Texas BBQ, Ethiopian combos bring national food acclaim to this Arlington restaurant

Bud Kennedy
·2 min read

Smoke’N Ash BBQ has not only survived.

The striving little south Arlington restaurant has thrived, traveling an unlikely path to national fame.

Now at 5904 S. Cooper St after starting on a lonely end of Matlock Road, the Hicks family’s restaurant combines traditional Texas barbecue with Ethiopian food restaurant, bringing first Texas Monthly magazine and then The New York Times to the corner of South Cooper Street and West Sublett Road.

The unlikely combination itself made Smoke’N Ash BBQ a curiosity, although not as much a curiosity as a long-ago Fort Worth his-and-hers business, Jackson’s BBQ and Wig Shop.

Fellow McClatchy writer Peter St. Onge of the Charlotte Observer visited the other day, praising the missir wat lentil stew and Ethiopian-spiced collard greens along with brisket, pork ribs, rib tips and doro wat chicken stew.

A traditional barbecue plate with brisket, ribs, collard greens and peach cobbler at Smoke ‘N Ash BBQ in Arlington.
A traditional barbecue plate with brisket, ribs, collard greens and peach cobbler at Smoke ‘N Ash BBQ in Arlington.

Now that’s a combination plate.

But if you’re wary of the strong Ethiopian flavors and simply want a good barbecue plate, Smoke’N Ash does not disappoint.

Fasicka and Patrick Hicks family began experimenting with serving Ethiopian food almost from the day in 2018 when Smoke’N Ash opened in one of the most generic strip shopping centers in the suburban sprawl of south Arlington.

Smoke’N Ash is not the kind of place where long lines of men gather Saturday mornings to wait for hours and debate smoking methods, like Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington or Goldee’s Barbecue south of Kennedale.

But the pork ribs are far better than average — thick and peppery — and the hickory-smoked brisket is soft and flavorful, the same brisket that launched Patrick Hicks’ career from a south Arlington food truck.

The Tex-Ethiopian platter for two at Smoke ‘N Ash BBQ in Arlington.
The Tex-Ethiopian platter for two at Smoke ‘N Ash BBQ in Arlington.

Ask for the hotter barbecue sauce. It’s still not very hot.

Fresh-made desserts include an excellent peach cobbler and red velvet, lemon and other cakes. Warning: If you go too late on a Sunday, they’ll all be gone.

Smoke’N Ash is both an Ethiopian restaurant and a Texas barbecue joint. It’s the kind of fascinating, unique family-owned global restaurant that makes Arlington a repeat destination for food writers and foodie TV shows.

The old location was so barren that it had only one decoration of note: a lifesize Dak Prescott cardboard cutout on a back wall.

Like the real Dak, the Smoke’N Ash version looks beat up and worn now. But he made the move, and he’s still standing.

So is Smoke’N Ash.

It’s open for lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays, lunch and early dinner Sundays; 817-385-9975, smokenashbbq.net.