Smoke'N Ash BBQ

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Smoke'N Ash BBQ
Restaurant information
Established2018;8 years ago (2018)
Owner(s)Patrick and Fasicka Hicks
Food type Ethiopian-Texas barbecue
Location5904 South Cooper Street, Arlington, Texas, US
Website smokenashbbq.net

Smoke'N Ash BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Arlington, Texas. [1] It serves Texas barbecue, Ethiopian cuisine, and Tex-Ethiopian fusion cuisine.

Contents

About

The Smoke'N Ash BBQ restaurant uses Ethiopian condiments including awaze [1] and berbere, a traditional Ethiopian spice mixture. The spice mix is made by Fasicka's sister, [2] who ships it to the restaurant from Ethiopia. [3]

The restaurant is known for serving dishes like barbecue brisket, pork and lamb ribs, [3] sausage, [4] tibs, doro wat, [5] key siga wat, Ethiopian-inspired nachos, pulled pork, [6] and pulled lamb. [1] It also serves grilled and fried fish, including catfish, tilapia, and red snapper. [3] The restaurant serves side including injera, [7] Texas toast, [8] macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens, fried okra, and lentil stew. [1] Its dessert menu includes items like peach cobbler and Texas sheet cake with berbere. [5]

Platter of Tex-Ethiopian food from Smoke'N Ash Ethiopian cuisine fusion.jpg
Platter of Tex-Ethiopian food from Smoke'N Ash

History

The restaurant was founded by Patrick Hicks of Waco, Texas and his wife Fasicka, originally from Addis Ababa. [9] The couple met in Arlington in 1997, and later married and had two children. [5] They opened a food truck in 2012, [3] and operated pop-up food stands in Texas before opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Arlington in 2018. [9] The couple originally served Texas barbecue, [6] but Fasicka began adding Ethiopian dishes to the menu in 2019. [10] They began adding fusion dishes to the menu based on recommendations from their customers, who enjoyed both Ethiopian and barbecue food. [11]

In 2022, the restaurant partnered with Goldbelly and began shipping food to other states. [12]

The restaurant moved to a larger location at 5904 South Cooper Street in 2023. [13] The newer location also included a full bar. [14]

Reception

The restaurant was included on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in 2022. [10] In 2023, the publication named it one of the 20 best Texas barbecue restaurants of the new generation. [15]

It was also recognized by the Michelin Guide. [1] Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly praised the restaurant's food and customer service. [5] In 2025, it was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award. [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Smoke'N Ash BBQ – Arlington - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ Le, Dang (April 25, 2025). "Arlington family turns childhood memories into award-winning barbecue restaurant". The Shorthorn. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The American Dream Story of Patrick & Fasicka Hicks - Smoke'N Ash BBQ". www.arlingtontx.gov. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  4. ↑ Nishimura, Scott (December 4, 2024). "South Arlington restaurant savors Michelin recognition, stokes Ethiopian-barbecue fusion". Arlington Report. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Vaughn, Daniel (December 16, 2021). "An Arlington Family Has Created a New Must-Try Cuisine, Tex-Ethiopian Barbecue". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on July 18, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Smoke 'N Ash BBQ". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Immigrants are changing Central Texas barbecue for the better". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  8. ↑ ""It's just about togetherness": Meet the couple behind the only Ethiopian-Texas barbecue restaurant in the world - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. July 11, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "BBQ restaurant in Arlington makes Diners, Drive-ins & Dives - CultureMap Dallas". dallas.culturemap.com. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Our 50 Favorite Restaurants of 2022". The New York Times. September 19, 2022. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ Mayhew, Malcolm (September 15, 2022). "A Different Kind of 'Cue". Fort Worth Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  12. ↑ Barricks, Hannah (October 21, 2022). "You Can Now Send Some Smoke'N Ash BBQ to Your Buddies in California". Fort Worth Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  13. ↑ Nishimura, Scott (December 4, 2024). "South Arlington restaurant savors Michelin recognition, stokes Ethiopian-barbecue fusion". Arlington Report. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Smoke'N Ash BBQ Making a Move". March 28, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Brett; Krishnan, Priya. "The 20 Best Texas Barbecue Restaurants From the New Generation". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ "James Beard Semifinalist Announced: RJ Yoakum, Smoke 'N Ash, Starship Make Cut". Dallas Observer. January 22, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
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