Page 27 - March2022 Barbecue News Magazine

One of our most unique
meals in Houston
was eating BBQ break-
fast at Gatlin’s BBQ.
There, we got to meet
the Gatlin’s family and
tried a sampling of
breakfast tacos, sand-
wiches, and a special
brisket on a biscuit.
Every dish we tried was
delicious, and it was
hard to narrow down
which one was a fa-
vorite. We were espe-
cially blown away by
the hospitality from
pitmaster Greg Gatlin,
chef Michelle Wallace, and especially Miss Mary Gatlin, who treated us like members of the family.
One of the last
joints we were
able to visit in
Houston was J-
Bar-M Barbe-
cue in the
downtown area.
J-Bar-M is one of
the newest BBQ
joints in Hous-
ton but already
is firing on all
cylinders, with
fantastic smoked
meats and some
of the best sides
we ate the entire
trip. Standout
sides included
Cauliflower Au
Gratin, Spicy
Cream Corn, Red
Cabbage Slaw,
Marinated
Tomatoes, and a
Giant Cinnamon
Roll. Addition-
ally, Erica was
able to also
spend time interviewing pitmaster Willow Villarreal for The Pit Stop as well, which will share more about J-Bar-M Barbecue’s fast rise to greatness when that episode drops. In what felt like a BBQ Thanksgiving celebration, we shared our meal with Justin and Catherine Myers of Boerne Brand Hot Sauce, Finnish
pitmaster Aki Kinnunen, and barbecue superfan and Smoke Sheet contributor Josh Swope (aka Pops Post).
We feel like we just scratched the surface of what Houston BBQ has to offer during this trip, and we can’t wait to go back for more. In next week’s issue, we’ll share some of our favorite indi- vidual food highlights from this trip, so stay tuned!
Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ) and Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
Our trip to Truth
BBQ's Houston
location was one of our most anticipated, and the visit did not disap- point. Erica was able to spend two hours inter- viewing owner and pit- master Leonard Botello IV and getting a tour of the location for The Pit Stop. While she was finishing her interview, our crew ordered one of everything from the Truth menu (even the sheet cake). It was per- haps the most well- rounded meal we had, where every bite of meat, sides, and desserts popped off our forks or fingers.
One of our biggest BBQ dinners was at the new J-Bar-M Barbecue.
We loved eating barbecue breakfast with the amazing family at Gatlin's BBQ.
Erica interviewed Truth BBQ owner and pitmaster Leonard Botello IV for The Pit Stop.
The crew arrived early at Corkscrew BBQ on a Saturday morning and the line was already starting to get deep. We shared some ex- ceptional trays of
food with Texas bar-
becue enthusiasts Tom Nguyen
(aka Hirotoshi Mugen) and Joey Garcia. After lunch, we were invited be- hind the scenes to see how husband and wife team Will and Nichole Buck- man and their staff keep the enormous lines of happy cus- tomers moving.
We had a blast at Corkscrew Barbecue in Spring.
MARCH 2022
BarbecueNews.com - 27