Counter Culture.

Red, Hot & Blue Brings North Carolina Barbecue to North Texas.

Red, Hot & Blue
9810 North Central Expressway #600
Walnut Hill

Food: 3.5 out of 4 ribs.
Service: 3.5 out of 4 ribs.
Ambience: 3 out of 4 ribs.

Texans like to argue about barbecue.

Who has the best ribs? What place has the best sauce? Who has the best side items?

This much is for certain: Texans think barbecue is their tradition.

But so do folks in North Carolina, Memphis and every small town in the South.

Really, barbecue is barbecue. It's all the same with some minor variations. And, tough as it may be for some Texans to admit, some of the best barbecue in the city comes from Red, Hot & Blue, a franchise out of North Carolina.

Located off North Central Expressway, Red, Hot & Blue has a pretty nice menu. Maybe that's why it's always so packed during lunch. Well, maybe that, or that the place is laid back, has a great atmosphere and a quick staff.

The ribs are legit — dry-rubbed and tender as shit. So, too, is the Texas Smokehouse Salad, actually. It's no salad, really: Priced right at under $10, it comes with beef brisket and smoked turkey, along with some pepper jack cheese, greens, corn, tomatoes and Parmesan peppercorn dressing. Oh, and a biscuit with honey. The meat comes out tender and delicious and the salad was huge — enough for two people.

Get past the North Carolina delineation and embrace this place, folks. Sure, it's a chain. But it's delicious.