Zavala's Barbecue — Restaurant in Grand Prairie

First time that we were in the area when they were open ... So... We did the, "let's try a bunch of things plan". It did not disappoint.

The beef rib was fantastic. There are some copies of beef ribs that are short of the originals found in Lockhart. Not this one. Perfect, thick, crunchy, peppery bark with succulent beef underneath.

Next, the Almost Carnitas are unique and tasty. Coke and fresh orange juice combine with meat for a different take on a classic. We just got a small taste. Next time, we'll get more.

The brisket was top tier, for me. Let me explain. Texas Monthly Top 50 brisket is going to be very good. Period. It comes down to that brisket, that day. This is among my favorites. In the past couple of months, I've had Snow's, Cattleack, and Panther City. I'd have to have all of them fresh cut and in front of me to pick a winner. Bottom line, this is TM Top 50 brisket.

The ribs were the first of the disagreements between us. My bride and I both like ribs that are 'fall off the bone' done. While that's the way we do then at home, to have ribs that soft would be tough for a restaurant to handle. That said, the ribs were competition doneness... Perfect bite leaving a clean bone. She likes more sugar on ribs; I like more savory. These are perfect for me, not sweet enough for her. She liked them; didn't love them.

They were out of the brisket sausage so we had to make due with the jalapeno cheddar and pizza pepper sausages. Both were excellent! Plenty of spice without being overwhelming. My daughter attacked the leftovers when we got home. The key for me on sausage is really texture. I like a finer grind and these are perfection.

Lots of the difference in BBQ visits are in the sides. Some places have sides that, well, have gotten out of hand. I just want a side, not a complex dish that could be a meal itself. Zavala's performs perfectly here. Generally I'll sample the sides since I'm essentially a carnivore. I'll taste sides since my bride likes them.

First, the spicy coleslaw was more spicy than my bride liked. I tried a small taste and if I weren't for the cilantro, I'd really like it. I HATE cilantro.

The beans are a solid example of BBQ side beans. Tasty and a staple of any BBQ trip. Good with a bit of brisket served on top.

The hill country potato salad is GREAT. Think baked potato. Super crispy, crunchy bacon; kinda ranch dressing and sour cream.... Oooh. I'm a keto kinda guy that leans carnivore. This stuff would give me issues staying away from it.

The cheesy jalapeno hominy.... I could roll around in it like a dog! I detest mac and cheese. Gummy mouth feel. Generally flat in terms of spice. This dish is just perfect. Great taste. Great texture. Great compliment to the meats. It's a side that does what side dishes are...

Oh my gosh, you guys, you have got to try this place! We've been aiming to get to Zavala's for months now, and I'm upset we waited so long! We were a bit worried the lines were going to be crazy, so we decided to pre-order our food online. It's a quick and easy process, and I highly recommend pre-ordering if you have a large group or are taking it TO GO.

We arrived 15 minutes early per the recommendation, and there were only a few people in line. I believe you can pick up TO GO between 10:30-10:50, and they open to the public at 11am. I don't think the word has gotten out just yet (which is shocking, considering how good this is!), but even when we left around 11:30 there were only a handful of people in line. Get your butt out to Grand Prairie soon before this place gains in popularity!

Since it was our first time, we decided to try nearly everything. Here is our assessment of everything we tried:

Beef Cheek: OUT OF THIS WORLD! This was a tie for my favorite. The meat was so tender and flavorful, and it had some nice crispy pieces. I put this in a tortilla with salsa or bbq sauce and it was amazing!

Sloppy Juan: I believe this is their burnt ends in a homemade tortilla with bbq sauce. We wished we'd ordered more than just 1. It was tied as my favorite, along with the beef cheek. The salsas they serve on the side are killer, especially the salsa verde!

Beef Rib: This was really good. The meat was so flavorful and tender.

Pizza Pepper Sausage: This was an interesting twist on your regular bbq sausage. We enjoyed it!

Brisket: We both decided that this was just a bad day for the brisket. The flavor was great, but we expected the meat to be a bit more tender. A few of our friends have been and have resoundingly said the brisket (along with the Sloppy Juan) is their favorite, so I think we just had a bad day for it. It definitely won't deter us from going back. :)

We also ordered their krunk salad (potato salad) and side of the day (spicy cole slaw). The potato salad was good, but the spicy cole slaw definitely stole the show. It was an interesting and unique twist on your standard Texas cole slaw.

The family and staff that served us were all so incredibly friendly, and they walk around giving out various freebies. ;-) Dallas is really stepping up their BBQ game, and Zavala's is definitely putting pressure on the...

The food is excellent however my lower rating is for several reasons. First, I know barbecue is expensive but I didn't feel that the price paid complimented the servings provided. To be completely honest the food in addition to their sauces are really extremely good but a meat plate will only get you a spoon full of delicous potatoe salad two slices of tender brisket. That's a little over $16 but it did include a drink and if you like beer they had free beer outside in a cooler which leads to my other point.

I was with my adult son and father. I requested the TV be placed on a college game that was already on when we arrived. As we ordered food the channel was changed but not to an actual show or movie just a tv setting. The polite young lady who works the front changed the channel for us and we began eating. As I choose my included drink the young lady informed me that the beer outside was free. I decided to take her up on this offer. As I opened the beer cooler, the ower Joe who was outside speaking with other guest gave me this weird stare down. The type of stare you get when racist people think your taking something which is usually free without making an inital purchase (because you're black). The stare was so weird I just spoke and said "hi how ya doing". He never responded back.

Then as we ate he came in from outside and turned the music off that was playing in the background then, turned the tv's sound down to play "Country Music". This was extremely weird to me as when I arrived they were playing hard core rap which didn't bother me but apparently as other caucasian customers arrived he decided to switch things up a bit.

Anyway the whole thing was extremely wierd and other customers in the store were actually wanting to watch the game too so I believe everyone was kinda of taken away by the actions of the owner. The food is really good, the people who cook and take your orders are wonderful but the price is steep and the owner is questionable as to...