For more than 20 years, Claire Calvin has been a Texan living abroad, which is how Texans think about living anywhere that’s not Texas.
Read more Chris Hart prepares for Year 1 as NC State skipper after 22 years as assistant
When she and her family opened their first restaurant, The Porch in Winston-Salem, she built a menu around the food she missed the most— the tacos and queso and flautas of Tex Mex cuisine. It’s been a Winston staple for more than a decade, leading to two other restaurants and a reputation for excellent margaritas.
East of Texas, Calvin’s Texas barbecue restaurant, opened this week in Durham’s American Tobacco Campus, an expansion of the smoky, Texas-style spot that opened in Winston in 2023. That same year, The News & Observer included it in a list of 64 restaurants defining what North Carolina barbecue means right now.
First and foremost, East of Texas is unabashedly Texan, from Willie Nelson and Beyoncé murals on the wall, to brisket getting top billing on the barbecue menu.
“There’s so much great North Carolina barbecue we’ve enjoyed ever since we’ve lived here, but I really still miss Texas barbecue,” Calvin said. “I grew up eating it, and it’s been funny watching the country sort of discover Texas barbecue when for us, it was just a normal thing people would eat all the time.”
In the Triangle’s increasingly crowded and passionate barbecue scene, East of Texas stands out immediately for its blend of traditional smoked meats and Tex Mex classics.
The menu includes trays of smoked meats by the pound, like lean and fatty brisket, burnt ends, pork belly, lime-glazed pulled pork and ancho-rubbed smoked salmon. In a nod to Tex Mex, the trays are served with flour tortillas and fixings, including barbecue sauce and salsa, charred jalapeños and street corn salad.
There’s also smoked turkey, housemade sausage and pork ribs. The sandwiches include sliced and chopped brisket sandwiches, pulled pork and Winston-Salem style dipped hot chicken.
Read more Sensory-friendly children’s gym opens second Triangle location in Durham
On the taco side, there’s trendy birria, mole brisket, smoked chicken and a pulled pork taco with mac and cheese and spicy pickled onions.
Calvin acknowledges that her margaritas have quite a following, and despite seven varieties, most people order the house marg, which can be kicked up with jalapeños or habanero peppers. There is also North Carolina craft beers and simple mixed drinks.
East of Texas introduced itself to the ATC crowd last weekend with a pair of open house days, selling drinks, but giving away brisket tacos and flautas and making cotton candy and banana pudding, while a cover band played country hits.
Calvin said it was a chance to get the custom JR all-wood smoker tuned up and say hello to Durham. It turned into more than that.
“I met a lot of Texans who told me, ‘This feels like home,’” Calvin said. “I love North Carolina, but I definitely feel like a Texan living outside of Texas. When I was creating the first East of Texas, that was always the highest compliment someone could give me, that our food reminded them of Texas. It makes me feel a little less homesick.”
East of Texas in Durham is entering its soft open phase, with hours evolving over the next week. The first all-day service will be Saturday, Aug. 1, starting with breakfast at 9 a.m. followed by lunch and dinner.
Read more Wake school gets backlash over transgender teacher. Board member defends hire.
For specific hours, check out East of Texas on social media.