Houston Barbecue Events

Anthony Bourdain’s favorite sandwich is a barbecue classic

January 31, 2026

The late chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain is famously credited with the quote, “Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start – undoubtedly an accurate representation of his point of view on how food, and especially barbecue, can unite people and cultures. Another story attributed to Bourdain is his love for a particular sandwich made from a traditional deli meat and cheese. He first mentioned this sandwich in his 2016 cookbook, “Appetites.” Here, he provides a recipe inspired by a sandwich he encountered while travelling in Brazil, featuring a pile of fried mortadella (the Italian progenitor of American bologna) and melted Provolone cheese, with mayonnaise and mustard on a buttered and toasted roll. Undoubtedly a mouth-watering and crowd-pleasing dish.

Announcing the 2026 Houston Barbecue Festival

January 6, 2026

The Houston Barbecue Festival returns on Sunday, April 12, 2026, for its 13th year, celebrating everything that makes Houston barbecue unlike anywhere else in the world. The festival is presented by Goodstock by Nolan Ryan. With its sheer number of barbecue joints and an unmatched diversity of styles, the greater Houston area has quietly become one of America’s great barbecue cities. The Houston Barbecue Festival is the only event that brings together the full spectrum of that scene – legendary institutions, neighborhood favorites, and the city’s most exciting rising stars – all in one place, at one time, for one price.

Why aren’t there more 24/7 barbecue joints in Texas?

January 3, 2026

By many measures, barbecue joints should be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After all, most joints have staff on site all day, either cooking, prepping or serving. Why not just keep the doors open continuously and if someone wanders in in the middle of the night, have the pit team do double duty and serve them a basic menu of chopped beef sandwiches or a rib or sausage plate. Genius business idea, right? Surprisingly, though, there are very few barbecue operations serving smoked meats around the clock.

You might include Buc-ee’s in the list, as there are some locations open 24 hours. But I’ve never been to a Buc-ee’s at 3 a.m. to check if they still have pre-wrapped chopped beef sandwiches in the warming cabinet.