Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que

A Texas Barbecue Primer From Regional Styles to 6 Essential Stops

"As the only restaurant in Texas that’s still allowed to cook “en pozo” (i.e., in an underground pit), Vera’s is on a different playing field. Especially when it comes to barbacoa, its signature South Texas barbecue dish that involves slow cooking an entire cow’s head “en pozo,” then typically serving it with freshly made corn or flour tortillas and a fiery trio of salsas. The current owner, Armando Vera, has been perfecting his technique at this Brownsville restaurant since he was a teenager, helming the smoke alongside his parents, founders Alberto and Carmen Vera, before taking over. After the many state and national awards Vera’s has earned, many of the choicest parts of the head (i.e., cheeks, lips, tongue, and jaw meat) sell out soon after they open, which is often before sunrise as the restaurant only operates on weekends." - Kristy Alpert

James Beard Awards 2020: America’s Classics Winners | Eater

"A regional pilgrimage destination about four hours from San Antonio, this pit specializes in barbacoa de cabeza that is buried and smoked for up to 12 hours; owner Armando “Mando” Vera traces the food back to 19th-century vaquero-cowboy traditions and a family restaurant begun by his father in 1955." - Caleb Pershan

The 38 Best Texas Restaurants, Mapped | Eater

"WHAT: The last standard-bearer of a Texas culinary tradition along the Rio Grande. WHY: There was a time when shops specializing in barbacoa de cabeza en pozo a la leña (whole beef head cooked slowly in an underground, mesquite-fueled barbecue pit) dotted South Texas. Today, there remains only 63-year-old Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que in the Spanish-is-as-good-as-English border town of Brownsville. Owner Armando Vera runs what is likely the last restaurant cooking barbacoa de cabeza with wood in the Lone Star State, opening only weekends to dole out shimmering cuts of cheek, tongue, lips, and other head cuts served with warm corn or flour tortillas. It’s not unusual for Vera’s to be sold out of meat before it closes at 2 p.m., but the first to go is what Vera calls “Mexican caviar.” That would be cow eyes. — José R. Ralat" - Bill Addison

Texas’s 38 Best Restaurants | Eater

"A rare surviving example of whole-head barbacoa cooked in an underground, wood‑fueled pit along the Rio Grande, serving cuts like cheek, tongue, lips, and other head meats with warm corn or flour tortillas on limited weekend hours; the shop frequently sells out, and delicacies like cow eyes—dubbed 'Mexican caviar'—can disappear first." - Bill Addison

A weekend pilgrimage for true South Texas barbacoa. Named an America’s Classics winner by the James Beard Foundation and frequently cited by barbecue writers, Vera’s preserves vaquero-era pit cooking—get cachete by the pound and build your own tacos.