Texas-Style Barbecue, Latin American Roots: Inside the 2fifty Menu

The meats at 2fifty are Central Texas: oak, low and slow, salt and pepper. The sides are where El Salvador comes in.

Pupusas, with smoke inside

A pupusa is a thick griddled corn cake, a staple at any Salvadoran table. At 2fifty, it gets filled with smoked meat and cheese, cooked on cast iron over the coals, and served with fresh curtido and salsa. It shows up on the specials board.

What grew up on the table

Over the seasons the menu has carried plantains, beans, esquites, sitting next to the mac and cheese and the cornbread. What's on rotates. "You can taste heritage," Debby says. "It's in the beans we grew up eating, the plantains we fried for family, the way we season with memory."

Seasoned by memory, and by a garden

That last line is literal. Herbs and greens grown in a small garden by the smokehouse or inside the restaurant go into the rubs. The rotating specials go further: jícama salad, sweet potato mash, grilled veggies, wire roasted pineapple, chicharrones. Salt, smoke, and patience are not only Texan.

Check the specials board, or start with a tray and pick a side.