In the most recent rundown of the Top 50 barbecue spots in Texas, Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor had no shortage of praise for the McAllen area.
But more recently, he discovered some top places not too further up from the Rio Grande Valley. Daniel Vaughn joined the Standard with his recommendations for spots along the border.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Was it a tough choice this year? Had a lot of selections, a lot of entries?
Daniel Vaughn: Absolutely. Yeah, we’ve never had more solid contenders than we had this year. So it was tough narrowing it down to 50 for sure.
I was surprised to hear that there were a lot from the McAllen area, that area rather well represented, but I guess it’s not really that surprising. They’ve done pretty well in the past, have they not?
Yeah, that’s right. Teddy’s Barbecue has been a favorite on our list down in Weslaco, and they just keep getting better.
Yeah, but the upper Rio Grande Valley, I think you sort of seem to be surprised by some of the selections that are available up there. None of these landed on your top 50 list, but nonetheless, sounds like there’s some good eatin’. What’d you find?
Well, you know, I hadn’t been to Del Rio, Texas, since I’ve taken this job actually. And that was 12 years ago. In 12 years, literally nothing has happened on the barbecue front in Del Rio until Humo Prime Barbecue opened up earlier this year.
And I had to get out there and check it out, basically just because, you know, a new barbecue joint in Del Rio is some news. It was great. Like it was actually worth the long drive out there from San Antonio.
If you didn’t know, Del Rio doesn’t have an operating airport anymore. So if you want to get there, you got to fly into San Antonio and drive on out highway 90 to Del Rio, but they’ll make it worth your while at this new barbecue joint.
What would you single out as top selections on their menu?
Well, they are certainly beef heavy, as you might expect in Texas. They’ve got great beef ribs, great beef brisket, and their beef brisket burnt ends are also really impressive. They’re making their own sausage too.
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What makes a place like Humo Barbecue stand out? Is it that this is something new in Del Rio? Or is it that it has particularly good BBQ?
It both of those, really. You know, as I’m driving out there from the San Antonio Airport, I got my fingers crossed hoping it’s gonna be worth the drive. And then you get there and it’s a big sigh of relief when you get a platter of barbecue in front of you that’s really impressive.
And then I went and made the owners real nervous and had them sit down with me as I ate to do the interview. They wanted honest feedback, and they got it. But the most important thing I could tell them is they were certainly headed in the right direction.
That’s wonderful. And not too far away, you stopped in Eagle Pass and found another place worth mentioning. Tell us about Choche’s.
It’s really impressive. The smoked brisket is fantastic. But he does these guisados one day. It’s a pork rib guisado with the pulled pork rib meat, and the next day it’s the beef brisket guisado. Those are really fantastic, really show off some of that Valley flavor.
Are they a newcomer, or they’ve been around for a while?
They’ve been around for a few years now. They were operating out of a food truck; I think they’re about five years old in this location. But the barbecue has really gotten a lot better.
And in Laredo, I understand, you discovered another place called LowPoint Barbecue?
Yes, LowPoint Barbecue with a questionable name. I’m not sure if that’s gonna attract many customers with a name like that.
But in talking with the owner, who’s actually a teacher at the elementary school that’s just a couple of blocks away, he said he was really sort of at a low point in his life and was hoping that the barbecue joint was gonna be the thing that sort of spurred him back into positivity.
And it did. And so this is gonna be his last year teaching. And he’s going to go fully dedicated into the barbecue business.
So what are the high points on LowPoint’s menu?
They do these big, massive beef short ribs. And when I told him that $25 a pound is pretty low in the state, he said none of his customers had thought it was low. But if you’re traveling around to Austin or Dallas or Houston and seeing a price like that, you’re going to jump on it.
So that would be my first suggestion. And then he’s got these sweet and spicy, savory pork ribs as well. And some really great beans and potato salad. It’s a pretty simple menu.
