food for thought

YouTube star ranks 3 top Houston BBQ joints against Texas' best

Corkscrew BBQ is one of the restaurants Weissman visited on his tour.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Making the perfect brisket is one of the most impressive (and unforgiving) culinary feats pitmasters face when finding their niche within Texas' vast barbecue landscape. But if you can get it right, there will be lines out the door with hungry patrons waiting to get their hands on it.

Sometimes you even get famous celebrities or popular internet personalities to stop by – such as YouTube star and Austinite Joshua Weissman. This chef-turned-YouTuber recently went on a statewide expedition to try some of Texas Monthly's best barbecue restaurants, and stopped by three Houston-area barbecue joints to give his honest review. To keep things consistent across restaurants, the chef ordered only one meat, brisket, and three of the barbecue world's most popular side: cole slaw, beans, and mac & cheese.

While many may snub the idea of "just another YouTuber" reviewing Texas barbecue joints, Weissman cut his teeth working in the restaurant industry, and was once the lead cook at Uchiko in Austin. His YouTube channel has amassed over 10 million subscribers, and he's written two New York Times Bestselling cookbooks.

YouTube star Joshua Weissman visited 17 barbecue restaurants around the state. Joshua Weissman/YouTube

With Texas Monthly's 2021 list (the newest edition will be released later this year) as his guide, Weissman documented his journey alongside new Texas resident and private chef Olivia Tiedemann. The duo also visited the four Texas barbecue restaurants that recently earned Michelin Stars.

Here are the Houston barbecue restaurants they visited, with their reviews:

CorkScrew BBQ, Spring
Brisket score: 24 out of 30 possible points (8 for brisket flavor, 9 for texture, 7 for salt level)
Sides: 7 out of 10 possible points

CorkScrew is the only Houston-area barbecue joint that has earned a Michelin star. Tiedemann said the juicy brisket was "texturally perfect," and Weissman enjoyed every side dish the restaurant offered. He specifically praised the mashed-yet-chunky texture of the potato salad and the refreshing (and not too rich) cole slaw.

While being interviewed by Weissman, Corkscrew owner and pitmaster Will Buckman compared smoking meat to a game of Tetris, where he's constantly juggling factors like the weather and wood moisture to develop their signature smoked brisket.

"You're basically putting all your eggs in one basket, 18 hours later you're hoping that it comes out right," Buckman said. "If you mess up, your day's ruined or your restaurant's closed."

Truth BBQ, Houston
Brisket score: 27 points (8 for flavor; 9 for texture; 10 for salt level)
Sides: 7.5 points

In 2021, Texas Monthly ranked Truth the No. 3 best barbecue in the state, lauding the brisket for "its deep, peppery crust and just the right measure of glossy fat to bring out the best in the lush, smoky beef."

Weissman was wowed by the presentation of the brisket with the four main sides (mac and cheese, cole slaw, potato salad, and baked beans). He and Tiedemann were also impressed with all factors of the brisket, from it's perfect salt levels to its "traditional Texas" beef flavor. As for the sides, they appreciated the mac and cheese's al dente pasta texture, and the sauce's creaminess. Weissman also called out the caramelized onion in the baked beans.

Truth BBQ meat platter You can't go wrong with Truth's barbecue platter. Photo by Eric Sandler

When Weissman mentioned to owner Leonard Botello IV that all pitmasters are very respectful to each other (and seemingly have no beef with one another), Botello had a classic response.

"I think it's because this job sucks, so we kinda all pay homage and respect to each other because we all know what goes into it," he said.

Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue, Tomball
Total score: 20 points (no point breakdown)
Sides: 6.5 points

Tejas began as a chocolatier in 2011, and built on its legacy by smoking meats just four years later. Now, the Tomball-based eatery has earned an esteemed Bib Gourband status from the Michelin Guide.

While Weissman said their meal was still a "solid plate of barbecue" that most patrons would enjoy, he admitted it wasn't as formidable as CorkScrew or Truth.

"If I'm being honest, it's better than any other Texas barbecue outside of Texas, but it really wasn't topping our first two," Weissman said. "The lean [brisket] was quite dry, and the fat was a bit too unrendered for Olivia."

However, he did say Tejas' carrot soufflé was a "non-negotiable" delicious side dish everyone must try, and he said the cole slaw topped with crumbled bacon was No. 1 in his book.

Other top Texas barbecue restaurants
Overall, Weissman ranked Goldee's Barbecue in Fort Worth the highest on the list out of the 17 total Texas barbecue restaurants he visited. He even invited Texas Monthly's barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn to join him during their final tasting.

Weissman had nothing but good things to say about Goldee's classic side dishes and its brisket, giving them overall ratings of 9.5 and 29.2 points, respectively.

"The [brisket] seasoning is ridiculous, it's exactly where it should be," he said. "It's got the smoke flavor I want, but it's not overwhelmingly smoky. This is worth traveling back for."

Goldees BBQ Fort Worth's Goldee's Barbecue was the highest ranked Texas barbecue. fortworth.culturemap.com

The Central Texas barbecue restaurants Weissman visited, with their ratings, include:

Burnt Bean Company, Seguin – 28.4 points for brisket, 8.7 points for sides
2M Smokehouse, San Antonio – 24.8 for brisket, 8 for sides
Franklin Barbecue, Austin – 26.5 for brisket, 5 for sides
Interstellar Barbecue, Austin – 26.9 for brisket, 9.3 for sides
La Barbecue, Austin – 25.5 for brisket, 8.8 for sides
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Austin – 28.8 for brisket, no score for non-traditional sides
Terry Black's BBQ, Austin – 24 for brisket, 6.5 for sides
Snow's BBQ, Lexington – 27.2 for brisket, 8.7 for sides
Louie Mueller, Taylor – 24.8 for brisket, 5 for sides

The other Texas barbecue restaurants Weissman visited include:

Evie Mae's, Wolfforth – 25.5 for brisket, 6 for sides
Panther City BBQ, Fort Worth – 19 for brisket, 8.5 for sides
Dayne's Craft BBQ, Aledo – 25 for brisket, 8 for sides
Cattleack Barbeque, Farmers Branch – 28.3 for brisket, 9.5 for sides

barbecue restaurants

oh bevin

Houston bartender's new book celebrates cocktails and sexuality

Photo by Troy Ezequiel Montes

Bevin Biggers writes about sex and cocktails in her new book, Aphro.

“There's a lot of stigma about sexuality, especially with black women.”

Louisiana-born, Houston-based mixologist/multidisciplinary artist Bevin Biggers says as she’s flipping through the pages of her literary debut Aphro: A Cocktail Book on the Sexual Response Cycle. A veteran of Houston’s bar and restaurant scene, who has worked nightspots from Montrose to the Heights and collaborated with big-name alcohol brands (and who also isn’t afraid to call out shady establishments), Biggers has created a project that’s part cocktail manual and part Black, female sexuality manifesto.

“We already have a lot of other s**t going on and then, on top of that, it's sex, too,” says Biggers, while sipping on a drink at a Midtown watering hole. She points out that, when it comes to media representation, Black women have been stuck with many stereotypical caricatures/portrayals throughout the decades: maids, baby mommas, lesbians, jezebels, sistas who are just plain ol’ angry. But as for Black women who freely explore their sexuality with no shame or repercussions, the culture usually comes up empty.

“[White women] can be explorative and do all these different things. Black women do it and it’s ‘she’s a whore’ or whatever, right? So, all these caricatures kind of negatively impact how we live, and I talk about all of that here,” she says.

Aphro originally began a decade ago as a bar concept. After years of becoming a pro in the mixology game, even honing her craft-cocktail skills while living in New York (where she became a fan of the city’s Museum of Sex), she wanted to make it a full-fledged business. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been a good time to open a bar (“Bars are expensive,” she confirms).

Eventually, it morphed into a book project where Biggers drops sex talk, cocktail recipes, and surprising bits of African American history. “There's a lot of Black bartenders back in the day who freed their wives, their children, and themselves from slavery, using bartenderships,” she says.

The sex lives of African Americans during and after slavery is a subject Biggers has done extensive research on. Last November, she gave her Substack readers an Aphro taste when she posted a lengthy study on chattel slavery and its impact on the orgasm gap. “It's still a real cocktail book – there are still many pages of recipes,” she assures. “But, here, I talk about stereotypes, caricatures of black women, the orgasm gap, chattel slavery, and how things almost connect to current times.” She also included a questionnaire she sent women regarding orgasms. “I asked very specific questions, and I got a lot of f—ed-up answers, which was the whole point ”

Funded by a grant from Houston Arts Alliance, Biggers worked with Toronto-based Sure Print & Design to put Aphro into book form. She collaborated with local photographer Rosebeth Akharamen in serving up glorious color shots of the suggestively-named cocktails, made from “aphrodisiac ingredients,” Biggers had conceived.

Drinks range from “Late Night Cinemax,” (consisting of mezcal, corn puree, chipotle honey, coconut, and a popcorn garnish) to “Locally Deflower” (which includes Texas sized herbs and “delicate floral notes to evoke a softer intimacy”). These 20 recipes are the result of Biggers spending over a decade getting to know more about classic cocktails and modern bartending techniques.

“I come from Hiram Clarke, where it’s just Hennessy, Alize, Crown Royal,” she says. “And, then, when I came to start bartending, I was learning about Fernet and Montenegro and IPAs and good considerations of beers, and I was like, what the hell is all this? But I want to learn. I want to know what y'all know,” she says.

We also get seductive shots of Biggers herself, all glammed up in several swanky locations, including her own living room. “I didn’t see any of these photos when she took them because we were in a rush, because of the makeup artists, and I had to do my makeup all over again,” she says. “So, this was all trust, and she knocked it out the park.”

For Biggers, it’s all worth it if her fellow cocoa-colored beauties buy her book and start feeling more grown, Black, and sexy about themselves. “The inspiration is always being curious about this topic, but it was such a big deal in my community, of not wanting to be accused of being fast,” she says. “Even something that's mutual, it's always, what did you do to him? If it's kissing, it’s you kissed him, and it's not like, y'all kissed each other, you know. There was always punishment for something that's kind of natural. Then, when you're curious about something like that, you start to learn about it in dangerous ways… You learn through strangers, because your parents are not telling you anything about this stuff. You learn through movies. You learn through putting viruses on the f—ing computer, because you typed in the wrong thing, and now, the home computer, the family computer is f—ed up.”

Biggers ordered a limited run of Aphro volumes that she sells on her website, which also has related merch like color prints and an adult coloring book. She still has dreams of turning her book into a watering hole one day. Until then, she’ll continue her mission of instructing women (and men) on how to stir up your sex life – as well as a stiff drink.

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Biggers will host an Aphro book release party/talk at Los Perros Cafe on Friday, April 17, at 7 pm. RSVP here.

books cocktails