On the southeast edge of Fort Worth, near Kennedale, on a stretch of Dick Price Road that most Dallasites could not find without a map, sits a small barbecue joint with a red wall, a few smokers and a line that starts forming well before the doors open. As of this week, it is also the first restaurant in Fort Worth history to earn a Michelin star.
Goldee’s Bar-B-Q had already been a two-time Bib Gourmand. On October 8 the inspectors bumped it up to one star, writing that it is absolutely worth the hours-long wait in the Texas sun.
The story behind it is a good one. Goldee’s belongs to five friends who grew up together in Arlington: Jonny White, Jalen Heard, Lane Milne, Dylan Taylor and Nupohn Inthanousay. After high school they all headed to Austin for college, and to pay the bills they took jobs on the line at some of the most important barbecue joints in Texas, including Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue, Micklethwait and Freedmen’s.
In 2019 they quit those jobs and came home to start something of their own. The name comes from a gold Ford F-250 that Taylor used to drive. They planned to open that summer, but renovations and permits pushed things back, and the grand opening finally came on February 15, 2020. A little over a month later, the pandemic shut them down. Goldee’s did, and in 2021 Texas Monthly named it the No. 1 barbecue joint in the state on its 2021 Top 50 list, ahead of places that had been smoking meat for decades.
The honors have not stopped since. Goldee’s was a James Beard Award semifinalist in 2023, and in 2024 Food & Wine named Milne, Heard and White to its Best New Chefs list.
The food is Central Texas barbecue at heart, done with real precision. The Brisket is premium Black Angus, smoked low and slow over local post oak until it is meltingly tender, with a deep bark and a clean, beefy flavor that needs nothing else. The Pork Ribs are the reason a lot of people make the drive, and the Beef Ribs are the reason a lot of them come back. The sausage program goes beyond the usual, with a house link, a Jalapeño Cheese Sausage and a Lao Sausage that is one of the more distinctive bites in Texas barbecue. Turkey and pork belly round out the meats.
Pay attention to the little things, too, because the kitchen does. Goldee’s bakes its own bread, and folding a few slices of brisket into a piece of it with a dab of the house’s tangy mustard sauce may be the best way to eat here. The Potato Salad, sharp with cider vinegar, dill pickles and yellow mustard, is good enough that Food & Wine published the recipe. On Sundays there is Bread Pudding.
Maybe the most impressive thing about Goldee’s has nothing to do with what is on the tray. It has become a training ground. Former Goldee’s cooks have gone on to open some of the most talked-about new barbecue spots in Texas, including Redbird BBQ and Sabar BBQ, and Chuck Charnichart trained there before opening Barbs B Q in Lockhart. Texas Monthly even wrote about how Goldee’s trained a new generation of pitmasters.
What does a Michelin star change? For Fort Worth, a lot. The city has spent three years watching Dallas, Houston and Austin collect stars while its own restaurants were left on the Recommended list. Now the city has a star of its own, and it went to a place that serves on butcher paper and cafeteria trays. There is something very Fort Worth about that.
For Goldee’s, the biggest change will likely be the line. If you have never been, plan accordingly. Goldee’s is open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and once the meat is gone, it is gone, so the earlier you arrive, the better your odds. Bring a chair and some patience.
Goldee’s Bar-B-Q is at 4645 Dick Price Road in Fort Worth. For every starred restaurant in the state, see Michelin’s full 2026 Texas list.
