A.D. Franks Holy Smoke BBQ Delivers a Top-Shelf, Small-Town Dining Experience in Ovilla

Even amid the bustling mega-metropolis of Dallas and Fort Worth, one can still find quaint, sleepy enclaves with that unmistakable small-town charm, places where businesses close early, and if you’re passing through, don’t blink, or you may just miss the entire town.

Ovilla, population 4,400, is one of these towns. It’s also home to A.D. Franks Holy Smoke BBQ.

Despite being visited in 2018 by Texas Monthly’s self-professed “BBQ Snob,” Daniel Vaughn, Franks Holy Smoke BBQ has still largely managed to fly beneath the radar in North Texas.

Pitmaster Abraham Franks leads the charge here, and his early culinary education in the timeless art of seductive smoked meats came via a legendary Texas town steeped in barbecue lore: Lockhart. After Lockhart, Franks’ winding road took him to Vegas, then back to the Dallas area (Cedar Hill) before ultimately landing for good in historic downtown Ovilla. (Fun fact: a handful of Walker, Texas Ranger episodes were shot in downtown Ovilla.)

But even if Franks Holy Smoke is unknown to many of us in Dallas proper and beyond up north, they surely know it  down here in Ovilla (22 miles south of Dallas, sandwiched between Cedar Hill, Red Oak, and Waxahachie). Ask any resident in and around this town, and odds are they’ve been to Franks’ temple of holy smoke. It’s a rite of passage here.
A nice lineup of sandwiches is offered (from ribs to pulled pork to sliced and chopped brisket sandwiches), and the signature jumbo stuffed baked potato of butter, cheese and sour cream topped with a small mountain of chopped beef drenched in BBQ sauce is enough to potentially induce a food coma. Franks’ house-made BBQ sauce is also a draw in and of itself. (It takes six hours to prepare). There are also Frito pies, smoked turkey legs and whole smoked chickens.

The main draw, though, is the star-studded selection of classic barbecued meats by the pound. Ribs, brisket (both lean and fatty), pulled pork, chicken breast, Lockhart sausage, hot links, bologna and ham. You can also score bulk orders of full rib racks, whole briskets and whole pulled pork.
We opted for the 2-pound meat family pack ($46.99), which comes with two 16-ounce sides of your choice (choose from ranch beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, coleslaw, green beans, and mac and cheese). For our meats, we went with a pound of pork ribs and a pound of brisket. Each came pristinely smoked — just enough smoke shines through each mouthful. It’s evident Franks knows his way around a barbecue pit. Both meats were fork-tender, and the pork ribs had a gorgeous, almost glowing red char on the surface. And while neither required any sauce (they stood well on their own), as we said before, the BBQ sauce is highly acclaimed and complemented our brisket and pork ribs beautifully. The hot BBQ sauce has a nice tangy kick, and the regular is so good you’ll want to take a jug home with you (which you can do).
For sides, we chose potato salad, which had a sweetness to it that worked, and smooth and creamy ranch beans that were on par with beans you’d find at any reputable barbecue joint, which is to say they were good.

If you’re ever in the area, do yourself a solid and plug A.D. Franks Holy Smoke into your phone’s maps and swing by. They do barbecue well here.

A.D. Franks Holy Smoke BBQ, 705 W Main St., Ovilla. Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.