If You Don’t Think Chocolate And BBQ Go Together, You’re Wrong

Tejas Chocolate Craftory started — as you can probably guess — as just a chocolate company. But owner Scott Moore quickly realized he wanted to get into the savory food game, too, (he tells us he also had a lot of time to kill waiting for the chocolate to process) so he hired his brother, brought in his smoker, and started churning out killer brisket — using his simple, longtime recipe of salt, pepper, and a 14-hour smoke. The BBQ newcomer quickly became a Houston destination, after being named #6 in Texas Monthly’s Best Barbecue list that comes out every four years. Visitors savor creative sandwich selections like Brisket & Blues, brisket on a brioche bun, loaded with red onions, bleu cheese, and butter.

Of course, the chocolate alone is also a reason to visit the Craftory (Insider scoop: Moore made up the word Craftory and told us he’s always making up new words in Scrabble, so you might not want to play him). Moore uses a special method that was born in Texas for making his sweets — he slow roasts the cacao beans in a hand-made brick oven, stone grinds them until they are smooth, and ages them for weeks. it’s the secret to the chocolate’s silkiness and complexity. But if you want to try some of their truffles, you might have to go early! The afternoon we were there they had already sold out, but were kind enough to save a couple for us to show (and taste!) on our livestream.