It was a good week for pitmaster Esaul Ramos Jr. and 2M Smokehouse.
On Tuesday, Texas Monthly ranked 2M Smokehouse among the 50 best barbecue joints in the state.
On Thursday, 2M Smokehouse landed a spot at the San Antonio International Airport for 10 years, thanks to a food and beverage contract unanimously approved by city council.
Over three days last week, Ramos and his smokehouse won coveted recognition and a golden opportunity.
The opportunity: Starting in July of 2026, 2M will join Popeye’s, Bakery Lorraine and The Tasting Room in Terminal B at the airport.
“This feels amazing,” Ramos said outside San Antonio City Council chambers after the vote. “It’s a big win for me. It’s been a great week. God is good.”
The food and beverage contract, awarded to Host True Flavors, provides more than 5,000 square feet for four concepts to operate in Terminal B. The concepts must generate an annual minimum of $1 million, which will support airport maintenance and operations.
In November, the city council approved a food and beverage contract for Terminal A that will include Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, Tre Trattoria, Pharm Table, Freight Fried Chicken, Chef Johnny’s Mercado and Panda Express.
“This is going to change the travelers’ experience,” said Johnny Hernandez, founder of Host True Flavors and La Gloria. “When La Gloria opened at the airport 12 years ago, people said, ‘Let’s get there early to have breakfast.’ Or ‘Let’s get there early to have lunch.’ That was never the goal to begin with. It was ‘Hurry up and get to the gate.’ But now, I think that’s an idea we are going to build on and promote with the new concepts.”
Ramos agrees. He plans to sell breakfast, along with favorite meats, at a scaled-down version of 2M.
“We’re going to offer breakfast options,” said Ramos, who runs 2M on the South Side. “We’ll have some tacos and biscuit sandwiches. We will, for sure, have brisket and, hopefully, a burger. We’ll have a two-meat, two-sides plate. It will be a condensed version of what we do. But we’ll keep the quality and standard.”
2M smokes some of the best brisket in Texas. So says just about everybody. The smokehouse opens with long lines in the morning and closes when the meat is gone, which disappoints the 30 to 50 who get turned away daily.
Ramos studied under one of the great pitmasters, John Lewis, at La Barbecue in Austin. Ramos left that smokehouse to start 2M on W.W. White Road in 2016. Within months of opening, Texas Monthly ranked 2M among the state’s top barbecue joints. The magazine publishes its Top 50 list every four years.
“Since we’ve been open, we’ve been able to land a spot on their list,” said Ramos, citing recognition in 2017, 2021 and 2025. “That’s not what we set out to do. But it’s nice. I’m not gonna lie.”
From the magazine’s latest tout: “This joint is at once classic and distinct, serving some of the state’s most delectable smoked brisket alongside offerings that reflect pitmaster Esaul Ramos’ Mexican American roots: savory street corn, spicy pickled nopales, warm flour tortillas, mac and cheese topped with chicharrones, succulent pork sausage stuffed with serranos and Oaxaca cheese, and tres leches cake baked by Ramos’ wife, Grecia.”
Texas Monthly has featured stories on Ramos (Burning Questions with 2M Smokehouse), his wife (Grecia Ramos Whips Up Delightful Desserts For 2M Smokehouse) and the two together (This Power Couple Proves Barbecue and French Pastry Are a Match Made In Heaven).
“At the end of the day, it means we’re doing it right,” Esaul said. “We’re doing it consistently. They see that and they’re honoring us. My team. I have a staff of 11 who are invested and putting in hard work. We’re open four days but work seven days a week.”
Barbecue was Esaul’s teenage dream. At Southwest High School, he imagined running a smokehouse. Grilling sausage. Smoking brisket. Selling meat for a living.
What he didn’t imagine was earning national acclaim. Esaul has twice been nominated for a James Beard Award. In 2024, 2M received a Michelin Guide recommendation.
“It’s all good,” the Michelin Guide wrote, “but make sure to try their juicy brisket or thickly sliced turkey breast with a citrus-pepper seasoning.”
Nine years after opening, 2M received the green light to expand to the airport.
“Being born and raised in San Antonio, it means a lot to be able to offer something here that I love doing,” Esaul said. “I get to offer it to the everyday traveler. And they will get to take a little bit of San Antonio home with them.”
