Wrap your head around this: I recently had a hamburger with an enchilada and a beef patty between the buns. This wasn’t for some gimmicky, competitive feats-of-eats thing, either. The gluttonous, delicious heart attack of a sandwich is the house burger at Papa’s Smokehouse & Cantina (300 W. Central Ave., 817-945-2010), a newly opened barbecue/Mexican food joint occupying the Northside space that once housed the long-shuttered Sammy’s Mexican Restaurant.
I have a lot of history with that building. For those who never got to experience the foggy weirdness of Sammy’s, it was basically a drunk tank that served C-grade Tex-Mex. The place was open until 4 a.m., and after a few rounds of cervezas in the Stockyards, that C curved to an A-plus.
At 2 a.m. every night, the surrounding bars emptied into the labyrinthine old house-turned-restaurant (maybe the booze just made it feel like I was walking through an M.C. Escher painting), with shabby wood veneer paneled walls and patched-up pleather booths. Loud, often obnoxious cowboys and cowgirls packed the place. There was always the same server there who wore a tux shirt and bowtie. He was part ringmaster and referee, as fights, comical sideshows, and various other shenanigans broke out nightly.
The building’s current tenant, I’m happy to report, has completely remodeled. The décor is rustic, like a West Texas roadside shack. The walls are half corrugated steel barn tin and half reclaimed wood, with various sculpted metal cacti and neon beer signs setting the mood.
The fare is more elevated than most Northside eateries, with brisket tacos, green chile pork, and a surprising number of vegetarian options. There’s also the usual barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Mex-Mex grub on the menu as well.
Of course, my eye was drawn straight to the Pappa’s Burger ($13), a generously portioned slab of succulent, well-seasoned beef, with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, American cheese, avocado slices, and a gooey cheese enchilada slathered in a flavorful green chile sauce, all crammed between two buckling toasted buns. The accompanying crinkle fries were crispy and just the right amount of salty. Sure, $13 is a little much for a burger, but this is more of a bucket list food conquest than a garden-variety meatwich. Seriously, try it before you die.
My guest’s San Antonio Green Chile Pork tacos ($10.25), with tender slow-smoked pork carnitas stewed in bright, zesty peppers, and topped with cabbage slaw and queso fresco, were tucked into a fresh-tasting corn tortilla.
There was a decent-looking Sunday brunch menu taped onto the wall that featured all of the usual Mexican breakfast suspects. And the place has a beer bar in the middle of the dining room. My guest and I were the only people there on our recent lunch visit, so the service was a little hover-y. But I’ll take that over indifferent any day.
Pappa’s has been open only two weeks. I wouldn’t ordinarily write about a restaurant after that short amount of time in the sun, but it’s already great. And besides, it was nice to take that trip (and fall) down fuzzy memory lane.
Contact Chow, Baby at chowbaby@fwweeky.com.
I went to Papa’s on Saturday. It is not ready for primetime. The waiter was friendly but not very efficient. The brisket was good. The brisket tacos were good. The pork ribs were good, but came smothered in bottled bbq sauce. The pinto beans were awful coming from a Mexican food restaurant-no flavor or broth. Food was slow.
I want Papa’s to survive, but they do need to get their act together. It is just as easy to cook a good pot of frijoles as it is to cook a bad pot. Barbeque (which is already cooked) shouldn’t take long to get on the table. LM