Where the judges might go for Fort Worth BBQ: Pick your own top 5 for brisket
Next week is the holiday that officially starts summer.
You know — it’s Barbecue Week.
The Texas Monthly Top 50 barbecue restaurants will be announced, the first update since Fort Worth became the Barbecue Capital of Texas.
We probably won’t keep that ranking. Competition is tougher, and good pitmasters from Goldee’s near Fort Worth, the reigning No. 1, have opened their own barbecue joints.
But we’ve got a good chance to have four or five barbecue restaurants in the Top 50.
The briskets that might be our best:
1. Dayne’s Craft Barbecue
Dayne’s, 100 S. Front St., Aledo: Ashley and Dayne Weaver have gone from selling barbecue out of their garage to one of the most popular backroad barbecue restaurants in North Texas.
If anything keeps Dayne’s from a Top-10 or Top-50 ranking, it may be that the Weavers recently responded to tremendous demand and started opening for dinner.
Dayne’s now serves barbecue 46 hours a week, and it can’t always be perfect. By comparison, Austin’s legendary Franklin Barbecue is open 24 hours each week, Goldee’s only 12.
But Dayne’s has something few other barbecue restaurants have: a world-class smash burger. It’s loaded with that black-pepper Hill Country flavor.
Dayne’s is open for lunch Wednesday and Sunday, breakfast and lunch Thursday and from breakfast through dinner Friday and Saturday; 682-789-6590, daynescraftbarbecue.com.
2. Goldee’s BBQ
Goldee’s, 4645 Dick Price Road south of Kennedale: Goldee’s remains the barbecue joint to beat in North Texas.
It has survived employees leaving to start other restaurants, experiments with global flavors and the extra crowds from a Michelin Guide listing,
The wait some Saturdays remains three hours. And customers still come away saying, “This is the best I’ve ever had in my life.”
Tip: Go after the lunch rush, about 1 p,m, You might miss out on brisket and pork ribs, but the wait will be shorter and you’ll still love the sausage and turkey.
It’s open for lunch only Fridays through Sundays; goldeesbbq.com.
3. Sabar Barbecue
Sabar, 105 S. Main St. in South Main Village, is a Pakistani-spiced offshoot by a former Goldee’s pitmaster, serving near-perfect brisket and housemade beef sausage with a slightly different spice mix and innovative sides.
The turkey has tandoori spice. There’s a world-class spicy lentils side dish, a carrot dessert and a cooling mango-yogurt milk drink. The lamb ribs are more stringy than pork, but they’re halal.
Sabar is open only for lunch Saturdays and Sundays, so pit boss Zain Shafi smokes up one round and then it’s gone; 817-521-9441, facebook.com.
4. The Original Roy Hutchins Barbecue
I could go into all the saucy details about the Hutchins barbecue family split, but just say everybody’s happy again and The Original Roy Hutchins, 3000 Texas 114 East, Trophy Club, is expanding.
The family’s two North Texas restaurants are known for Hill Country-style barbecue and character and for a big menu that also includes rib-eye steaks, beef ribs, baked potatoes and a choice of 12 sides.
A second location will open later this year at 1600 E. Copeland Road, Arlington, on Interstate 30 at Nolan Ryan Expressway.
The Original Roy Hutchins is open for lunch and dinner daily. Go at 11 a.m. to beat the crowd; 682-237-4100, royhutchinsbbq.com.
5. Panther City BBQ
It’s a tough decision here between Panther City, Smoke-A-Holics BBQ, Arlington’s renowned Hurtado Barbecue, Brix in South Main Village, Cresson’s BBQ on the Brazos, Grand Prairie’s beloved Zavala’s and the new Fort Worth location of Austin legend Terry Black’s.
But Panther City BBQ is Michelin-listed and has not lost a step since its top-10 ranking five years ago.
If anything, it’s better now, with a brisket carne guisada bowl for $12 on weekends and full lunch and dinner service five days a week.
Go at 11 a.m., or for an early dinner on a Sunday, and the brisket will be just as silky and smooth as your last visit.
It’s open Wednesdays through Sundays; 682-250-4464, panthercitybbq.com.
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
