Smokehouse feeds flood of Round Top shoppers
According to official records, Round Top’s population hovers somewhere around 100. But that swells to many thousands in March and October as collectors from around the country descend on this small Central Texas town for the antique shows.
Where do all these wellheeled and wellfinanced out-oftowners eat and sleep? Over the past few years, Round Top has added both bed-andbreakfasts as well as new restaurants to accommodate the crowds.
One of the new restaurants is Round Top Smokehouse, a barbecue joint that’s the brainchild of veteran Houston restaurateur and current Round Top resident Lee Ellis. Partners in the venture include pitmaster Gilbert Arismendez and Cat Huynh of Les Ba’Get Vietnamese Cafe in Houston.
Both the feel and the food of Round Top Smokehouse reflect the talents and influences of the partners.
Arismendez, a talented pitmaster from El Campo who has cooked just about every style of Texas barbecue imaginable, is producing the best work of his career with a craft take on Central Texas-style favorites like brisket and pork spareribs. Huynh’s influence can be tasted in the crisp coleslaw, a cold garlic noodle dish and in baby back ribs with a glistening coat of char siu sauce.
For his part, Ellis roams the dining room and patio in his denim overalls, ZZ Top beard and flat bill cap with a springer spaniel “barbecue therapy dog” named Elvira in tow. The dining room features rows of wooden picnic tables, neon signs and various knickknacks worthy of a town known for antiques. A large window opens to the adjacent pit room, occupied by 1,000and 500-gallon offset barrel smokers built by Mill Scale Metal Works in Lockhart.
Ellis hosts an eclectic clientele of locals, weekenders (folks from Austin or Houston with second houses here), daytrippers (collectors and tourists coming in to shop and eat), and the occasional celebrity (former governor and noted barbecue fan Rick Perry recently visited).
Ellis was born in Lafayette, La., and grew up in Houston, cooking barbecue in his backyard with his brother, Chad.
A fairly known figure in Houston restaurant circles, Ellis made local foodie headlines in 2011 with the opening of BRC Gastropub and later Liberty Kitchen as part of the F.E.E.D TX restaurant group. In 2016, he became a minority shareholder and public face of Cherry Pie Hospitality, which opened well-received concepts, including Star Fish seafood restaurant, Pi Pizza and Lee’s Fried Chicken & Donuts. Cherry Pie dissolved in 2018 due to financial troubles.
Ellis started on his first Round Top endeavor, the Ellis Motel, shortly thereafter. It’s not actually a motel but a bar with great craft cocktails (plus beer and wine), antiques for sale and a cheeky tagline reflecting the paradoxical name: “You can make a reservation, you just can’t stay.”
The Ellis Motel and Round Top Smokehouse sit next to each other on pedestrian-friendly Henkel Square Market in the center of Round Top, along with the legendary Royer’s Pie Haven and several other shops. It may be the best trinity of craft barbecue, cocktails and pie in all of Texas.