Thread by @evanleroy

The list, a thread:

A week ago @TexasMonthly released their Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas list for 2021. It only comes out every four years. There is no comparable ranking in the #bbq business or restaurant industry. Michelin stars and James Beard awards are given annually.

Other “Best of” lists are compiled by a single critic. This list is painstakingly researched, tested, and edited by a staff that take their jobs just as seriously as the folks they’re evaluating.

@leroyandlewis came out ranked as #5. Just making the Top 10 is a huge deal. Making the top 5 means we don’t only cook some of the absolute best barbecue in the state, it means we are currently defining the cusine, and that has been our goal all along.

When we opened we set out to change the conversation around barbecue. Instead of “How’s their brisket?” or “I love their potato salad” I wanted people to start asking, “Where does their meat come from?” or “What else can they do besides the basics?”

We set out to fill a space in between the @franklinbbq inspired bbq rennaisance and the farm to table movement of new american cuisine. Our goal was to make something different seem familiar, expand the traditional bbq menu, put the mark of our generation on the legacy of Tx BBQ

We started in an empty lot in March 2017 with a 25y/o food truck, 1 employee, a pit I built, a loan from some friends, and nothing to trade on but our names. I cut the “new school bbq” and scooped sides while Sawyer delivered the “old school service”

Four years later, after a summer without A/C, a hurricane, a blizzard, a collapsed pit, and a fucking PANDEMIC, we have been recognized by the only publication that matters when it comes to Texas bbq.

We made it a collective goal to be high on the list. I woke up and went to sleep thinking about it for four years. It drove every move. Every dish, every guest served, every Instagram post, catering event and staff hired was to carry us to this moment.

Everyone on our staff knew what it meant for our business and this past week we have finally begun to realize our dreams. Last week was filled with long lines, excited guests, and more barbecue than we have ever cooked.

Demand doubled over night. On our “slow” weekdays we matched some of our busiest days ever at our food truck and Saturday we shattered sales records and didnt sell out until 10pm.

While we’re over the moon with excitement, please keep in mind a few things if you come to eat at @leroyandlewis over the next few weeks and months.

We are are still a food truck. It’s tiny in there and we work as fast as we possibly can while
delivering the best food we possibly can. We can only serve one guest at a time. There will be lines but Cosmic Coffee Beer has a full bar to keep you hydrated and happy while in line

We will likely shut down in the middle of the day around 3pm to clean the truck, reset, and cook more food for dinner service.

While you’re waiting, please check out our @patreon where we post weekly behind the scenes videos on everything from recipes to annual inspections and barbecue festivals. patreon.com/leroyandlewis

If you’re a fan of @chudsbbq he’s in most of the videos! Though no snakes in boots here folks, sorry not sorry.

We are currently working on expanding our staff, storage, and cooking capacity. We’ll be adding more meats, sausages, smoked veggies, and sides to the menu to serve as many people as possible. Look for all those new dishes to appear on our Patreon in the coming months.

We’ll have a limited amount of pre-order holiday meals for Thanksgiving (THANKSGIVING SPLIT!) and Christmas (TAMALES!) but due to our increased truck volume, these will be LIMITED and they will sell out very quickly!

Thank you thank you thank you to all the guests that came out to the truck this week. Thank you to all the guests that came out before the list. To anyone who came out our first day open in 2017 or any day since then.

Thank you to anyone who supported us during the pandemic by either picking up barbecue, buying sauce online my-site-103543-104592.square.site/page-1 or supporting us on Patreon.

Thank you to @bbqsnob and Texas Monthly for recognizing publicly the changing state of Texas barbecue and for all the miles logged on the road to this list.

Thank you to our friends and family that supported us in this dream. Yall have always been first in line and the first to say congrats. ❤️

Thank you to our staff, without them we would be nowhere. Without a doubt they are the best and most talented and driven group of people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Their willingness to keep pushing through continues to inspire me to be a better boss every day.

Thank you to every barbecue cook that has come before us. We wouldnt be able to do what we do without the foundation that you have been laying for decades.

Thank you to my partners Sawyer, Lindsey, and Nathan. Nobody has sacrificed more and I couldnt be prouder to share this success with anyone else.

#nobeansinchili

Bean-in-chili people who respond to this with their very incorrect opinion will be unapologetically blocked