Will Milne
Left to right: Goldee's Bar-B-Q owners Lane Milne, Nuphon Inthanousay, Jalen Heard, Dylan Taylor, and Jonny White
You know that old saying, “Good things happen to those who wait?” Well, if you’ve ever been to Goldee’s Barbecue, located at 4645 Dick Price Rd on the southwest side of town, then you’ve lived it. The way Food & Wine magazine puts it, “Yes, the 5-hour line for Texas’ buzziest barbecue restaurant is worth the wait,” and we can concur. Besides being named by Texas Monthly as the best barbecue restaurant in the state in 2021, Goldee’s has also appeared on several of our Best Of lists over the years since opening in February of 2020.
But the accolades being bestowed upon this favorite ‘cue spot by Food & Wine highlight the chefs (or ahem) the pitmasters behind the cuisine. Chefs Jonny White, Jalen Heard, and Lane Milne, all got a shoutout not just for their style of cooking, but also for their pay-it-forward pitmaster training; or as Food & Wine puts it, “a stellar barbecue joint where the pitroom doubles as a talent incubator to train the next generation.”
Before opening Goldee’s, White, Heard, and Milne cut their teeth at ‘cue joints like Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue, and Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden to learn their craft.
The story of Goldee’s first year of business is also one of note, given they opened during a time when the whole world shutdown. Add to this the fact that Goldee’s isn’t exactly in an easy-to-find locale. If you’ve never been there, there’s a good chance you might get lost trying to find it near a huge landfill down a mostly desolate stretch of Dick Price Road. However, for the tenacious foodies and ‘cue afficionados out there, Goldee’s has become a sort of food mecca, a destination that needs to be experienced to be understood.
On the three days this place is open, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until 11 a.m. or they sell out, lines of people can be seen sitting in lawn chairs strewn around this joint’s ramshackle parking lot that extends further behind a red brick house south of the restaurant. These lines are so long, by the time you get to the front door, the strangers you were waiting in line with have become your fast friends and waiting buddies.
Goldee's Bar-B-Q
However, once the flavor of Goldee’s brisket hits the lips, that’s when everyone gets it. This is why this establishment has people lining up as early as 6 a.m. to beat the lines and get their fix of smoked meats and more.
Goldee’s menu isn’t large either with just over a baker’s dozen of items to choose from, which mainly consist of brisket, pork ribs, turkey, house sausage, and jalapeno cheese sausage. This spot also boasts housemade pickles, and bread baked in house everyday, or the three days they’re open. Goldee’s attention to small details like the aforementioned sides is how White explains the restaurant’s quality control method.
“That way, when people get the tray, there’s not a bad bite,” White told Food & Wine about the details. “That’s the goal. No weak spots on the tray.”
Milne said, no one gets mad about taking an item off the menu. “I’d rather catch it, or try and fix it, or 86 it, than make someone feel bad about it,” he verified.
The methodology behind this ranking points to chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen or pastry program for five years or less for eligibility. The process begins with Food & Wine soliciting and vetting nominations from Best New Chef alums, food writers, cookbook authors, and other trusted experts around the country. Then, Food & Wine scouts travel the country, dining out in dozens of restaurants in search of the most promising and dynamic chefs in real time.
Food & Wine conducts background checks and requires each chef to share an anonymous multilingual survey with their staff that aims to gauge the workplace culture at each chef’s establishment. Chefs also participate in Food & Wine’s Best New Chef Mentorship Program to empower themselves with the skills and tools they need to grow personally and professionally as leaders and to successfully navigate challenges and opportunities in their careers.
Goldee's Barbecue
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White says, “We just stay true to ourselves and are realistic about how much food we can cook and still make it really good, kind of regardless of the line. “We don’t push ourselves or our employees or our smokers too hard ... We cook the amount of food that we feel is appropriate, and right now it usually works out to where it hits the end of the line.”
As for Goldee’s quality control, White explained that one of the three chefs at is always at the center of the line to ensure everything goes out according to this joint’s standards.
“We just feel like it’s pretty much the last stand of defense between someone having a really good experience at Goldee’s or a really bad experience at Goldee’s," he said.