AJ’s Tex-Mex Barbecue

Aj’s Tex-Mex & BBQ Does Texas Brisket, Queso, and Taco Classics | Eater LA

"I noticed AJ's Tex-Mex & BBQ quietly opened at the end of last month in Valley Village, taking over the shuttered Texas Best BBQ on Riverside Drive. It's a partnership between Anthony Chin, one of the people behind Horse Thief BBQ at Grand Central Market, and Houston-trained fine-dining chef John Carrizales, who has spent time at The Bazaar. They're working a tight menu of Texas specialties like brisket, ribs, chorizo, and queso, plus all-day breakfast tacos, barbecue sandwiches, and comfort-food sides such as mac & cheese and tater tots. There's room to dine inside the small space, but most eating is meant to be done out on the big front patio. Because AJ's is attached to the decades-old local hang Pat's Cocktails, patrons can grab food through a small sliding window between the two, and the plan is to keep a late-hour food menu running all night as well as a weekend brunch." - Farley Elliott