BUFFALO, N.Y. — On the West Side of Buffalo, is where most days, you can find Southern Junction Owner Ryan Fernandez outside smoking meats.
"I don't mind winters at all. It's running a joke with a lot of Texas barbecue guys," he said. "Cold weather makes for great barbecue because your smoker's just still going and I don't know, you're in a better mood because you're not suffering in 110 degree heat trying to get all your meats out."
Fernandez recently moved his restaurant to Connecticut Street from a take-out only location in Chandlerville. But, this isn't a sit-down place.
"The way the service style is, we built out this really cool meat counter," Fernandez said. "You just kind of come in, choose your meats, choose your sides, grab your tray go find a spot and then there's indoor, outdoor, this thing's covered so then even on the rainy days you're good to go."
Ryan grew up in Texas, where his appreciation for barbecue was born.
"I was in a different line of work and then always did this on the side for football games and fun stuff like that," he said. "Some point, about twelve years into it, completely different career. I was like...I need to get out of the office and start trying to figure out how to do this full time."
The influence Lone Star State in his restaurant is obvious, but the ways Ryan celebrates his home country of India are little more subtle. That's why he calls his food "Tex-ish."
"It's really just fun food. It's whatever tastes good," he said. "I try to use Texas techniques in cooking everything, and then add a little bit of South Indian flavor profiles, whether it's the sauces or like the final dips, stuff like that."
Southern Junction is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 4 p.m., and for Sunday brunch at 10 a.m.
"It's kind of cool just seeing your tray assembled right in front of you," Fernandez said. "By the time someone is getting ready to cash out, they're already drooling, so that's pretty cool to see."