Fort Worth Star Telegram made this claim in today's paper. I found this interesting since I live in far southwest Arlington and had never thought of this area that way. But the paper said there are organized tours to hit the big names around here, all of which are no more than a 10 minute drive from my house.

I am taking next week off to burn some vacation and may do a "tour" of my own and give reviews here.

1. Goldees - Ranked #1 by Texas Monthly. The lines can be brutal - maybe a weekday right before T-Giving will be more amenable.



2. Hurtado - Got famous via the Rangers, but was always one of the initial names in Mexicue.



3. Jambo's - More famous for their funky sandwiches and potatoes.



4. Smoke 'N Ash - Right on the way home for me and we go here about once a week. Fusion of Texas BBQ and Ethiopian, which sounds odd until you try it.



And these don't even include the old time BBQ places that have been around forever like Hickory Stick or Cousin's or David's. These are all on our "drive thru and pick something up" dinner rotation.

• I've been too lazy to go to goldee's...one day
• I thought Hurtado got popular regardless of the rangers. maybe i'm remembering that wrong
• Jambo's is meh to me
• Really need to go to smoke n ash. it's right next to my office.

I'm glad to see all of these places getting some attention. The idea the Cousins was one of the best BBQ places in Fort Worth is such an insult to a place named Cowtown. Its about like eating at a Taco Bell in Oaxaca.

McCart cousins is still good. Believe it's the only one still owned by the family.

The others, especially Bryant Irvin, I agree with you.

+1 on Jambos meh. I'll give another meh to Heim.

Cannot beat the value of David's, original Railhead, and Hickory Stick.

I live in Ft Worth and love the BBQ options we have here.

Does anyone know if Smoke N Ash has long lines or anything?

Matsui said:

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I live in Ft Worth and love the BBQ options we have here.

Does anyone know if Smoke N Ash has long lines or anything?

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the one in south arlington does not from what i've seen

Used to go to Goldees all the time. Haven't been since Texas Monthly caused the damn lines.

Don't sleep on Del Toro in downtown Mansfield. Go check it out if you haven't yet.

Gotta check out MJays House of Smoke in Arlington too. Should be ranked in the next Texas Monthly but I really hope not for selfish reasons

Isn't Panther City BBQ also highly rated? I've never been.

I'm on the Dallas side and think we've got some amazing places but I need to try a few on the FW side. Been meaning to get to Goldee's.

Panther city is top 10 per Texas monthly. It's outstanding.

hoosier-daddy said:

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Used to go to Goldees all the time. Haven't been since Texas Monthly caused the damn lines.

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What are the lines at goldees these days?

Panther city is great and so is Daynes

What happened to Heim?

This. I've given it a few shots but it's always been meh. Burnt ends are really good, but not worth the hype they get for everything else. I've had as good or better burnt ends at Jambo's

I still like it, especially if a salesman is buying lunch.

Not technically in Tarrant County, but Zavala BBQ in Grand Prairie is just a mile or so east of the county line and is also amazing Mexican influenced BBQ.

Dayne's

Heim was one of the first out of the gate with a true brick and mortar (in a happening side of town).

We went a few times when it opened, but haven't had a strong desire to go back since. Good but not great.

Dayne's is great, sad that they're moving to downtown Aledo as i'll probably never go again as it won't be convenient anymore. I wish they'd take over the Parker County Ice House space instead but I'm sure it's pricey.

Matsui said:

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I live in Ft Worth and love the BBQ options we have here.

Does anyone know if Smoke N Ash has long lines or anything?

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I probably go once a week and rarely have to wait long.

Concur that I USED to go to Goldee's until Texas Monthly found them.

Coates said:

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hoosier-daddy said:

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Used to go to Goldees all the time. Haven't been since Texas Monthly caused the damn lines.

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What are the lines at goldees these days?

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Not as crazy as they used to be, but still always a line of people sitting in the parking lot with lawn chairs waiting. Sans little kids I'd go drink free beer & enjoy the wait.

The DFW BBQ scene has certainly gotten significantly better within the last 10 years or so. We used to be a BBQ wasteland compared to all of the joints in central Texas and hill country, but that has changed. Not sure I'd use the word Mecca to describe it, but more of a Johnny-come-lately.

Panther City is fantastic.
Jambo's is pretty good.
Heim hasn't been good since they went brick and mortar. Put absolutely no smoke on their food.
407 BBQ - Excellent (Yes, they're in Argyle, not Tarrant)
Original Roy Hutchins is very good
Haven't tried Goldees yet. No interest waiting in a line more than 10-15 mins.
Hurtado is excellent.

Not to mention all the excellent joints that have popped up on the Dallas side too.

Meat U Anywhere in Grapevine, close to main st on Northwest Hwy, is quite good. They have wonderful breakfast tacos all day using their bbq

Another really good Mexicue place in Arlington I didn't mention is 225 Degree BBQ. They are good but food truck only

They do a lot of creative stuff like Flaming Hot Cheetos elotes.



Every weekend is some new idea.

Depp South Tarrant County but the Cousins in Crowley has been redone is not bad for chain BBQ. I brisket that comes on the Smokehouse salad is not too bad if you ask for a blend of fat/lean piece. They also toss on a couple of onion rings for "dessert."

Agree on Heim going downhill. Hoping their Burleson location is better than Hard Eight. That place is terrible. These places get so profitable but when they start getting multiple locations it gets impossible to keep the quality high.

That sucks about Heim, have not been in several years since I quit working in FW but always enjoyed it.

So tomorrow will be Hurtado. Smoke and Ash on Tuesday. We'll see about Wednesday.

Yea that Hard Eight is terrible. I was never a huge fan of the original but the one in Burleson is just not good.

Hard Eight's cue tastes different than almost everyone else's. And not in a good way.

Heim's place isn't bad. It's just that there are some better local spots and between that and him bagging on A&M openly and frequently I choose to go elsewhere. If I ran a BBQ shop I would be college neutral and take everyone's money cheerfully and equally.

Panther City is a great spot to try.

Cousin's All You Can Meat is a fantastic deal.

I loved Derek Allan's before he abruptly shut down after announcing a Waygu hamburger spot across the street then bailing on both. Hurtado is a solid replacement to DA but I used to really like Derek Allan's brisket rub for my home cooks.

I was eating Goldee's right after they opened and knew it was special. Being named to Texas Monthly #1 is life changing for them. If you go there, order online and pick up. They're opening a ribs only restaurant off of East Berry soon.

So to answer the original post, yes this area has become a BBQ mecca.

Hurtado - no wait for lunch at 11 AM. Sausage sandwich with fries. Spicy sausage and great sauce. $14 lunch with drink, etc.

Today is Smoke N Ash. Going with the chopped brisket sandwich and the Ethiopian macaroni and cheese. I'll post pics in a bit.

EDIT: smelled so good I forgot a pic. Perfectly oak and pecan smoked brisket on a large toasted sesame seed bun. Sauce added sweetness - so damn good.

But the star is the Ethiopian macaroni and cheese. Shell macaroni with melted cheese and smoky spices that I don't know the name of. But so incredible I went up and ordered another serving to go.

I like Longoria's, the brisket sausage is great......and no line

Angelo's in Ft Worth used to be good. now?