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Matt's BBQ is making its big move. In February, WW was first to report that our 2016 Cart of the Year would soon have to vacate its Martin Luther King Jr. parking lot, after their landlord decided to lease to a plumbing supply company instead.
Matt's routinely runs lines of twenty or more people at its current location, sometimes selling out of tender, spicy, barky brisket by as early as 3 pm.
But starting as soon as April 1, says pitmaster Matt Vicedomini, the city's best ribs, brisket and hot links will be in the parking lot of Prost! beer bar at 4237 N. Mississippi Ave. That means no more shivering in your car waiting for your ribs to be ready: You'll be eating them at a comfy table with some of the rarest German beers in town.
That's not the only change, however. Now that he's next to a bar, Vicedomini says he'll be adding some dinner items to the menu.
"The first couple weeks we'll do the same old thing," he says. "But the biggest thing we'll do is a taco menu for dinner, we'll add some vegetarian options, pork belly tacos. Also pork steak is a big thing in Texas. You cook it for 12 hours over high heat. It's a great steak option."
Prost! owner Dan Hart bought the neighboring Mississippi Marketplace pod from the Cartlandia owners in June 2017, and will be expanding the German-style beer bar's patio, offering plenty of room for diners—that's part of the reason Vicedomini is extending his hours until 9 pm. But the nature of barbecue means Vicedomini will have to offer a new set of menu items for late-evening diners.
"Brisket takes 12 hours," he says. "When you run out, you run out. But chicken cooks for an hour. We can have smoked chicken tacos all night long."
Vicedomini says he's shooting for April 1 to open at Prost! But because Prost's parking lot will require some modifications to fit his two huge smokers and build a barbecue shack, the timing might still depend on city permitting.
"If you come into the parking lot and we're not there," he says. "You know where we are."