In a delicious bite of news for barbecue lovers in Texas, Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth was named the best barbecue joint in the Lone Star State by Texas Monthly.
Goldee’s is run by a band of best friends from Arlington. I named it “the best new barbecue joint in North Texas” in February 2021 — a big accolade for a place that had only been open for a year. But Texas Monthly’s No. 1 ranking proves it’s even better than North Texas’ best: It’s the best in the state, says barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn.
Goldee’s is better than Franklin Barbecue in Austin, long considered to be our state’s gold standard when it comes to barbecue. Goldee’s is better than the Netflix-famous Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, the 18-year-old spot open just one day a week, on Saturdays, where people line up at 3 in the morning to secure a spot.
This year, Franklin is ranked No. 7 and Snow’s is No. 9, leaving room in the top for what Texas Monthly calls the “up and comers”: Newer pitmasters like Goldee’s who are taking storied Texas traditions and making even better food.
A year ago, there was no wait for Goldee’s incredible brisket, house-made brioche bread, cheesy grits and house-made sausage. But the line is about to be way, way longer.
Its spot on Texas Monthly’s list will change the lives of the co-owners overnight. Pitmasters Lane Milne, Jalen Heard, Nupohn Inthanousay, PJ Inthanousay and Jonny White are now barbecue royalty.
The Texas Monthly list is the most comprehensive barbecue ranking in the state. It has been a little over four years since the magazine released a Top 50, and meatheads have been anxiously guessing who’d make the cut.
Goldee’s deserves a top spot, to be sure, but the No. 1 ranking for these co-owners, ages 23 to 27, is bound to surprise many serious Texas barbecue fans.
“It’s funny to call them inexperienced,” Vaughn says in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “Relatively, they are, because of their age. But the experience they gained at some of the best barbecue joints all over Texas is obviously invaluable. They’ve brought back those lessons and applied them, to great result.”
The Goldee’s owners have worked at Franklin, Valentina’s, La Barbecue, Micklethwait, Terry Black’s, Truth BBQ and 2M. All seven of those restaurants are also on Texas Monthly’s top 50 list, meaning the guys at Goldee’s learned from the best.
“It was just flawless from one meal to the next,” Vaughn says of his many stops at Goldee’s.
Among the top 10 on the list were two other Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants: Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas/Farmers Branch (No. 6) and Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth (No. 10). Here are the top 10:
- Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth
- Interstellar BBQ in Austin
- Truth Barbeque in Houston
- Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin
- LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin
- Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas
- Franklin Barbecue in Austin
- Evie Mae’s Pit Barbeque in Wolfforth
- Snow’s BBQ in Lexington
- Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth
What are the best dishes at the 3 North Texas barbecue joints?
We asked Vaughn to name the one dish he’d come back to again and again at Goldee’s, Cattleack and Panther City.
- Goldee’s: The Lao sausage, a surprising and creative house-made sausage served with jeow som sauce (which is made with cilantro, garlic, ginger and Thai chiles). Vaughn couldn’t name just one dish, though: “Also, the ribs are just perfect,” he says.
- Cattleack: Smoked boudin, a special. Sign up for Cattleack’s free e-newsletter and you’ll see in advance what they’re cooking. Lines can be long — an hour or more — so it’s good to know before you go if Vaughn’s favorite, smoked boudin, will be served.
- Panther City: Pork belly poppers. “They surprise me with how good they are every time,” Vaughn says.
8 other North Texas restaurants that made the top 50
After publishing a ranked list of the top 10, Texas Monthly named the remaining 40 barbecue joints in alphabetical order, unranked. North Texas barbecue joints had a fantastic showing.
Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington, another newcomer that opened in 2020, was given props for its Texas Twinkie: brisket and pimento cheese, inside a bacon-wrapped jalapeño. Owner Brandon Hurtado recently opened a bar next door named Hayter’s. Customers can find some of Hurtado’s smoked meats on the Hayter’s menu.
Slow Bone in Dallas does a lot of things right, the list says: sausage, turkey, pork ribs and brisket. Slow Bone also serves “the best fried chicken we’ve found in town,” the article says.
Smokey Joe’s BBQ in Dallas, one of the older joints in North Texas dating back to 1985, was a sleeper; it’s not always on the lips of barbecue fanatics in Dallas-Fort Worth. But Vaughn says in an interview that the restaurant “changed their entire process,” by buying new equipment and switching up the wood they cook with. Here, customers will find some more surprising menu items like yams and chicken tetrazzini. And — this is big — Vaughn tells us their brisket on their new smokers, with new wood, is “some of the best brisket in Dallas.” Dang, it’s time to go back.
Terry Black’s Barbecue in Deep Ellum made the list, as it should have. It opened in 2019 and is serving some of the most consistent barbecue in the region.
In Fort Worth, beyond Goldee’s and Panther City, the list also added Dayne’s Craft Barbecue and Smoke-A-Holics BBQ. Both started as pop-ups.
Hutchins BBQ, which has restaurants in Frisco and McKinney, made the list. It sells “some of the best chicken and sausage in the state,” the article says. The restaurant recently hired John Mueller (from Louie Mueller Barbecue, another famous Texas joint) as pitmaster.
Zavala’s Barbecue in Grand Prairie, which opened in 2019, sells a drool-worthy beef rib. Co-owner Joe Zavala has specials that entice barbecue fans to keep coming back, like for fajita night Thursdays and breakfast tacos on all weekdays except Mondays.
Read Texas Monthly’s list of the best 50 barbecue joints in the state here.
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- Which Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants got snubbed?
- Why Fort Worth is the barbecue capital of Texas right now
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