When someone says “Go to your happy place,” many people imagine a beach, a mountaintop, or a meadow. But if you see yourself at a table with a plastic covering, a bib around your neck, and a plate full of sticky, smoky barbecue in front of you, this post just might make your mouth water.
While California has the most barbecue restaurants in the country, Texas is arguably the most famous for it. Whether it’s ribs, chicken, pork, or a platter full of burnt ends, barbecue joints inspire serious devotion — and for good reason. We did some digging to find the best barbecue joints in Texas according to locals. With so many options across the state, the people who live there are often the best judges. Based on careful research, we picked Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, Redbird BBQ in Port Neches, Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, and Bar-A-BBQ in Montgomery.
To build this list, we first looked at Texas Monthly’s picks for the top 50 barbecue spots, then reviewed discussions on Reddit (r/BBQ, r/Texas, and r/TexasBBQ). We also checked each restaurant’s website for current details. Consider this your Texas barbecue bucket list — and don’t forget the wet naps!
Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, Texas
The first place on our list is Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin. Hidden between San Antonio and Houston, it ranked as Texas’ number one ranked barbecue joint, taking the top spot in Texas Monthly’s list…