TH
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TW
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thataregoingtoupsetalot^ of^ people^inT
exas.^
O
ne:^ naming^D
allas^our^ restaurant^ cityof^ theyear^ (see^p.42
),^
whichI^
haveafeeling^a^lot^ of^peopleinH
oustonandA
ustinare,^ uh,notgonnalike.^ T
wo:what^ I’mabouttosayaboutabreakfast-tacojoint...that’s^alsoabarbecue^joint...that’sinthe^most^ un-Texas^location^imagin-
able—
Portland,O
regon.P
lease^don’t^ hate^me.The^persontoblame^for^ this^ is^ Matt^ Vicedomini.^ He’s^ an^unsuspecting^character^ forabarbecue^icon:^ fromLongIsland,^ learnedhowtosmoke^meat^ at^ acowboy-themedrestaurant^ in^A
ustralia,^
has^ neverlived^inthe^LoneS
tar^ State,^ though^hehasmade^many,many^brisket- o
rientedpilgrim-
agesthere.H
e^eventuallysettled^inP
ortlandandopened^a^trailer—M
att’sB
BQ
—
inthe^parking^lot^ of^ apawnshop.S
ure,there^wasn’t^ alot^ of^ competition^for^ Texas- s
tyle’cue,^ butnevertheless^M
att’simmediatelybecame^known^asthe^best^inthe^city.^
This^winter^ Vicedomini^ followedthatup^withnotonebuttwo^newspots,both^ofwhichshowoff^his^ legendarybrisket,^simply^seasonedbutexpertlysmoked,^ lowandslow,^ over^ oakfor^10
to12
hours.^The^first^is^Eem,^ aThaibarbecue^collab^withthe^folks^ fromP
ortland’scelebratedLangbaanand^pop-upcocktail^ barS
hipwreck.^ T
hesecondisM
att’sB
BQ
Tacos,whichopensat^8a.m.,^ withthatbrisket^ andpork^ bellyburntends^ andmore^smokedmeats.Theyall^come^piled^withscrambledeggsandpotatoes^ andsalsaonto^unbelievably^puffyflour^ tortillasmade^withrenderedlard.
The^pleasureof^ Matt’sB
BQ
T
acosispure^and^simple:W
hen^I^ thinkaboutwhereI^
wasthe^happiest^onthe^roadthis^year,^ my^mind^immediatelygoes^tositting^inthe^sunshine(yes,^ in^the^PacificN
orthwest!)at^ oneof^ thepicnic^tablesnext^ to^the^trailer,folding^upthe^most^ irrefutably^delicioustacos^one^after^ thenext,^pausing^onlytodipafresh-friedtortillachip^intocreamy^queso.W
hat’stohate^about^ that?—
J.
K.
Pu
ll
ed
PorkphotographbyL
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SlicedBrisket