Barbecuing and Grilling

In Texas, a Golden Age for Smoked Meat

There's a barbecue revolution afoot. Put a tiara on that slab of meat and give it a dozen roses. Barbecue is the new beauty queen in the culinary world. For many of us, smoked meat is as right as being born a Texan, or getting here as soon as you could. Brisket and ribs are clogging our veins and ... More >>

Outdoor Competition Grills Up Support For Disabled Veterans

Here's pulling for great weather next Friday. Students from the culinary program at the Art Institute of Dallas are planning an outdoor event to raise money for Patriot PAWS. The nonprofit organization provides service dogs free of charge to disabled veterans. The event will pit two teams from the c ... More >>

Oink And Moo Barbecue Will Kill Us All, But Especially Me

The concept of a mobile barbecue food truck, which may appear next to me at any moment in any situation, is a health danger on a par with snakes, shoddily constructed buildings and being fired out of a cannon into the sun. Especially snakes. I really hate snakes. Previously, I would have had to driv ... More >>

An Englishman in BBQ Sauce

An expatriate Brit learns to love Texas, one pound of brisket at a time.

Bourdain's Last Season Of No Reservations Starts With Daniel Vaughn In Austin

Anthony Bourdain's final season of No Reservations kicks off September, 3. The season opens in Austin with Dallas' very own Daniel Vaughn guiding the popular chef/author/traveler through the smoky motions at Franklin Barbecue. News of Vaughn's appearance on the show leaked after the Texas barbecue s ... More >>

Pecan Lodge Is Joining Baker's Ribs To Represent Dallas In Texas Monthly's BBQ Festival

Tickets for the third annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival went on sale today. Twenty-one barbecue joints will gather just south of Lady Bird Lake to show off their take on brisket, sausage, ribs and anything else with enough fat content to stand up to an hours-long stint in a smoker. If you need an ex ... More >>

Community 'Cue

The tradition of open-pit barbecues in Texas predates the Civil War.

How Dallas Chefs Grill: The Tools, the Meat and the Techniques

We tracked down a few Dallas chefs to get a little insight on how a Memorial Day cookout in their backyard might look, taste and smell. From grills and smokers to favorite cuts of meat, plus some tips for the novice, let their words serve as inspiration as grilling season officially begins this week ... More >>

The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival Was Pretty Cool, I Guess

Why is this sign not made of barbecue?​The city of Austin's clothing smelled like delicious, delicious barbecue all the live long day on Sunday. The 2nd Annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival was stinking up that town something awesome. And if you weren't there to sample brisket, ribs and sausage from ... More >>

Holiday Blues

Lockhart Smokehouse the Best BBQ in Big D?

Central Texas Pitmasters Aren't Going to SeaWorld

You know, some low and slow cooking over oak...oh, never mind. ​SeaWorld in Orlando this week announced it had invited local smokehouses to participate in its annual "Bands, Brew & BBQ" festival, an innovation that would make even more sense at the theme park's South Texas location. But a spo ... More >>

Ten Texas Pitmasters Welcome Media to Texas

​Debates regarding the quality of smoked meat in Dallas will be temporarily settled tomorrow when 10 of the state's leading pit masters descend upon the House of Blues to cater the Super Bowl party for credentialed media. Participating barbecue joints include Snow's, Franklin BBQ, Black's BBB ... More >>

Heard Through the Grapevine: Who Deserves Credit for Great Dining Finds?

Who cares how you know? Just tell us where the good stuff is.​Is restaurant scouting an open source activity? That's essentially the question underlying local barbecue blogger Daniel Vaughn's frustration with Dallas Morning News critic Leslie Brenner's new list of the top barbecue joints, an ... More >>

Dallas Isn't a Barbecue Town (Ready, Aim, Fire...)

​City of Ate readers earlier this week didn't take kindly to my saying that "barbecue isn't very good in Dallas," suggesting my assertion must mean I'm an agoraphobic Californian. Wrong on both counts, but their ire brings up an interesting question: What constitutes a barbecue town? Do a few ... More >>

Oak Cliff to Serve Up "Ethical Meat"
At Barbecue Competition

Do happy cows make for better barbecue?​An upcoming barbecue contest in Oak Cliff may be among the first nationwide to demand its entrants use sustainable, grass-fed meat. Teams participating in the September 11-12 competition will receive beef brisket, pork ribs, whole chicken or homemade sa ... More >>

Dr. Bell's BBQ

Dude Food: Dr. Bell's BBQ

Patrick MichelsIt came with three sliders, but priorities dictated eating one of these chip-filled mini-burgers pre-photo.​Dr. Bell's BBQ1404 Main St214-741-4552Dude Factor: 9, or Dr. House, on a scale of 1 (Dr. Phil) to 10 (Hawkeye)If you're looking for a meal of substance in the middle of the wo ... More >>

Hall's Chicken Shack is a Trip to the Moon on Barbecue Wings

Dude Food: Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ

Jesse Hughey​Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ3317 Inwood Rd. 214-350-2649Dude Factor: 6, or Tony Romo, on a scale of 1 (Brad Johnson) to 10 (Roger Staubach)Texas being one of the reddest of red states, medical marijuana isn't going to happen any time soon without intervention by the federal government. But ... More >>

On The Range: Carne Asada

pdphoto.org​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.If you think cookout in Texan terms, you are usually thinking of brisket...well, steak and burgers, too--but that's everywhere. If you think of grilling in Mexican terms, though, it's carne asada all the ... More >>

Cobb Switch Barbecue Knows What’s Important: Meat, Meat, Meat

Baker's Pitmaster To Cook At Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

Joe Duncan of Baker's Ribs (aka "that place next to Angry Dog that smells good but always looks closed") will participate in the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party June 13-14 in Madison Square Park, New York City. Baker's Ribs is, of course, a Dallas Observer favorite, earning the Best of Dallas bar ... More >>

10 Questions: Mike Davis

Davis is kinda like Richard Petty or the New York Yankees, at least in the world of competitive barbecue.Since he began working the pit in 1994, this Marietta, Oklahoma, native has claimed 66 grand champion titles, including last year's World BBQ Cook Off in Munich. He's even featured on the cover o ... More >>

10 Questions: Steven Harvey

For years, Dwight Harvey catered in his spare time...although the ever-increasing popularity of his barbecue didn't leave him much room for rest.Along the way, he taught the trade to son Steven. Eight months ago, after Dwight retired from his day job, the pair opened Off the Bone Barbeque--which has ... More >>

Dude Food: Cousin's Barbeque

Cousin's Barbeque Various locations I don't think a Texas barbecue place does itself any favors by boasting that it's a favorite of an Ivy League, blue-blood Yankee, but Cousin's Web site brags about serving George H.W. Bush. Had I known that before trying the food, I'd have been a tad skeptical. ... More >>

Poster Of The Week: Method Entertainment BBQ

Dickey's Not Dicking Around

The Real Deal

Two Words: Jalapeño Sausage

Dickey's Wants the World to Eat Its Meat

Cheap Bastard

Got $6? Mr. BBQ's got lunch.

"Get Your Booty to Bar-B-Cutie"?

Patriot Acts

Proof that George Bush doesn't have a monopoly on luvin' the U.S. of A.

Tre Wilcox: From Top to Bottom

Clubbing Crocs

The latest in reanimated after-dark hotspots

Phemme Phatalie?

Meet My Meat, Then Smoke It

Fired Up

A woman's place is at the grill

Rock the Walls

Best Place to Smell Like Your Lunch

Baker's Ribs

Best Barbecue Restaurant

Peggy Sue BBQ

Best Barbecue

Peggy Sue's BBQ

Best Barbecue

Peggy Sue's BBQ

Best Market & Sausage Factory

Rudolph's Market & Sausage Factory

The year's top albums by Texas artists

Attacking Macs with chopsticks

Yoshi's brings Japanese sensibilities to an American dining habit

Good to the bone

The ribs at Magnolia restore your faith in barbecue

Blues exchange

Texas Blues Cafe brings more than brisket to the 'burbs

Supreme Being of barbecue

Zeus' Smokehouse offers up food for the gods