US-style barbecue in Mexico City — a story of integration?

Published March 9, 2023

Leigh Thelmadatter

You can certainly find ethnic (non-Mexican) restaurants in Mexico City, but it is not accurate to compare them with the food scenes of places like New York, Sydney or London.

Mexico’s relationship with immigration and new foods is different. Perhaps the story of U.S.-style barbecue can shed some light on this.

Its adoption should be a no-brainer. Robb Walsh, author on various books about Texas cuisine, notes that “Barbecue has always rambled back and forth across the Rio Grande with little regard for borders.”

Even the English word “barbecue” is related to the Spanish barbacoa.

Interestingly, the most active scene right now for barbecue is not in northern Mexico but rather Mexico City.

Although there were earlier introductions, Mexico City’s barbecue story really begins in 2013, with the opening of Pinche Gringo BBQ (PGBBQ), started by Dan Defossey and Roberto Luna as a couple of food trucks parked in the remains of a building in Colonia Navarte.

Neither of them had experience in barbecue, nor did they do any serious marketing studies.

“For the first month that we started, I was literally standing on the corner, offering brisket samples to people that were walking down the street,” Defossey says.

However, the name was controversial, and the ensuing fight with city authorities gained the new business promotion, drawing crowds.

Since then, the business has grown into a more upscale dining experience in two locations.

PGBBQ’s success quickly led to competitors, the largest of which is Porco Rosso, founded in 2015 by chef Bobby Graig and the Rigoletti Group.

Porco Rosso’s barbecue style is based on that of Kansas City. Today, it has six locations in Mexico City, with also one each in Puebla and in Pachuca.

Despite its humble origins, barbecue is not poor man’s food in Mexico City. Heavy on expensive pork and beef, sandwiches start at 200 pesos and full meals at 300. But most important is the recreation of a U.S. dining experience.

Defossy describes going to PGBBQ “… like you’re stepping into Texas or Tennessee…”  with rustic brick walls and wood furniture — absolute musts in all Mexico City barbecue joints.

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