Foodie News

It's Barbecue Week! Texas' best barbecue spots offer special deals

Less is never more when it comes to Texas barbecue. Which might just make this one of the best weeks of the year.

This first-ever "official" Texas Barbecue Week is here — declared so by Texas Monthly.

More than 50 barbecue restaurants across the state are participating in the week, with each serving up a special featured “Texas Barbecue Week Plate."

Five barbecue spots in the greater Houston area are taking part: Virgie’s Bar-B-Que, Ray’s BBQ Shack, Brooks’ Place in Cypress, Corkscrew BBQ in Spring and Leon’s World Finest in Galveston.

Here are the plates and prices being offered:

Virgie’s Bar-B-Que (Houston):
- 1/2 rack baby back ribs and two sides - $10.99
Ray’s BBQ Shack (Houston):
- Four meat plate with choice of ribs, beef, sausage, chicken or rib tips, plus two sides (beans, potato salad, fried corn on the cob, coleslaw, macaroni salad, spicy rice or cucumber salad) -  $13.75
Brooks’ Place (Cypress):
- Brisket, ribs and pulled pork plate  - $15.99
Corkscrew BBQ (Spring):
- Sampler platter of all meats, approximately three pounds  - $24.95
Leon’s World Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que (Galveston):
- Beef brisket, spare ribs, chicken, potato salad and coleslaw -  $16.24
- Link, spare ribs, spicy rice and macaroni-n-cheese -  $12.99

And don’t worry, they have figured out a way to make those calories count. A portion of the money raised from the sales of the plates will be donated to the non-profit, Foodways Texas.

Texas Monthly will host the first ever Texas Barbecue Week.

TMBBQ.com

Texas Monthly will host the first ever Texas Barbecue Week.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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