#15 - GATLIN'S BBQ - Houston's Hardest-Working BBQ Joint

Greg Gatlin, the owner of Gatlin's BBQ, may just be the James Brown of barbecue...the hardest working man in the BBQ business. 

When I arrived at Gatlin's for my first BBQ road trip of year two of my quest to visit all 50 of Texas Monthly's top BBQ joints, I found a parking lot full of cars in a modest strip mall.  When I say full of cars, I mean I had to park in the back of the building near the smokers.


As I walked around the building, I looked up and saw a man on top of the restaurant, adjusting an exhaust fan. Every time he moved the fan, it belched smoke in his face. He saw me, smiled and waved, then went back to work on the fan. It was 95 degrees, much hotter on the roof of the building, and this guy was standing in a smoke cloud doing his own repairs.

Ladies and gentlemen, that smoked man was Greg Gatlin.  Who says that owning a BBQ joint is all about the glory?

Once inside Gatlin's, I found a long line of regulars and full tables throughout the restaurant.  The menu has all your favorite proteins...pork, chicken, brisket, turkey and sausage of course.  I was impressed to see burgers and a selection of baked potatoes, blanketed with smoked meats. Which, now that I think of it, would make a really great blanket.  So comforting, so smokey, so edible.  Best blanket ever...adding it to the Christmas list!


I ordered a 3-meat combo plate with brisket, sausage and pork ribs. My sides were dirty rice and macaroni and cheese.

I found the food at Gatlin's to be as hard-working as its owner. Each item started off slow in the taste department, but they worked on me.  Maybe all those years of jalapeno salsas have finally burned off my taste buds?  Anyway, at first bite, the brisket didn't knock me out, but on second and third bites the flavors of the bark began to shine through. Same with the sausage...not much at first but gradually...wow.

The dirty rice improved from bite to bite...I didn't think much of it at first but it really grew on me.  The macaroni and cheese, however, was a winner from the start...a perfect balance of cheese and pasta. Outstanding.










The pork ribs didn't have to do much to win me over either. They were tender, flavorful and even though three was plenty, I couldn't get enough of them.

From arrival to departure, I was inside Gatlin's for about an hour. As I approached my car, I noticed Greg Gatlin was still outside, still on the roof, working to perfect his repairs. It's clear he's already got it going on inside his restaurant.  Plus, with a name like Greg, you can only expect perfection.