BBQ (and Words) With Friends

BBQ is not just a food, it's an institution.  In the states, you've got Memphis, North Carolina and a few other areas that serve up something resembling BBQ.  But if you want to do it right, you come to Texas.  And when you get to Texas, you head to my neck of the woods.  We are surrounded by some of the best bbq restaurants in the world and as much as it pains me to admit, I'd only been to a handful.  It's like living in Athens and never having visited the Parthenon.  This is no way for a supposed food blogger to live.

So, I did something about it.  Many would plan several weekend trips to capture all the area has to offer.  Not I.  I wanted to do something grandiose.  I wanted to be able to compare each and every one, come back here and post my findings.  I gathered a small group of warriors and we departed Austin at 730am Saturday morning.  These are their stories /Law and Order Voice.

Snow's - Lexington, Tx
2008 Texas Monthly Best BBQ
Open once a week on Saturday, this had to be our first stop, despite being the furthest out of the way.  They open at 8am and close when they sell out (often before 11).  We arrived just after they opened and dove in.  Brisket breakfast? Absolutely.

Louie Mueller BBQ - Taylor, TX
30 minutes later we arrived at Louie Mueller in Taylor.  We got there about 15 minutes before they opened but upon walking in, you knew this place had been there for awhile (51 years at this location).  5 decades of smoke residue and haze never smelled so good.

City Market - Luling, TX
For full disclosure, this was the only one of the 6 that I'd ever been to before so I already knew what to expect going in, greatness.  Probably my favorite BBQ joint not served out of a trailer.  The plan was to do Lockhart first, but upon arrival the collective vote was to postpone eating another 20 minutes by driving to Luling first.  The realization that portion size matters when visiting 6 different joints finally caught up to us.

Black's Barbecue - Lockhart, TX
There was a painful sigh when Brendan pointed out we were now halfway through.  The strategy evolved at this point into a group buy.  Sampling from here on saved the trip from certain doom.  We had officially hit the meat wall.  We followed the giant yellow arrows and found Black's.

This picture really doesn't do justice to the mammoth beef rib they dared us to take on.

This was not for the faint of heart. Meat nap after Black's

Smitty's Market - Lockhart, TX
Recently, the Travel Channel aired an episode of Food Wars pitting Smitty's against Kreuz Market.  Kreuz was originally located in Smitty's current building but some family splintering resulted in two outstanding BBQ joints instead of just 1.  The show declared Kreutz the winner.  Though I'm waiting until the end to post my rankings, I'll say right now, they got it wrong.

 Slowest moving line....ever.  This is where the meat sweats really started to kick in.

Jordan explains the intricacies of roller derby using rocks as jammers.

They've been smoking meat for awhile.  The truth is in the film.

Kreuz Market - Lockhart, TX

This was it.  The final stop.  Another long line but this one went a little quicker.  There was one section you waited in line for meat.  Then another section for sides, drinks, ice cream, etc that surprisingly was almost as long as the meat line.  No matter, sides have no role in determining good bbq and outside of some bread and several brave orders of cobbler, it was all meat, all the time.

Pretty sure she was giving me the stink eye.  

Various victory poses (note Brendan still playing Words W/Friends)

Final Standings
Food blogging, whether through this type of medium, Yelp, bulletin board, whatever is to say the least a bit subjective.  The idea of doing all 6 in one grand tour was to be able to compare each and come up with some arbitrary nomBlog rankings.  After attending all 6 places, it was clear many factors would play into the results so it's difficult to definitively state A is better than B without doing this again on a different day.  However, to avoid giving myself (and my lovely wife) a coronary, I'll simply throw up my rankings as of right now with the understanding that some time down the road, this will be attempted again for an accurate judgment.


Brisket (the true measuring stick of any good BBQ)
1. Smitty's - just look at the pics.  great cut and the fat just blends into the meat for a tender, buttery bite.
2. City Market
3. Louie Mueller
4. Snow's (I've convinced myself we just caught them on an off day with a leaner, drier cut)
5. Kreuz
6. Black's

Sausage
1. Louie Mueller - Tough to pick a clear winner as I thought all 6 had solid offerings
2. City Market
3. Smitty's
4. Black's
5. Kreuz
6. Snow's

Pork Ribs (not my thing so this may be better judged by others on the tour, I didn't try one at Snow's)
1. Smitty's
2. City Market
3. Kreuz
4. Black's
5. Louie Mueller

Overall Winner
1a. Smitty's - Extremely impressed and now realize why people wait in that line.  Will be back soon.
1b. City Market - Just as I remembered it, solid all around. I would really like to compare them to Smitty's heads up for a final call.
3. Louie Mueller - Traditional and an A+ for "this is what a bbq joint should look like"
4. Snows - Again, I feel like either the cut I got just wasn't great or maybe it was just an off day.  Based solely on reputation, it's the one I most look forward to trying again.
5. Kreuz - For the record, it rhymes with "lights".  I fear this got lower rankings simply b/c it was the last stop.  Would certainly go again for a getaway lunch.
6. Black's - Not to say that it was "bad", just didn't really compare well with the others.  That said, if it was across the street or near work, I'd happily dine there frequently.

Big thanks to everyone that came along and best of luck to your digestive tracts these next few days.

Muck & Daves - New BBQ Trailer on South Congress

Vegas has stolen my wife for a few days and to make things a little more interesting, we've put our condo on the market so we're having random strangers walk through our place during the week.  To avoid our potential buyers being scared off by our intimidating dog, I've been coming home just before a showing to grab Mads and get her out of the house.  Having to do this the past 3 days I've decided to take advantage and hit up a few of the local trailers I've yet to enjoy.

Last week driving into work, I noticed a new smell as I passed the South Congress trailer park.  The sweet sweet smell of bbq...at 8am.  Could it be a new Franklins expansion trailer within coronary distance?  Alas, it was not....instead, its a place called Muck & Daves.

The menu is pretty standard bbq fare: brisket, sausage, ribs and chopped beef sammiches.  I went with the two meat plate of brisket and sausage (my standard measuring stick for bbq) with a side of slaw and potato chips.  The woman working was on her 2nd day but was extremely nice and warned that they were still working out the kinks.  

To be fair, they've only been open less than a week so there were kinks to work out.  This is especially difficult with meat you have to smoke overnight and then maintain the quality throughout the day.  The brisket was really dried out but there was a pretty good rub used so there was potential for something flavorful.  The sausage was extremely good, but it was Elgin sausage and not a homemade product.  Hard to knock too many points there, but they have the unfortunate position of being compared to Franklins.

BBQ purists will say that sauce is an afterthought and the meat should stand on its own merit.  While I typically agree, a good sauce can make average cue slightly above average.  Their sauce is a second cousin of The Salt Lick.  Very different than most with a definite sweetness to it.  If you took their sauce and put it on the table at Franklins......sorry.....my stomach is doing a happy dance.

I do award them +10 internet points for the sign on their fridge:

Franklins BBQ - Everything's better in a trailer (Oklahomans excluded)

For Austinite bbq lovers, the few options in town meant treks to Luling, Lockhart, Taylor or Driftwood.  There are a few in town I like (Rudy's, Ruby's), but none that just flat out impress across the board.  Until now.  It may not look like much, but Franklin's is quickly gaining a reputation among BBQ aficionados.  I gathered up the Royal We (Fall 09 Bowling Champs) Thursday to try it out and walked away extremely impressed (and overweight).

My litmus test for good bbq is the standard 2 meat test: brisket and sausage.  Between the 4 of us we ordered 1.5 lbs brisket, 1 lb sausage and 1lb pork ribs.  The owner, Aaron, provided us with some charred caps to munch on while he cut everything up.  Amazing.  The guy should somehow market just the ends (muffintop ala Seinfeld). It was all amazing.  The brisket was one of the best I've tried, 10 out of 10.  The sausage and ribs were both 8 out of 10.  My only knock was there just wasn't a sauce there that I really liked.  The expresso sauce is good and a very different idea.  The sweet sauce was ok and I'll have to try the pork sauce next round with some pulled pork. 

We all walked away very happy with this nearby lunch option soon to make it into the rotation.  On one hand, I liked the fact that we walked right up with just a few folks in line and had our run of the place.  On the other hand, its criminal to keep a place like this secret and Aaron seems like genuine good people.  So, next chance you get, give it a go.  Its just north of Dreamers (on 35 frontage road).  If you pass Chicas Bonitas, you've gone too far.  (35 and Concordia).

And now, food porn:

The establishment

 

The Order

El Brisket

Los Ribs

BBQ Lunch, Serious Business