The Charles Dilback-designed building that housed Red Bryan’s, pictured here with visible streetcar tracks in the 1950s, now houses El Ranchito. Photo courtesy of Mary McLachlan
Here’s a way to get a taste of Oak Cliff’s food history.
The Texas Monthly story about Mesquite BBQ’s 50th anniversary says that restaurant started after Red Bryan’s Smokehouse in Oak Cliff closed in 1957.
Two pit masters from Red’s, Leon Crouch and Herbert Oyler, started Mesquite BBQ in 1959, and later they patented a rotisserie smoker, according to the magazine story.
Crouch and Bryan developed the barbecue sauce for Red Bryan’s, and that recipe is still used at Mesquite BBQ, according to the story.
