18th & Vine's Latest Off-Menu Super-Sammy: A Burnt End Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Dallas smoke fiends need to get on their hands and memes and thank the barbecue gods that Daniel Vaughn calls our neck of the woods his own.

If not for the venerable BBQ Snob, the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, we wouldn't have the sandwich that now unofficially bears his name at 18th and Vine.

Let's walk back two steps to unfurl the origin story of the BBQ Snob sandwich, the scrumptious burnt ends and grilled cheese masterpiece that needs not only a permanent spot on the menu, but a trumpet intro every time it's walked out to the genius who orders it.

It all started when the Observer heralded what was then the only off-menu sandwich going at 18th and Vine, the Rube, a loose rib-meat wonder on a toasted hoagie roll that's as tasty as it is simple. That piece prompted Vaughn to darken the door for his latest visit, on Nov. 8, if Twitter timestamps are to be trusted.

Tried the Rube sandwich @18thandVineBBQ with Sir @GavinCleaver, but the brisket grilled cheese (sub burnt ends for $5 extra) impressed more. pic.twitter.com/I5Qa3uJJ6r

— Daniel Vaughn (@BBQsnob) November 8, 2016

And damned if the BBQ Snob didn't get all BBQ Snobby about his order and unintentionally gift us all with a delicious new Dallas delicacy in the process. See, he ordered the Lester, the brisket grilled cheese sandwich that is 100 percent on the lunch menu ($12), but didn't want to leave without also wolfing down what have to be some of the best burnt ends in Dallas, so negotiations started, according to sources close to Vaughn's lunch.

He ended up with half a Lester and half of a provolone-topped, beautiful burnt end baby on griddled Texas toast. It is stretchy cheese and plump warm hunks of heavily marbled brisket point burnt ends on the kind of bread you envision every time you stick a sandwich in your panini press. Only, this one doesn't disappoint, even at $17 (with a side).

Ask for The Lester (Brisket Grilled Cheese)"Snob Style." Thanks for the inspiration @BBQsnob & @GavinCleaver #smokeon #snobstyle #burntends https://t.co/6ig6ebsZuh

— 18th & Vine Barbeque (@18thandVineBBQ) November 8, 2016

The end result was first dubbed "Snob Style" by 18th and Vine on Twitter before they apparently just named it after Vaughn a la New York City's Carnegie Deli, which names menu items after famous folks who frequent the place. On Vaughn's end, at least it's a start.

For the rest of humanity in Dallas, we just hope the Snob and the Vine continue to use their barbecue powers for good.

18th and Vine, 4100 Maple Ave.