A Dallas Barbecue Joint with a Secret Venezuelan Menu

Burnt BBQ and Tacos walks a culinary tightrope. The Plano-based haunt of chef Tim Halls and his wife, general manager, and chef Maria Argumedo, first opened in 2021, playing all the Texas barbecue hits. Sure, you can order pulled pork, coffee-grind-covered brisket, or burnt ends (obviously) by the pound and have yourself a delicious night.

But upon entering Burnt, you’re first greeted by a massive mural on the restaurant’s left-hand wall, showcasing a gorgeous landscape of Scottsdale, Arizona, where Halls lived for a time. And it’s upon taking in those beautiful oranges and browns of the American southwest at dusk that you quickly realize there’s a whole other world out there, one with flavors far away from the recognizable Texas barbecue standards of old.

It’s around that time when you start to inspect Halls and Argumendo’s menu a bit more, and you notice a few curveballs. For one, the Navajo fry bread taco, which is not so much a taco but a huge bowl made of its namesake. It originated out of both tragedy and necessity, as Native Americans were forced west in the 1860s and fried their rations of flour, water and salt. But it’s since evolved and crossed over into popular culture, with the resulting light and fluffy bread texture being used as the base for “tacos” filled with meat and piles of vegetables, or a sopapilla-esque dessert with honey. At Burnt, you have your choice of the Texas barbecue meats, with lettuce, tomato, cheese, beans and pico garnished high.

For the first few years of Burnt’s existence, the Navajo fry bread taco was the extent of its culinary exploration outside of Texas, and it was a highly successful one at that. We stopped by Burnt just a few months after they opened in 2021 to try the dish, eventually describing it as “superb.”

The Not-So Secret Menu

Over the four years since the doors first opened, Burnt’s burgeoning secret menu has been drawing Latino crowds in droves to its small Plano dining room. Argumedo, who primarily runs the kitchen, is originally from Venezuela and helped to put together a Spanish-speaking service at the Methodist church she attends with Halls. These days, they say the service draws hundreds each week, which inspired Argumedo to craft a new menu, or at least an option, for those churchgoers to have a taste of home.

She began last summer with traditional arepas, which are essentially small sandwiches made with cornmeal, and empanadas filled with chicken, beef and pork. Soon after, a chicharron platter, with a mix of rib tips and pork belly served with panela cheese and limes. Later, as word-of-mouth continued to spread, cachapas, a semi-sweet pancake made out of cornmeal and often stuffed with melted white cheese; pescado frito, a fried tilapia fish; and the parilla mixta, a sampling of steak, pork chop, chicken breast and poblano sausage served with salad, rice and green plantains were all added as exclusive Sunday specials.

By March 2025, a “Taste of Venezuela” section was added to the permanent and public menu full-time, with nearly double the amount of offerings that were on the secret menu.

We started with a taste of seven of Burnt’s Venezuelan offerings. Crispy empanadas were filled with chicken, pork and beef, one each, topped off with a dollop of lime crema. You can order them individually for $4 each, or as a combo with three for $16, which comes with a side and a drink.

Next were three thick tequenos laid in sequence, with panella cheese deep fried in dough. These were basically extra-large mozzarella sticks, and your taste for them is going to fully depend on how appetizing that sentence sounds to you. To each their own.

Argumedo prepared two arepas for us, one with pulled pork and the other with chicken. These were the standouts, ridiculously juicy and fresh, with a light bun stuffed with vegetables and thick cheese. We’d recommend grabbing the arepas combo, which comes with your choice of meat, side, and a drink for $19.

The parilla mixta comes with a cut of steak, pork chop, chicken breast and poblano sausage, along with rice and vegetables. All of the food tasted great, and at $25, for that much food, it’s an excellent choice.

Next up was the behemoth patacon sandwich, with meat between double-fried plantain patties, fried cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, crema, and a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise. This one was a lot, but it was absolutely worth an order if not only for novelty but also for the sweet and savory combination of flavors between the meat and the plantain.

We ended our culinary journey through Venezuela with the cachapa, which we found similar to some Turkish varieties of baklava. It still has a pancake texture, but with heaping amounts of sweet cheese and cream.

Our afternoon at Burnt ended about as we expected it, with numerous to-go boxes, unbuttoned jeans and a peek at the calendar to find a time to come back and bring our friends. The Texas barbecue here is great, don’t get us wrong, but if you’re planning on visiting Burnt, save room for an extra taste of Venezuela, by Venezuelans.