For BBQ, it’s like the Oscars, Super Sunday: Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list is here
Fort Worth lost its throne as the barbecue capital of Texas, but two local restaurants are ranked among the state’s best in the new “Top 50 Best BBQ” list by Texas Monthly magazine.
Dayne’s Craft Barbecue, a mom-and-pop operation that grew from a residential garage to an all-day Aledo restaurant serving everything from brisket and burgers to kolaches, moved onto the chart at No. 7 on a list that becomes a go-to map for barbecue lovers and tourists from across America.
“The black-bark brisket and pork ribs are done to perfection,” the magazine wrote. “ ... Members of the Texas trinity [brisket, sausage and pork ribs] are beloved here, but the OG Burger, made from brisket trim, might be adored even more.”
“This list was a big deal for us four years ago, and we’re just happy to be in the conversation this time around,” Dayne Weaver wrote in a text message before the announcement.
He added, “We cook barbecue for our customers, not for a list.”
Goldee’s BBQ, No. 3, led Texas in 2021
Goldee’s BBQ, a back-road restaurant near Kennedale founded by three friends from elementary-school days, ranked No. 1 on the last list in 2021 and returned at No. 3 on the new list.
It went up against the toughest competition ever in a state where “barbecue” is not a noun or verb as much as a way of life.
“We’re pleased to report that the Goldee’s crew has not faltered as hungry hordes have descended upon this modest joint,” the magazine wrote.
Goldee’s rated behind Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin.
Sabar BBQ near downtown Fort Worth, a South Asian-spiced food trailer by a former Goldee’s pitmaster, broke onto the Top 50. It’s a triumph for pitmaster Zain Shafi of Southlake and his Texas-style prime brisket, seekh kebab beef sausage and dal chawal spicy lentils.
The Top 50 also included Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth and North Texas Smoke BBQ in Decatur.
“I think the bar has been raised in Texas for pitmasters,” Brandon Hurtado wrote in an online message.
His Hurtado Barbecue earned an honorable mention on the new list after making the Top 50 in 2021. It since has opened locations in Fort Worth, downtown Dallas and inside Texas Rangers games in Globe Life Field.
“This list will have some of the most ethnically diverse restaurants and food trailers ever,” he wrote, and “folks who are pushing the envelope — many of whom aren’t widely regarded as ‘barbecue.’ “
Smoke’N Ash BBQ, an Ethiopian-Texan restaurant in Arlington, also won honorable mention, along with Brix Barbecue and Smoke-A-Holics BBQ in Fort Worth, Zavala’s in Grand Prairie and Patriotic Pig Barbecue in North Richland Hills.
North Texas BBQ is finally as good as in Austin
Texas barbecue has always represented a cultural blend of Southern soul food traditions and central European smoked meats, popularized by families with names like Mueller and Kreuz and Schmidt in Central Texas towns like Taylor and Lockhart.
Goldee’s No. 1 ranking in 2021 represented a breakthrough for North Texas barbecue.
The Fort Worth area has always been known for strong commercial barbecue-and-beer restaurants such as Angelo’s, where the pork ribs were a favorite gift from Dallas’ Neiman Marcus stores.
But until Heim Barbecue opened in 2015, Fort Worth did not have the craft barbecue tradition of Austin, where restaurants smoke a limited batch of high-quality prime meats and serve it until it’s gone a few days a week.
Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, which now operates its largest location in the Fort Worth Stockyards, tied for No. 1 in 1997 in the first Texas Monthly rankings.
Angelo’s made the Top 50 list in 1997 and 2003. Third-generation owner Jason George wrote in a text message, “It seems like all the new places are getting all the hype and all of the original old places aren’t getting any.”
At another popular commercial restaurant ignored in the rankings, 407BBQ near Argyle, owner Bryan McLarty wrote in a message that the ratings are “about image and social media.”
“The guys like me, old fat guys, don’t really fit the ‘cool kid’ image. ... I just keep cooking and the crowds keep coming.”
The local BBQ honor roll
Texas Monthly has ranked the state’s top barbecue since 1997. Here’s the honor roll of current Fort Worth-area restaurants that have made the magazine’s list:
▪ FORT WORTH: Angelo’s (2003, 1997), Brix Barbecue (2025), Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (Llano location, 2017, 2013, 2008, 2003, Top 3 in 1997), Cousin’s BBQ (2013, 2008), Heim Barbecue (2017), Panther City BBQ (2025, No. 10 in 2021), Railhead Smokehouse (2003, honorable mention 1997), Sabar BBQ (2025), Smoke-A-Holics BBQ (2025, 2021), Terry Black’s BBQ (Austin location, 2025, 2021, 2017).
▪ ARLINGTON: Hurtado Barbecue (2025, 2021), Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas location, 2017, 2013), Smoke’N Ash BBQ (2025).
▪ ALEDO: Dayne’s Craft Barbecue (No. 7 in 2025, former Fort Worth location, 2021).
▪ CRESSON: BBQ on the Brazos (2017).
▪ DECATUR: North Texas Smoke Barbecue Co. (2025).
▪ EVERMAN: Longoria’s BBQ (2013, 2003).
▪ GRAPEVINE: Bartley’s Bar-B-Q, Grapevine (2013), Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse, DFW Airport (Dallas location, 2003, 1997).
▪ KENNEDALE: Goldee’s BBQ (No. 3 in 2025, No. 1 in 2021).
▪ NORTH RICHLAND HILLS: Patriotic Pig (2025).
▪ WEATHERFORD: Baker’s Ribs (Dallas location, 2008, 2003, 1997).
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 8:10 AM.
