Dining: Go east of I-35W to Kipz for $5 barbecue

The barbecue is cheaper east of Interstate 35W.

“I’m not trying to knock anybody’s socks off with my prices,” said Charles “Kipz” Stone of Kipz BBQ on Evans Avenue.

Kipz’s plates start at $5. Meat by the pound is $10 and up. The stuffed potatoes are $7.50, but they’re nearly as big as a football.

“I am not going to charge $10, $12, $15 for barbecue,” said Stone, back at Kipz since January after leasing it out for a few years.

“These guys who charge more, they know a lot of people,” Stone said.

“I’m just a little guy over here on Evans Avenue trying to make it. But a lot of people from the hospitals come over here. People have me bring the [catering] truck out.”

Stone said he learned barbecue from his mother. (He originally opened the restaurant as Mom’s and served home cooking, and he has kept favorites such as the banana pudding.)

Kipz is open for lunch and early dinner (till 7 p.m.) weekdays and Saturdays; 1509 Evans Ave., 817-877-5479.

(Robinson’s BBQ on East Berry Street, also worth a try, serves more of a Kansas City-style barbecue. Mama E’s Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking on East Rosedale Street at Interstate 35W is a mainstay for lunches and pies at East Rosedale Street and Interstate 35W.)

A bone to pick

That fancy barbecue will be showcased Thursday when a Barbecue Showdown opens the third Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival.

For $60, festivalgoers can sample first-rate local barbecue by BBQ on the Brazos, Billy’s Oak Acres, Cousin’s, Heim and Riscky’s, plus more from special guests 18th & Vine BBQ and Lockhart Smokehouse from Dallas, Ten 50 BBQ from Richardson and Black’s BBQ of Lockhart.

The festival features six primary events, including a “Taste the New Texas” main event, a desserts tasting, a brunch sampling, a burger party at Clearfork and more.

Tickets are on sale at fortworthfoodandwinefestival.com.

Get hoppin’

A reminder for Easter:

Joe T. Garcia’s is closed Sunday for the religious holiday and for its annual spring patio cleanup. Try the similar dinners at the Esperanza’s Bakery & Cafe location on Park Place Avenue.

Restaurants with decent Easter brunch availability on OpenTable.com at midweek included Bird Cafe, Bravo Cucina Italiana, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Silver Fox and Uncle Julio’s. Others were mentioned in recent columns at dfw.com/eatsbeat.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Dining: Go east of I-35W to Kipz for $5 barbecue."