The 234 Apartment

What Fort Worth needs is — another barbecue joint? No, really. Honey Smoke Pit is just what Fort Worth and West Seventh Street needed : a new barbecue place, bringing a still- unproven restaurant space back to life with a combination of credible Texas barbecue and ample craft beer . Don’t start lining up. Honey Smoke Pit ’s chef, chuck-wagon cook Rodney Lambert , is fresh off the madhouse opening of Smokey Mae’s in Mansfield, so he’s trying to keep Honey Smoke Pit running at a steadier pace and ramp up business in Montgomery Plaza. Lambert is back home in Fort Worth, where he started at the old Deer Creek BBQ , Cowtown BBQ and Fred’s Texas Cafe locations. Honey Smoke Pit keeps a little bit of all those restaurants: pork ribs with a little spice in the rub, juicy brisket with good bark, half-pound burgers and Lambert’s signature sides such as jalapeño-bacon mac-and-cheese, seasoned “ranch hand” beans and panko onion rings . A “Big Shot” platter ($17.99) comes with brisket, ribs, h...

CLOSE Robert St. John has learned a lot in the restaurant business. Such as: Never store butane in an oven. Robert St. John/Special to The Clarion-Ledger Wagyu Beef with long grain rice , cashew, okra, benne seeds at Coquette. (Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger) The following is the third in a four-installment summer- column series covering my top 10 dining experiences for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch in New Orleans. There are a few items to note: This list purely subjective . Everyone has varying tastes and preferences. This is not a ranking of overall quality from a critical/review standpoint. This is my personal list. These are my personal favorites. Everyone has personal connections to restaurants. These happen to be mine. According to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, there are more than 1,400 restaurants operating in New Orleans today. That’s an impressive number for a city with a population of only 390,000. There are obviously hundreds of restaurants I...