As Texans, we have a cultural birthright to argue about where to find the best barbecue, and a new list comparing Texas barbecue joints to other Southern states is sure to spark plenty of good-natured debate.

Life in the South The magazine has released its list of the South’s best new barbecue joints in 2024. To be included on the list, a restaurant must have opened after Southern Living’s last list of best new restaurants, released in September 2021.

The list, written by barbecue editor Robert F. Moss, includes 22 restaurants from seven states.

Texas is tied with South Carolina with five restaurants on the list. These are:

At Reese BrosMoss recognizes the restaurant’s Tex-Mex elements like queso fundido sausage, flour tortillas and poblano mac & cheese. Open since February, LeRoy & Lewis’ The brick-and-mortar location is praised for preserving the best of the food truck era while offering cocktails and, perhaps more importantly, air conditioning.

Beef brisket and rice is on the list because it has transformed a former Church’s Chicken into a eatery worth visiting, serving grilled fried rice (of course) and “poor man’s macaroni – wok-fried noodles with bacon and sweet tomato sauce,” Moss writes.

At
DaynesMoss finds exceptional brisket, an excellent smash burger and “Fritos pie beans – hearty cowboy-style pintos topped with cheese, crispy Fritos, pickled jalapeños and a hint of lime crema.”

Finally,
Barbs is praised for its brisket, beef ribs and turkey, as well as its smoked lamb chops and signature green spaghetti in a poblano cream sauce.

Although each restaurant approaches barbecue from a slightly different perspective, Moss finds some commonalities in all of his choices.

“First of all, most are traditionalists in some way or another. Most cook on wood fires, and many have embraced and championed the traditional specialties of their (particular) regions,” he writes. “At the same time, everyone is doing their own thing, experimenting with new flavors and techniques, using less common cuts of meat, and drawing on family recipes and their own culinary heritage.”

All of these restaurants are used to attracting a certain amount of media attention. Three of them – LeRoy & Lewis, Brisket & Rice and Barbs BQ – have made it into the
New York Times’ 2023 list of “20 Best New Generation Texas Barbecue Restaurants.” Reese Bros also joined Brisket & Rice and Barbs BQ Texas Monthly’s 2023 list of “Top 25 New and Improved BBQ Places in Texas”.