burns bbq on the move

Beloved BBQ favorite fires up third Houston-area bistro at Katy Kroger

Burns Original BBQ has arrived in Katy.

Courtesy of Kroger

Acres Homes staple Burns Original BBQ is conquering Houston one Kroger at a time. The barbecue joint will celebrate the grand opening of its third Bistro location this Saturday, September 3 at the Kroger location at 2700 W Grand Pkwy N.

Burns already has similar locations in Pearland and Humble’s Summerwood neighborhood. Co-owner Cory Crawford tells CultureMap that the restaurant selected these locations based on sales data and customer feedback from a pop-up tour the restaurant did in 2020.

By parking a food truck in the grocery store’s parking lot, the new location is able to serve an identical menu to the restaurant, which means diners can expect their favorite stuffed baked potatoes, ribs, and other Burns classics.

“We love the brand. We love taking it from Acres Homes — next year will be 50 years,” Crawford says. “This has been the time to spread our wings and let more areas of the city know about Burns Original BBQ.”

The original location has earned considerable acclaim. Author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain featured it on a 2016 episode of his CNN series Parts Unknown. Crawford says the restaurant still sees a steady stream of customers who saw it on the show.

Opening the new Bistro location deepens Burns' ties to Kroger. Two years ago, the grocery store provided the restaurant with an venue to sell its dishes when restaurants were closed for dine-in due to the pandemic. Subsequently, the store started carrying the restaurant's barbecue sauce, which is now available in more than 20 stores. Expect more Burns Bistros in the future.

“We don’t have a specific target, but we’ve had some conversations with Kroger. The partnership has been amazing. They’re pretty much telling us as much as we can scale they’ll scale with us,” Crawford says.

“We’re having those internal meetings. This is the last one for 2022, but in 2023 I can say they’ll definitely be more.”

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One Day Only

Chef of Michelin-starred Texas BBQ joint pops up at Houston crawfish favorite

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Join Lucas McKinney for a crawfish pop-up this Sunday, May 17.

The pitmaster behind one of Texas’ Michelin-starred barbecue joints will be in Houston for a one-day-only crawfish boil. Evan LeRoy, chef and co-owner of Austin’s LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, will be at Josephine’s this Sunday, May 17 from 2-6 pm.

Part of the restaurant’s Backyard Boil pop-up series, LeRoy and Josephine’s executive chef Lucas McKinney have collaborated on a four dishes that will be served at the pop-up, which will take place on Josephine’s patio. They are:

Smoked Crawfish Boil Sausage on a Stick: andouille flavored pork sausage with crawfish, corn, and potatoes
Brisket and Cheddar Croquettes: Chopped brisket and cheddar cheese in a creamy bechamel. Scooped, breaded in panko, and fried til crispy
Oysters on the Half Shell: Pickled Onion Mignonette, Smoked Jalapeno Salsa, Kimchi Elote
Smoked Salsa Macha with Beef Tallow: Guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles, lime, soy, garlic, onion, pepitas, and pecans

The pop-up is part of LeRoy’s tour for his new book, New School Barbecue: Recipes for Next-Level Smoking and Grilling, which he co-wrote with Texas Monthly restaurant critic Paula Forbes. Released this week, the book contains almost 100 recipes for mains, sides, and desserts.

LeRoy & Lewis Evan Leroy ATX Evan LeRoy is coming to Houston this weekend. Photo by Briana Balducci

“Lucas asked me to participate in a crawfish boil this year, and it happened to line up with the release of the book, so I said yes,” LeRoy tells CultureMap. “The event format centers around a crawfish boil, along with some fried items and oysters, so it doesn't necessarily reflect the recipes in the book. Instead, we decided to bring a few dishes we’ve been working on over the past year or so, including the brisket and cheddar croquettes — which will definitely make it into my next cookbook.”

McKinney has already hosted pop-ups with the likes of ChòpnBlọk chef-owner Ope Amosu and Mike Pham of Trill Burgers.

“With these crawfish boils, I want each chef to bring their own perspective and let the menu reflect their personal style of cooking,” McKinney adds. “Events like this are really centered around community, collaboration, and introducing something fresh and exciting to Houston each time.”

LeRoy and Lewis has earned wide acclaim for its “new school” barbecue. In addition to being one of only four Texas barbecue joints to hold a Michelin star, it ranked No. 2 on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints. McKinney began patronizing the restaurant when his friend, pitmaster Cole Parkman, worked there.

“It’s incredibly good,” McKinney says. “Eating there feels like they’re telling you, ‘I know you think you like brisket, but this is what you should really like.’ I really respect that they’ve planted their feet firmly in the ground and committed to doing things differently. It all makes so much sense — and it’s delicious.”

Reservations (free) are required to attend the Backyard Boil at Josephine’s; both 2 pm and 4 pm seatings are available. Attendees will purchase food and drinks a la carte. Josephine’s regular menu will not be available at the pop-up. Copies of New School Barbecue will also be available for purchase.

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