New Orleans-style barbecue restaurant is smokin' in Frisco

The CEO of VooDoo BBQ knows how risky it is to open a barbecue joint in Texas.

"Barbecue is like another food group in Texas," said Tony Avila, CEO of New Orleans-bred restaurant VooDoo BBQ. "We're certainly trying to respect what's there already. We're paying homage to that and putting our own twist to it."

VooDoo BBQ opened its first shop on the famous St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans on the day of the 2002 Mardi Gras parade. In hindsight, that opening day was a bad idea, Avila says: "We had thousands of people, literally, outside of our doors and eventually inside our doors."

VooDoo has grown to more than a dozen restaurants in four states.

The new restaurant in Frisco

, which opened Monday, is Texas' first.

VooDoo's New Orleans-style barbecue starts with smoked meats

such as brisket, pork, ribs, chicken and sausage. Then they "jazz it up," as Avila explains. Some menu items infuse traditional New Orleans dishes such as jambalaya and gumbo with smoked meat. Customers who like fiery food can request a spicy Louisiana rub added to the meat after it's smoked.

The restaurant also serves barbecue shrimp, a traditional New Orleans dish.

Brad Burgess, a Celina resident, is the owner and operator of the new Frisco VooDoo. He was looking for a new franchise to bring to Texas but realized that "everything's pretty much already here," he says. (So true.) He visited the original VooDoo in New Orleans, loved the food and decided to give it a try.

"I was a little skeptical bringing a barbecue place into Texas," Burgess says. "But I really think that VooDoo BBQ will work here in Frisco because I think a lot of people come in for the great Cajun food and then try our smoked meats."

Some of the signature items, in addition to the barbecue shrimp, are pulled pork and corn pudding, Burgess says.

Open now. 3401 Preston Rd Ste. 16, Frisco. 214-618-8493. voodoobbqandgrill.com.