Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Chris hits up Spyke's (Kingsland, TX)

Email from our man Chris:

A couple of weeks ago work took me out to the highland lakes area and Marble Falls, Kingsland and Llano. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and get some BBQ in an area I rarely go. My first thought was to make my first visit to Cooper's. Instead I decided to try Spyke's BBQ in Kingsland since there were no entries about it on the blog.

The place is easy to find since it's got a great location on 1431 only a couple of hundred yards before you cross the river. The building's unassuming from the outside, and ordering was about as straightforward as you can get with one counter. I opted for a half pound of pork ribs and a third pound of brisket along with a side of beans.

The pork ribs were fantastic. They had a nice pepper crust and the ones I got seemed pretty meaty for a pork rib. The consistency of the ribs was almost fall of the bone, and they had plenty of flavor. The brisket was also great. I thought at first glance it might be a little dry, but there was more than enough moisture in the brisket. I think I ended up with more a leaner cut since I didn't specify at the counter, but I was still content with it. The small amount of fat I did get with the meat was rendered perfectly. The beans were decent, but not really worth talking about. Spyke's also had what I'm guessing is a homemade BBQ sauce. I kept trying to decide how much I liked it but couldn't come up with an answer other than it's good.

I didn't really ask around about the place since I was in a hurry to get back to work, but pictures on the wall showed a car that had driven through the front of the store at one point. So I'm sure there's plenty of character and history with Spyke's, especially since it seems to be one of the only BBQ places in Kingsland.

Ratings - Atmosphere: 8.89; Brisket: 9.25; Pork ribs: 9.62; Beans: 8.1

Spyke's Bar B Que on Urbanspoon




1 comment:

Heath Cheek said...

My fiance's parents have a lakehouse in Kingsland, so I ate at Spyke's before as well. I was pleasantly surprised. I agree with Chris's assessment, but I want to add that Spyke's had one of the best pieces of turkeys I have ever had. I have not been back to see how the turkey performed on subsequent visits, but on this one magical visit, Spyke's hit that one piece of meat out of the park. I intend to go back again to try it out.