By Greg Morago
Whether born from post oak, pecan or mesquite, those ephemeral vapors are the languid glue that binds the Texas barbecue community.It’s an intoxicating force that can make potent connections even from the most unlikely of allies.
At Merritt Meat Company, the forged-in-smoke allegiance between pitmaster Leonard Botello IV and the late restaurateur Lee Ellis hangs thick – a loving reminder about the inextinguishable powers of barbecue smoke. Botello and his wife/business partner Abbie Byrom-Botello have made Merritt a Texas barbecue destination. But before it was theirs, the joint belonged to the colorful Ellis, the Houston restaurant dynamo who made Round Top his home before he passed.
The story of that transition is as luscious as a thick slice of fatty brisket.
Leonard Botello clearly recalls his first in-person impression of Ellis as the successful, innovative Houston restaurateur he wanted badly to impress during Ellis’s initial visit to Botello’s buzzy Truth Barbecue in Brenham. It did not go well.
Botello carefully laid out a big spread of his celebrated barbecue for Ellis, who promptly got up to the table to go to his car to fetch his own favorite bread to eat with Botello’s carefully composed tray.
“I was pissed off the entire time,” said Botello, the self-taught pitmaster whose original ’cue shack opened in Brenham in 2015 made him a smoked meat supernova with an international reputation. “I was angry at him for a long time.”
Or a short time, in barbecue years. It turns out they we reaching for each other’s attention.
“I was always trying to get his approval because he was such a big deal in Houston restaurants and he was always trying to get my barbecue expertise,” Botello said.
Their mutual love of barbecue and respect for its rigors bridged that divide. By the time Ellis opened his Round Top Smokehouse inHenkel Square next to his Ellis Motel cocktail lounge in 2022, he and his wife Melissa were friends with the Botellos who bought property in town in 2021. That friendship grew deep.
“Lee and Melissa introduced us to townspeople,”Byrom-Botello said. “They gave us our community.”
It was a heady period for the Ellises and Botellos. Ellis was enjoying his role as a beloved town eccentric stamping Round Top with his own brand of food and beverage hospitality. Botello was established barbecue royalty with a second location in Houston and top rankings on Texas Monthly’s vaunted best-barbecue lists. And Byrom-Botello was readying the opening of herHotel Bebe, a boutique “hotelette,” as a chic new player in the town’s unique brand of upscale hostelry.
Their golden time together ended when Lee Ellis died in March 2023 less than a week before the spring antiques fair. The Botellos were among friends of the Ellises’ who stepped in to help the run the smokehouse and bar at a crucial and emotional time. Lee’s wishes, unbeknownst to the Botellos, were that they eventually run the smokehouse. In May 2023 the Botellos assumed operation of the barbecue restaurant, rechristening it Merritt Meat Company (Ellis's middle name was Merritt).
Though the menu changed, Central Texas-style barbecue that Elllis so revered remains the core.
“It’s an homage to Lee, not an extension of Truth so much,” Byrom-Botello said.
And what an homage. Merritt’s holy grail barbecue is perfection; the sides superlative. The smokehouse is also something of a liberation for the Botellos. While Truth’s success has locked it into an unalterable format that barbecue disciples demand, Merritt allows for menu creativity and freedom Ellis would appreciate.
“We want to grow it in his vision,” Botello said. “This is his legacy.”
Botello thinks back at that awkward and infuriating meeting when Ellis nonchalantly used his own bread for Truth barbecue. Ellis left the package of buns, which Botello tasted, curious why his own white bread didn’t cut it.
Sure enough, it was a superior brand that Botello eventually used at Truth – another unforgettable whisp of Ellis’s smoky legacy.
“Just like Lee,” Botello said. “He was always steps ahead of everyone.”
By Greg Morago
Whether born from post oak, pecan or mesquite, those ephemeral vapors are the languid glue that binds the Texas barbecue community.It’s an intoxicating force that can make potent connections even from the most unlikely of allies.
At Merritt Meat Company, the forged-in-smoke allegiance between pitmaster Leonard Botello IV and the late restaurateur Lee Ellis hangs thick – a loving reminder about the inextinguishable powers of barbecue smoke. Botello and his wife/business partner Abbie Byrom-Botello have made Merritt a Texas barbecue destination. But before it was theirs, the joint belonged to the colorful Ellis, the Houston restaurant dynamo who made Round Top his home before he passed.
The story of that transition is as luscious as a thick slice of fatty brisket.
Leonard Botello clearly recalls his first in-person impression of Ellis as the successful, innovative Houston restaurateur he wanted badly to impress during Ellis’s initial visit to Botello’s buzzy Truth Barbecue in Brenham. It did not go well.
Botello carefully laid out a big spread of his celebrated barbecue for Ellis, who promptly got up to the table to go to his car to fetch his own favorite bread to eat with Botello’s carefully composed tray.
“I was pissed off the entire time,” said Botello, the self-taught pitmaster whose original ’cue shack opened in Brenham in 2015 made him a smoked meat supernova with an international reputation. “I was angry at him for a long time.”
Or a short time, in barbecue years. It turns out they we reaching for each other’s attention.
“I was always trying to get his approval because he was such a big deal in Houston restaurants and he was always trying to get my barbecue expertise,” Botello said.
Their mutual love of barbecue and respect for its rigors bridged that divide. By the time Ellis opened his Round Top Smokehouse inHenkel Square next to his Ellis Motel cocktail lounge in 2022, he and his wife Melissa were friends with the Botellos who bought property in town in 2021. That friendship grew deep.
“Lee and Melissa introduced us to townspeople,”Byrom-Botello said. “They gave us our community.”
It was a heady period for the Ellises and Botellos. Ellis was enjoying his role as a beloved town eccentric stamping Round Top with his own brand of food and beverage hospitality. Botello was established barbecue royalty with a second location in Houston and top rankings on Texas Monthly’s vaunted best-barbecue lists. And Byrom-Botello was readying the opening of herHotel Bebe, a boutique “hotelette,” as a chic new player in the town’s unique brand of upscale hostelry.
Their golden time together ended when Lee Ellis died in March 2023 less than a week before the spring antiques fair. The Botellos were among friends of the Ellises’ who stepped in to help the run the smokehouse and bar at a crucial and emotional time. Lee’s wishes, unbeknownst to the Botellos, were that they eventually run the smokehouse. In May 2023 the Botellos assumed operation of the barbecue restaurant, rechristening it Merritt Meat Company (Ellis's middle name was Merritt).
Though the menu changed, Central Texas-style barbecue that Elllis so revered remains the core.
“It’s an homage to Lee, not an extension of Truth so much,” Byrom-Botello said.
And what an homage. Merritt’s holy grail barbecue is perfection; the sides superlative. The smokehouse is also something of a liberation for the Botellos. While Truth’s success has locked it into an unalterable format that barbecue disciples demand, Merritt allows for menu creativity and freedom Ellis would appreciate.
“We want to grow it in his vision,” Botello said. “This is his legacy.”
Botello thinks back at that awkward and infuriating meeting when Ellis nonchalantly used his own bread for Truth barbecue. Ellis left the package of buns, which Botello tasted, curious why his own white bread didn’t cut it.
Sure enough, it was a superior brand that Botello eventually used at Truth – another unforgettable whisp of Ellis’s smoky legacy.
“Just like Lee,” Botello said. “He was always steps ahead of everyone.”
