Maryland’s 2Fifty Texas BBQ has earned another national honor, this time being named one of the best barbecue restaurants in America by loveFOOD.
loveFOOD, a popular international food and travel website, recently released its ranking of the best barbecue restaurants in the U.S., placing 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Riverdale Park (Prince George’s County) at No. 17 in the country. The publication says its ranking is based on user reviews, awards and accolades, along with the opinions of its food and travel team, while acknowledging that “some level of subjectivity is unavoidable.”
In highlighting 2Fifty, loveFOOD points to the restaurant’s Texas-inspired barbecue and Central American influence. The publication specifically highlights its wagyu brisket, along with sides including mango salad, sweet potato mash, and sweet beans with brisket.
2Fifty was founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife team Fernando González and Debby Portillo, who are originally from El Salvador. The restaurant has since received recognition from a number of national and regional publications and organizations.
Earlier this year, 2Fifty also earned national recognition on Yelp’s list of the “Top 100 BBQ Restaurants in the U.S., According to Yelp Elites.”
2Fifty describes its cooking approach as “Central Texas style barbecue,” explaining that the style revolves around fire, wood, and simplicity. “For us, it means more like a culture that revolves around fire. It means using 100% wood and mainly salt and pepper to season our meats. The meats are commonly cooked at an offset propane tank-shaped pit,” the restaurant says.
The restaurant also incorporates sides and flavors inspired by its owners’ Salvadoran heritage, blending traditional Central Texas barbecue techniques with their own cultural influences.
2Fifty has built a devoted following for both the quality of its barbecue and its limited daily availability. According to the restaurant, its meats can take between six and 14 hours to cook using a low-and-slow smoking process, limiting how much can be served fresh each day.
“Even though our 100% wood smokers operate at full capacity, the smoking process is done low and slow (at a low temperature for a long period of time). It takes between 6 to 14 hours to finish the cooking process so we have a limited capacity to serve our menu fresh everyday,” the restaurant says.
The latest recognition adds to a growing list of accolades for 2Fifty. The Riverdale Park restaurant was named Casual Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 RAMMY Awards, and González was named Restaurateur of the Year at the 2026 RAMMY Awards.
2Fifty Texas BBQ operates locations at 4700 Riverdale Rd in Riverdale Park in Prince George’s County and 414 K St NW in Washington, DC.
