The invitation
Lance Rosen has spent years driving through the American South in pursuit of great BBQ, going well beyond the famous names to find the smokehouses, family-run pits and pitmasters that don't necessarily make the lists. Along the way, he has built real relationships with the people behind the food, from respected pitmasters to chefs and BBQ obsessives who know the craft inside out. He knows where the worthwhile detours are, which places are worth the early start and, importantly, who to call when you want to experience more than what's available to the average visitor.
Over 13 days, you’ll travel through Texas with Lance, combining legendary BBQ institutions with lesser-known spots and Michelin-recognised smokehouses. You’ll meet the people behind the pits, hear the stories behind their craft and experience places that aren’t simply about turning up for a meal. With Lance, the journey goes beyond knowing where to eat; it’s about the knowledge, relationships and access he has built over years of travelling, eating and connecting with the people who make Texas BBQ what it is.
This journey is built around Lance's people — the pitmasters, owners and barbecue obsessives who turn Texas smoke into something closer to culture than cuisine. It is not just a route through Dallas, Austin and Houston. It is a sequence of doors opening: a family pit in Temple where the pitmaster steps out from the smoke, John Bates at InterStellar talking through Michelin-level barbecue in Austin, Ms Tootsie Tomanetz tending the Saturday pits at Snow’s before sunrise, and Houston owners who make time because Lance is the one asking.
The journey is shaped by Lance’s deep knowledge of American barbecue and the relationships he has built over years of travelling the South. For Lance, barbecue is history, community, technique, generosity and storytelling, and on this journey, those stories are told by the people who live them.
The invitation
Lance Rosen has spent years driving through the American South in pursuit of great BBQ, going well beyond the famous names to find the smokehouses, family-run pits and pitmasters that don't necessarily make the lists. Along the way, he has built real relationships with the people behind the food, from respected pitmasters to chefs and BBQ obsessives who know the craft inside out. He knows where the worthwhile detours are, which places are worth the early start and, importantly, who to call when you want to experience more than what's available to the average visitor.
Over 13 days, you’ll travel through Texas with Lance, combining legendary BBQ institutions with lesser-known spots and Michelin-recognised smokehouses. You’ll meet the people behind the pits, hear the stories behind their craft and experience places that aren’t simply about turning up for a meal. With Lance, the journey goes beyond knowing where to eat; it’s about the knowledge, relationships and access he has built over years of travelling, eating and connecting with the people who make Texas BBQ what it is.
This journey is built around Lance's people — the pitmasters, owners and barbecue obsessives who turn Texas smoke into something closer to culture than cuisine. It is not just a route through Dallas, Austin and Houston. It is a sequence of doors opening: a family pit in Temple where the pitmaster steps out from the smoke, John Bates at InterStellar talking through Michelin-level barbecue in Austin, Ms Tootsie Tomanetz tending the Saturday pits at Snow’s before sunrise, and Houston owners who make time because Lance is the one asking.
The journey is shaped by Lance’s deep knowledge of American barbecue and the relationships he has built over years of travelling the South. For Lance, barbecue is history, community, technique, generosity and storytelling, and on this journey, those stories are told by the people who live them.
