An old-school Fort Worth barbecue pitmaster says ‘Don’t forget your local guys’
First, barbecue changed in 2020.
Then, restaurants had to change.
In a year when no restaurant had an easy time, old-time barbecue restaurants had it toughest.
They saw their business trimmed by the flashy new craft barbecue competition.
After that, they lost customers to the COVID-19 pandemic slump.
“The one saving grace was that we had a drive-thru window,” said Paul Calhoun of Smokey’s BBQ, a 13-year mainstay at 5300 E. Lancaster Ave, in a much older barbecue restaurant built 50 years ago as a Dairy Queen.
In a year when customers rallied around locally owned restaurants, it was easiest to rally around those with drive-thru windows.
In east Fort Worth, that meant ordering from local favorites like Big Boyz Pit Smoked BBQ, Off the Bone BBQ, Robinson’s BBQ or Smokey’s.
“We were up and serving customers right away,” Calhoun said. “We didn’t have to start from scratch.”
You can tell it’s been a long year for Smokey’s.
The dining room is looking timeworn, and the menu is more limited than when Calhoun started there in 2007 under the then-owner, east Texas pitmaster Eddie Deen.
But now, more than half the business comes to the drive-thru.
Smokey’s offers online ordering and curbside service. (But be warned: Calhoun may have run out of the restaurant’s signature vanilla buttermilk pie.)
A lunch visit this week produced mixed results. But the boneless chicken breast ($12.99/plate) was notably soft and juicy, and the pork ribs ($12.99/plate, $28/rack) were better than at a typical old-school restaurant.
The prices are right. Sandwiches cost only $9-$10 including a side dish. There’s a “Taco Tuesday” special.
The way to try everything, of course, is with an $18 four-meat combo platter that easily feeds two or three.
A family-pack dinner for four people costs $30, cheaper than a single dinner at some of the newer craft barbecue restaurants.
“Sure, it’d be nice to serve wagyu beef, but out here on the east side, there’s not a lot of demand,” Calhoun said.
He admires new craft restaurants such as Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington and Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth.
“But we stick with choice brisket and full-size spare ribs, smoked low and slow,” he said.
(Baby-back ribs are available weekends.)
He’s switched to smoking solely over oak wood because hickory was getting expensive, he said. Some of the menu items are now available only in limited quantities or on weekends.
If you go to a new restaurant and it’s sold out, try Smokey’s. It’s always open until 6 p.m. unless absolutely everything is gone, said.
He grew up in Cleburne eating traditional Texas barbecue. The craze in recent years has been driven by websites, he said.
(As the late Star-Telegram writer Jerry Flemmons used to say, we have three food groups in Texas: chili, barbecue and “fried.” But barbecue has become its own phenomenon.)
“The biggest thing is that everybody now can research anything,” he said.
“People learned they could drive 4 to 6 hours and find a completely different kind of barbecue place. They went to Austin or Central Texas, and then they brought the style here.”
This year brought new restaurants such as Hurtado, Goldee’s south of Kennedale and Derek Allan’s in Fort Worth, along with a showy new Heim Barbecue near Love Field in Dallas and plans for another in Burleson.
Calhoun said all the new-school and old-school pitmasters stick together.
“The barbecue guys in Fort Worth, we all know each other,” Calhoun said.
He named some of the competition: “Smoke-A-Holics, Bad Boyz [a food truck], Billy Woodrich [Rufus Bar & Grill, formerly of Billy’s Oak Acres] — to be in this business, you’ve got to have a passion for it. They get up early. They build a fire. And they smoke some great meats.
“Don’t forget to support your local guys.”
The deadline for Christmas advance turkey, ham or pie orders is Friday.
Smokey’s BBQ is open for lunch through late afternoon weekdays and Saturdays; 817-451-8222, smokeysbbqftw.com.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
