Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que
Alberto Vera opened Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que in Brownsville in 1955. He garnered local admiration for his barbacoa, which was prepared in an earthen pit. When the City of Brownsville changed its health regulations, Vera’s was grandfathered in and became the only restaurant allowed to prepare food below ground.
It remains the only one in Brownsville and probably the State of Texas to have a permit to cook the meat in a pit. Vera’s is the only thing standing between a culinary heritage that has all but disappeared.
Armando Vera grew up alongside his father and learning to make barbacoa the traditional way and continues the tradition today. Brisket and carnitas are recent menu additions, but it’s the barbacoa that keeps people coming back for more.
Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que was designated a Texas Treasure Business in 2022.