"Best BBQ in the American South" (Huffington Post)

Just saw yet another best-BBQ article. This one on Huffington Post is entitled Best BBQ in the American South. The article begins,

A 2,500-mile, three-week road trip across the American South in search of this vast and varied region's best BBQ turned out to be one of the smartest -- and tastiest -- travel ideas I've ever had. A heaping helping of delectable local culture at every stop was all but ensured alongside the opportunity to enjoy some of the most deeply satisfying meals of my life -- usually presented with warm reception at independent, family-owned establishments.

The journey is chronicled in a series of "BBQ Bound" posts published on my personal blog, tikichris. Have a look at the complete series here:
tikichris.com/category/bbq-bound

But for those preferring to cut to the chase and get to the meat of the matter, listed below are the 25 best BBQ eateries visited during my trip. Each one of these independent and mostly family-owned establishments astounded my palate profoundly with authentic and traditionally made American food.

The Texas joints that made the author's (Chris Osburn) list are as follows:

Franklin (Austin)
Micklethwait (Austin)
Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas)
Pecan Lodge (Dallas)
Smoke (Dallas)
Salt Lick (Driftwood)

Salt Lick (Texas) sues Salt-Lick (Georgia)

The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX), an iconic, longtime Texas BBQ joint, has sued a Georgia sausage company, Salt-Lick Sausage Company, for trademark infringement. Read all about it here.

Readers' Choice Award: Best Atmosphere of 2012

Winners (tie): Louie Mueller (Taylor), Opie's (Spicewood), Salt Lick (Driftwood), Smitty's (Lockhart) - pictured in this order from top to bottom

Others receiving votes: Cooper's, Franklin, Freedmen's, JMueller, Snow's, Stanley's, Taylor Cafe

Stop #7 of our December Texas Q Tour: The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX)

After leaving Opie's, our 2nd BBQ stop of the day, our late-December Texas Q Tours group spent several hours doing some non-BBQ stuff: Natural Bridge Caverns, San Antonio (Mercado, The Alamo, The River Walk), & a pitstop at Buc-ee's that turned into a jerky stop. Right on schedule, we arrived at The Salt Lick at 8:45 PM for our final BBQ meal of the trip. Once our crew passed the iconic holding pit just inside the front door, they made their way to our table at the back...

...and placed their orders.

Very shortly thereafter, their dinners arrived, and it was all camera phones and all smiles.

Before they loaded back into the van to head back to the hotel, our group got together for a farewell pic.

Make no mistake: These East-and-West Coasters can eat! They mowed down 7 BBQ meals (not counting the BBQ they had on their own and the non-BBQ food they had during the trip) in 2 days and were still standing and smiling when it was all said and done. If I may take the liberty to speak on behalf of, well, Texas: Job well done!!!

A trip across the pond for Texas BBQ

For his 40th birthday, a reader of mine from the UK trekked it over to Texas for some smoked meats (and Mexican food). He emailed me a few pics and said that he tried to hit up JMueller BBQ and Franklin Barbecue, but they were closed. From top to bottom: Salt Lick (top 2 pics), Kreuz, & Southside Market.

Order arriving at The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX)

This picture slipped by me, so it didn't get posted with the rest of the pics from our dinner at The Salt Lick with our new friends from Gnarly Head Wines (Napa, CA). (See more pics.)

The rest from The Salt Lick

The rest from our dinner at The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX) with Holly & Katie, of Gnarly Head Wines (Napa, CA):

More from the table at The Salt Lick

More from our dinner at The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX) with Holly & Katie, of Gnarly Head Wines (Napa, CA):

Texas BBQ & California Wine

Earlier this month, Brad and I had the pleasure of getting together with Holly & Katie, our new friends from Gnarly Head Wines (Napa, CA), while they were in Austin for a zinfandel conference. After drinks at Truluck's, we took the nice drive down to Driftwood for dinner at The Salt Lick. Since they had several of their wines - zin, pino noir, & cab - with them and since TSL is BYOB, it seemed like the right choice for introducing our NoCal pals to Texas BBQ. (Gnarly Head just joined Twitter. Follow 'em!)

I handled the ordering, and the ladies handled wine pairings. Brad handled, well, eating and drinking. On the menu: brisket (half inside cut & half outside, pork ribs, turkey, sausage, half chicken, and bowls of beans, slaw, & potato salad (which, IMO, are best when mixed together). Plus a second order of ribs, which turned out to be much hotter than the first and, again IMO, the best item of the night. The ladies were fantastic company and patiently explained many Xs and Os of wine to this teetotaler. After 3 hours of 40 minutes at the table, the leftovers were boxed and the wine was gone, so we took a couple of pics of the pit and headed back to A-town.

Katie & Holly seemed to enjoy the food and the atmosphere and were happy to learn that TSL ships. They were gracious enough to invite us to be judges at the championship of Gnarly Head's Rippin' Ribs competition, to be held in October in Kansas City. Needless to say, we're looking forward to it.