2M Smokehouse

Esaul Ramos smokes brisket over post oak on the South Side and puts serrano-and-Oaxaca sausage, pickled nopales and chicharrón mac and cheese next to it. Everything is cut and weighed market style, so you order by the slice.

Why go

Esaul Ramos opened this in 2016 and Texas Monthly has it on the 2025 Top 50, under the unranked half of the list.1 Daniel Vaughn's account puts the Mexican American half of the menu on equal footing with the brisket: savory street corn, spicy pickled nopales, warm flour tortillas, mac and cheese topped with chicharrones, succulent pork sausage stuffed with serranos and Oaxaca cheese.1 The MICHELIN inspector picks up the part that changes how you order: Unlike some spots where you're relegated to one offering by the pound, it's all cut and weighed market style here.2 Grecia Ramos bakes the tres leches.1

Order this / avoid

Order: the brisket, and go early, because Vaughn reports it often runs out within two or three hours.1
Order: the turkey breast, which the guide describes as thickly sliced with a citrus-pepper seasoning.2
Order: the serrano-and-Oaxaca-cheese pork sausage and the chicharrón-topped mac.1
Order: the beef-cheek barbacoa if it is the first Sunday of the month. That is the only day it runs.1
Avoid: turning up late. The queue forms long before the door opens and Vaughn reports the brisket often runs out within two or three hours.1

What locals & experts say

Texas Monthly, Top 50 BBQ Joints 2025 (Daniel Vaughn): This joint is at once classic and distinctive, serving some of the state's most delectable smoked brisket alongside offerings that reflect pitmaster Esaul Ramos's Mexican American roots.1
MICHELIN Guide USA, San Antonio selection: It's all good but make sure to try their juicy brisket or thickly sliced turkey breast with a citrus-pepper seasoning.2

Good to know

Hours: Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm.2
The Top 50 placing has no number on it. The 2025 edition ranks its top ten and prints the other forty unranked; this is one of the forty.1
Weekend special: tri-tip on Saturday and Sunday.1
Every order comes with house-made dill pickles.2

Verdict

should-visit — Texas Monthly put it on the 2025 Top 50 and Daniel Vaughn's line names what makes it its own thing: Esaul Ramos smokes brisket to state standard and then puts serrano-and-Oaxaca sausage, pickled nopales and chicharrón mac beside it. The MICHELIN inspector, working separately, praises the same kitchen and adds the practical detail that everything is cut market style, so you point at what you want and they weigh it. It sits below the ranked pits because that list gives it no number.