Two stops in Luling

The day before Gettin’ Sauced!, while Todd was making a sauce pickup at Snow’s (Lexington) and Kelly & I were picking up sauce at Cooper’s (New Braunfels), Russell, Jason, and Co. headed South to Luling for sauce pickups and lunch at 2 joints: Luling Bar-B-Q and City Market. Though the former’s sauce fared better the next day, it’s safe to say the crew enjoyed the latter’s food much more. Here’s what they had to say:

Russell: “Man, I give overall scores as follows: Luling City Market -- tremendous ribs, sausage & sauce, supplemented on this day by nice brisket & service (they gave us LOTs of extra sauce!). Pork ribs: moist, meaty, sweet, delectable! Maybe the best pork ribs anywhere, def in my man up top 3 & def my recommended item here. The other place wasn't really worth scoring as a BBQ joint---it's just another ok restaurant---4.77 overall. We had great fun with the fam picking up the sauces!”

Dana’s scores pretty much mirror her big brother’s: “Luling City Market -- excellent brisket, ribs, beans and even sausage - 9.95. Other place gets a 5 for effort and the ability to see a competitive opportunity and open a place next to City Market to grab their overflow!”

J-Pa just weighed in on City Market, not “the other place,” writing, “I had never been but heard nothing but good things so I was pretty excited to go. This trip I ordered brisket, pork ribs and sausage. Brisket at the very first bite! Amazingly moist flavorful and perfect balance of salt. The deckle was pretty darn good. But I must say, I was disappointed at how fast the brisket dried out. But the first bite was amazing!! Pork rib was awesome! It’s got a light sauce served with it. Excellent flavor and tenderness. This is def. what they do well! Sausage was good as well. The sauce at city market is pretty awesome I must say, a mustard base BBQ sauce which I enjoyed very much! Great atmosphere and good food. This was evident from the massive line.”

Joel has the final word: “Hey y'all, I agree with RP that City Market was top o' the line for BBQ. Everything about that place was a 10. And I further agree with RP that the other place--can't remember the name--wasn't really worth scoring. City Market is the place to spend your time and fill up on Texas BBQ. If you really want to hit another place, go by Kreutz--what's the spelling of that RP?--that place we swung by but didn't go in b/c we'd already eaten at two places, and there was lots of fire wood out in the parking lot? I haven't tasted their BBQ but would rather have gone there as the second run of the day, or even Black's or Smitty's would for sure have been a good follow up to City Market. City Market--can't say enough good about, and thought the sauce was a great change of pace from other sauces, and very delicious. I'll be back!!! I would put Smitty's and City Market and probably Kreutz as the top tier in that area of Lockhart/Luling (do I have that right guys?), then a distant second is Blacks, and very distant from the distant second Blacks is that 2nd place we went after City Market if you can even rank it for BBQ as RP said, but since they did have the kind of meat you would expect for BBQ I guess I'd go ahead and rank them anyway, but very low. Of the top three in the top tier of Smittys, City Market and Kreutz, and leaving out Kreutz since I haven't been, I'd put Smitty’s a little ahead of City Market, but not sure how Kreutz figures in yet--must mean it's time for another BBQ run, huh?”

City Market scores:

Russell – Brisket: 9.55; Pork ribs: 10; Sausage: 9.93; Sauce: 9.88; Overall experience: 9.91

Dana – Overall experience: 9.95

Jason – Brisket: 9; Pork ribs: 9.5; Sausage: 9.6; Sauce: 9.4; Overall experience: 9.4

Gina – Brisket: 7; Pork ribs: 8.2; Sauce: 9.4; Overall experience: 8.3

Joel – Overall experience: 10

Overall Man-Up Score: 9.512



City Market pics:







Luling Bar-B-Q pics:

BBQ, Politics, and Barry Switzer

Though the blog is apolitical, some of our crew are not - and others just show up if there's free BBQ! Here are some pics from Gov. Rick Perry's election-night party at The Salt Lick (No representation is made concerning the political leanings of anyone pictured!):

Stubb's kicks off "Feed The World" tour!

"In addition to partnering with homeless organizations and serving Texas Bar-B-Q and Stubb’s Sauces, we’ll also be visiting local grocery stores in your area with some free samples and T-shirt giveaways."

Tour Schedule

Photo Gallery

How You Can Help

Todd makes Man Up's first visit to North Main BBQ (Euless, TX)

Here's his recap:

This past February, I was back home in Dallas (Flower Mound to be exact) and didn't want to waste the opportunity to visit one of the 16 best BBQ joints as determined by our good friend Daniel Vaughn of Full Custom BBQ. Through a random selection of what was close by, I visited North Main BBQ, in Euless Texas with my family in tow!

North Main is #16 on Daniel's list, and is a pretty good place. I personally don't think it holds a candle to any central Texas BBQ joint, but I might be biased. They offer a buffet, which at $12 is a pretty sweet deal. This particular day, they were serving up pork ribs, pulled pork, brisket, sausage, & chicken. My first trip through the line, I loaded up on some of everything. Overall, this plate was about average, nothing really stood out as spectacular. However, as you should always do, whenever there is a buffet, I went back. The second time through I devoted my plate to ribs after seeing their banners on the wall, and their claim for 'The Best Ribs In The World.' This time was much better! The ribs were fresh off the pit and were quite a delight, a solid 9.4.

Overall I left with a positive impression of North Main, friendly staff and cozy atmosphere. Not sure if I'd go back, but that's more to do with trying the other #15 places on Daniel's list.

This week...

Today: Todd's review of North Main BBQ (Euless)

Tomorrow: Some election-night BBQ fun at The Salt Lick

Wednesday: RP, Dana, Jason, & Co's. sauce pickups (and lunches) in Luling

Thursday: More Gettin' Sauced! pics

Friday: Todd's recap of the Rodeo Austin BBQ Cook-off

Saturday: A Rib Too Far

Birthday dinner and airport breakfast

I turned 30, during a trip home a couple of weeks ago. So, to celebrate, I went to Birmingham with my parents for dinner. Fine dining? Nope. White table cloth? Think again. All I needed to ring in the start of my 4th decade was some pulled pork, green vegetables, and iced tea. Full Moon Bar-B-Que was just the ticket. Pics are a bit fuzzy, but you get the, ummm, picture.


On my early-Sunday-morning layover at DFW, on the way back to Austin, I stopped into the Dickey's by Gate 19 in Terminal A (where I spent my layover heading to Alabama downing 4 large teas). Had a turkey biscuit and large iced tea (well, 3 of them). The biscuit was way too dry/chalky, so I ended up just eating the turkey, pickles, and a little sauce. The turkey was quite good.

Latest visit to Pok-e-jo's

Russell, Ryan, Brad, and I enjoyed a quick lunch at Pok-e-jo's a couple of weeks ago. (Speaking of Pok-e-jo's, don't miss your chance to win free food and merchandise.) Here are the pics...

The rest from Franklin