J-Bar-M Barbecue
THE CONCEPT
A massive, ambitious EaDo barbecue joint that marries high-end design with a menu from one of the city’s top pitmasters.
THE SPACE
The soaring, pitched-roof structure with its cathedral-like glass-wall facade is a slick, urban build-out with giant, glowball orbs hung from the rafters and a chic, spare interior design, complete with working fireplace. The patio space, lit by strings of bulb lights, features additional seating, a special events space, a stage for live entertainment and a majestic view of the downtown skyline.
THE FOOD
Pitmaster Willow Villarreal, formerly of Willow’s Texas BBQ food truck, returns to the Houston dining scene with a menu of post oak-smoked Prime brisket, pork ribs, turkey, pulled pork and sausage. The barbecue can be had in meat plates, in stuffed baked potatoes, in sandwiches and by the pound. Chef de cuisine Jasmine Barela is responsible for the sides of charro beans; potato salad; red cabbage slaw; collard greens; cream corn; macaroni and cheese; creamy cauliflower au gratin topped with fried leeks; green beans with bacon; and a bracing marinated tomato salad studded with shallots, basil, garlic and a pucker of red wine vinegar. Desserts include banana pudding, indulgent chocolate ganache pie, meringue-topped lemon icebox pie built on a gingersnap cookie crust, and local honey-infused peach cobbler.
THE DRINKS
A bar, that straddles to serve both indoor and outdoor customers, is stocked with premium liquor, beer on tap and bottles of Texas wine.
THE WORD
“Our goal was to be different,” said owner John Toomey, adding that he wanted to create an upscale or elevated barbecue dining experience with a beer garden aesthetic.
ONE MORE THING
The restaurant’s name is a take on a traditional Texas branding iron with initials representing John Toomey and his late wife, Michelene Guseman Toomey. The 93-year-old Toomey, retired from his Toomey-Guseman real estate firm, is a lifelong barbecue enthusiast who in the 1970s owned The Green Room, a downtown barbecue restaurant he gave up when his family business expanded.
THE DETAILS
2201 Leeland, 713-5341024; jbarmbbq.com. Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday and Sunday until sold out; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.