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Let’s get something straight: barbecue is meat that’s been slow-smoked,
not grilled, y’all. And the south’s shredded pork butt has nothin’
on Texas beef brisket and hand-tied ring sausage. Sauce hasn’t traditionally
been as important here as spice rubs are, but these days almost every joint has
bottles of the house recipe on sale—probably because visitors lap them up
as souvenirs. Oh, if you’re wondering where the best pit-smoked beans, bread
and pickles, potato salad or coleslaw are: not in this guide, partner. Sides are
for suckers. If you’re going to travel that far to eat, sink your teeth
into some meat.
The Salt Lick
Driftwood, Texas (in Hill Country, 30 km west of Austin)
Lore Founded on the family ranch in 1967 by Thurman and Hisako Roberts and run
today by their son Scott. Decor Ramshackle pole fences quaintly surround low stone
buildings belching the requisite smoke. Inside, table service at wide wooden benches
and tables topped with cowboy-boot “vases” full of wildflowers. Condiments
Salt Lick BBQ sauce is a thin, sunrise-coloured, pepper-flecked mix of tamarind
and vinegar flavours ($1.25 per half pint). Meat Beef sausage is lean and almost
as soft as pork, served sliced and sauced on a melamine plate. Pork ribs are as
lacquered and crispy as Peking duck—perfect with a rare worthy side dish,
the sesame-accented coleslaw. Still hungry? To-die-for brisket and sausage at
Rocky Creek BBQ in west Austin on your way back into town.
Louie Mueller Complete Food Store
Taylor, Texas (65 km northeast of Austin)
Lore An old wooden gymnasium converted by Louie in 1959 to a restaurant; his son
runs it today. Around the corner from a Maytag dealership so devoid of repair
jobs it appears to have been defunct for decades. Decor Walls, ceiling and butcher
block stained as dark as the devil’s own rec room by woodsmoke, accented
by picnic tables, self-serve coolers of iced tea and a hand-inked paper menu on
the wall. Condiments Louisiana Cajun Chef hot sauce; house slop is greasy, tomatoey
and spicy, the bottles on the table separating into mean-looking black and red
layers. (Shake very well before using.) Try a hot pickled pepper from the tabletop
jars. Meat Brisket is sliced to order at the counter from a thin slab that is
fiercely pink with a proper red smoke ring and a dark outer crust—but just
about as tough as Texas bootleather. Beef sausage is peppery but a bit mushy,
with a chewy casing and a thin oil slick on top. Still hungry? Taylor Café,
located in the oldest building in town, has a good turkey sausage.
Crosstown BBQ
Elgin, Texas (40 km northeast of Austin)
Lore Located across the street from where the town mainstay, Southside Market
& BBQ, used to be—and heir apparent to its smoky legacy. Decor A blood-red
tin shack with an old-west wooden porch; inside, line up and seat yourself at
long communal tables with vinyl cloths. Daytime TV from a set mounted on chip-board
walls covered in celebrity photos and a weird assortment of “art.”
Condiments House sauce is reminiscent of thin ketchup—luckily, the meat
doesn’t need it. Meat The best brisket anywhere, dished onto a simple square
of butcher paper; it literally melts under your plastic fork and in your mouth,
with texture and spice reminiscent of Montreal smoked meat. A dark brown caramelized
crust yields to red-ringed, smoky shreds. Still hungry? The Bracewell family’s
Elgin Hot Sausage is famous at Southside and nearby Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse
uses high-tech tenderizing: a vacuum tumbling method.
Black’s Barbecue
Lockhart, Texas (40 km southeast of Austin)
Lore The oldest barbecue joint in the state and continuously owned by the same
family since 1932. The patriarch celebrated a festive 82nd birthday barbecue party
the weekend after our visit. Decor Wind past a cafeteria hot line (the traditional
accoutrements of a southern “meat and three” buffet) in the brick
and woodsmoke back building to get your meat on a square of paper. A brighter,
more pleasant dining area in front has red-checked plastic tablecloths, mounted
longhorns, football team photos and self-serve lemonade coolers. Avoid the horoscope-and-your-weight
scale after eating. Condiments Texas Pete hot sauce, Monarch ketchup and French’s
mustard on the table and a russet-coloured tangy and traditional house barbecue
sauce with a burst of vinegar that cuts the grease nicely. Meat Brisket is tender,
with big smoke flavour and a mahogany crust that still shreds like buttah. Hand-tied
ring sausage, so juicy it spurts under plastic fork tines, is mild yet perfectly
seasoned, with a fine, even consistency and a crisp but non-intrusive casing.
Still hungry? Kreutz Market, a century-old business now located in a giant brick
roadside restaurant, is the one many locals swear by.
City Market
Luling, Texas (70 km southeast of Austin)
Lore The pit house at the back is the original store. There’s now a “Luling
City Market” joint in Houston; don’t be fooled. Decor Black and white
photos, wooden pews and folding chairs, Formica-topped tables and a chaotic self-serve
system that involves one line for food, another for beverages. The barbecue pit
is closed off with separate doors, presumably to keep the heat and smoke in, and
it works: your eyes smart but your food is served piping hot. Condiments “No
fork use fingers,” reads the sign. Thin, tangy, orange-coloured house sauce
studded with plenty of cracked pepper makes that a messy but very good proposition.
Meat Brontosaurus-size ribs are briefly crisped in a medieval-looking press before
serving. Brisket comes in long, loose slices with a bright red smoke ring and
a caramel crust that is deliciously spicier and more corned-beef tasting than
most. Sausage is brown, fatty and loose—the best tasted. Still hungry? Luling
Bar-B-Q just off the highway offers smoked pork tenderloin. |
