Saturday, January 29, 2011: City Meat Market (Giddings, TX)

Our party of 18 left our early-morning feast at Snow's around 10:30. Two had to head back to Austin, but two others joined up with us for our second stop of the day, City Meat Market, less than 20 miles down the road in Giddings. With the exception of Jacob, I'm pretty sure it was everyone's first visit to CMM - which, btw, just won our Readers' Choice award for Best Overall of 2010. The first thing I noticed - and liked - about the place was that it appeared as if nothing had really changed about the place (I know: I'd never been there, so how could I think it had never changed? It just looked like a place that didn't take time away from smoking meats to decorate.) I ordered pork ribs and pork shoulder. The latter seemed to be a favorite among the group. (Earlier this week, CMM became an affiliate of The Q Card, so I cannot review/rate the food.) Gerald, as he's done for more than 3 decades, was manning the pit. Sharon was a gracious hostess and spent lots of time chatting with us. Here are the first pics:

Authentic Texas BBQ in the thick of the pines

Did you know that the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort & Spa (Bastrop, TX) serves pecan-smoked BBQ? Until recently, I didn't. Once I found out, Brad and I made the short drive from Austin on a lazy Tuesday night and ate ourselves straight silly. It was my first Tuesday meat coma. Laura and Chef Neil Joiner were wonderful hosts. We took our time with each course (listed below with price and where to go at the resort to get each). The food was outstanding. Everything was served hot and fresh. The sides were innovative - absolutely nothing normal/boring about them. The meats were smoky; not dried out at all. The homemade brioche buns were ridiculously good. I ate way too much, and I'd do it again. I'll go back soon. For those of you heading in for SXSW, the HLPR&S is only about 20 minutes away and is absolutely worth it (Follow them on Twitter.). The pictures are in the order listed, beginning with the ribs. More pics on the way.

Shiner Bock queso with tortilla chips: $6 (Shellers Barrelhouse Bar and Firewheel Cafe)

Pecan-smoked St. Louis style ribs served with borracho beans: $18 (Shellers Barrelhouse Bar)

Texas-style, house-smoked-brisket sandwich with coleslaw and German potato salad: $10 (Firewheel Cafe)

Grilled Elgin sausage & house-made sauerkraut on a pretzel roll with French fries: $12 (Shellers Barrelhouse Bar)

Slow-cooked, pulled-pork-shoulder sliders with pickled red cabbage and French fries on homemade brioche buns: $10 (Shellers Barrelhouse Bar)

Smoked pork-belly sliders with red onion, mustard seed jam, horseradish and arugula on homemade brioche buns (served only for groups requesting)

Honored to be a Texas Social Media Awards winner

The Austin-American Statesman has announced the 25 winners of their Texas Social Media Awards. We are one of them, and I am honored to be among the winners. My sincerest thanks to all of my readers, Twitter followers, and Facebook fans. Read more on each of the winners - and my congratulations to each!

Joe Cotten's BBQ (Robstown, TX) burns to the ground.

Not too long ago, I reported that The Sugar Shack BBQ trailer on the UT-Austin campus burned to the ground. Fortunately, it's back (and now has a 2nd location). But another BBQ joint has just burned: Joe Cotten's in Robstown. My sincerest well wishes to all of the Joe Cotten's family.

UPDATE: Owners plan to rebuild on same site, & local business offer to hire workers from JC's who are without work.

SXSW 2011 BBQ Guide

I can't believe it's been a year since my first SXSW BBQ guide. Disbelief notwithstanding, it's time for Round 2. Sooo, let's do this! (dramatic pause) Would a man go to Cuba and not smoke a cigar? Would a middle-school girl go to a Justin Bieber concert and not scream bloody murder? Would a cow not chew cud? Don't think so. So, don't come to the BBQ haven that is Central Texas and not partake of succulent, smoked meats. Overwhelmed by how many places you could try? Let me help you navigate the smoke (listed by distance from city center).

• Blue Ribbon Barbecue (Austin): Located on the ground floor of downtown's Frost Bank building, BRB is the most central BBQ joint in Austin. If you're downtown, you're within striking distance. They start the day with breakfast tacos and then move on to BBQ for lunch. Save room for banana pudding. Recommended order: pork ribs & turkey
• Franklin Barbecue (Austin): Only been open for a tad more than a year and already has a cult following that lines up for brisket before the gates opens. Get there early, or you're out of luck. Our pick & our Readers' Choice pick for Best Brisket of 2010 - and our Best Overall of 2010. Recommended order: brisket - lots of it - & pulled pork
• BBQ trailers: Depending on what part of town you're in, you might find any number of BBQ trailers. Keep an eye out for Bar-B-Que-T & Smokilicious (South Congress), Bar-B-Q Heaven (7th & Red River), The Salt Lick & The Sugar Shack (UT campus), The Shed BBQ's Rolling Joint (Mohawk, 9th & Red River), & Old School BBQ & Grill (the yellow school bus at 6th & Waller).
• Rudy's "Country Store" & Bar-B-Q (Austin): With a diverse menu, a staff that takes it time serving samples to "rookies' to help them with their orders, and the option of ordering as much or as little of any meat you want, Rudy's is a great way to ease into Texas BBQ.Recommended order:extra-moist brisket, turkey, & creamed corn (unless you don't like creamed corn that is so rich & sweet that it's suitable for dessert)
• Cele Store (Manor, 21 miles NE of Austin): A watering hole for farmers during the week, Cele Store serves family-style BBQ on Friday nights, with live music twice per month from their house band (March 11 & 25). Call ahead to reserve a table. You might recognize it from scenes in Secondhand Lions, A Perfect World and Texas Chainsaw Massacre I, II and III. Recommended order: Just go family style, & be sure to make a chopped-beef sandwich with your white bread, cheese, onions, pickles, & sauce
• Milt's Pit BBQ (Kyle, 21 miles from Austin straight down I-35, Exit 213): Milt, born in Fort Worth but California resident by age 3, knows how to cook brisket. If you're wanna start your meal with a bang, get the Haystack: sausage, brisket, jalapenos, onions, beans, and cheese, all atop a bed of Fritos. Recommended order: brisket
• The Salt Lick (Driftwood, 24 miles SW of Austin): With a rustic ambiance and a picture-perfect pit behind the cash register, TSL is a great spot to enjoy smoked meat away from the sounds of the city. BYOB. Cash only (but ATM on site). Recommended order: all-you-can-eat family style
• Hyatt Lost Pines Resort & Spa (25 miles E of Austin, straight out Hwy. 71): Believe it or not, the lush HLPR&S deep in the pine trees serves pecan-smoked BBQ. St. Louis-style ribs. Pork-belly and pulled-pork sliders on homemade brioche buns. Sliced brisket on Texas toast. Grilled sausage and homemade sauerkraut on a pretzel roll. And the unique sides are paired so well with the entrees. Recommended order: Any of the above
• Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse (Elgin, 25 miles East-ish of Austin): Famous for its sausage, Elgin is an easy drive from A-town. The Meyer family will treat you right. Ask nicely, and you might just get to see the vaccum tumbler. Recommended order: beef ribs & sausage
• Smitty's Market/Kreuz Market/Black's Barbecue (Lockhart, 29 miles South of Austin): Lockhart, dubbed by the Texas Legislature as "The Barbecue Capital of Texas," attracts Central Texas tourists like Lebron draws Cleveland vitriol, but it's a worthwhile Texas BBQ rite of passage. They were our Best Pork Ribs, Best Sausage, & Best Service of 2010, respectively. Recommended orders: pork ribs and sausage (Smitty's), pork ribs and ham (Kreuz), beef ribs and turkey (Black's)
• Opie's Barbecue (Spicewood, 34 miles West of Austin): An easy drive West out Hwy. 71. Their sides and desserts are the best we've had (taking our top honors in each for 2010 - they won Best Pork of 2010, too). Recommended order: sweet-and-spicy ribs, pulled pork (weekends), spicy corn, tater-tot casserole, and banana pudding
• Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor, 39 miles NE of Austin): Get ready for the unmistakable smell of BBQ-pit smoke as you walk in - and check out what the smoke has done to the walls of this school-gymnasium-turned-restaurant. Our pick for Best Beef Ribs of 2010. Recommended order: beef ribs, sausage, and turkey
• Snow's BBQ (Lexington, 52 miles ENE of Austin) & City Meat Market (Giddings, 55 miles East of Austin): Only open on Saturday from 8 AM until they run out there's no better bet for BBQ for breakfast than Snow's. Be sure to eat outside by the pits. Recommended order: pork shoulder, brisket, & chicken. When you're done, head 17 miles down Highway 77 to the sleep town of Giddings for a no-frills meal at City Meat Market, our Readers' Choice pick for Best Overall of 2010. Recommended order: pork shoulder
• Miscellaneous recommendations: wild-boar ribs, brisket, & pulled pork at Lamberts (Austin); beef ribs at The County Line (Austin); chicken-thigh sandwich at Buster's (Lakeway); pork chop and half chicken at Cooper's (New Braunfels, 48 miles South on I-35, Exit 189)

SXSW Guides

Here's the (non-BBQ) "South Congress Hit List" SXSW guide that I put together for WHERE. When they asked me to put together a guide, I decided to craft one without any BBQ. But another guy made a BBQ guide. What do you think of his list?

And, speaking of SXSW guides, tomorrow I'm posting my BBQ guide for SXSX attendees, which will be part of a group of SXSW guides for Fete & Feast. (Here is the guide I put together last year for F&F.)

Conference crowd at County Line

I recently met a new friend through Twitter, and when he came to Austin a couple of weeks ago for an education-technology conference, he got a big group of conference goers together for dinner with me at The County Line on the Lake. We had folks from Austin, DFW, El Paso, & California (Check them out on Twitter: @technolibrary, @techleslie, @clvoigt, @rrodgers, @MrHooker, @jenwagner). (By the way, I was the youngest person in our party of 10, and I soon found out that I was the least technologically savvy, by far.) We feasted on two 5-meat-sampler appetizers before we even ordered: brisket, sausage, turkey, pork ribs, and beef rib. Not surprisingly, the beef ribs were a hit. More were ordered. Between that and that homemade - not to mention the iced tea - I was getting full by the time I ordered my light dinner of quarter (dark) chicken, ham, beans, slaw, and potato salad. The slaw was too runny for my tastes, but I enjoyed the potato salad, particularly when combined with the beans. The meats didn't last long. The service was outstanding.

QOTD: What makes the best BBQ sandwich?

What BBQ protein goes best between bread? Brisket? If so, chopped or sliced? Ham? Turkey? Pulled pork? Pork loin? Sausage? Chicken? What's your sandwich meat of of choice? (Flashback: QOTD: What's your favorite BBQ sandwich?)

Coming up...

Pictures from first meat at Pecan Lodge (Dallas)

Menu and pics from dinner Hyatt Lost Pines Resort & Spa (Bastrop)

Jennifer's pictures from our most recent visit to Snow's BBQ (Lexington)

Pictures from our first group outing to City Meat Market (Giddings)

Pictures from The County Line (Austin)

SXSW BBQ guide

Pics from this past Friday night's dinner at Rudy's (Austin)

I take some folks from Napa out for BBQ this weekend.

*Don't forget that today is the last day (1) to enter our Desert Smoke BBQ giveaway & (2) for Twitter followers of The Q Card to get 2 cards for the price of 1 ($10).

Riley's Bar-B-Q (Blanco, TX) has closed.

I hate these posts about Texas BBQ joints going out of business. I'm late on this, but I just found out that Riley's Bar-B-Q in Blanco has shut down; but at least you can still get their BBQ at Albert Dance Hall, where they do some catering. Good luck to all of the Rileys.