Dallas Restaurant Bites Back at Critic, Runs Baloney Special

The other day Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner wrote a one-star review of the newish barbecue restaurant Lockhart Smokehouse, writing that the brisket was "dry and underseasoned."

Brenner — previously embroiled in a messy BBQ-Gate — also took issue with the restaurant's lack of forks. She wrote, "the fact that forks and plates are taboo started to feel like an affront." (Barbecue restaurants not having forks is a thing, don't question it.)

Well, the restaurant responded in two very fun ways. The first was to post a photo on Twitter announcing today to be "FORK YOU Leslie Brenner Day." After all, the restaurant's motto is “No forks! No sauce! No kidding!" So we guess just for today, customers can have a fork.

The second was to post a baloney special on their Facebook page: "Leslie Brenner (DMN food critic) has inspired our special today," the restaurant wrote. "BALONEY. Ours will be Smoked, not written. Free samples."

This sort of stunt happens every once in a while: Last year after receiving a zero-star review, the people behind Mia Dona in New York City introduced "Sifton-ade," a lemonade special "made with bitters" in response to critic Sam Sifton.

· Restaurant review: Lockhart Smokehouse (1 star) [DMN]
· Lockhart Smokehouse Baloney Special [Facebook]
· All Leslie Brenner Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Critics Coverage on Eater [-E-]
[Photo: @DallasLockhart Twitpic]