One Maryland (and DC) restaurant has earned national recognition on Yelp’s newly released list of the “Top 100 BBQ Restaurants in the U.S., According to Yelp Elites.”
Coming in at No. 28 on the list was 2Fifty Texas BBQ, the acclaimed Central Texas-style barbecue spot with locations in Riverdale Park and Washington, DC. Yelp described the restaurant as a place where “open flames and real wood fuel the slow-smoked magic,” praising both its traditional Texas barbecue and made-from-scratch sides inspired by the kitchen’s roots.
Per Pitmaster and Co-Owner Fernando González:
“We don’t use gas. We don’t take shortcuts. Every brisket, rib, and sausage here is cooked with wood, fire, and feel.
I came up learning from the best in Texas, but our flavor carries a little bit of home: the stories, the beans, the late nights.
We’re not fast. We’re not flashy. Just craft, sweat, and smoke. That’s 2fifty.”
2Fifty refers to 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 is also known for incorporating sides and flavors inspired by the owners’ Hispanic heritage, blending traditional barbecue techniques with personal and cultural influences.
2Fifty has built a devoted following for both the quality of its barbecue and its limited daily availability. The restaurant is known for selling out regularly due to its lengthy smoking process. “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.
2Fifty Texas BBQ operates locations at 4700 Riverdale Road in Riverdale Park (Prince George’s County) and 414 K Street NW in Washington, DC. According to Yelp, the rankings were determined using reviews and ratings from Yelp Elite Squad members nationwide.
