Pit crew

4 Houston-area spots heat up Texas Monthly's Best New Barbecue Joints list

Feges BBQ barbecue brisket and vegetable sides

Texas Monthly named Feges BBQ one of Texas' top new barbecue joints.

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

While Texas carnivores bide their time waiting for the next edition of Daniel Vaughn’s quadrennial Top 50 Barbecue Joints, which is due in 2021, Texas Monthly has delivered something new to chew on. On April 22, the barbecue editor fired up his midterm report on the state’s most promising newcomers.

The unranked list is the result of frequent trips to every corner of the state to taste dozens of spots, with every possible spelling iteration of the word "barbecue." Despite the title, the timeframe for openings is relative with one eatery: Charlie’s Bar-B-Que in Beaumont, which originally opened in 2012, but Vaughn explains he didn't discover until late 2017.

Otherwise Vaughn held fast to a set of rules, confining the list to only places with permanent addresses, food trucks included, and eliminating satellite locations like Truth Barbeque’s Houston location and Micklethwait Craft Meat’s new outpost in Smithville from consideration.

The Houston area racked up four nods, right after the Austin area, which earned six nods — more than a fifth of the entire list. Here, CultureMap Tastemaker Award-winning Blood Bros. BBQ leads the charge. As CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler notes, the Bellaire spot is beloved by Vaughn for its Central Texas-style classics mixed with Asian-inspired twists like a smoked turkey banh mi, Thai green curry boudin (one of several housemade sausages), and brisket fried rice. Folks west will love the nod to Harlem Road Texas BBQ, while Inner Loopers will regale in the selection of the Greenway Plaza joint Feges BBQ. And locals know that Revellie Barbecue Co. in Magnolia is Houston's new destination for good 'cue.

In Austin, Vaughn was especially taken by the innovators of the Capital City scene, shouting out LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue for being “ahead of the curve with barbecue trends,” Loro for being “unfamiliar and exhilarating,” and The Switch’s unique Cajun-Texan mix.

Vaughn found the Capital City suburbs just as promising. Pustka Family Barbeque in Hutto, Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville, and unsurprisingly John Mueller Black Box Barbecue in Georgetown.

More remarkable was the inclusion of two new restaurants nearby in Waco, once scoffed at for being just a highway pitstop between Austin and Dallas. Helberg Barbecue won high praise for its pastrami beef cheeks and Guess Family Barbecue for “the ideal version of Texas spareribs.”

Though Central Texas shined, Vaughn’s report proves that superlative barbecue is never hard to find in the Lone Star State. The selections traversed the entire map, from the Panhandle to the Gulf coast, as follows:

Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire
Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Richmond
Feges BBQ, Houston
Reveille Barbecue Co., Magnolia
LJ’s BBQ, Brenham
1775 Texas Pit BBQ, College Station
Panther City BBQ, Fort Worth
Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue, Marathon
Butter’s BBQ, Mathis
Rejino Narbeque, Olton
Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, Rockdale
Black Board Bar-B-Q, Sisterdale
Smokin’ Moon BBQ & Beer Garden, Pharr
Smoke Sessions Barbecue, Royse City
Pitforks and Smotherings BBQ, Slaton
Convenience West, Marfa

Read the full list of Vaughn's pro tips at Texas Monthly, then hit the road for a meaty adventure.

barbecue lists

bring on barnaby's

Favorite Houston comfort food spot picks Garden Oaks for 10th location

Courtesy of Barnaby's Cafe

Barnaby's Cafe is coming to the Stomping Grounds this fall.

Earlier this week, real estate developer Bryan Danna promised “big news…very soon” about a new tenant for the former LuLoo’s Day & Night space at his Stomping Grounds development in Garden Oaks. That news is that Houston favorite Barnaby’s Cafe has claimed the space for a new location that will open later this year.

When a Barnaby’s decal appear on the restaurant’s door a couple of days ago, news of the restaurant’s imminent arrival spread quickly on social media. It will be Barnaby’s tenth location, joining outposts in Montrose, River Oaks, the Heights, and more.

The restaurant will occupy a 2,250-square-foot space at the Stomping Grounds. It will offer a to-go window for people hanging out in the development’s green space as well as a gated, dog-friendly patio. Houston artist Roberto Cervantes will contribute works to the restaurant’s interior.

Founded in 1992 by restaurateur Jeff Gale, Barnaby’s is known for its wide-ranging and affordable menu of classic American fare, including salads, sandwiches, breakfast items, and dinner entrees. Customer favorites include the Lebanese chicken fattoush salad, chipotle black bean burger, baby back ribs, and green eggs, which are scrambled with spinach and artichoke hearts. Dogs can snack on a special “puppy menu” of ground beef, sliced chicken breast, or scrambled eggs over brown rice.

Stomping Grounds green space A to-go window will expedite orders for people in the Stomping Grounds' green space.Courtesy of Stomping Grounds

“Bringing Barnaby’s to Garden Oaks and Oak Forest has been on my wish list for more than a decade, so I’m incredibly grateful that Jeff Gale and his team saw Stomping Grounds as the right fit,” Danna said in a statement. “Jeff and I go back to his first Heights location, which was one of Barnaby’s first big moves north of Montrose, and I have always respected what he and his longtime team have built. Thirty years in the restaurant business is a serious accomplishment. You do not make it that long unless you know how to take care of people, build loyalty, and become part of the neighborhood.”

When it opens this fall, Barnaby’s will be open daily from 11 am to 9 pm. It will join other restaurants at the Stomping Grounds, including Fat Cat Creamery, Tex-Mex restaurant La Mex, Bollo Woodfired Pizza, casual sushi restaurant Himari, Little Sister Cake Shop, and High Five Mini Bar. Earlier this week, casual Vietnamese restaurant Pho Prime announced that it had claimed the space formerly occupied by The Pho Fix for a new location that will also open this fall.

news-you-can-eat openings stomping grounds barnaby's cafe