Dallas newcomer Terry Black’s BBQ is the single best reason to get in your car and drive to Deep Ellum right now
Yeah, I know you BBQ fans think Dallas has nowhere as good as Austin. I’m here to tell you that it’s time to rethink things. Because Terry Black’s Barbecue in Deep Ellum is really, really good. Austin good. All-of-Texas. Worth-the-drive-from-wherever-you-live good.
The new place has a street cred too. The first outpost of the well-regarded Hill Country original, this 11,000-square-foot counter service restaurant is the first of several planned for DFW, Chicago, L.A. and beyond, says ops director Robert Talamantez, a recruit from some big-brand resto operators who know how to build a concept from zero to IPO.
With its second story beergarten, a couple of PDRs and a main dining room with seating for hundreds, you can take your whole crew here for lunch, stay for dinner then stumble out after late night cocktails at the bar. Pit Tours are welcome. Staff is friendly. The cafeteria-style line is fast and efficient. The ‘cue is exceptional – even for a city with several good BBQ joints. You will like this place.
“We’re in the hospitality business,” Talamentez told me over a big plate of ‘cue he brought me to try during a recent visit to check out the place.
Black’s uses CAB beef whose specs are nothing special, but the pit crew makes magic out of the briskets and dinosaur plate ribs, turkey breast and incredible sausage, which is made in-house using brisket and rib trimmings. Side dishes like cream corn, potato salad, coleslaw and pit beans all have more than a whiff of sweetness, but that doesn’t mean purists (or snobs) should avoid them – or the mini pecan pies, the buttery peach cobbler or the banana pudding cups in the dessert line.
Yeah, a rack of post oak-smoked St. Louis pork ribs were a bit salty on my visit and needed another half hour of relaxation in the pit, but that was the only miscue on my entire sampler plate.
I loved that you’ll find plenty of free parking in their adjacent lot, and that the place was sleek, clean and spacious. The ‘cue was excellent. The staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more hospitable.
This place is a home run – and operates the way a great BBQ operation should run.
You’re gonna like this.
https://www.terryblacksbbq.com/