Those ‘Berry Best’ beans have a new home just off Loop 820, plus a bigger BBQ menu
Berry Best BBQ needed a new location, and it found one just a few miles from home.
John Berry’s barbecue restaurant, known not only for smoked meats but also for side dishes and his “Berry Best Beans,” is open at 7509 Boulevard 26 after a fire last year in his old Watauga location.
Berry Best has built a huge following for Berry’s distinctive rub, for his beans and for sides like smoked greens and smoked cornbread.
Last weekend, he was selling out early every day, even for the new menu items such as smoked turkey, nachos and smoked hot dogs.
“I’m excited and I’m nervous, all at the same time,” Berry said.
The location is a 40-year-old building just inside Loop 820 that has been home to several barbecue restaurants since its original days as a Long John Silver’s.
The Berrys were going to renovate their Watauga location, but the old drive-thru stand didn’t allow for a dining room.
“We needed a sit-down spot,” he said.
Berry Best BBQ started drawing a regional following in 2017, after a Texas Monthly review that began, “Rarely does a beloved bean recipe spur the birth of a barbecue operation.”
Berry told how he was serving barbecue for a church party, and one of the guests said, “These are the ‘berry’ best beans I’ve had!”
They’re baked beans with brisket and barbecue sauce, but it gave Berry a signature dish to go with his soft, juicy brisket, sausage and stuffed baked potatoes.
Dinner plates cost $14-$18 with a choice of 10 side dishes. The sandwich combos cost $11-$12.
Family packs sell for $40 for two or three people (two pounds of meat); $70 for five people with three pounds of meat and more sides; or $100 for 10 people, four sides and four desserts.
Berry Best’s new location also has what every restaurant needs these days: a drive-thru window.
It’s open for lunch through late afternoon daily except Sundays; 817-849-2066, berrybestbbq.com.
