The closest you’ll get to Texas barbecue in Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — While nothing might compare to getting Texas-style barbecue in Texas, a little shack in Norfolk is as close as you can get in Virginia, according to Texas Monthly.

Redwood Smoke Shack on Manteo Street in Ghent was named one of the two best places in Virginia to get Texas-style, along with ZZQ Texas Craft Barbeque in Richmond .

Daniel Vaughn , the country’s first barbecue editor, somehow convinced his editors to let him travel around the country to try 149 different barbecue joints for the endeavor. And he narrowed the list down to the 53 best.

The list only includes locations that “claim Texas in their identity, barbecue foundation, or both.” The big star with Texas-style is the brisket, but Texas-style includes things like beef ribs, sausages, spareribs, and pinto beans — smoked slow, typically with wood smoke.

“Travel-worthy Texas barbecue hasn’t yet reached every state, but it’s astonishing to see how quickly our style has been adopted across the country,” Vaughn writes. “The Texas influence can be found on the menu of nearly every new barbecue joint that opens, and cooking with all wood has never been more popular. Customers from Connecticut to California are not only familiar with smoked brisket—they demand it. Like any cuisine, barbecue will continue to transform, but for now, new joints are looking to Texas for inspiration. And those who know and love Texas barbecue are grateful for it.”

Here’s Vaughn’s take on Redwood, which is also getting ready to open a location in Suffolk at the old Bennett’s Creek Farm Market.

“Barbecue was never supposed to be a full-blown business for Bob Roberts. Yes, he sold smoked meats from his driveway in 2017, but it was more of a hobby. Then the compliments poured in, and he was hooked. The first Redwood Smoke Shack opened in Norfolk in 2019, and another followed two years later, twenty miles away, in Virginia Beach. It took a few years for him to get his recipe for smoked sausage down, but I’m glad he did—the jalapeño cheese link was pleasantly plump. The slices of lean brisket glisten with melted fat, and the thick spare ribs pull from the bone with minimal effort. During my visit, I drank the broth from the collard greens after finishing them, and they paired well with the sweet corn pudding. Finish the meal with the bananamisu, a more Italian take on traditional banana pudding.”

Daniel Vaughn on Redwood Smoke Shack

“We are very humbled and absolutely honored to announce that we have been ranked in the top 50 BBQ restaurants outside of Texas by Texas Monthly and their BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn @bbqsnob ,” Redwood said on social media.

“They are the authority on Texas-style BBQ and that is why we’re honored to be included on their list of top Texas-style BBQ joints outside of the Lone Star State !!”

Meanwhile, just down I-64 in Richmond, Vaughn writes about the smoked chicken and sausages at ZZQ in Scott’s Addition:

For a long while, I joked that the best barbecue for visitors to Washington, D.C., was a hundred miles south in Richmond, Virginia. Options in D.C. have improved, and thankfully ZZQ , which opened in 2018, has maintained its high standards. It all started when Texas native Chris Fultz tempted Alex Graf out of vegetarianism with a brisket he’d smoked. Now they’re partners in life and business. Their pit room, equipped with smokers from Austin Smoke Works, is where Fultz spritzes the black bark of the briskets and wraps them in butcher paper—just like a scene right out of Texas. My latest visit was during the midafternoon hours, which can mean the meat is way past its prime, but the house-made sausage was still juicy and the brined chicken halves might as well have been fresh off the smoker. As for sides, the cowboy beans are simple and superb; the slaw is crunchy with a zing; and the Texas caviar will give you a new way for consuming black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.

Daniel Vaughn on ZZQ

There’s also another location that really sticks out on the map — a Texas-style winner … in Eastern North Carolina? Despite vinegar-style reigning supreme in the region, Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton is doing Texas-style right, Vaughn writes.

When Adam Hughes left his job as a general contractor to open Old Colony Smokehouse in small-town North Carolina in 2019, he took a risk serving lots of beef in this pork-loving state. Luckily, locals loved the brisket, and he opened a new, larger location earlier this year. The sweet and savory St. Louis–cut pork ribs have the perfect tenderness and a candylike bark;  smoke and pepper clings to the edge of each juicy turkey slice; and the butter-brushed cornbread is moist and sweet. Even an item as simple as pulled chicken is divine, especially when it gets a dip in clarified butter and a sprinkle of lemon-pepper seasoning before it goes onto a tray or in a sandwich. I got all that and some juicy sausage and smoky brisket on the Solo Sampler tray for just $35. The dessert offerings are also extensive— sometimes a dozen choices—but you won’t think about ordering anything else once you’ve had a bite of the banana cream pie.

Daniel Vaughn on Old Colony

You can read the full story from Texas Monthly here.

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