The Texas BBQ Trail
I thought it was a great idea when Jill first suggested it in an email to me. After some research, it seemed doable and entertaining; the Texas BBQ Trail.
Texas, being Texas, has a lot of barbecue. There are little hole in the wall places, as there are chains like Rudy’s. Rudy’s, by the way, has a wonderful peach cobbler. In downtown Austin, you can find the Franklin Barbecue, a very popular spot. So popular you either be there early or go home empty handed. Franklin sells 20K pounds of brisket a month along with ribs and sausage. The line begins early and an enterprising gentleman across the street will rent you a lawn chair to ease your wait. But Franklin’s, Rudy’s and the assortment of hole in the wall joints, as good as they are, are not part of the BBQ Trail. There’s a history to the trail, but more on that later.
Before we could indulge, we needed to meet up. Maybe that’s the meet up before the meat up. Our rendezvous spot was McKinney Falls S.P. south of Austin. I would arrive first, to be joined the next day by Denny and Jill. Peggy would follow two days later.
The day Denny and Jill arrived, we opted for a warm up meal at Chief’s BBQ in south Austin. Located close by, Chief’s had great reviews on both Urbanspoon and Yelp. We wove our way through the streets of south Austin and found Chief’s in a small strip mall. Not seedy but somewhat unimpressive, we cast aside initial doubts and waded in. Built more for take-out, tables are limited; less than half a dozen. We grabbed a menu from the counter, fetched flatware and napkins before taking our seats at an empty table to perused the offerings. With a little help from the counter guy, we ordered. Denny and I went for the brisket, while Jill opted for spareribs. I thought the brisket a bit dry, but not without good flavor, and BBQ sauce helped with the dryness. Jill really enjoyed the spice rub use to flavor the ribs. Plates empty, lips wiped and napkins destroyed, we headed back to McKinney Falls.
The next day called for a visit to the Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX. Again, not part of the BBQ trail, but a favorite of mine. It was Sunday and the Salt Lick was quite busy. This place has two main dining halls, each with their own smoker and kitchen. While you can’t get beer or wine in the dining halls, you can purchase either, or both, onsite; or you can BYOB. We waited about 40 minutes for a table, not too bad a wait on a weekend. Upon entering the dining hall, the first impression is the large fire/smoke pit. About 10 feet in diameter, the wood fire keeps the meats warm as they hang from an overhead rack.
Once we were seated the service was quick and personable. We ordered different items and all were good. Salt Lick offers a couple of bbq sauces on the table. One is standard, while the other is spiked up with Habanero. I prefer the standard, but don’t dislike the habanero. Chicken, ribs and brisket were all excellent. The sausage seemed a bit greasy when cut open. A theme which was to be continued throughout the week. Denny wanted to split the cobbler, so I acquiesced. It was unfortunate as the cobbler was a bit lacking in fruit; too much dough. All considered the meal would bring us back.
With the arrival of Peggy, our journey along the BBQ Trail began in ernest with a trip to Taylor, TX, the northernmost town of the historic four. The BBQ Trail is as much a history of family owned restaurants as it is about slow smoked over wood coals meats.
Taylor is home to four purveyors of BBQ: Davis Grocery and Bar-B-Q, West End Cafe, Taylor Cafe and Louie Mueller Complete Food Store. Owner James Davis, Jr of the Davis Grocery, believes mesquite wood and patience make for the best of smoked meats. Serving a wide variety of meats, including poultry and mutton, his store is growing in popularity. The Betak family has operated the West End Cafe for decades and current owner, David Betak continues the family’s BBQ tradition. The menu supplies the mainstays of brisket, sausage, ribs and chicken. For more than 50 years, Vencil Mares has been serving slow cook meats at the Taylor Cafe. Located in the oldest building, a red tin structure, the cafe serves as a primary host for most Taylor family get togethers. Finally, there is Louie Mueller’s. Established in 1949, the family celebrated 60 years of ownership in 2009. The sausage is made in house using a recipe developed by Bobby Mueller in 1967. Their meats are slow cooked, using post oak wood and the original stone pits. This was our choice and it was good.
It’s Tuesday and we’re off to Elgin for our next taste of Texas BBQ. Our choice in Elgin was limited to only two spots; Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse and the Southside Market. Both have great reputations. Meyer’s specialty is the sausage, made from recipes brought from Germany by great grandfather, Henry Meyer. Since then, the family has been creating tasty sausages for four generations. The Southside Market has evolved from a one man operation selling beef from a wagon in 1882 to the modern restaurant and market you see today. Since 1968, the Southside Market has been operated by the Bracewell family and three generations still work to bring you the finest in BBQ. Their specialty is a spicy sausage of which they sell some two million pounds annually. Southside was our choice and it was good.
Another day and a relocation took us to New Braunfels. From our new spot, we would visit the last two stops on the trail, Lockhart and Luling.
Lockhart offers four top spots for BBQ: Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Market, Chisholm Trail and Black’s. Like most of the BBQ places we researched, Smitty’s has a family history. Established in 1999 by Nina Schmidt Sells, Smitty’s is located in the same building Nina’s father operated his Kreuz Market for more than 50 years. The building itself has been a BBQ location in Lockhart since the early 1900s. Rated one of the top five BBQ restaurants by Texas Monthly, Smitty’s slow cooks over fire pits which have been seasoned for decades. Kreuz Market is located in a quintessential Texas red brick and tin building. Originally, Kreuz was a market. It has morphed into today’s BBQ restaurant featuring open fires and chimneys. The Chisholm Trail began operations in 1978 featuring the typical Texas style brisket, their own recipe sausage, both beef and pork ribs, fajitas, chicken, turkey and ham. It also offers a cafeteria style hot food bar with an assortment of sides. If you’re BBQ’d out, as we should have been, weekly specials include fried catfish and chicken fried steak. Our restaurant of choice, the day we visited, was Black’s; the oldest BBQ restaurant in Texas, continuously operated by the same family since 1932. Black’s hardwood smoked meats have been celebrated in such publications as Gourmet, Money, Business Week and Travel Holiday. Our decision was a good one as the meats were delicious. You don’t have to visit Lockhart to enjoy Black’s as they ship the products throughout the U.S.
One last town to visit; one last meal to taste. It needs to be said here that Denny bailed. Saying, “You can only eat so much BBQ in such a short time period,” he opted to head straight to our next RV park in Kingsville. So, the intrepid three, Peggy, Jill and myself, continued our trek south via Luling. Located near the major intersection in Luling, the two BBQ restaurants, City Market and Luling BBQ, are located within spitting distance of each other. The Luling BBQ offers a cafeteria style dining experience with a good assortment of BBQ’d meats and side. The City Market offers the “back room”. I had enjoyed the City Market on an earlier visit and recommended we dine there just for the experience. I also believe City Market has one of the finest BBQ sauces available. The “back room” is where the meats are smoked and words cannot do a visit justice. You are standing in an open restaurant; tables and chairs are occupied with diners. At the back of the room is another room, one with both an entry and exit doors. A line has formed at the entry door and you join the queue. As people exit, the line moves forward, one or two at a time. Finally, it’s your turn to enter. Once inside, you are enveloped in the aromas of wood smoke, spice, and meats. Two men are cutting meats on large butcher block tables. Two more men stand at a counter, taking orders. A helper walks around the counter to tend the wood fire. You order a pound of ribs and a pound of brisket. One of the butchers pulls a chain which raises a large steel box lid, revealing the smoked goodness contained within. Pulling out both ribs and brisket, he places the meats on his block, lowers the lid and commences to cut your order. You pay for your order and are handed butcher paper containing your meats and are offered slices of white bread (white bread seems an essential part of Texas BBQ). The amount of butcher paper used is dependent on whether you are eating in or taking out. Exiting, you can purchase sides and drinks, and in my case, five bottles of BBQ sauce (sauce for in house use is available). Peg and Jill both enjoyed the experience and the food.
With our trek along the BBQ trail completed, I arrived at several conclusions. Primary is that Texas has some great BBQ stops. The exterior of the building is no indication of the quality of food and service inside. A BBQ place is a great location to enjoy a meal with friends and make new acquaintances. Finally, established recipes, well used fire pits and smokers make for fine BBQ, confirming that just because something has been around for decades doesn’t mean it has to be modernized. And one more thing, six days of barbecue in one week plays havoc with your cholesterol.