Dayne’s Craft BBQ
In Texas Monthly's highly anticipated Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints list, released Tuesday, Fort Worth can once again boast of having two joints in the Top 10. This time, it's Dayne's Craft Barbecue and Goldee's Bar-B-Q.
Technically, Dayne’s, which landed at No. 7 on the list, is in Aledo but Fort Worthians can claim restaurant founders Dayne and Ashley Weaver as their own. The couple made a name for themselves - and their spectacular smoked meats - at the now-gone Lola’s Saloon, where they manned a popular food trailer, serving housemade sausage, expertly smoked brisket and ribs, and absolutely killer brisket smashburgers, which Fort Worth Magazine featured on the cover in 2021.
After a temporary stint in Westland, the couple opened their brick-and-mortar last year in Aledo, taking over a century-old building next to a set of railroad tracks - the quintessential setting for Texas barbecue.
“The black-bark brisket and pork ribs are done to perfection,” the magazine says. "If outside-of-the-box dishes are more your speed, look out for more unusual specials, such as peach cobbler burnt ends and pork belly lumpia. The sides show just as much ingenuity — riffs on classics, such as Frito-pie beans and Flamin’ Hot street corn, play nicely with apple slaw and broccoli-grape salad, which make an extravagant meal feel slightly more virtuous.”
Ranked No. 1 in 2021, when the last list was published, Goldee’s Bar-B-Q near Kennedale moved from the top spot to No. 3.
“The turkey is so juiced we thought about having it checked for performance enhancers,” the mag says. “It was joined by perfectly rendered pork belly, lightly sauced pork ribs, and impressive sides of pork hash with rice and crunchy kale-and-cabbage slaw. Southeast Asian–inspired offerings, such as the Laotian sausage and the waterfall pork, are well worth the wait. And the Sundays-only bread pudding is so heavenly that God might skip church for it.”
Burnt Bean Co. out of Seguin nabbed the No. 1 spot, followed by LeRoy and Lewis in Austin at No. 2.
Panther City BBQ, the popular Mexi-cue spot in the Near Southside, fell out of the top 10 (it was listed at No. 10 in ‘21) but remained on the list.
Only the top 10 joints are ranked; the remaining 40 are listed by city.
Joining Panther City in the top 40 is another Near Southside 'cue spot, Sabar BBQ, a Pakistani-inspired trailer run by Goldee’s alum Zain Shafi. Sabar's the only other Fort Worth 'cue joint to land in the top 40.
The mag said every bite at Sabar “is a revelation.” “The brisket was flawless, and the seekh-kebab sausage was spiced to perfection. And with Sichuan lamb ribs this lovely, you won’t care that there’s no pork on the menu.”
Several area ‘cue joints were listed as honorable mentions, including Smoke-a-holics and the original Arlington location of Hurtado’s, both of which appeared in the top 40 in ‘21. Brix BBQ on South Main, Zavala's Barbecue in Grand Prairie and Patriotic Pig Smokehouse in North Richland Hills were also listed as honorable mentions.
Arlington's acclaimed Smoke 'N Ash, known for its unique fusions of barbecue and Ethiopian cuisine, also secured an honorable mention - the latest accolade for a restaurant with a long list of honors and awards, including a 2022 best new restaurant nod from The New York Times.
No Dallas-area ‘cue joints made the top 10, although a few were ranked in the top 40, such as Cattleack Barbecue, Slow Bone and Smokey Joe’s BBQ. Decatur’s North Texas Smoke BBQ also landed in the top 40.
Published every four years, the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ list carries a considerable amount of weight for both the joints and their customers, not just in Texas but across the broader barbecue landscape.
For countless barbecue aficionados, the list is gospel; many visit each and every spot. As such, a ranking can dramatically alter a barbecue joint's fate, thrusting hidden gems into the spotlight or offering a lifeline to those in need.
After Goldee’s claimed the coveted No. 1 spot in 2021, for instance, customer wait times for food surged from minutes to hours. Today, four years later, customers still wait in hours-long lines there for food. No doubt, Goldee’s latest top 10 ranking will guarantee those lines stay long.
To read the entire list, click here.
