txmo top 50 revealed

7 smokin' Houston-area joints sizzle on Texas Monthly's surprising new best BBQ in Texas list

Truth Barbeque leads the way in Houston.

Texas Monthly has shaken up the barbecue world. The magazine’s newly released list of the state’s top 50 barbecue joints makes major changes to the conventional wisdom surrounding where to find the best 'cue in Texas.

Presented as a ranked top 10, 40 additional restaurants listed alphabetically by city, and 50 honorable mentions, the magazine’s team of 32 staff writers and three freelancers compiled the rankings by visiting 411 establishments during the spring and summer. With 29 new entrants — including four of the top five — the list leans heavily towards restaurants that have opened since Texas Monthly last ranked barbecue joints in 2017.

Despite all the changes, barbecue fans shouldn't panic. Texas Monthly’s message to readers isn’t that the old places have gotten worse in the last four years. Rather, they’ve been outshined by restaurants that cook a wider selection of meats than the classic Texas trinity of brisket, ribs, and sausage; prepare a more diverse selection of sides than potato salad, beans, and cole slaw; and show a willingness to incorporate international flavors into their preparations.

“In short, if you were hoping for an argument that innovation is getting out of hand and it’s time to retrench and return to the simpler days of barbecue, you won’t find it here,” the magazine writes. “But have no fear: if you’re an old-school stalwart who blanches at the thought of smoked cauliflower, plenty of places on our list will make you very happy.”

Here’s the top 10 in order:

Goldee’s Barbecue (Fort Worth)
InterStellar BBQ (Austin)
Truth Barbeque (Houston)
Burnt Bean Co. (Seguin)
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue (Austin)
Cattleack Barbeque (Dallas)
Franklin Barbecue (Austin)
Evie Mae’s Pit Barbeque (Wolfforth)
Snow’s BBQ (Lexington)
Panther City BBQ (Fort Worth)

Compared to 2017’s top 10, Franklin Barbecue, which ranked number one statewide in 2013 and number two in 2017, now ranks third in Austin. Snow’s, which took the top spot in both 2008 and 2017 and became an international sensation after Netflix’s Chef’s Table documentary series featured pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz, drops to ninth. Truth rises from 10th to third, while Evie Mae's moves up one spot. Louie Mueller Barbecue, CorkScrew BBQ, and Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue move from top 10 to second 40, while Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Longview is off the list entirely.

Overall, Houston’s results are a mixed bag with six restaurants in the top 50 and five honorable mentions. In addition to Truth, three new restaurants join the top 50: Blood Bros. BBQ (Bellaire), Brett’s Barbecue Shop (Katy), and Feges BBQ in Spring Branch. They're joined by CorkScrew BBQ (Spring), Killen's Barbecue (Pearland), and Tejas Choclate + Barbecue (Tomball). While Pinkerton’s BBQ’s location in the Heights isn’t listed, the restaurant’s bigger, grander San Antonio location earns a spot on the top 50; we’ll assume both restaurants serve similar quality food.

Gatlin’s BBQ and Roegels Barbecue Co. move from 2017’s top 50 into the honorable mentions where they’re joined by Dozier’s BBQ & Meat Market (Fulshear), Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Que, and Harlem Road Texas BBQ (Richmond). Montrose restaurant The Pit Room, a top 50 restaurant in 2017, does not make the list at all in 2021.

Two restaurants with Houston ties also earned spots in the top 50. Eaker Barbecue in Fredericksburg started as a Bayou City food truck, while Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue in Crocket is owned by pitmaster Wade Elkins, an alum of both Feges BBQ and Magnolia’s Reveille Barbecue Co, and his wife Kathy, a chef whose resume include Hunky Dory and Harold’s in the Heights.

As for the rest of the state, the Austin area leads the way with eight restaurants in the top 50 plus six honorable mentions. Dallas restaurants earn seven spots in the 50 and five honorable mentions, with Fort Worth taking four spots in the top 50 and three honorable mentions. San Antonio has three top 50 restaurants plus three honorable mentions.

In addition to the lists, the magazine's coverage includes features on the merits of barbecue sauce, favorite barbecue dishes, standout sides, and the best desserts. See the Texas Monthlywebsite for all the delicious details.

barbecue

Movie Review

Goofiness keeps Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves light on its feet

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Michelle Rodriguez and Chris Pine in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

In the franchise world in which we now live, movie studios are always looking for the next big thing that will ensure fans come flocking to the theater. The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has gotten a pop cultural boost in recent years thanks to the Netflix show Stranger Things, and now – just shy of its 50th anniversary – it’s getting its own blockbuster movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Michelle Rodriguez and Chris Pine in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

The somewhat complex story centers on two of the titular thieves, Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), who lead a group of rogues who make a living by stealing, but only from those who deserve it. One such altruistic mission, a relic that can bring back the dead, leads to the pair getting caught and put in jail, separating Edgin from his daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman).

Fellow thief Forge (Hugh Grant) agrees to look after her, but after a daring escape, Edgin and Holga discover that Forge is even more of a scoundrel than they thought, rising to the title of Lord in their absence with the help of the sorceress Sofina (Daisy Head), and poisoning Kira’s mind against them. They must gather the rest of the team, including Simon (Justice Smith) and Doric (Sophia Lillis), to try to take him down and recover the relic once and for all.

Written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, with help from co-writer Michael Gilio, the film has the unenviable task of turning the famously dense game into something that pleases both fanatics and those unfamiliar with its many characters, creatures, and locations. It’s clear the filmmakers are trying to strike a balance between the two, loading the story with terms they barely attempt to explain while at the same time making the movie as goofy as possible.

Only the second of those two approaches truly works. The problem the filmmakers run into is that this is an introductory film that barely seems to care about introducing its characters. A lengthy speech by Edgin at the beginning attempts to do that, but is staged in such a way that the humor of sequence takes precedence over the details of the people. The only reason the characters wind up likable is because of the sheer amount of time spent with them and the actors’ performances.

Well, that and the comedy sprinkled throughout the film. If Daley, Goldstein, and Gilio do anything right, it’s not taking the material too seriously. The world has already seen Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, so adding in funny elements like the wise-cracking Edgin, a supremely fat dragon, and more keeps the film from getting lost in its own minutiae. Not all the jokes land, but 75-80 percent of them do, which is enough to keep the film buoyant.

Pine, as he’s shown in the recent Star Trek and Wonder Woman films, has charm to spare. He occupies this particular role extremely well, and so even if you can’t remember his character’s name, his performance carries the film. Rodriguez is an acquired taste, but her surly demeanor and physical prowess works for her here. The supporting actors shine at times, but the film doesn’t showcase them enough to make them stand out.

While miles better than the reviled 2000 Dungeons & Dragons, Honor Among Thieves is a merely okay beginning for a possible new franchise. There’s some excitement to be had and it stays light on its feet thanks to the comedy, but more attention paid to the story is warranted if they decide to make sequels.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves opens in theaters on March 31.

Dungeons & Dragons film movies