Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ
Barbecue restaurant · Perry Heights ·
Classic Texas BBQ institution with hickory-smoked meats & family deals
Classic Texas BBQ institution with hickory-smoked meats & family deals
"No need to plan a meal — get the full family feast or one of the other options for a group on offer here. Depending on the size of the party, the order can cover a whole smoked turkey and sides, barbecue by the pound, or barbecue platters with excellent sides. Order online and set a preferred pick-up date — the last ones are on December 24." - Courtney E. Smith
"Celebrate 50 years of Big Al’s serving Dallas by ordering it’s heat and eat holiday feast. Meat options include whole hickory-smoked turkeys, Cajun-fried turkeys, smoked spiral cut hams, smoked turkey breast, and barbecue brisket. The sides include cornbread dressing, candied yams, green bean casserole, smashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry relish, plus desserts. The packages range in price, from dinner for four starting at $76 and packages feeding up to 15 starting at $175. Pre-order online for pickup on November 25-27." - Courtney E. Smith
"Off Inwood Road, just east of Love Field, I found a Dallas barbecue institution that has been quietly smoking meat for half a century. Opened in 1974 by Al Plaskoff, Big Al’s Smokehouse is now run by his daughter Lauran Weiner, alongside pitmaster Pedro Garcia (who has been there since 1979) and general manager Jonathan McZeal (a fixture for the last 16 years). As a family- and woman-owned business celebrating its 50th anniversary, the restaurant partnered with J&R Manufacturing to use its commercial Oyler smoker and has relied on hickory wood for five decades. The menu evolved slowly—sweet tea wasn’t added until the ’90s, family-style dishes and catering grew over time, and the switch to rubs and a bark came in the early 2010s after years of purist smoking of dark meat and trimming on the block. Under Weiner the biggest change has been fresh-cut, twice-fried french fries (she insists on hand-cut fries and dislikes frozen ones); the menu also now features a Big Al’s margarita, spiked sweet tea, a daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., and plans for a Sunday brunch and a larger September celebration. The restaurant is active in the community—working with programs like Second Chance to help reintroduce and hire formerly incarcerated people—and Weiner notes that hiring and maintaining staff remains her biggest challenge." - Courtney E. Smith
"I felt for the locally owned Big Al’s in Dallas when conservatives mistakenly targeted it in a boycott after a Beto O’Rourke event; the owner had to go on social media to tell boycotters they were targeting the wrong restaurant." - Courtney E. Smith
"A Dallas barbecue restaurant on Inwood near Love Field owned by Lauran Weiner was mistakenly targeted after social posts about the Waxahachie campaign event tagged the wrong business; the mix-up resulted in angry emails, one-star Google reviews (many of which later disappeared), and scams. Weiner posted an Instagram reel explaining that her business had supported the Ronald McDonald charity that night, urged people to stop negative actions and instead support local charities, and said the mistaken boycott threatens employees and other small businesses. Her social-media person traced the problem to a TikTok that had incorrectly tagged the restaurant." - Courtney E. Smith