Texas dominates Southern Living's list of Top 50 Barbecue Joints in the South

Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman
·1 min read
LeRoy & Lewis, which made Southern Living's list of the top 50 barbecue joints in the South, will open a restaurant later this year in South Austin.
LeRoy & Lewis, which made Southern Living's list of the top 50 barbecue joints in the South, will open a restaurant later this year in South Austin.

Proud Texans will be happy to know that Southern Living thinks the Lone Star State is home to almost one-third of the best barbecue joints in the South.

The magazine on Tuesday released its list of the top 50 joints in the South, written by the publication’s contributing barbecue editor Robert Moss, and 14 of the spots are in Texas.

Austin proper is home to only two (Franklin Barbecue at No. 16 and LeRoy & Lewis No. 26, the two spots that topped the Statesman’s last list of best barbecue in the city), but Central Texas boasts half a dozen. Valentina’s Tex Mex BQ, which is now at a big new building in Buda, earned the 34th spot, while the others landing in the top 50 are of the famous historic variety (Louie Mueller in Taylor, and Smitty’s Market and Kreuz Market in Lockhart).

Related: Austin’s best barbecue truck, LeRoy and Lewis, opening a restaurant in South Austin

Topping the Texas-heavy list is Snow’s BBQ, the Saturday-only spot in Lexington that is home to legendary pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz.

Moss writes that brisket fever in the South, a region that includes border states Maryland and Missouri for the sake of this list, is starting to break, adding that he focused on regionality when compiling his most recent list. You can read about all 50 at SouthernLiving.com.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas dominates Southern Living's Top 50 Barbecue Joints in the South