Dang Le

2 weeks ago | theshorthorn.com | Dang Le

All 27 UTA students who had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records terminated have had them reinstated after a federal reversal, university spokesperson Joe Carpenter confirmed Tuesday in an email. The changes come following an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday, which notified the reinstatement of thousands of international students whose visa registrations were revoked due to minor, and often dismissed, legal infractions, according to Politico.

2 weeks ago | theshorthorn.com | Dang Le

Paul Lovato watched Jambo’s BBQ pitmaster make a chopped brisket sandwich. He started counting. One. Two. Three. Four. Forty-three. The number of steps along the small kitchen to complete the sandwich. That was in 2013, on the day before he officially took over Jambo’s BBQ in Rendon, Texas, from founder and pitbuilder Jamie Geer, Lovato said. The restaurant later had two more locations, but following personal family matters, he now only owns the location on West Division Street, bought in 2016.

2 weeks ago | theshorthorn.com | Dang Le

Barbecue has been a journey for 225° BBQ co-owner Rene Ramirez — literally. Before settling into its current location on East Main Street in east Arlington, 225° BBQ started as a food truck in Dallas in 2018. Then, it bounced to Grand Prairie, Texas, to various parking lots and eventually to where it is now. Although the location didn’t work out for a while, they were asked to come back and now own the spot. But Ramirez has not settled.

2 weeks ago | theshorthorn.com | Dang Le

Marc Fadel woke up at 7:40 a.m. on a Thursday. Around noon, he would start prepping for his barbecue food truck’s 5 p.m. Friday opening. Trim the brisket. Make the rubs and sauces. Prep the vegetables. But there was an issue. “I got to UTA so fast,” Fadel said. “I’m running across campus, and I got there, 8:02. Luckily, the professor still let me take the exam.” At 18 years old, Fadel is a construction management freshman at UTA who also runs his business, Habibi Barbecue, on West Arkansas Lane.

2 weeks ago | theshorthorn.com | Dang Le

Behind the modest-sized, single-story Hurtado Barbecue restaurant on East Front Street, five 1,000-gallon smokers run simultaneously. It’s around 2:15 p.m. on a recent Friday. Two pitmasters have been in the smoker area trimming and preparing the meat since 4 a.m. Soon they will tag out for the two other pitmasters who will stay past closing when necessary. “There’s no cutting corners, any of that,” pitmaster Chris Kurosky said.