Whataburger's new food truck.
Photo courtesy of Cruising Kitchens
In recent years, food trucks have driven onto the U.S. restaurant scene in vast numbers. Market research company IBISWorld estimates U.S. food trucks represent a $1.1 billion industry. Now, San Antonio-based Whataburger is catching up to the action.
On August 6, Whataburger took off the wraps off its first-ever food truck during a teacher appreciation event at The DoSeum in San Antonio, just a few blocks from a Whataburger restaurant. The burger chain debuted the truck as part of the burger chain’s 70th anniversary celebration.
“We wanted a way to connect even more with our communities and to introduce Whataburger to new customers in a new and exciting way,” Rich Scheffler, vice president of marketing and innovation at Whataburger, says in an August 6 release. “And this truck is a showstopper.”
Next year, the “showstopper” will hit the road for a multistate tour of Whataburger markets; no word yet on where the truck will park. The vehicle also will be called up for duty during natural disasters and other emergencies.
Whataburger says the 36-foot truck — emblazoned in the chain’s trademark orange and white colors — features a 4-foot grill and 24 feet of cooking space powered by a 30,000-watt generator, “bringing the same kind of burger-making power as a brick-and-mortar restaurant.” San Antonio-based Cruising Kitchens, the world’s largest maker of customized mobile kitchens, built the truck.
The truck’s 30 laminated vinyl panels display images of burgers, while LED lighting provides a distinctive glow and a “Flying W” logo graces the grill.
“We have worked on the idea of a food truck for years,” Scheffler says. “But we didn’t want it to roll out of the garage until it could turn heads and bring our restaurant-quality food to the road. This truck fits the bill.”
The Whataburger truck will be featured in an episode of Cruising Kitchens’ new Built For Business show on the MotorTrend TV network. The show — starring Cruising Kitchens owners Cameron and Kaycee Davies and their 64,000-square-foot production facility near San Antonio International Airport — premieres August 20.
In a release, CEO Ed Nelson advises Whataburger lovers to “get ready” for the chain’s next 70 years, as “the brand is taking innovative steps to meet the needs of the next generation of Whataburger fans — while still holding true to the things that matter to our longtime customers.”
Among those steps is a cosmetic makeover of existing and new Whataburger locations that dramatically scales back the chain’s classic A-frame design but preserves the familiar orange-and-white color palette. Furthermore, Whataburger is expanding into new geographic areas and is beefing up its franchising program.
Last year, Chicago-based investment firm BDT Capital Partners LLC purchased a majority stake in Whataburger. Aside from Texas' beloved fast-food chain, BDT owns shares of Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
The Whataburger brand has grown from a single location that opened on August 8, 1950, in Corpus Christi to over 830 restaurants in 10 states that ring up more than $2 billion in annual sales. Fun fact: Whataburger launched five years before McDonald’s.
Making the perfect brisket is one of the most impressive (and unforgiving) culinary feats for pitmasters finding their niche within Texas' vast barbecue landscape. But if they can get it right, there will be lines out the door with hungry patrons waiting to get their hands on it.
Sometimes they even get famous celebrities or popular internet personalities to stop by – such as YouTube star and Austinite Joshua Weissman. This chef-turned-YouTuber recently went on a statewide expedition to try some of Texas Monthly's best barbecue restaurants, and stopped by five local barbecue joints to give his honest review. To keep things consistent across restaurants, the chef ordered only one meat, brisket, and four of the barbecue world's most popular sides: cole slaw, beans, potato salad, and mac and cheese.
While many may snub the idea of "just another YouTuber" reviewing Texas barbecue joints, Weissman cut his teeth working in the restaurant industry, and was once the lead cook at Uchiko here in Austin. His YouTube channel has amassed over 10 million subscribers, and he's written two New York Times Bestsellingcookbooks.
With Texas Monthly's2021 list (the newest edition will be released later this year) as his guide, Weissman documented his journey alongside new Texas resident and private chef Olivia Tiedemann. The duo also visited the four Texas barbecue restaurants that recently earned Michelin Stars.
Here are the local barbecue restaurants they visited, with their reviews:
Franklin Barbecue Brisket score: 26.5 out of 30 possible points (7.5 for brisket flavor; 9 for texture; 10 for salt level) Sides: 5 out of 10 possible points
Upon her first bite of brisket, Tiedemann was pleasantly surprised by its juiciness and salty crust. She also mentioned all the classic side dishes tasted like the "starting point" for all barbecue.
"I don't know how to explain it, but this tastes like where everything else started," Tiedemann said.
While being interviewed by Weissman, owner and pitmaster Aaron Franklin, the "Godfather of Texas Barbecue," explained why he avoids comparing his style to other barbecue restaurants.
"Everybody's putting the same amount of energy into this," he said. "Everybody is putting so much heart and soul into it. If we're all doing good, we're all doing good. It doesn't really matter who's better. I tend to just think of the greater good."
Interstellar Barbecue Brisket score: 26.9 points (8.9 for flavor; 8 for texture; 10 for salt level) Sides: 9.3 points
In 2021, Texas Monthly ranked Interstellar the No. 2 best barbecue in the state, praising pitmaster John Bates' "obsessive heat management" with his Texas wagyu brisket. Interstellar also won a Michelin Star in Texas' inaugural guide, but that hasn't changed how Bates operates his restaurant.
"For us, what I think was the most gratifying thing about getting a star was we never worked for one, we never intended to get one, we never thought we would get one," Bates told Weissman.
The brisket had the perfect saltiness and a remarkable beefy flavor, and a "steaky" chewy texture that wasn't dry.
For the sides, Weissman said the cole slaw was the best he'd ever had, while Tiedemann was thrilled by the flavor and texture of the mac and cheese.
La Barbecue Brisket score: 25.5 points (8.7 for flavor; 9 for texture; 7.8 for salt level) Sides: 8.8 points
La Barbecue is another Michelin Star winner, and Weissman's favorite local barbecue restaurant, so it was a tough one to put to the test. Pitmaster Alison Clem told Weissman she doesn't use any thermometers to check her briskets, instead opting to use her hands and eyes to check its doneness.
Weissman is a big fan of the peppery crust on La Barbecue's brisket.
Photo by Eric Sandler
Tiedemann said her favorite thing about brisket is when it has fat that melts in your mouth, which La Barbecue executed flawlessly. Weissman agreed, and gave high rankings for its overall flavor, texture, and salt level.
"I that La Barbecue does, in my opinion, the best cook on a brisket," he said.
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue Brisket score: 28.8 points (9.6 for flavor; 9.2 for texture; 10 for salt level) Sides: Unrated
LeRoy and Lewis uses a foil "boat" to wrap their brisket during the smoking process to allow the crust to crisp up while keeping the inside moist, according to pitmaster Evan LeRoy. The lean brisket was Tiedemann's favorite she had thus far, and it had a properly rendered fat that still retained its juiciness over both halves.
"It really is the best tasting beef I've had," Weissman noted.
Weissman also said he regretted not visiting this Michelin Star winner sooner.
The two judges did not rate LeRoy and Lewis' sides since they were all non-traditional, but they said if they did give them a score they would be the winners for their innovative style and taste.
Terry Black's Barbecue Brisket score: 24 for brisket Sides: 6.5 points
Weissman said Terry Black's sides were "baseline," but still tasty. Overall, the brisket was delicious but too smoky for Tiedemann. However, Weissman did say he recommends Terry Black's to many people for its consistent quality and because they often don't run out of brisket.
"Nothing here is bad, everything is delicious, and I would be very happy to come and dine here with my family," he said. "But I will say that any 'baseline' Texas barbecue is better than 99 percent of barbecue on earth. Period, end of story. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel – it is just the standard."
Other top Texas barbecue restaurants Overall, Weissman ranked Goldee's Barbecue in Fort Worth the highest on the list out of the 17 total Texas barbecue restaurants he visited. He even invited Texas Monthly's barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn to join him there during their final tasting.
Weissman had nothing but good things to say about Goldee's classic side dishes and its brisket, giving them overall ratings of 9.5 and 29.2 points, respectively.
"The [brisket] seasoning is ridiculous, it's exactly where it should be," he said. "It's got the smoke flavor I want, but it's not overwhelmingly smoky. This is worth traveling back for."
Fort Worth's Goldee's Barbecue was the highest ranked Texas barbecue.
fortworth.culturemap.com
The other Central Texas barbecue restaurants Weissman visited, with his ratings, include:
Burnt Bean Company, Seguin – 28.4 points for brisket, 8.7 points for sides
2M Smokehouse, San Antonio – 24.8 for brisket, 8 for sides
Snow's BBQ, Lexington – 27.2 for brisket, 8.7 for sides
Louie Mueller, Taylor– 24.8 for brisket, 5 for sides
The other Texas barbecue restaurants Weissman visited include:
Evie Mae's, Wolfforth – 25.5 for brisket, 6 for sides
Panther City BBQ, Fort Worth – 19 for brisket, 8.5 for sides
Dayne's Craft BBQ, Aledo – 25 for brisket, 8 for sides
Cattleack Barbeque, Farmers Branch – 28.3 for brisket, 9.5 for sides
CorkScrew BBQ, Spring – 24 for brisket, 7 for sides
Truth BBQ, Houston – 27 for brisket, 7.5 for sides
Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue, Tomball – 20 for brisket, 6.5 for sides