Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Bogart's Smokehouse
Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor for Texas Monthly magazine — yes, barbecue is that that big deal in Texas — who over the past few years has become one of the country’s leading barbecue authorities, has declared 2016 the year of pastrami. Well, ask Bogart’s Smokehouse fans, what took you so long? Pastrami has been one of pitmaster Skip Steele’s specialties since Bogart’s opened five years ago, and for me, at least, it has surpassed the justly celebrated apricot-glazed ribs as the must-order at this Soulard blockbuster. (To be precise, my go-to order here is a two-meat platter with pastrami and burnt ends. Unless I want the ribs.) At Dalie’s Smokehouse, the offshoot of Pappy’s Smokehouse and Bogart’s that Steele and Mike Emerson opened last year (and which, for the sake of the STL 100, I’m considering part of both Pappy’s and Bogart’s entries), you can order a sandwich with beef pastrami, as at Bogart’s, and pork pastrami. The year of pastrami, indeed.
Last year's ranking: 20
Opened: 2011
Must order: Pastrami (sandwich $11.99, plate $15.99)