Doug Pickering’s New BBQ Spot in Deep Ellum is Uncommonly Good

Doug Pickering left the worlds of finance and real estate to try making a living at his passion: Texas barbecue.

He seems happy eeking by on catering, but before he jumps full-time into opening his own barbecue restaurant, he’s partnering with an old school friend to provide the food at Deep Ellum’s new bar, Work.

From 11 a.m. till deep in the evening  Monday through Saturday, Pickering loads up his Pitmaker Magnum Sniper smoker with pecan wood and turns out some uncommonly good briskets, plus pulled pork, chicken and sausage.

You can sample the goods as sandwiches or combo plates off the menu at Work, or Pickering will sell you the ‘cue by the pound ($15). He says, on average, he sells up to 150 pounds of brisket a day. I popped by Work early on a Saturday, when Pickering only had a few pounds of briskets ready. I sure liked what I tasted.

Both the point and the flat ends of the brisket were moist and tender, sporting a thick smoke ring and a deeply hued crust redolent of salt, pepper, smoke and a touch of caramelized sugar. Pretty good stuff. Not yet Pecan Lodge or Lockhart Smokehouse good, but there’s also no line to wait in and Pickering is a prince of a guy. I’d trim the briskets a little more closely before cooking them, but that’s just me.

Let’s help Pickering launch his own place, which he says he’ll do if he can prove there’s enough interest in his ‘cue. Shout out to him on Facebook, visit his Web site  (he calls himself the Grill M.D.) or stop by Work ( 2618 Elm St  Dallas, 214-699-6959) and eat some ‘cue. (He grills ribs on Thursdays.)

• • •

When General Motors asked me to tool around town in a new Chevy Volt for a week, they probably didn’t expect to get their car back smelling like BBQ smoke.

It sure beats New Car Smell, though. I’m betting they’ll thank me for programming Work into their GPS, but maybe not the bumper sticker that says, “Don’t Dallas our Austin.”