Just a side note concerning the red t-shirts at Tejas. Wearing red, especially a red t-shirt, on Fridays is also known as R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Friday. It's to honor all of our military personnel who are doing what they do away from home in a foreign land.
The tour today with Scott was an absolute joy and “knowledge fest” of us learning about the day to day operations of running a BBQ joint. It never ceases to amaze me the time, sweat and hard work that these folks put in to running their business. Believe me when I say this, these folks have dedicated almost all of their free time to serving up some of the best BBQ in the world!
In 2017, Tejas BBQ made it into the Top 10 [#6] of Texas Monthly’s Top 50 In Texas list. I asked Scott about what happened to his business after making the list and his thoughts afterward. I also asked him if he knew anything in advance that this was about to happen. Believe me, if your place makes the list, ESPECIALLY The Top 10, your life will be changed forever! [as long as you continue the excellence] Making Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list is like earning a Michelin Star here in our state, in case you’re not familiar.
Scott told us that before making the list, he was serving about 6-7 briskets per day. The list first comes out online, followed by the monthly magazine a day or so later. He said after the list came out, he had lines out the door and all the way to the street! They started selling about 25-30 briskets PER DAY after the list came out! He actually had to order a 1,000 gallon smoker, up from his 500 gallon model, to keep up with demand. He’s now got three 1,000 gallon smokers total!
Anywho, one of the things I also enjoy about our MeatUps is the tours that so many of these places are eager to share with us. The BBQ community is a tight knit group of people who know and respect each other. You will never hear of one place bad mouthing another.
Last edited by Panhead John; April 12, 2025, 02:47 PM.
Thank you for posting this interesting information. I often wonder about the pressure of suddenly, out of nowhere, being thrust into the limelight and having to adapt the well run machine you have developed and quickly adjusting it to meet the overwhelming demand.
Bar-A was as good as the last time I was there over a year ago. Today I kept it light: Pork steak, cheesy potato casserole, and banana pudding. The pork steak was excellent.
Look at the smoke ring on that pork steak! Great seasoning and bark, nice and tender.
I really liked Bar-A-BBQ. The ambiance of the place was great....especially with the weather we are having. I got the brisket point, garlic beef sausage, and turkey, along with their mac & cheese and cucumber salad.
The brisket point was incredible. It was the meat equivilent of a Krispy Kreme donut -- just melted in your mouth. Uncle Bob pointed out that it was a little lighter on the smoke than most places, but not in any negative way. I really liked it.
The sausage (seems to be a theme for me this trip) was excellent. Very, very strong garlic flavor that worked well with the beef. Dense, but not too dense.
The turkey was exactly what I want in a smoked turkey.....seasoned throughout and not a bit dry, good Texas-style bark, and some smoke flavor.
I really enjoyed my sides. The mac and cheese was flavorful, with several cheeses that I couldn't quite name, and a bit peppery. The cucumber salad worked perfect with everything. It comprised cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, some vinegar, and to my surprise, a lot of cilantro. (I love cilantro!) It was very fresh and paired wonderfully with the heaviness of everything else on the plate.
Great company and great food. What else could you want from a meat-up?
Besides the various animal sacrifices, you can't beat good mac and cheese, nanner puddin' and carrot soufflé.
My lunch at Bar-A-BBQ. Texas Trio, 2 pork ribs, 2 slices of fatty brisket, 1 sausage.
Sides were brisket dirty rice, cheese potato casserole, bread,pickles,onions, sliced jalapeños and cornbread bread pudding. Rootbeer made with cane sugar to drink.
Great meal but too much food for one person. Free beer while waiting in line. A Texas Monthly top 25 new BBQ restaurants.
To add onto my previous post about Tejas BBQ and making the Texas Monthly Top 50 In Texas list…..they made #6 in the state in 2017.
A few months before Tejas made the list, Danial Vaughn, BBQ editor of Texas Monthly, visited Tejas [unannounced] along with a few other people…Scott [owner of Tejas] assumed they were all with Texas Monthly. He would notice they looked to be taking notes during their visit, but Scott wasn’t sure because they would hide their papers whenever he would happen to walk by.
Daniel Vaughn visited Tejas again later on by himself. It was about 3:00 on a Thursday afternoon and he ordered their pastrami beef rib. After he was done eating, Daniel Vaughn actually started clapping loudly and said to Scott, “I knew you were good, but I don’t remember your food being THIS GOOD!” Not too long after Daniel’s visit, a group of 2-3 photographers came to visit Tejas, wanting to get photos of his restaurant and food. At this point Scott kind of figured out he might make the list….somewhere, but nothing was ever said to him, and he didn’t ask.
The morning after the list was posted online, a local news reporter called Scott and asked him how it felt to make the Texas Monthly list, he didn’t know about it until then. Scott actually texted Daniel Vaughn and asked him if it was true that he made the list. Daniel confirmed with Scott, yep, it’s true….Be prepared for the onslaught! As mentioned before, Tejas went from serving 6-7 briskets a day to 25-30 a day!….all within a few days of the list coming out. At that time all Tejas had to cook on was a 500 gallon smoker along with a 200 gallon upright smoker. Scott immediately saw that he needed another smoker. He called Moberg Smokers in Dripping Springs, Tx. When he ordered their 1,000 gallon smoker there was a 6 week turnaround. 6 weeks later when it was delivered, Moberg now had a 2 year turnaround for their smokers! This is because of all the other BBQ joints who made the list, also needed more capacity, because of the increase in their business! Think about it, because of the Texas Monthly publicity, it affects more than just the BBQ places who made the list. It also increases the need for more smokers, wood suppliers to the BBQ joints, their meat suppliers and other associated restaurant supplies, not to mention the need for more employees. Brett Boren, from Brett’s Backyard BBQ in Rockdale, actually helped Scott install the smoker after it was delivered. The BBQ business in Texas is actually kind of a brotherhood.
Scott mentioned also how stressful it was for a while. He went from almost never having lines to a line all the way from inside the place, out onto the deck and sidewalk and then out to the street….overnight! Until he got his new smoker, he would always sell out around 1:30 - 2:00. He now has three 1,000 gallon smokers along with his original 500 gallon smoker. Get this, he is now open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, he has opened a burger joint in town and he also has a serving line at a large oil company’s headquarters in the area. He’s also increased his dining capacity by adding onto the restaurant an outdoor covered seating area. All of this because of some stupid magazine article….😂
Last edited by Panhead John; April 12, 2025, 02:49 PM.
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