Texas
When it comes to barbecue, we're starting big. Whether it's bittersweet with mesquite smoke in West Texas, long-smoked with hickory in East Texas, or served barbacoa-style in that ribbon of land where the south of Texas meets Mexico, the Lone Star State earns its reputation as a barbecue mecca.
Where to Get It: Consistently claiming the top spot on "best of" lists, Franklin Barbecue in Austin has been called "barbecue nirvana" by Serious Eats for its famously tender brisket piled high on wax paper. Lines commonly wrap around the bright-blue¬-painted building by 9 a.m., so get there early and bring reading material--or a lawn chair. Overall, the Texas capital has become something of a barbecue destination, and insiders say John Mueller Meat Co. and Stubb's, with its live indie music, are well worth visits, too. A half hour away in Lockhart, Kreuz Market, serving up sauceless barbecue, has been a favorite for some 75 years, while in Driftwood, locals and tourists crowd The Salt Lick's communal tables under glowing strings of festive lights for brisket and snappy sausages from a circular stone pit.
Elsewhere in the state, Dallas brings us legendarily no-frills Pecan Lodge, where a brisket-and-fried-chicken lunch is best capped off with creamy banana pudding (and a nap). Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler is known for $3 breakfast burritos that make eating barbecue twice in one day a completely reasonable undertaking. And starting at 4:30 every morning way down south in Brownsville,Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Q slings traditional barbacoa wrapped in corn tortillas and topped with mini mountains of fresh salsa. The takeout joint has no website and its location is more than a bit remote, but it comes with a Texas-sized cult following.
Every few years, Texas Monthly rounds up a list of its 50 best barbecue joints (and agrees with us that Franklin is tops). Take a gander and start planning a cross-Texas road trip.
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