Actually most fridays start with a few hours of ??what did I forget this week? office/cad duty. Then by 10 or so I head down here to the BBQ capital of Texas (it??s down there in the background.) for my real Friday work. Perfect work day today.?ÿ
Nothing like a jaunt in a 55 year or aeroplane. I envy you.?ÿ
Jealous......I need to get back in the air.
?ÿ
Which BBQ places do you eat at, and which ones do you avoid?
Which BBQ places do you eat at, and which ones do you avoid?
depends on why i'm going.?ÿ i love 'cue as much as anyone, but i refuse to worship at whatever altar makes people line up for hours on end just to eat something i can fairly well approximate at home.
that said:?ÿ if it's just me i go to chisolm trail.?ÿ they're not one of the famous places.?ÿ and they don't really advertise.?ÿ i think the one sign i've seen says "where the locals eat," and that seems to be fairly accurate.?ÿ place is pretty non-descript, but the people are always friendly and (here's the important part for me) i can eat for like 7-8 bucks and be full.
the three big and famous joints in town are as well known for their associated shakespearian family politics as they are for their food. which is all good.?ÿ but for whatever reason they all seem to have gotten the idea that barbecue requires some appurtenant histrionics in the experience, which of course makes it worth double what any reasonable person would spend on lunch.?ÿ
but, if i have out-of-town and/or business guests- of the three, here's my preference in order: smitty's, mainly because it feels like a place that's been a Q joint for eons.?ÿ which it has, only for most of its life that just happened to be under the name of kreutz', which i'd put second on the list.?ÿ the food, in my book, is basically identical at the two, only kreutz built that monolithic place north of town and you feel like you're in a warehouse eating there.?ÿ they're also the worst with the whole "our meat is so good you don't need sauce.?ÿ or plates.?ÿ or napkins. or silverware.?ÿ or underwear." (okay, maybe i got a little carried away, but i'm serious about the front 75% of that list, and my response is "at 20-some odd dollars a pound you'd better throw this dog a couple bones.)
i won't go to blacks.?ÿ which... their Q is pretty good, and that place does feel like it emerged from the last ice age in its current form, but multiple times i went in there and ordered some brisket and the guy behind the counter hands me- with a straight face- like half a pound of gristle and just enough edible meat to whet a maggot's appetite.?ÿ if that happens once i'm ready to chalk it up to "whatever."?ÿ after the third time, well... my ex-wife always said i was way too eager to find patterns in things.
being from nearby, i tend to go other directions for good Q.?ÿ opie's out in spicewood is as good or better than anything in lockhart, and every bit as cheap as chisolm trail.?ÿ louis mueller in taylor is damn good and has to take the cake as the quintessential real-deal texas BBQ joint.?ÿ that place has the ambiance of your grandpa's old wrist watch covered in motor oil, listening to a scratchy leadbelly record.
and no- i refuse to subject myself to standing in line for any of the places in town.?ÿ i've had them all- and the notorious ones are indeed good.?ÿ but not THAT good.?ÿ franklin's started down the street from my house, and isn't too far away now.?ÿ and it will never cease to amaze me how many people are willing to stand in a parking lot for 5 hours on a daily basis to get something that's like 1% better than what i can get at the place up the road in the HEB strip center, where i've never once stood in a line.
Hope the wind was fair for you
Yesterday you would have been travelling thru one heck of a thunderstorm.
I've gotta' quit reading the barbecue posts when I'm hungry. Just spent the last forty minutes in Houston rush hour traffic because of this.
I've gotta' quit reading the barbecue posts when I'm hungry. Just spent the last forty minutes in Houston rush hour traffic because of this.
Apologies in advance. L to R, N to S, E to W: NZ lamb.
The "throne" in the second pic is very ornate. ?ÿHow do you flush it?
The "throne" in the second pic is very ornate. ?ÿHow do you flush it?
Turn it upside down against the shed wall, from whence it came. Actually, the throne and tailgate combo, put the plate at about 4"?ÿ below mouth level - perfect.