Just want to let everyone know I did something to help my barbecue credibility over the weekend. In Fort Worth with a little extra time on my hands because of a long lightning delay at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, I decided to consult the Texas Monthly BBQ Top 50 and try one of the Fort Worth places on the list.
That took me to Longoria's just off of I-35 in south Fort Worth (only about an hour and 15 minutes from Waco). It was also 2:30 in the afternoon, so I felt pretty confident I would be able to speak with the proprietor if he or she was in the building.
That was accurate. In fact, David Longoria treated me to a tour of the smoker and a little history of the place. One thing about barbecue folks is that they seem to be universally friendly and accommodating.
Longoria said he and his father have been running Longoria's for 17 years. He said it's the second time they've appeared on the Texas Monthly list and each time it brings them more business.
During the tour, the huge vault of a smoker especially impressed me. Actually there were three of them and Longoria said they have the capability to smoke 72 briskets at once (for catering purposes). Along with good old sliced brisket, Longoria's also makes sausage and hamburger patties out of brisket.
As for the sitting down and tasting of the barbecue, it was very good. Not as good as Franklin in Austin, but not much is. Look, I've stated this before and I'll state it again: I don't have Daniel Vaughn's acumen when it comes to judging barbecue. But it seems to me this is pretty subjective and depends largely on time of visit in most cases.
So take a little barbecue adventure and judge for yourself.
