The Early Word on Texas Jack's in Arlington

The D.C. area's newest barbecue joint opened in Arlington earlier this month. Texas Jack's offers traditional dishes like brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, and sides while referencing both the German and Mexican influences on Texas food.  There's also a whiskey-heavy drink menu. The restaurant is from executive chef Matt Lang and partners Steve Roberts and Paul Capetanakis

Akseizer Design Group designed the space filled with earth tones, wooden accents, and bar stools covered in white and brown-spotted cowhide. The new restaurant already has 25 Yelp reviews with an overall rating of four stars. Read on for the early word on Texas Jack's:

The Warm and Welcoming Space News: Diners are loving the atmosphere. Blogger Grilling with Rich writes, "I liked how the restaurant reflected and fit in with the neighborhood in mind and the space was nice and open and making it easy for people to enjoy the great barbecue." Facebook user Mi Vito says, "The way they renovated the space makes for a warm and welcoming environment that had a rustic chic feel. Very classy." [Blogging with Rich, FB]

The Melt in Your Mouth Brisket News: Instagrammer @carolyn.with.a.yn writes, "Brisket's not as smokey and red-ringed as @hillcountrybbq, but some of the best this side of Salt Lick, Smith's, and Kreuz." Facebook user Doug Wright says, "Legit 'que. Great smoke flavor. The beef brisket was pretty much 'melt in your mouth' tender." Foursquare user Bill Greer states simply, "Brisket! Eat it!" [Instagram, FB, FS]

The Pulled Pork with a Mexican Flare News: Washington City Paper writes, "Pulled pork has more of a Mexican flare: The meat is coated in a paste made of achiote peppers, coriander, cinnamon, and other spices." Yelper Rachel S. says, "The pulled pork was excellent. It had caramelized crispy pieces chopped in and was very flavorful" Yelper Cory X. calls it was simply "decent." [WCP, Yelp]

The Spot On Pork Ribs News: Yelper Jessica U. writes, "… ribs are out of this world!" but Yelper Sung Min K. says, "Ribs were a bit dry but okay on flavor." Blogger Grilling with Rich writes, "the balance between flavor and smokiness was spot on." [Yelp, Grilling with Rich]

The Beautifully Smoked Chicken News: Facebook user Michael Derek Tappan Jr. says the chicken is "outstanding." Yelper Jo H. writes, " The chicken was good, I'm not a big chicken fan, but it was beautifully smoked." Yelper Jewell N. calls it "super delicious" [FB, Yelp]

The Sides Are the Best Part News: Yelper Rebekah D. writes "The sides, all consisting of fresh and cooked produce were fantastic as well and made for a great, light complement to the robust meat..." Yelper RaShonda R. says, "I will say the sides and the pickles that came on the tray were the best part of the meal." Facebook user Mary Kong-DeVito recommends the corn salad, fried potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

The Tasty Drinks News: So far, diners like the menu of whiskey-focused cocktails. Facebook user Ben Afshar writes, "Try the Mule, quite the tasty cocktail!" Yelper Donna M. says, "highly recommend the smoked whiskey sour." Yelper Kyle H. writes, "nice selection of beers, whiskeys were a little over priced, but still reasonable." [FB, Yelp]