HOUSTON — This week, the New York Times reported the "20 best Texas barbecue restaurants from the new generation."
Houston had more spots on the list than any other place in the state.
At one of the places, located at the intersection of FM 529 and North Eldridge Parkway at a Phillips 66 gas station, there’s a fire burning behind the pumps.
Brisket & Rice, which is inside a former Church’s Chicken, opened one year ago and has been getting a lot of attention.
Hong and Phong Tran are the pitmaster brothers behind the restaurant.
Lately, they’ve been having to lock their doors earlier than expected because they’re selling out of barbecue so soon in the day.
"Even if it is a hit, there’s no guarantee we’re still going to make it," Hong Tran said. "People might love it, people don’t get the exposure that we happen to get, so we weren’t sure that we were going to make it."
The brothers are two of seven kids born to Vietnamese immigrants who were raised in Brenham and raised on barbecue.
"We know what bad barbecue tastes like," Hong Tran said.
Neither of the Tran brothers had any restaurant experience before their venture.
"It’s simple seasonings, it’s simple processes," Phong Tran said. "It’s just the grunt work of it that nobody likes to do. That’s the main thing."
The brothers have used their knowledge and their own curiosity to develop a menu that’s not only tasty but also unique.
"Our brisket and rice ... it’s a simple meal. It’s just brisket and white rice and barbecue sauce," Phong Tran said.
One of the most popular menu items is their smoked sausage, which is made in-house each week.
Phong Tran lets nothing go to waste. While trimming and shaping a piece of prime brisket, everything he cuts and puts in the bowl will go into their homemade sausage.
The accompaniments of the final product are made from scratch, too. The barbecue sauce and the cucumbers, onions and jalapenos that have been marinating for days -- all of it made in their kitchen.
Brisket and Rice is among several Houston-area barbecue spots featured in the "20 Best Texas Barbecue Restaurants from the New Generation" article.
"We haven’t had time to soak it in yet, really," Phong Tran said. "We just put our heads down and go back to work, you know."
The attention is an honor for the brothers, but not one they’ll let go to their heads.
The other Houston-area barbecue restaurants include Blood Bros. BBQ, Gatlins BBQ, Ray’s Real Pit BBQ Shack and Truth BBQ.