Tomball, Texas- Burger of the week is now the Bite of the Week. We will be featuring everything there is to experience in Texas when it comes to food. We start things off here in Tomball, at a place known for barbecue and something sweet. We’re at Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue.
Since 2015, Tejas BBQ has been tossing out their take on Texas BBQ. While that sounds a bit redundant, the food is anything but that.
“It’s barbecue at an elevated level,” Scott Moore said. “It’s craft barbecue.”
5th generation Texan Scott and his brothers Greg and Michelle Holland founded this fine place for food in an old house built in 1907 located in the Old Town part of Tomball. But when the trio got started, BBQ was even on the back burner.
“Yeah we started our business as a chocolate maker,” Scott said. “We turned it into a barbecue joint and a chocolate shop. “
Janie Williams is part of the chocolate crew. She’s part of the team that meticulously creates this culinary confection from scratch.
“House made chocolate, where we start out with our own cacao so you don’t find that too often,” Janie said.
Usually taking it easy later in life doesn’t require this much work. However, when you see how it’s prepared and the passion that goes into the meat mastery, it makes sense why it’s so worth it.
“Yeah that’s right I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I’m 54, but this is my retirement,” Scott said. “It’s a lot of attention to detail, doing things by hand, doing it slow, taking your time and being careful about how things are cooked.”
First the briskets are trimmed by Brandon and seasoned by James. To say Brandon puts a little pizazz on his preparation might be putting it lightly.
“He likes to bring in the seasoning from over the top,” Scott said. “I kind of mean over the top.”
There is a method to this madness.
“It’s part of the elements of being in craft barbecue is taking your time, buying premium meats, trimming it to the way you want it, seasoning by hand,” Scott said. “There’s a lot of attention to small details.”
28 briskets a day are placed in a offset smoker using post oak wood to give the beef a mild smoky flavor. Once a week, on Thursdays to be exact, Tejas makes a pastrami brisket and beef rib. You might want to get in line for that right now because waiting around here is normal.
“Now it’s very rewarding, we can enjoy that people come for the food and you see them coming back,” Scott said. “I like to tell people all the time ‘nothing says I love you like a reorder’ and that’s the ultimate compliment, when somebody gives you money twice for your food. We tell people ‘come early eat well, come late you might not get a plate’ and that’s what they’re there for, they wanna eat.”
Well, we want to eat so Greg put together a smorgasbord of bountiful BBQ known around here as the Hero Plate.
I’m speechless, and that doesn’t happen very often,” Kati Stimpson said. “I mean it really is, and it sounds so cliché. It really melts in your mouth, it really is the good.”
When you don’t even know what your face is doing, your taste buds have taken over.
You can tell when you’re eating this the quality the effort they’re putting into their craft, it’s very apparent,” Tim Stimpson said.
Well, whether you fancy chocolate or barbecue, it’s safe to say Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue in Tomball, Texas is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“So it’s a place you come where there’s foods that are handcrafted,” Scott said. “Great barbecue and great beers, what a time to be alive.”