Guy Fieri Rules
Acclaimed BBQ restaurant in Arlington makes Diners, Drive-ins & Dives
Smoke 'N Ash BBQ plate
A Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue spot will get its ray of Guy Fieri sunshine: Smoke 'N Ash, the "Tex-Ethiopian" BBQ restaurant in Arlington, will appear on Food Network in late May in an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, the series starring mesmerizing host Guy Fieri.
The episode featuring Smoke 'N Ash will debut on May 23. It's called “Barbecue, Beignets and Barbacoa" — so alliterative! — and the description is as follows, with the relevant information about Smoke 'N Ash in bold:
"This trip, Guy Fieri's diving into next-level barbecue fusion, the freshest catch and more! Texas meets Ethiopia at a Dallas-area barbecue joint, where they're cookin' up pork ribs with awaze glaze, the-bomb berbere mac, and big-time brisket injera nachos. There's farm-and-boat-to-table with a West Coast influence in Naples, Fla., plating gangster grouper ceviche and a gluten-free twist on beignets. Then, it's scratch-made Mexican in Atlanta from a second-generation chef, serving craveable carnitas and a fully loaded barbacoa tortilla sandwich."
Food Network does not disclose the names of the restaurants that appear on most of its shows in advance. And restaurants that are featured on their shows are not allowed to reveal their participation without approval from Food Network. A representative from Smoke 'N Ash was very sweet but said they were unavailable for comment.
However, the acclaimed Arlington restaurant has already been established as one of seven DFW restaurants that Fieri and his DD&D crew visited in December 2024, when they taped segments for future episodes such as this.
Smoke 'N Ash is from Patrick and Fasicka Hicks, who've put their childhood flavors on a plate to bring an innovative Tex-Ethiopian version of barbecue to Texas. Fasicka was born in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, and Patrick is a Texas native born in Waco. They started out with a smoker trailer doing BBQ pop-ups on the weekends, then added some of Fasicka's Ethiopian family favorites to the menu after they opened their brick-and-mortar space in 2018.
They've earned many accolades including being listed among the country's 50 best restaurants by The New York Times, and also making the list of Texas restaurants honored by the Michelin Guide in November 2024.
Their menu features smoked meats by the pound, in sandwiches, and also in "Tex-Ethiopian platters" such as the one combining ribs, brisket, chicken stew, Texas toast, and choice of Ethiopian injera bread or rice pilaf.
They also do an Ethiopian-spiced version of smoked meat with their "Awaze" glaze, a spicy and flavorful Ethiopian sauce containing berbere, a traditional Ethiopian spice blend with chili peppers, onion, garlic, and ginger, clarified butter, and sometimes vinegar or lemon juice.
If you have any doubt that Smoke 'N Ash is the restaurant in question, that Awaze glaze seals the deal. And Smoke 'N Ash is surely the only restaurant, not just in Texas but maybe the world, that does brisket injera nachos.
Smoke 'N Ash is now the fifth Dallas-area restaurant with a DDD episode locked in: East Dallas Asian restaurant Hello Dumpling was featured in a show that aired on February 21. Fine-dining restaurant Rye was featured in a show that aired on March 7. Slow Bone, the BBQ restaurant from chef Jeffery Hobbs, appears on an episode on April 11. El Palote, the pioneering Mexican vegan restaurant, will appear in a segment debuting on May 2.
“Triple-D” has been airing on The Food Network since 2006 and has spotlighted at least 1,000 kitchens in all 50 states.
“Barbecue, Beignets and Barbacoa” premieres on Friday, May 23 at 8 pm.
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