Pinkerton’s epitomizes evolution of Houston barbecue
There are two schools of thought in Texas barbecue — let’s call them the old school and the new school.
Advocates of the old school believe a barbecue joint is defined by sootstained walls and faded linoleum countertops covered in plates of barbecue made the traditional way — in all-wood-burning pits (“stick burners”) that spurn automated gadgets to help cook the meat. Unfortunately, such joints are often more notable for nostalgia than great barbecue.
Adherents of the new school believe that Texas barbecue should change with the times. Though many embrace the traditional cooking techniques of the old school, they also believe the experience of eating at a barbecue joint should be more akin to that of a contemporary restaurant. A full bar including craft cocktails, a modern dining room and even table service are the defining characteristics in this case.
Ironically, though perhaps not unexpectedly, this new school has prospered outside tradition-bound Texas. Hometown Bar-B-Que in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Barrel & Ashes in Los Angeles; and even The Beast in Paris are examples. All produce good-to-excellent Texas-style barbecue in a contemporary, upscale environment.
Closer to home, Smoke in Dallas, Freedmen’s Bar in Austin and The Granary in San Antonio were early adopters of the new school.
Houston has been slow to catch up. Republic Smokehouse, now closed, was one of the first. Midtown Barbeque, with a full bar and table service, opened last April.
The latest entry in the newschool mold is Pinkerton’s Barbecue, now open in the Heights. Pitmaster Grant Pinkerton, 27, has created a welcoming amalgam of the best parts of old-school Texas barbecue with new-school trends. Let’s start with the smoked meat. Pinkerton’s offerings are emphatically and unapologetically Central Texas style. Colossal beef ribs, almost 2 pounds per bone, have a deliciously charred and crusty bark seasoned with salt and coarse ground pepper. They’re eerily reminiscent of Austin pitmaster John Mueller’s legendary beef ribs.
Pinkerton cooks on two 14-foot-long offset barrel smokers built by Houston pit maker David Klose. There’s nothing remotely automated about them. Indeed, Pinkerton is still playing with the pits’ tuning plates — basically slabs of steel that can be moved around inside the pit to influence air flow and temperature. For now, he’s living in an apartment above the restaurant so he can tend the pits on what will certainly be an hourly basis.
New-school components are obvious immediately upon entering the restaurant. A bar area fills a quarter of the space, with the bar top made from sweeping slabs of sawn live oak. Walls are covered with pictures of Pinkerton’s family going as far back as the early 1900s. Reclaimed wood from a church in Madisonville is used in floors and walls. Pinkerton credits help from his mom, Michelle, for the interior design.
But the bar doesn’t just look good — Pinkerton and general manager Elliot Roddy have produced a legitimate craft-cocktail menu featuring creative takes on classics including the margarita and Bloody Mary. And in what may be the first of its kind in Houston, Pinkerton’s dad, Glenn, a self-professed oenophile, assisted in putting together a wine list meant to be paired with the barbecue.
Side dishes, including smoked duck jambalaya and a crisp, sweetly acidic coleslaw, are all made in house. Desserts are made from scratch, too.
It’s a brave new (school) world of barbecue. Certainly, there will be purists who scoff at the trendy upscaling of Texas barbecue.
Although I’ll always patronize the old-school joints, new-school places like Pinkerton’s — where I can sit down with a glass of smoky bourbon and nosh on a peppery, crusty beef rib — also will get a slot in my barbecue rotation.