Dallas, TX
50 years of barbecue: Dallas restaurant sells 50-cent sandwiches to celebrate
In a topsy-turvy Dallas restaurant scene that seems to entertain a new food trend every week, Big Al’s Smokehouse BBQ “has barely changed” in 50 years, said owner Lauran Weiner.
Her father, Al Plaskoff, founded the barbecue restaurant near Dallas Love Field Airport 50 years ago.
No one in the family knows the exact date, so Weiner picked Sept. 30, 2024, as the day to celebrate her late father’s shop that sold brisket before brisket was cool.
Big Al was “somewhat of a folk hero,” Weiner said. If he could be in the restaurant today, he’d be wearing a Hawaiian shirt, working the room. His wife, Harriet, would be sitting cross-legged on a stool at the cash register, cigarette hanging out of her mouth.
“Hi, darlin’,” she’d say.
Big Al and Harriet died in 2018 and 2022, respectively, and Weiner is dedicated to making the family business thrive.
The restaurant is doing better than ever, she said, but still, the 50th anniversary feels like it should be counted in days, not years. Over the course of its more than 18,000 days, Big Al’s has sold the same smoked meat as Inwood Road grew up around it.
It’s one of the oldest barbecue joints in Dallas, with its 50th birthday moving it onto The Dallas Morning News’ list of D-FW’s oldest restaurants.
Dickey’s Barbecue, Sonny Bryan’s and Marshall’s Bar-B-Que are some of the only barbecue joints in Dallas that are older than Big Al’s.
The restaurant will mark its 50 years by selling chopped beef and pulled pork sliders for 50 cents on Sept. 30, 2024.
All in the family
Big Al’s remains owned by the family, but Pedro Garcia might as well be family. He has worked at the restaurant for 45 of its 50 years, starting as a busboy when he was a teenager.
Garcia is the first person customers see when they walk down the line and up to the cutting board, where he slices meat.
“This is his house,” Weiner said.
Garcia has a knack for remembering customers’ orders, and he’s become part of the welcoming culture of this long-time, steady restaurant. If Big Al can’t be there, it feels good that Garcia is, Weiner said.
Weiner and general manager Jonathan McZeal haven’t made very many changes to the menu. They want to, but Big Al wouldn’t like it, and customers wouldn’t either. So sides like creamed corn and pinto beans remain.
The restaurant specializes in an over-stuffed baked potato with meat.
As the story goes, Big Al watched an evening news special about “loose meat” on a baked potato, and he knew his restaurant needed it. A loaded barbecue baked potato was rare in Dallas at the time, and it remains a favorite among regulars.
Weiner said being a female owner of a barbecue business in Texas can be tough.
But it’s her dad’s name on the restaurant. It’s Garcia slicing the meat. It’s McZeal leading the staff.
She knows her dad would be proud of what Big Al’s has become, and it isn’t that much different from how he left it.
Big Al “talks” to his daughter in ways big and small.
“I can still hear his voice,” Weiner said.
His legacy lives on when customers talk about the larger-than-life Big Al. They do it “all the time,” his daughter said.
Big Al’s Smokehouse BBQ is at 3317 Inwood Road, Dallas. It’s closed Sundays.
The restaurant will sell 50-cent sandwiches chopped beef and pulled pork sliders on Sept. 30, 2024, the chosen date for the 50th anniversary. Limit two per person.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.
Dallas, TX
Dallas weather: Storms return this week with large hail and tornado threat
DALLAS – North Texans will enjoy a brief break today before the next weather system arrives, bringing multiple rounds of storms. A warmup is on the way, with temperatures climbing back into the mid-80s by the weekend.
Monday Forecast
Following a few morning showers in the eastern counties, expect a warm and breezy Monday. High temperatures will climb into the low 80s under partly cloudy skies.
Tuesday Forecast
As an upper-level low-pressure system moves to the west, scattered storms will move into the region Tuesday afternoon. Some of these storms could become severe, with the primary threats being large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.
Simultaneously, storms are expected to develop ahead of a dryline to the west. While the tornado threat remains low in this area, any storms that form could produce large hail and damaging wind gusts.
7-Day Forecast
Those overnight storms should push out to the east by Wednesday morning, but don’t put the umbrella away just yet. As the main weather system moves directly over us Wednesday afternoon, we’ll likely see another round of scattered storms that could still bring with some hail. Once everything finally clears out Wednesday evening, we can look forward to some drier, much more comfortable air moving back into the area.
Thursday will be noticeably cooler, with high temperatures settling in the mid-60s. However, sunshine and a quick warmup are expected by the weekend. Temperatures will rebound into the 80s on Friday and Saturday.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the National Weather Service and FOX 4 forecasters.
Dallas, TX
Off-duty Dallas officer shoots at suspects allegedly trying to steal his vehicle in Addison, police say
An off-duty Dallas police officer shot at a group of people allegedly trying to steal his personal vehicle on Sunday afternoon in Addison, officials said.
According to the Addison Police Department, around 2:15 p.m., the off-duty Dallas officer saw a group of people trying to steal his vehicle in a parking lot at 5000 Belt Line Road. He confronted the suspects, “and during the encounter, fired a weapon at the suspects’ vehicle.”
The suspects fled in their vehicle, Addison police said, and it is unknown if any suspects were hit by gunfire.
The investigation is ongoing.
Dallas, TX
Dallas dropped the ball on the Wings’ practice facility
The Dallas Wings can’t seem to get a win, at least when it comes to the team’s training facility and arena. Not only is its practice facility in west Oak Cliff, approved over the summer and fast-tracked to open ahead of the team’s spring season, now running behind schedule, it is also somehow over budget.
Dallas had already committed $55 million for the team’s practice facility, a price tag we were uncomfortable with from the beginning. At the time, city staff said that was the amount needed to build a training facility with the amenities and infrastructure required for a WNBA team. The city argued there were few viable alternative locations for the practice facility after delays with the convention center, and they were running out of time. Enter the $55 million facility at Joey Georgusis Park.
But now the project needs an additional $27 million to cross the finish line. How did costs increase so much in just a few months? And how did a project that was expedited to meet the team’s deadline end up falling behind and over budget?
City staff attribute the holdup to missed deadlines by the project management firm McKissack and McKissack and new requirements from the WNBA that weren’t part of the original scope. McKissack and McKissack didn’t respond to multiple messages seeking comment for this editorial. Whatever the company’s missteps, the city is ultimately responsible for conducting due diligence and making sure the project stays on track, and it couldn’t deliver what it promised.
Now the city wants the Wings to take over. The city would cap its total contributions at $57 million, which includes $653,000 in delay reimbursements. The Wings would then cover the remaining costs, at least $27 million, needed to finish the practice facility and agree not to sue Dallas for the delays.
Some City Council members have suggested that Dallas should consider the American Airlines Center for the Wings’ practice facility and arena. But even though the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars, who currently play at the AAC, are looking to leave, their lease agreements run through 2031. That doesn’t do much for the Wings who need a practice facility now.
Maybe all of this could have been avoided if the city had more seriously considered existing facilities that could have accommodated the Wings. That’s not to say the team doesn’t deserve a training space that will meet their needs, but repurposing an existing space instead of starting from the ground up might have saved both time and money.
This debacle is frustrating for the Wings, and it also isn’t a good look for the city. If Dallas can’t figure out how to deliver a practice facility that it promised to one of its professional sports teams, how can it hope to attract more businesses and major investments? Anyone watching this unfold would have good reason to question the city’s ability to deliver.
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