The rise of Houston baseball and barbecue
Even during the lean years, it was always great being a Houston Astros fan. As a Little Leaguer in the 1980s, I anticipated that weekend when our team donned uniforms and made the trek to the Astrodome to watch players such as J.R. Richard, Jose Cruz, Cesar Cedeno and Nolan Ryan. Years later, the first year attending games at Enron Field — now Minute Maid Park — was bittersweet after vacating the Dome, but watching Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman — the Killer Bs — made up for the move.
With the Astros’ first World Series championship this past October, the renaissance of Houston baseball is complete. A new roster of names — Altuve, Springer, Verlander, Bregman — will be the basis of the memories and experiences of Little Leaguers making the trek today.
In many ways, the renaissance of Houston baseball mirrors the rise of Houston barbecue. The 1980s, ’90s and early ’00s were lean years for Houston barbecue, with a few exceptions. Goode Co. Barbeque was a consistent presence, along with Otto’s. William’s Smokehouse and Burns Barbecue in Acres Homes, along with Thelma’s, Drexler’s and Green’s in Third Ward, were other standouts.
The transformation began in the late aughts when pitmasters such as Greg Gatlin and Clarence Pierson began studying and resurrecting old-school smoking techniques, thus kicking off the “craft barbecue” movement here. Last summer, in what might be considered the World Series of Texas barbecue, Texas Monthly named the state’s top 50 barbecue joints — Houston matched long-lauded Austin with seven entries.
The Astros went through a similarly high-profile renaissance when Jim Crane took over as owner in 2011 and successfully implemented the revolutionary data-analytics techniques known as “moneyball” or Sabermetrics to create a championship team.
Houston has benefited from an entrepreneurial spirit in which pitmasters and baseball executives alike have combined cutting-edge techniques with old-school fundamentals.
This combination of barbecue and baseball will be in full force this season at Minute Maid Park, where Jackson Street BBQ will have a new presence in Section 124 of the concourse level.
Under the direction of veteran restaurateur Bill Floyd with consulting by Gatlin, Jackson Street BBQ has become the go-to barbecue joint downtown Located across the street from Minute Maid Park, the 3-yearold restaurant keeps a low profile but now produces some of the best and most consistent barbecue in Houston.
General manager Bryce Gilbert has been a constant since the day it opened, and new pitmaster Steve Ryan has been working with Gatlin to up their smoked-meat game. The Burntn-Biscuit sandwich — smoky, peppery brisket burnt ends on a house-made jalapeño and cheddar biscuit — is still one of my favorite barbecue dishes in town.
The Jackson Street BBQ outpost in Minute Maid will feature a slimmed-down menu inspired by the flagship restaurant, including chopped beef and pulled pork sandwiches, turkey legs and a house-made sausage and queso kolache.
The barbecue at Minute Maid will be cooked at the neighboring restaurant and delivered to the stadium on game days. According to Floyd, this fits perfectly with their current cooking procedure.
“After we pull the briskets off the smokers, we place them in coolers to allow the meat to rest for two to three hours so it reaches optimal doneness and tenderness,” Floyd said. The process of delivering the meat factors into this resting time — and since the ballpark is just across the street, the meat will actually spend most of the time resting there.
It is certainly the best of times for Houston barbecue and baseball. Longtime Astros fans and newly minted Little Leaguers alike can look forward to a great season of both.