our favorite joints in the state. After our first visit in the spring of 2017 we wondered if 2M was, in fact, turning out the best barbecue in Texas. After a return…

Joints / Posse's Favorite 41 - 11/07/2018

Posse members share their Favorite 5 BBQ lists

Pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz works the smokers early on a Saturday morning at Snow's BBQ, the favorite stop of Bruce Tomaso. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Full and frank discussions about our favorite food. That's what the Texas BBQ Posse has been all about in the decade or so we've been on the barbecue trail. Sometimes we all agree. Often we don't. So it is with the Posse's Favorite 41. After getting opinions from everyone, co-founders Chris Wilkins and Gary Jacobson made the final selections. Here's how other Posse members rate their Top 5. Bruce Tomaso Snow's BBQ, Lexington: The brisket is…

Joints / Posse's Favorite 41 - 11/07/2018

Dear readers, now it’s your turn

Customers stand in line at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) You’ve seen the Texas BBQ Posse’s list of its favorite barbecue joints in Texas. Tell us your favorites. List them in the comments section here along with a short explanation why. You can also send us an email at gary@texasbbqposse.com. We’ll compile the responses and publish a story about the readers’ choices. Have at it. . . Other links from the Posse's Favorite 41 project: The Texas BBQ Posse's Favorite 41 2M Smokehouse is the Posse’s No. 1 Favorite Posse members share their Favorite 5…

Joints / Posse's Favorite 41 - 11/07/2018

Posse's Favorite 41: How we did it

Posse co-founders Chris Wilkins, left, and Gary Jacobson, center, with photographer Tom Fox at 2M Smokehouse, our favorite BBQ joint in Texas. (Photo ©Texas BBQ Posse) In the course of barbecue events we hold this truth to be self-evident: Not all smoked meat is created equal. And so after a decade and tens of thousands of miles on the barbecue trail, Texas BBQ Posse co-founders Chris Wilkins and Gary Jacobson decided the Posse was finally ready to name its favorite joints in Texas, including a ranking of the Top Ten. Our very first tour was in 2009 when a half-dozen…

Joints / Posse's Favorite 41 - 11/07/2018

Tell us about the most unusual Texas BBQ you’ve ever eaten

Brisket caramel corn at Loro in Austin. (Photo ©Sherry Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) Over the years, the Posse has eaten some unique Texas barbecue dishes. The Toddfather sandwich from Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas. Brisket with mole sauce from the Tejas Chocolate Craftory in Tomball. More recently, Sherry Jacobson and I had lunch with author Sam Gwynne at Loro, the Aaron Franklin-Tyson Cole collaboration in Austin. Sam made sure we got the candied kettle corn with brisket. “This is possibly the most unique combination that includes brisket. . .carmel corn and burnt ends,” Sherry said. “Delicious but a little greasy for finger…

Join the discussion / Joints - 10/31/2018

See the photos: The new Lockhart Smokehouse at Texas Live!

The new Lockhart Smokehouse at Texas Live! is the third location for one of DFW's top barbecue destinations. (Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/Texas BBQ Posse) The first time we wrote about Lockhart Smokehouse was in January 2011, before they opened their first restaurant in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff. Their opening, along with that of Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market, signaled a major change in the then-mediocre Dallas BBQ scene. The Posse joined in as Lockhart Smokehouse celebrated their first anniversary a year later, then we reported that great Texas barbecue had finally come to Plano when they opened their second location…

Joints - 10/17/2018

Zavala’s Barbecue in Grand Prairie is moving down Main Street

Our lunch at Zavala's Barbecue in Grand Prairie, this is what Texican BBQ perfection looks like. (Photo ©David Woo/Texas BBQ Posse) Barbecue lovers: You have two more Saturdays to head to Grand Prairie for some of the best food, served by some of friendliest people, the Texas BBQ Posse has come across in some time. After that, you’ll have to wait a few months to see why Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins declared, after his first visit to Zavala’s Barbecue, “A star is born.” (That was back in May, so, no, Chris wasn’t pilfering from the sensational new movie starring Bradley…

Joints - 10/10/2018

400 miles, or so, to the pork rib on a long road trip

Josh Johnson, left, and friend Cooper Furlong dig into pork ribs at 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio. (Photo ©Tom Fox) Over a decade on the barbecue trail, the Texas BBQ Posse has seen a lot of things. But we ran into a first last Saturday during a visit to 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio: A couple of young guys fueling up on smoked meat before their two thousand mile road trip to Oregon. Talk about a cross country adventure. Cooper Furlong of San Antonio and his friend Josh Johnson of Los Angeles arrived at 2M Smokehouse at 8 a.m. and…

Joints - 09/24/2018

Slow Pokes Brisket Shack, you gotta see it to believe it

Slow Pokes Brisket Shack in Manchaca, south of Austin, one of the most unique BBQ joints the Posse has ever visited. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) We arrived at Slow Pokes Brisket Shack in Manchaca, Tx., a little after noon on a recent Friday. No more than 60 seconds later, Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins declared: “This is the most unique barbecue joint we’ve ever been to, man.” Wilkins has never been more right. Visually, Slow Pokes Brisket Shack, located in a rural area not too far south of Austin, is overwhelming. It’s a hoarder’s paradise that had its beginning about…

Joints - 09/18/2018

BBQuest, a new video series, gets high marks from the Posse

Dishes featured in scenes from BBQuest, a web series from the Texas Beef Council. (Photos ©Beef Loving Texans) If memory serves, and sometimes it doesn’t in my advancing years, no one on the Texas BBQ Posse has ever gone shopping for party clothes, cowboy boots and hats before one of our smoked meat tours. That’s exactly what Kelsey Pribilski and Jess Pryles do in the middle of the premier episode — about Austin — of BBQuest, a new digital video series from Beef Loving Texans, a consumer brand of the Texas Beef Council. No matter. The main focus for Pribilski…

Joints / People / Roadtrips - 09/10/2018

Checking in with Smoke Sessions Barbecue in Royse City

Customers order lunch on a Saturday morning at Smoke Sessions Barbecue in Royse City, east of Dallas. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) The Posse first visited Smoke Sessions Barbecue about a year ago, when Jim Rossman saw a Facebook post about a new trailer operation located in a feed store parking lot between Rockwall and Royse City, east of Dallas. Jim was impressed with the overall offerings, calling the brisket "superb" and the beef sausage "outstanding," in his story introducing readers to DFW's newest barbecue joint. One year later, Jim and Posse member Mike Stone joined me for a return…

Joints - 09/05/2018

Why aren’t the lines longer at Brown’s Bar-B-Que?

Customers line up to order at Brown's Bar-B-Que in Austin. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Call it a continuing smoked meat puzzlement for the Posse: Why aren’t the lines longer at Brown’s Bar-B-Que trailer on South Lamar in Austin? Owner Daniel Brown has been cooking and serving barbecue for more than a decade. His trailer started getting some serious buzz in 2013 and over the years has been touted by Eater Austin, Texas Monthly, even Bon Appetit. Early this year, Conde Nast Traveler included Brown’s on its list of the 10 best barbecue joints in Austin. Daniel Brown Jr. slices…

Joints - 08/30/2018

Old 300 BBQ, feeling right at home in Blanco

Old 300 BBQ, on the Square in Blanco, is a very civilized place, even during the town’s popular Lavender Festival. Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins and I met another newspaper veteran, Roy Appleton, there for a late lunch on a recent Saturday. The joint was packed, as was the festival nearby. But the first sign we saw inside the front door of Old 300 BBQ made us feel very much at home. “While you wait,” it said, “grab a drink and we will settle up at the counter.” We did just that. Wilkins was driving, so I grabbed a Corona from…

Joints - 08/01/2018

Here's a great DFW barbecue destination - Flores in Whitney

Customers visit as they wait to order at Flores Barbecue. (Photo @Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) EDITOR'S NOTE: We're sorry to report that Flores Barbecue has closed effective Sept. 2019, after moving to a new location in Fort Worth. The Posse recently loaded up the truck and headed south from Dallas to Flores Barbecue, located in Whitney. Flores had been on our radar since making Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ list in 2017, a big accomplishment for a trailer operation that started in the small town with a population of 2,090 in October 2016. We were not disappointed. Flores is definitely a top…

Joints - 07/25/2018

‘Meat Day’ at Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue

Brisket, sausage, turkey and smoked orange chicken at Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Don’t know if Horace, the Roman poet who lived a couple thousand years ago, was a barbecue fan. But if he was and if he were around today, he would probably like Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville. If for nothing else than the sign on the front window. “Carne Diem,” it says, a play on Horace’s immortal phase, “carpe diem,” commonly translated “seize the day.” The Brotherton’s sign is a mashup of Spanish and Latin. The joint translates the bilingual…

Joints - 07/11/2018

Talking BBQ biz with Jerome Faulkner at J. Leonardi’s

Jerome Faulkner, pitmaster at J. Leonardi's Barbeque in Austin. (Photo ©Tom Fox) Jerome Faulkner at J. Leonardi’s is an excellent pit master. We could tell that after our first visits to his original trailer location on Airport Boulevard in Austin more than a year ago. Faulkner and his partner, former UT and NFL star Cedric Griffin, opened a second location on the near East side late last year and, after operating both spots for a short while, have since closed the place on Airport. Their new place is on 11th Street, short walks from both Franklin Barbecue and Micklethwait Craft…

Joints - 06/26/2018

New Wyatt McSpadden BBQ book is must-have

Austin-based photographer Wyatt McSpadden and his new book, Texas BBQ: Small Town to Downtown. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Dallas BBQ Posse) Texas BBQ, Small Town to Downtown by Wyatt McSpadden is as much a testament to changes in photography as it is to changes in the Texas barbecue scene. One photo in the new book due out soon illustrates both. It’s a full-page shot of Leonard Botello IV, pit master at Truth Barbecue, sprinkling rub on briskets. Light reflects off the spices, gliding in gentle curves to the meat. Beautiful! “I bet I shot maybe 400 frames to get that,” McSpadden said…

Joints - 06/19/2018

Sneak peek: The Switch near Dripping Springs

The Stiles family poses for a portrait in the pit room of their new restaurant,The Switch, located near Dripping Springs. Left to right, Stella, 6, Shane, Catherine and Ava, 5. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Barbecue impresarios Shane and Catherine Stiles gave the Posse a sneak peek recently of their new place — The Switch — which they will be opening on Friday June 22, located just off Highway 290 near Dripping Springs. Their original place, Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew in Austin, is one of the best joints in the state. Catherine Stiles, of course, has made her own…

Joints - 06/15/2018

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