I’m calling it: This Fort Worth shop is the best new barbecue joint in North Texas
Head south of Interstate 20, near Kennedale. Pass the landfill and the cows and the sounds of the big city. You won’t regret it.
If you haven’t made the trek to Goldee’s Barbecue on the outskirts of Fort Worth, do that now. You’ve still got time before this middle-of-nowhere spot co-owned by five dudes from Arlington joins the barbecue big leagues.
The restaurant checks all the boxes of a Central Texas barbecue business without trying too hard. It’s out on a country road south of Interstate 20 in Fort Worth, appearing just when you’re wondering if you’ve missed the turn. It’s open three days a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. until they run out. And it’s operated by a band of buddies who play rock ‘n’ roll and country music when they’re not smoking ribs, brisket or turkey.
Goldee’s dining room is closed for now, and here, co-owner Jalen Heard takes and delivers orders curbside. It’s as if Keller’s Drive-in were a barbecue joint.
“We’re just childhood best friends who spent a lot of time and hard work honing our craft. We really just wanted to open a really good Texas barbecue restaurant,” says co-owner Dylan Taylor.
They’re doing it. Goldee’s is smoking some of the best barbecue I’ve had in North Texas in several years.
The brisket, coated in yellow mustard and pickle brine before a rub of salt, pepper, Lawry’s, granulated garlic and granulated onion, is exceptional. The turkey is peppery and moist. And the beef sausages — from a funky special with clove and cinnamon to the original made with black pepper and mustard seeds — are a way for these Texas pitmasters to work out some barbecue creativity.
Goldee’s is just about to hit its one-year anniversary, a milestone dampened by the coronavirus pandemic. The new shop temporarily closed in March and part of April, then reopened with curbside pickup.
But if you know, you know: Regulars seek out Goldee’s for a picnic that tastes just fine from the front seat of the car.
Despite their age — 26 — the five co-owners have impressive experience with Central Texas barbecue. They all moved from Arlington to Austin after high school, catching the brisket bug as they started eating at the best barbecue joints in the Hill Country. They stood in line for three hours at Franklin Barbecue in Austin just like the rest of us did, some five-plus years ago.
Goldee’s co-owner Lane Milne remembers back to the barbecue of his youth, saying he used to refer to brisket as “snake meat: really lean and really dry.” What’s coming out of Goldee’s smokers today is silky brisket, fatty and flavorful, cooked low and slow like the best Central Texas barbecue joints do.
Taylor has the deepest barbecue background, having worked at Terry Black’s and La Barbecue in Austin, Truth BBQ in Brenham and 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio. Taylor also spent a few days talking shop at Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas and Bodacious Barbecue in Longview. Milne worked at Freedmen’s, a now-closed whiskey bar and barbecue restaurant in Austin, then at Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin. Co-owner Jonny White has worked at Franklin and at Valentina’s Tex-Mex Barbecue.
Those three, alongside co-owners Jalen Heard and Nupohn Inthanousay, brought their barbecue knowledge back to North Texas, where they lived as roommates while the restaurant was being renovated. It took far too long, but now it’s open. And the band has fanned out once again: Taylor is working on a cattle ranch in Colorado, learning about sustainable and regenerative agriculture. White is in Cairo, helping open a Central Texas style barbecue joint in Egypt called Longhorn Texas BBQ. Yeah, Egypt.
Milne, Heard and Inthanousay remain in Fort Worth, running Goldee’s. Call them the new generation of Texas pitmasters.
“We’ve worked really hard for it,” Milne says.
They make their hot sauce, mayo and mustard. They also bake fluffy brioche, after learning from Austin pitmaster Tom Micklethwait. Good riddance to that squishy stack of Mrs Baird’s you get at other barbecue shops: Goldee’s staff hands out five or six slices of fresh-baked brioche, for free, with each meal.
Their food has personality. The cheesy grits are capped off with hot sauce, offering a zing that doesn’t linger. The mustard-based barbecue sauce has some Korean chile flakes in it. The base of the sauce is also made with the liquid from canned tomatoes, instead of water, for flavor.
Some barbecue fans have compared Goldee’s to Snow’s BBQ, the Lexington, Texas, restaurant that was named the No. 1 best barbecue joint in the state by Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn. Both restaurants serve great smoked meat out of a tiny house in a Texas town. If Goldee’s is as good as Snow’s — or if it’s even almost as good — you’re going to want to be part of the cohort that knew about Goldee’s before it hit gold-star status.
Goldee’s Barbecue is at 4645 Dick Price Road, Fort Worth. Open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to sellout. goldeesbbq.com.
