{"id":643039,"date":"2026-03-09T11:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/643039\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:10:14","slug":"davids-barbecue-near-fort-worth-serves-old-time-texas-bbq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/643039\/","title":{"rendered":"David\u2019s Barbecue near Fort Worth serves old-time Texas BBQ"},"content":{"rendered":"

PANTEGO<\/p>\n

David\u2019s Barbecue<\/a> could not be more perfect.<\/p>\n

As a fourth-generation restaurant from North Texas\u2019 Red and Sonny Bryan<\/a> barbecue dynasty, David\u2019s is everything a traditional Texas barbecue place should be, but without the slick menu or high prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How fitting that David\u2019s is at 2224 W. Park Row Drive. That\u2019s between Michelin-ranked Goldee\u2019s<\/a> and Arlington sensation Hurtado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like traveling through time to go from those top examples of contemporary Texas barbecue to David\u2019s, unchanged since 1965 with a lineage dating back to 1910<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David\u2019s is more than a classic. It\u2019s a museum piece of old-time Texas, from the wood paneling and cafeteria-style service to the hickory-smoked brisket, pork ribs, sausage and ham, with serve-yourself sides, peppers, onions and relish.<\/p>\n

This is not the new-style brisket rubbed with pepper.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also not $35 a pound.<\/p>\n

\"A A combo plate with pork ribs, brisket and turkey at David\u2019s Barbecue in Pantego, Texas, as seen Feb. 27, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

David\u2019s brisket sells for about $23 a pound. It\u2019s as cheap as $14.95 on a small dinner plate with simple and flavorful baked beans, slaw, potato salad or fresh-cut fried okra or onion rings.<\/p>\n

On a recent visit, the brisket and ribs were perfect traditional barbecue. The brisket was lean (without asking) and tasted like good, tender beef, not just rub.<\/p>\n

Pork ribs were glazed and tender.<\/p>\n

The only letdown was David\u2019s house-made sauce, an older and thinner version. (More hot sauces would help.)<\/p>\n

Today, this is considered bargain barbecue.<\/p>\n

\"David\u2019s David\u2019s Barbecue in Pantego, Texas, is a fourth-generation restaurant that traces back to 1910 and Red Bryan\u2019s in Dallas. The place is decorated with photos of family, friends, and guests, seen July 17, 1996. Paul Moseley Star-Telegram archives <\/p>\n

But until 2010, when small-batch craft barbecue started taking over the business, this would have been considered Arlington\u2019s best and one of North Texas\u2019 best, a category usually led back then by Sonny Bryan\u2019s in Dallas and Angelo\u2019s in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

Red and Sonny Bryan\u2019s Dallas restaurants date back to Feb. 13, 1910, when Elias Bryan\u2019s restaurant opened in Oak Cliff.<\/p>\n

But the Arlington history dates back to 1965, when a Red Bryan\u2019s Smokehouse location opened at 611 N. Collins St. That\u2019s now the AT&T Stadium parking lot.<\/p>\n

\"The The old-time felt menu board at David\u2019s Barbecue in Pantego, seen Feb. 27, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

David Bryan Harris, a nephew, ran that Red Bryan\u2019s. In the early days of Texas Rangers baseball and Six Flags Over Texas, it became an Arlington landmark.<\/p>\n

When that site was sold for to a developer, Harris took the equipment, furnishings and barbecue to a new shopping center in Pantego.<\/p>\n

The restaurant now belongs to son-in-law Austin Payne.<\/p>\n

David\u2019s is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday; 817-261-9998, davidsbarbecuetx.com.<\/p>\n

\"David's David’s Barbecue in Pantego, Texas, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020 by selling sandwiches for $1, as seen Jan. 27, 2010. Willis Knight Star-Telegram archives <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Bud Kennedy\u2019s Eats Beat<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the \u201cEats Beat\u201d dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 \u2014 that\u2019s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PANTEGO David\u2019s Barbecue could not be more perfect. As a fourth-generation restaurant from North Texas\u2019 Red and Sonny…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":643040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,7948,174550,273576,7371,7372,273577,358,248441,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-643039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-arlington","tag-brisket","tag-davids-barbecue","tag-fort-worth","tag-fortworth","tag-sonny-bryans","tag-texas","tag-texas-bbq","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116198914881204130","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}