After moving to San Diego in 1987, Matt and Athena Shlemon walked into a Texas-style barbecue restaurant and were floored by the smoky flavor. Convinced that this was the best food he had ever tasted, Matt scribbled a number onto a napkin, offering to buy the restaurant right then and there. The ensuing hours of negotiations paid off, and the Iraqi-born couple soon found themselves with their own business, Abbeys Real Texas BBQ.

The two traveled to roadside barbecue joints throughout Texas to learn all the subtleties of barbecue, and it shows in their attention to detail. Abbey’s Real Texas BBQ's signature beef brisket, for example, slow cooks for 18–24 hours inside a hand-built cast-iron smoker from Texas, which the Shlemons stoke with mesquite, green oak, and Red Hots, the candies that never stop burning. This succulent brisket shines in one of Abbey's signature sandwiches, the "Texas Chainsaw Mammoth" sandwich. The cooks top piles of Shlemon's beef brisket or pulled pork with bacon, a fried egg, cheese, onion rings, coleslaw, and fries along with healthy toppings of BBQ sauce and ranch. For a breadless version, they place piles of up to four different meets on one platter, complete with two sides of the guest's choosing.