This Is Heaven

This is Heaven
T E X A N W YAT T M C SPA DDEN H A S SPENT Y E A R S SE A RCH I NG OU T
T H E N AT I O N ’ S B ES T B A R B ECU E FO R B US I N ESS A N D PL E A S U R E .
W H Y ? “ B EC AUS E I LOV E I T ! ” H E A NS W E R S S I M PLY.
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GALLERY
I have personally
discovered the best
barbecue on Earth.
Photographs and text by Wyatt McSpadden
I come from a long line of carnivores, real steak people.
I didn’t encounter authentic barbecue, though, until a seed
company salesman named Benny Green took me to Louie
Mueller’s in Taylor, Texas. I’d never eaten such wonderful
meat—so smoky and tender—and the place looked fantastic,
saturated with decades of smoke from serving this mouthwatering food to farmers, railroaders, and traveling salesmen.
My favorite places to eat at—and photograph—are the familyowned, small-town, one-of-a-kind joints whose trade is plied
with secret sauces, special wood, and an ancient pit.
LOUIE MUELLER BBQ This top-ranked joint (left) in Taylor, Texas, still
looks the same as it did back when I first discovered barbecue in 1980.
ARTHUR BRYANT’S BBQ Their thick sandwiches (above), made in Kansas
City, are famous for their sauce. The recipe is a closely guarded secret.
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SONNY BRYAN’S SMOKEHOUSE (above) sits at the heart of bustling Dallas, but its sign is reminiscent of another era. The barbecue is bigger—and better—in the Lone Star State. Kansas City
police officers (left) would probably argue that Arthur Bryant’s is
king. CITY MARKET The wall menu at this historic spot in Luling,
Texas doesn’t tell you that it serves its BBQ without forks or plates.
LOUIE MUELLER BBQ The tables (above) in this Taylor, Texas restaurant are set with the essentials—toothpicks. Mueller started
roasting meats in the back of his food store in 1946. He moved
to the current location in 1959. Before BBQ, the building hosted
basketball. DREAMLAND The woodstove (below) is the only
source of heat in this eclectic dining room in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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LEXINGTON BARBEQUE Depending on which direction the wind blows, a pleasant, smoky smell can cover the area. This particular day was quiet—only one pit
of Lexington’s six was going. KREUZ MARKET Roy Perez, pitmaster, (right) stands
among what has been called the “world’s largest” wood pile, in Lockhart, Texas.
SMITTY’S MARKET The hallway and dining room (below) are part of a beautiful
smoke-saturated building, where BBQ has been served for more than a century. I
think of these places as living museums, where today’s customers order and dine in
the same space, and eat the same food that folks have been enjoying for decades.
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L.C.’S BAR-B-Q In Kansas City, owner L.C. has a table at the far side
of the dining room where he holds court. He leaves the cooking to
his crew and spends his time reliving all his hunting and fishing
adventures. LEXINGTON BARBEQUE This North Carolina favorite has its own secret ingredient: Rick Earnhardt (below), pitmaster and sixth cousin to the late NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt.
COOPER’S PIT BAR-B-Q Danny Martinez (above) stands in front of
the firebox in Mason, Texas. Their “cowboy-style” pit (right) is all
about variety. DREAMLAND William Spencer gets ready to throw a
rack of ribs into the pit at the original Dreamland location in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Several locations exist now, but this spot is the real
deal, serving pork ribs only, with no sides except for white bread.
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