Oak’d BBQ Brings Wagyu Brisket and Banofee Pie to Upper Greenville

A new barbecue joint has officially opened for lunch and dinner at Old Town Shopping Center. Oak’d Handcrafted BBQ is a Central Texas-style restaurant that mixes it up with locally-sourced Wagyu brisket and innovative sides and desserts. Local celeb Kellie Raspberry and husband Allen Evans are also investors in the new concept — the Sandwich & Some Lovin is their creation for the restaurant and something we’ll definitely be back to try.

But for my very first visit, I wanted to stick to the basics. Founder Clint Norton has crafted a Hill Country-inspired space where you enter a line to order (similar to Terry Black’s or Dickey’s) that wraps around two sides of the restaurant. An outdoor patio aptly includes two 50 year-old live oak trees and on-site smoker. A quaint, separate bar area offers full-service wine, beer, and cocktails.

But back to the food.

The Rosewood Wagyu brisket is a can’t-miss meat, along with The Governor sandwich. It was like watching a work of art being created as chef Nathan Morris chopped brisket, topped it with candied bacon and onion rings, and then shaped it perfectly onto the brioche bun slathered with a creole aioli. As for sides, the Three Cheese Mac with a smoked poblano Panko crust and balsamic Brussels sprouts were tasty, but I look forward to returning to try the Waxman potato, apple cider coleslaw, and tri-color quinoa next time.

Another unique aspect to the barbecue restaurant is it’s on-staff pastry chef. The Oak’d Bake Shop is run by chef Cessy Mendoza, formerly of Georgie and Abacus, and includes hand-crafted desserts like s’mores pie and the signature Oak’d Banoffee — a banana, cream, and toffee dessert.

Oak’d Handcrafted Barbecue is now open at 5500 Greenville Avenue, Suite 1300 from 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm every day.