I finally drove down to the Austin/Lockhart area about 3 weeks ago or so. I probably should've posted my impressions. I've always wanted to go down there for BBQ since it's so different from pretty much anywhere else in the state. Being in the DFW area, I don't get to taste anything like the BBQ down there. My goal was to hit 3 different places in one day, but I only managed to hit 2 : Kreuz and Snow's. I wanted to try Franklin BBQ in Austin, too, but didn't get around to it. Snow's was on my list as the place I wanted to try above all else after reading the Texas Monthly article claiming it as the best BBQ and also reading about it in the New Yorker. The place is located in Lexington, Tx. about 60-70 miles outside of Austin. It's a small town that gets invaded every Saturday by people from all over the state (and some from outside the state). The great thing about Snow's is that it tends to separate BBQ fans/nuts from the casual eater. Why? The place opens around 8am until the meat runs out. From what I understand, they're usually out of meat by noon or so. lol. So yes, you must want BBQ for breakfast. I got into Lexington around 6:30am, I think. I kind of drove around and saw the cops getting into work and people waking up. Weird feeling. It was foggy and many of the roads were spooky to drive in that area. Of course, being the small town that it was, there really wasn't much to see, so I backtracked to the restaurant area. I had trouble finding it because my GPS got confused once I got into Lexington. I rolled my window down and smelled smoke - I headed in that direction (seriously!). I was the first one there other than the people cooking. The lady that's the pitmaster there gets there at 2am'ish and starts cooking. People started arriving around 7:30am. They let us in around 7:50am. By 8:30am there was a flood of people starting to pour in to pick up meat by the pound. I had the brisket and ribs. The ribs were great - great bark, easily pulled off the bone, but not falling off the bone as you picked it up - just perfect. The brisket was something from Heaven. Seriously, this was the best brisket I've probably ever eaten anywhere, and it really wasn't close. My only knock on the brisket was that it was a bit too salty. Even with that point deduction, it blew away any other brisket I've had. After eating, I went back outside where there was a lot more seating and decided to see "Tootsie" and the guy that ran the place work the pits. The woman is about 74 years old and works non-stop. I was breaking sweat watching her buzz around the pits. They saw me watching and the guy said "hey". So I struck up a chat with him since I loved talking to people from small towns about the area. I told them I wish they'd open something up like this in the Dallas area because this is a pilgrimage I plan on making more than once a year. He started laughing and called "Tootsie" over. We struck up a conversation and I thanked her for what was some of the best Q I've ever had. She started laughing and the guy goes "want to take a pic?" I said "sure". The guy was a former rodeo clown before he started this place, so he had his own intriguing qualities. lol. So I got a pic, bought some of their BBQ sauce (which was so-so) and then made a journey to Kreuz. Snow's Texas Monthly article : http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2008-06-01/feature5 NPR article : http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92677223 Referenced in the New Yorker : http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_trillin I'm not a huge fan of BBQ without sauce. Yes, I know the "purists" think I'm a sinner for that, but I think the best bbq places all cook bbq well enough on their best days that something needs to differentiate them, and for me that is usually the sauce. Kreuz doesn't do the sauce. I was the first one at Kreuz (got there around 10-10:30, I think). No way I was going to try to scarf down ribs and brisket there, too, after just eating at Snow's a few hours ago, but I wanted to get there early to get "the good stuff". I decided to get brisket. Snow's is a small place. Kreuz is more like a giant ranch of a place. I preferred Snow's. One thing I noticed was that when you went into Snow's it seemed like the people were friendly, small-town folks who enjoyed what they did and knew everybody coming in and talked with them. Kreuz was a conveyor belt, a business, an assembly line. The various "old time" stuff in there is pretty neat to look at, though. The brisket was the only thing I got here and it was pretty good. If Snow's was 9 on a scale of 1-10, the brisket at Kreuz this day was about a 7.5. It was kind of dry, but the smoke ring was a pretty site to behold (ah, the bbq lover in me). It's just that every bite seemed to be a bit of a chore to chew. The brisket at Snow's was so tender you could damn near drink it (hey, there's an idea for a product! ok, maybe not...). I think Snow's puts butter or something on their BBQ (almost had a heart attack just typing that). Kreuz, at least this day, couldn't hold a candle to Snow's. I'll be making trips down there in the future to try some of the other legendary BBQ joints, but I may make it a point to hit Snow's every time. Yes, BBQ at 8am is crazy, but I'm crazy about some good BBQ.
I stopped at a small town called Luling (aka "the toughest town in Texas") while driving through Texas a year ago and ate at a place called "City Market." How do you BBQ connoisseurs think that place compares to other BBQ joints in the state?
where the hell are the pictures? did you get the prime rib at kreuz? that's fantastic stuff. Im a Franklin regular now. it's been great consistently.
I've tried numerous BBQ places in Lockhart and Austin. Luling City Market (both in Luling and Houston) beats them all.
I haven't been to City Market, but it's usually ranked among the top 5 or so BBQ places in the state. Some say it's fallen off a bit in the past few years, but I can't comment since I've never been. It's one of my "must try" destinations for the future, though.
I was most impressed by their sausages. They were incredible. The ribs were great too. The brisket was a bit dry, but still good.
might be the best sausage i have ever put in my mouth (no homo). brisket was tasty, but ive had better. definitely worth checking out - try to go in early july and you could also hit up the LULING WATERMELON THUMP!!!
Locals tend to always say that because it's "normal" to them since they have access to it all the time. The people I know from Lockhart say that the locals tend to not go to Smittys or Kreuz or places like that, and pick Chisholm Trail or Black's more.
Like you said, Snow's brisket is just a whole different experience. I just tried Franklin's for the first time this weekend, and I think it compares to the Lockhart places fairly well. That's great for Austin people because we don't have to make the trip out there to get that quality BBQ. But nothing compares to Snow's.
Sausage at any BBQ restaurant is tricky to judge. Many of these places don't make their own sausage (I'm not sure about City Market). For example, several BBQ shops in the DFW area get their sausage from Rudolph's Market (been around since the late 1800's), so no matter where you go, you'll taste similarities in texture and taste in the sausage, depending upon how it's cooked.
So you claim in the other thread by posting a pic of some random hot girl. I imagine you being a 40 year old guy but whatever. If not then my apologies.
