Category: Barbecue

AlbuquerqueBarbecueBreakfast BurritosNew MexicoRating: Very Good

J’s Var-B-Q – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Step into J’s Var-B-Q and the first thing you’re inevitably going to notice is the aroma of smoked meats wafting toward you.  The bouquet of sweet and succulent smoke envelops you like a warm blanket on a cold night.   It’s a comforting smoke sure to elicit involuntary salivation.  It’s a siren’s song luring you to the counter where you place your order from a tempting menu of meats, sandwiches, sides, specialties and desserts.   If the doors to J’s Var-B-Q were to literally stay open, the rapturous redolence of smoked meats would escape onto Montgomery and traffic would be snarled with motorists (maybe even a vegetarian or six) making their way to this bodacious barbecue restaurant. The second thing you’re likely to notice is a large mural on the wall depicting a grizzled gentleman with engorged pythons for arms.  He’s got his hands steepled in prayer and his eyes closed in reverence.  Undoubtedly he’s giving thanks for the bounty laid out before him: a plate of ribs and hot links with sides of mac-and-cheese and baked beans.  The prayerful man on the mural is Julian Vargas, a born-and-bred New Mexican and patriarch of the Vargas family.  If you haven’t…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueDog FriendlyNew MexicoRating: ExcellentRating: Very Good

Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:49 AM

In 1983, country crooner Ed Bruce released a song titled “My First Taste of Texas,” the first line of which was “My first taste of Texas was her blue eyes and golden hair.” Some ten years later, I experienced my first taste of great Texas barbecue when visiting Rudy’s Country Store & Barbecue in Leon Springs, Texas, a San Antonio suburb on the fringes of the magnificent Texas Hill Country. At the time Rudy’s was just beginning to make inroads toward becoming a significant barbecue presence in Texas where beef and brisket are king. Back then Leon Springs appeared to be a test ground for new restaurant concepts–and in fact, it is the site of the first Romano’s Macaroni Grill and the first Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q (as well as a concept called Nacho Mama’s which might have been the best of the lot.) Before it was Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q, however, it was just Rudy’s Country Store. The country store was opened in 1929 by Rudolph “Rudy” Aue, the son of the founder of Leon Springs. The country store included a gas station, garage and grocery store. In 1989, Rudy’s added Bar-B-Q to its country store’s name.…

AlbuquerqueBarbecueNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Duke City BBQ – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During a 2016 campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez warned that if the country did not adopt tighter immigration standards as proposed by Republican nominee Donald Trump, there would be “taco trucks on every corner.”  For many of us, the only conceivable retort was along the lines of “what could possibly be wrong with that?”  Tacos (Mexico) have become as American as pizza (Italy), apple pie (England), French fries (Belgium), hot dogs (Germany), peanut butter (Ancient Inca and Aztec civilizations) and barbecue (Caribbean).  These foods may not have been invented in the good ol’ USA, but we’ve adopted them.  They’re part of the fabric of what makes this country fat…er, great. It’s likely that if you didn’t grow up hearing the adage “as American as apple pie,” you may have heard a version in which barbecue takes the place of or is included with apple pie.  Barbecue, in fact, has supplanted apple pie as the proverbial All American gastronomical delight.  It’s practically a cult in some parts of the fruited plain.  At the very least, it represents a pop culture microcosm.  Americans make pilgrimages to famous pantheons of barbecue to partake of meat cooked low…

AsianBarbecueFusionRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

An average person spends 52 days of their life standing in line (queueing) and that not just at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The most notorious offenders are, of course, supermarket lines, public transportation, the post office, airports and barbecue joints in the great state of Texas.  Okay, that last one may not be true though it certainly feels that way.  Franklin BBQ in Austin has nothing short of a cult following–and probably the longest lines of any barbecue joint in Texas.  Standing in line is part of the Franklin BBQ experience.  Online sites advise that “wait times during the week at Franklin Barbecue are typically 2-3 hours and on weekends closer to 4 or 5 hours.”  Smoked meat savants recommend showing up even earlier.  Female Foodie recommends “be willing to spend the better part of your day (or at least the first half) waiting in line and making an experience out of it.” Since its launch in 2009, Franklin Bbq has sold out of brisket every single day.  That lengendary brisket is credited for much of the great success of Franklin Bbq.  In 2013 and 2017, Franklin BBQ captured the number one and number two spots, respectively, on…

2026 James Beard Foundation: "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: One StarRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

La Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Every summer, a predictable ritual takes place. After hibernating comfortably since the previous autumn, men attired in aprons emblazoned with the slogan “kiss the cook” will selflessly volunteer to “cook” a meal. This, of course, means grilling, a decidedly masculine affectation and the only type of cooking most men can be entrusted to do. When this ritual is completed and guests are sated, lavish praise and thanks are heaped upon the “chef.” In truth, the only aspects of this ritual for which men are typically responsible is getting the grill lit, placing the meats on the grill and turning them (after our female better halves warn us that the meats are burning). Normally all the preparatory work—buying the food; preparing the salad, vegetables and desserts; preparing the meat for cooking; organizing plates and cutlery; preparing the plates—is done by our wives and girlfriends. Ditto for the post-dining rituals—clearing the table, doing the dishes and putting everything away. Insouciant clods that men are, we can’t figure out why our ladies are upset when we asked how they enjoyed their “night off.” Men love to play with fire.  Those who get really good at it–and have a lot of patience–may eventually graduate…

2025 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: One StarRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

LeRoy And Lewis Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

What can you say about a wife who practically pushes her husband out the door so he can gallavant through the Lone Star State in pursuit of barbecue?  That’s precisely what my Kim did.  She didn’t do so out of malice or because she’s tired of me.  Far from it.  We’ve been together for four decades.  There’s no one whose company I enjoy more and it’s mutual.  Throughout my Air Force career, we were stationed far away from family and had only ourselves to rely on.  We’ve grown together both figuratively and literally (mostly me).  While I would love for my Kim to be by my side every moment of every day, she knows I sometimes need to explore culinary horizons by myself, advance scouting for when I can take her with me. Mysandrists might decry the Austin weather as divine retribution for me traveling without my bride and our debonair dachsund, The Dude.  An uncommon cold spell has limited my outdoor activity to getting in the car and driving to one of the anointed restaurants on my list.  On February 8, the high temperature in Austin was 88.  Since my arrival, the high temperature has been in the low…

BarbecueMichelin: One StarRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

InterStellar BBQ – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With more than 2,500 purveyors of bodacious barbecue in the Lone Star State, Texas Monthly Magazine has increased the likelihood of smoked meat aficionados locating and enjoying the very best.  That’s largely because of Daniel Vaughn, the magazine’s “Barbecue Editor.”  Vaughn has traveled the world sampling smoked meats at over 1,800 barbecue joints, most of which are in Texas.  Texans making pilgrimages in pursuit of barbecue carry with them Vaughn’s tome The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue.  They also take along Texas Monthly’s “The 50 Best Texas Barbecue Joints.” Vaughn’s Texas Monthly compilation, last published in 2021, will be updated in 2025.  These are the barbecue bibles to which believers are called. There’s only two jobs I’ve ever coveted and both are under the employ of Texas Monthly.  One is Daniel Vaughn’s aforementioned “Barbecue Editor” position.  The other is “Taco Editor,” a position held by Jose Ralat.  In a state covering 268,596 square miles, the chances of meeting either one of them aren’t very high.  Much less likely is the opportunity to dine in close proximity to one of these culinary giants.  It was sheer serendipity that the man, the myth, the legend himself, Daniel Vaughn would…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasThaiUnited States

Curry Boys BBQ – San Antonio, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The 1970s were characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era.” It was an era of contrasts: the national crisis of confidence described by President Jimmy Carter as a “malaise” and the ubiquitous yellow smiley face; the melodic, velvety stylings of the Carpenters and the edgy, funky beat of disco; an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the introduction of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants. Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, elements and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly in California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular.  Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. The now defunct Maverick Cafe in San Antonio, Texas, became famous for their “East Meets West” dining concept. It wasn’t so much a fusion of cuisines as it was the plating of different cuisines (Mexican and Chinese) on the same salver.  The Maverick Cafe was my very favorite fusion restaurant. The very best lemon chicken I’ve ever had, in fact, was at…

BarbecueRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Terry Black’s BBQ – Lockhart, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

My Kim won’t be jealous that I was in the company of two winsome women during my inaugural visit to Terry Black’s BBQ.  She might, however, be unhappy if I were to come home perfumed by post oak, a sure sign I had been enjoying Texas barbecue without her.  Post oak is the wood many of the Lone Star State’s best barbecue restaurants smoke to give their meats inimitable flavors and aromas.  Okay, she might also be jealous that I polished off a monsterous beef rib, the type of which tipped over Fred Flintstone’s granite automobile.  It would have been more than enough for her and The Dude to share with me, but hey, how often do you get to visit Lockhart, Texas, the legislature decreed “Capital of Texas Barbecue.” My trip to the San Antonio area was meant to be a solitary adventure, an opportunity for me to visit some of my old haunts.  I would have been perfectly happy to spend time alone.   Then Melinda Martinez came into my life.  We met while standing in a long queue in front of Burnt Bean, a  2024 finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef – Texas” honor.  We shared…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef-Texas" Finalist2026James Beard Foundation - "Outstanding Chef" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

Burnt Bean – Seguin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Legend has it that shortly after the horrendous mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas,  Burnt Bean pitmaster and co-owner Ernest Servantes was asked to serve barbecue to law enforcement officials in Uvalde.  According to sources, Servantes, himself an Uvalde native, refused to serve anything to the milksops whose cowardly inaction resulted in the fatal shooting of 19 students and 2 teachers, and the injuring of 17 others.  Servantes wasn’t around when my new friend and dining companion Melinda Martinez and I finally completed our time in the purgatory of a queue that snaked to the end of the block.  We asked one of the restaurant’s servers, but he was unable to either confirm or refute the story.  At any regard, it’s a good story that endeared me to a pitmaster whose reputation places him in a heroic pantheon. There are several certifiable, irrefutable truths about Servantes and his partner Dave Kirkland that transcend legend.  In 2022, less than two years after its launch (during the Cabrona Virus), Burnt Bean garnered the number four spot in Texas Monthly’s 50 Best Barbecue joints.  Cognoscenti consider “best in Texas” synonymous with best in the universe.  Fourth best means it’s on the Mount Rushmore of…

BarbecueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSanta Fe

The Ranch House – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Gil Garduno9:27 PM

When it comes to existentialism, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche have nothing on my university classmate Ron at the University of Southerm Mississippi who would argue that the meaning of life is to ponder the meaning of life. In his ongoing analysis of existence, he can turn any subject into a philosophical debate. Once while enjoying a rack of ribs at Anjac’s BBQ in Gulfport, Mississippi, he actually pondered the essence of barbecue–to sauce or not to sauce, what is lamb’s place in barbecue, etc. While he pondered, I ate. It appears my friend is not the only person who has contemplated the essence of barbecue. Meathead Goldwyn, the self-professed “barbecue whisperer and hedonism evangelist” believes “the seductive aroma and flavor of smoke is the essence of barbecue.” Author Rick Browne who has a “PhB” in barbecue argues that the essence of barbecue is the sauce, “the glorious thickened liquid (sometimes not-so-thickened) that we gleefully baste, mop and slop with.” William McKinney who co-authored Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue counters: “Sauce is fine and can perk up the meat, but the essence of barbecue lies in that process.” Los Angeles Times writer Charles Perry weighs in with “the…