these two places are less than a half mile apart, with j bar m less than a mile away. so dumb. j bar m has a lot of events and is set up for smaller live music shows, bbq is avg. willow is dumping lot of $$ into that building, and it's been on going for sometime. they nees to push the bar, hard. (the panadería across the street is good, never tried their tacos but their pan dulce is good). the eastbound spot has shitty parking. it's on at a busy 'point'
all are less than a mile from me, but i'll goto pinkeron's when i want bbq
Willow’s Smokehouse & Tavern
Pitmaster Willow Vilarreal and his partner Jasmine Barela will turn their pop-up into a brick-and-mortar restaurant at this new concept in the historic L.M. Greco building (4109 Mckinney). Expect all the Central Texas-style barbecue and sides the duo is known for, alongside burgers, wings, sandwiches, and bar bites. Pair them with cocktails, craft beer, micheladas, and a range of spirits.
“Ultimately we want this to be an environment where our neighbors will look forward to winding down their day, time and time again. Like Cheers but with Lone Stars and brisket sandwiches,” Villarreal explains.
Eastbound Barbecue
This project in the former East End Backyard space (1105 Sampson St.) unites Killen’s Restaurants alumni Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville. Already drawing crowds to pop-ups, the quartet is serving dishes such as rosemary salt-spiced brisket, Tex-Italian sausage, Cuban-style mojo pork, and soon-to-be-famous hatch chili mac & cheese lasagna.