50 in 50. Top 50 Texas BBQ joints in 50 weeks. 4th stop: Longoria’s BBQ in Fort Worth

Welcome to Longoria’s BBQ!!!

Longoria’s BBQ
100 S. Christopher Dr.
Everman, TX 76140
(817) 568-9494
Date visited: Saturday, June 1st, 2013

Unless you have been to Longoria’s BBQ before, you won’t find this joint by just going out for a leisurely drive on a Saturday morning. You have to have a reason to be in the area and you might need to have a GPS unit as well, but once you do find it (either on purpose or by sheer accident), you will not be disappointed. This place is not your average Texas BBQ joint, including the size of the building as well. It truly is what my dad would call a hole in the wall…but, don’t take that as a negative description, at least from my dad and our family.

Such a cool vibe to this little joint…

In our travels throughout the great state if Texas and the rest of our country as well, (we traveled many roads as we always had an RV) through trial and error we found out that some of the best food we had on trips were at hole in the wall joints. There is no doubt in my mind that my dad would describe Longoria’s as a hole in the wall – a glowing endorsement, and I would have to agree with him.

The first person we met in the parking lot was pitmaster David Longoria’s father, who opened the door for us and asked my son if he wanted a cookie. Yup, that is the kind of service you usually get at a hole in the wall. We were off to a fantastic start – at least my son thought that as he said “yes, please” to the offer of his cookie. Note: he did NOT share his cookie with me or my wife… So, we enter the small joint and belly up to the counter. As soon as I saw the menu board, I had to ask the girl behind the counter what BOLO was. I noticed you could get it on a sandwich or sliced as well, but I had no clue what it meant. She offered a smile and said “smoked bologna”…that’s right, smoked bologna. It sounded heavenly, and on our next trip there, we will get some for sure. But, for our purposes we ordered the Holy Trinity of Texas smoked meats: brisket, spare ribs and sausage.

So on to the revie….hold on.

Big Red on tap…yes, please!!!!!

If you read my previous entry about Lockhart Smokehouse having Big Red on tap (if you aren’t from Texas, you probably won’t like Big Red and that is okay – more for us Texans!) then you know how happy I was. I am happy to report that Longoria’s has Big Red on tap as well!!! Back to back places on our trip had Big Red on tap…I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I was…okay, so now, on to the review we go.

1. KING – Ribs. This is the first joint we have visited in our quest to visit all 50 Texas Monthly 2013 Best BBQ Joints that ribs have come in 1st. Now this is only our 4th joint out of 50 to visit, but nonetheless, ribs are King at Longoria’s. I like my ribs with a little heat and a little sweet, and these ribs were spot on for my taste. They had a very nice bark on them and the fat was rendered perfectly as well. They also had a great smoke flavor and the mixture of heat and sweet was just about perfect. That first bite of my rib was just about the best bite from a rib I have ever had. When I took that first bite, it had a great tug on the bone and the flavors were outstanding. I was very impressed with the quality of this rib, so much so that I polished it off in a few bites. On our trips to these 50 joints, I usually only take one or two bites of the three meats, but this rib deserved me finishing it off completely. The bone had a nice color as well, with a nice red-ish tint to it as well. That showed me it had been smoked long enough but it had not been oversmoked, as most ribs usually are. If and when you go to Longoria’s, be sure to order at least a half rack of these beauties…you and your taste buds will NOT be disappointed.

This was a very solid plate of Q….very solid.

2. QUEEN – Brisket. Although ribs were King here, the brisket was not too far behind. It had a great bark as well and had great flavors to boot. It was very moist and tender, so much so that my son only needed a fork to sample it’s goodness… (yes, as that point he had already polished off the cookie) – no knife needed for this beef. It had a nice smoke ring as well and every bite was full of flavor. It had a very nice mix of salt and pepper, and there was just a hint of sweetness as well. It was very solid, so much so that my wife ranked this ahead of the ribs for her taste.

3. PRINCE – Sausage. Coming in 3rd here at this hole in the wall (remember, that is a compliment!) is not too shabby. The sausage had a great snap to it and had just enough moistness as well. David makes his own sausage and most of it includes his brisket. It had just enough smoke to make it memorable, but for me, it was a bit heavy on the pepper. For those of you who love pepper, especially in your sausage, you will love this link a lot.

Pitmaster David Longoria showing me one of his three pits…

I don’t know if that means you will rank it ahead of the ribs and the brisket, but it was very solid as well.

All in all it was a great visit and the Q was very solid. I am still thinking about those nearly perfect ribs, and when we visit again, I know we will get a rack of them for sure. I might even get a cookie as well, even if I have to pay for it! And, we will have to venture in to the world of Bolo as well.

David was just as friendly as his dad and gave me a behind the scenes tour of his joint, including a look at the three smokers he uses. He told me that he can run 75 briskets at once on all three pits, but primarily dedicates one smoker for all of his meats.

David signing our copy of the Texas Monthly 2013 Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas magazine…thanks David!

He also let me know that he makes chorizo as well (and gave me a bag of it which we used in some scrambled eggs the next morning) and that it is in demand at his place. I can see why as it was great and was nowhere as greasy as the chorizo found at grocery stores here in our area. I grew up in south Texas (Harlingen, to be specific) and love chorizo, especially scrambled with some eggs and nestled lovingly in a homemade flour tortilla. If and when you do visit David and the rest of the crew, be sure to take home some chorizo as well and thank me later after you have some for breakfast.

I am very happy for David and his entire family as this is a big award for a small joint like this. He does things the right way and their customer service is excellent. We were very pleased with everything we ate, and trust me, we will be back again soon, and I hope the ribs will be just as good as they were during this visit. Good luck David, and we will see you in the near future!

Thanks again David…we really enjoyed the visit and your top notch Q as well!!!

Thanks to Jenny Dowdy of Keller Williams – a great realtor and an even better person! Thanks Jenny!

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