Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, sits down for a 1-on-1 interview on May 28, 2025, to explain the process behind the Top 50 Barbecue list. What started as a humble setup in the front yard of a duplex, serving just 20 customers a month, has grown into one of Texas' top barbecue destinations. Dayne and Ashley Weaver hoped and prayed their passion would someday lead to something bigger. “Three principles in life: Work hard, be nice, eat barbecue,” Ashley says. Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, knows that last one well. “It’s like the Olympics of barbecue,” he says, having visited over 200 barbecue joints in the past year. On Tuesday, Texas Monthly released its coveted Top 50 Barbecue list —and Dayne’s in Aledo ranked 7th. “I was trying to refresh, trying to refresh [the screen]… Dayne and I were in separate rooms,” Ashley recalls of the anxious wait for the results on Tuesday morning. Dayne's was in the Top 50 of barbecue spots in 2021. “What sold it for me was the brisket,” Vaughn said, adding that the ribs and pork belly were "near perfection," Vaughn tells WFAA he and his team of 25 visited hundreds of barbecue joints across Texas to come down with this list every four years. Daniel says there were three visitors to Dayne's Craft Barbecue before deciding to place them in the top ten. Ashley adds, “I don’t think I have processed it yet.” Once the ranking was announced, the phone calls and messages poured in—“Hundreds...thousands.” FULL STORY: https://www.wfaa.com/article/life/food/daynes-craft-barbecue-in-aledo-ranks-7-in-texas-monthlys-list/287-2b2f6bcb-1859-4ff6-8d63-fa2c994459de