Along a sleepy country road in Fort Worth is an unassuming barbeque joint that is owned and operated by five childhood buddies in their mid-twenties. Several of the co-owners worked at some of the most notable barbecue restaurants in the state before opening Goldee’s Barbecue in 2020. By October 2021, they were named the #1 barbecue joint by Texas Monthly Magazine!

Traditional Texan Barbecue

If you are new to barbeque, you might find that Goldee’s is a bit…simple. You’d be right, sort of. Many new barbecue places are putting their own spin on things, but as I’ve often found, the focus is set on maybe one or two items, while the rest of the menu is just an afterthought. Maybe you’ll get a great slice of brisket but then bite into a sausage that is dry.

perfecting the basics

Goldee’s is not trying to remake the wheel, and I think that is what sets them apart. They appear to focus on making traditional Texan barbecue as best they can, going back to basics and perfecting every item every time. This isn’t a place you’d expect from a diverse group of young owners. Had I not known the backstory before going, I’d expect to find a wrinkled ol’ pitmaster who’d been working the same smoker for sixty years and let his grandkids paint on the walls.

homemade bread & pickles

Classic Texan barbeque is always served with a few slices of white bread and some pickles and onions. What I absolutely LOVED about Goldee’s was their decision to not take the easy (ahem…boring) route and buy bags of Wonder Bread like everyone else seems to do, but rather, MAKE THEIR OWN DAMN BREAD. It’s the best white bread I think I’ve ever had, and for the first time ever, I actually appreciated the side of bread! Same with the pickles - they’re housemade and you can taste the difference! It might seem like such a small thing, but I loved that extra effort and ownership of the craft.

try the sides

Goldie’s has the basics - potato salad, beans, coleslaw - but they also have their Kennedale Stew, a pork gravy served over white rice. It is so unique and unlike anything I’ve had before! We also tried their cheesy grits, which I absolutely loved and definitely recommend.

Sundays are for bread pudding

If you plan on going, go on a Sunday. That is when they sell their bread pudding and it is STUPIDLY GOOD. Seriously, you NEED it in your life and I wish I had purchased extra so I could take leftovers home.

Be Prepared to Wait

Being ranked #1 means you’ll be waiting in long lines. They might make fifty briskets a day, but they are guaranteed to sell out and therefore have no listed closing time. They’re open Friday to Sunday from 11:00am ‘til they're sold out!

Address: 4645 Dick Price Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76140
Website: goldeesbbq.com

Get There Early

We went on a Sunday and arrived at 9:00 a.m., which is two hours before they open at 11:00 a.m. Two hours early worked out well for us - we were 15th in line and got to try a bit of everything we wanted before they sold out. The line was wrapped around the parking lot by the time they opened. Since there is only one register and a small counter inside, the line doesn’t move very quickly.

Arriving early also meant we were able to sit at one of the few tables inside, and even had an opportunity to meet and chat with one of the co-owners who was talking to the guests inside.

brings chairs & make friends

All of the early birds had their own camping chairs, us included. It was VERY chilly, especially since we were sitting in the shade, so we brought some blankets too. It was a very cool experience to sit around and chat with strangers who were all there for the same reason. It made the experience even better. Some people brought their own coolers and were sharing their new friends. It made waiting fun!

free line beers and water

They have a giant cooler out front that they fill with beers and water to help yourself while you wait.

it’s worth the wait

Everything about the experience was so incredibly unexpected. Foodies usually wait in long lines for brand new, modern, hipster-esque restaurants…but this was once an abandoned building off a backcountry road that doesn’t have anything groundbreaking on the menu. It is simple, traditional food in a building with handwritten signs, buffalo-plaid tablecloths, and chairs that look like they might have been donated or left in the building when it was abandoned.

Yet, these twenty-somethings cut their teeth at some of the best barbecue joints in the state, and with their combined experience, created barbecue that rivaled pitmasters with decades of experience and landed them with the title of being #1. How cool is that? It’s not about the flair, but about making consistently good barbecue and food.

got my first bbq passport stamp!

Texas Monthly, the magazine that publishes the Top 50 BBQ Joints every four years, created a cool “passport” that you can have stamped whenever you visit one of the top 50 places on their list! You can buy one for $5 online (plus shipping) or get it in their November printed issue. It was fitting that my first stamp in my passport came from the #1 spot!

Barbecue Adventure Blog Series

With my new Barbecue Adventure series on this blog, this passport will be a great guide for where to visit next!

You can check out all our past and future bbq adventures here: Texas Barbecue Joints.

Goldee's Barbecue | Fort Worth