In many circles, the mark of a great pit master is his—or her—ability to stick to tradition. For good reason, too. It’s hard to improve on hog cooked over real wood and dressed with a simple sauce. Across the South, though, are joints that dish up something different from the barbecue most of us know and love. Some of them are rogue defenders of their own styles, and others hold down distinctive but long-established corners of the barbecue world. They’re all worthy destinations for adventure-seeking lovers of smoked meats.

To wrap up 2014, we are profiling five of the South’s most exciting new restaurants—one per day. Today, we head to Texas.

To wrap up 2014, we are profiling five of the South’s most exciting new restaurants—one per day. Today, we head to New Orleans.

Tis the season for milky refreshments of all sorts, from creamy eggnog to clarified milk punch. For Bobby Heugel, co-owner of the bar the Pastry War in Houston, it’s horchata season. Well, it’s always horchata season. Heugel deploys the pearlescent rice milk liberally at the Pastry War, a modern mezcaleria where aguas frescas and sal de gusano meet small-batch spirits on a menu of high-concept Texas Mexican cocktails.