The BBQ Breakdown

If you follow Luke or me on Facebook, you're bound to know we spent the second weekend of October completing Luke's Birthday BBQ Crawl -- 11 places of BBQ renown in 2.5 days.  I regularly posted pics during our trip as a way to create a keepsake for Luke (and to keep family in the loop).  But from those pics came so many questions and requests for rankings that though I haven't blogged in for.ev.er. I dusted off the ole keyboard to write this breakdown.  Luke, being the perpetual engineer, took our rankings and made all kinds of pretty spreadsheets and charts...and I'll probably wreck 'em all with too many words.  But if you or someone you love loves bbq as much as my man, stick with me as we revisit the crawl!

A few disclaimers:
1.  We made this crawl up on our own, after visiting several other crawl/tour websites.  Truthfully, no other site was daring (crazy?) enough to suggest a crawl/tour as lengthy as ours.
2. Several notables are missing (like Cooper's in Llano and all of east Texas).  We simply didn't have the time to drive all over this great state of ours.  We maximized time and distance to hit as many as we could.  We also didn't visit places we've been to before (like Southside Market in Elgin) because we had so many new places to try and we wanted to be as unbiased as possible. The exception to that is City Market in Luling.  That's been a favorite for years...decades actually; since it was on our way out of town, it seemed like a natural jumping off point.
3. We visited 11 amazing bbq joints but as is the nature of any ranking, some one had to be last.  Our last place finisher has NOTHING to be ashamed of -- it was still WAY better than anything you'll find in Katy (I wanted to say "in Houston" but Luke said I couldn't...there may be something out there we haven't tried yet).  Any one of these is a sure-fire win if you stop for food.

How the ranking system works:
Luke ranked the 11 places and so did I (separately).  We ranked on overall quality, brisket, and sausage.  He then took the rankings, did some math and gave me the combined score.  I'll list the places in order, starting with the best based on the combined ranking; I'll also include our individual rankings (you'll see we have very different ideas about sausage) and some notes we wrote.

Enough with the gabbin':

1.  la barbecue -- Austin, TX.
Served out of a food truck, the hardest part of the experience was trying to find parking. How this place didn't have a longer line we don't know...it was that good. We ordered brisket, sausage, and pulled pork. It was incredible. John Lewis's time spent working with Aaron Franklin (of Franklin BBQ) and J. Mueller (of the Mueller bbq dynasty) is obvious. On the money with the brisket rub; sausage was great -- a nice mix; the pulled pork was amazing (and really...who can say that?!?!).  It was a Texas-style pulled pork so not what you will get in other states, fyi.  Sides don't matter to us at all so we don't usually order them but I did here...chipotle slaw and buttermilk potato salad.  Skip the slaw but oh my word the potato salad.  Also had great sauces if that's a requirement for you (it isn't for us).
Val's overall: 1
Luke's overall: 1
Overall Brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 1
Luke's brisket: 3
Overall sausage: 1
Val's sausage: 2
Luke's sausage: 1

2.  Louie Mueller -- Taylor, TX.
This place is quintessential Texas bbq. My favorite part (other than the pits and food) was the wall of business cards -- decades of customers tacked up.  Some were so black with smoke you couldn't read them anymore.  History right there for all of us to see.  And there was a Gus -- an older gentleman that reminded me (in looks and personality) of my PawPaw Bill; he told Luke to take 6 peppermints because they were good and probably made by pretty Guatemalan senoritas.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, jalapeno sausage and beef rib). The brisket was amazing.  It immediately set itself apart from any other we'd eaten (and by that point we'd eaten a lot).  A nice bark, beautiful smoke ring and just the right amount of fat to make it juicy and delicious.  The jalapeno sausage was the show-stealer for me.  It wasn't as chunky of a grind as I like but the flavor was so good it didn't matter.  And then there was the beef rib -- the bone as long as my forearm.  It was incredible.  Here's where I have to admit I'm not much into ribs; they are usually so greasy I can't eat much of them.  Not true here.  Fall off the bone tender, perfectly rubbed and smoked long enough to break down that fat without getting greasy.  The bbq gospel according the Louie Mueller is 9 parts pepper to 1 part salt -- and his rub shows it. I personally prefer a little more salt but it's hard to argue when the food is so good. FYI -- if you like sauce, bring your own; the sauce here was no good (but you don't need it!).
Val's overall:2
Luke's overall: 3
Overall brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 2
Luke's brisket: 2
Overall sausage: 2
Val's sausage: 1
Luke's sausage: 3

2.  Franklin Barbecue -- Austin, TX
You aren't seeing things; we had a tie for second place. Franklin Barbecue is pretty well-known (you can even get his sauces bottled in HEB).  The thing people know the most?  The line.  And it is a doozy.  We originally hadn't planned on stopping here because of the line but our stops earlier in the morning went faster than we expected so we decided to brave the line.  I'm not sure if our plan would work on a typical Saturday BUT it worked on ours (rain, ACL music fest and the Red River Rivalry game all contributed). We got in line around noon and finally got food around 3:30pm.  I will say, the staff at Franklin's were up-front about the length of the wait (and incredibly accurate).  They even let people know when they could stop guaranteeing food.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, pork rib and sausage).  WOW -- so good.  Aaron Franklin says he only uses salt and pepper in his rub but we both could taste a little espresso so we are thinking maybe the briskets are mopped or something post cooking. And he can pick a brisket -- it was a beautiful piece of meat, smoked perfectly.  The sausage was just okay.  We'd both skip it next time.  The pork rib was out of this world good (and remember I don't like ribs).  Franklin has three unique sauces: one with espresso, one that is vinegar based and one with a little more sweet.  All three are good...just choose your fave.  Now the real question:  is it worth the line?  I don't know.  We enjoyed our time: met the folks around us, chatted and had fun.  If the kids had been with us it would have been a nightmare.  And at the end of the day we stood in line for 3.5 hours for lunch.  Our recommendation:  go on a Tuesday or Wednesday and expect to stand in line (hope the line is shorter than on the weekend!) or just drive to Taylor for Louie Mueller's.
Val's overall: 3
Luke's overall: 2
Overall brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 3
Luke's brisket: 1
Overall sausage: 9
Val's sausage: 9
Luke's sausage: 9

4. Snow's -- Lexington, TX.
No, I didn't skip a number; there was a tie, remember. Snow's is only open on Saturday until the meat's gone (usually by 11 so get there early!).  The pit master is Tootsie T and I love her.  She's an adorable silver-crowned lady who smiles and waves at all the customers all while tending the pits.  Some grandmas make great pies -- Tootsie makes great barbecue.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, jalapeno sausage and pork rib). To be honest, by this point in the crawl I wasn't feeling so hot.  8am bbq is hard on the tummy.  But I powered through.  The eating space at Snow's is picnic tables next to the giant pits -- an awesome experience as the smoke wafts over you.  Why Snow's ranks so high is because EVERYTHING was good...nothing was lacking.  So many of the other places fell short in one area (like Louie Mueller's sauce or Franklin's sausage) but not Snow's.  Everything was right on the money delicious.  Others ranked higher than Snow's earned their spot because they had something over-the-top spectacular.
Val's overall: 4
Luke's overall: 4
Overall brisket: 4
Val's brisket: 4
Luke's brisket: 4
Overall sausage: 6
Val's sausage: 5
Luke's sausage: 6

5.  Smitty's Market -- Lockhart, TX.
Located in the bbq capital of Texas, Smitty's has a long and somewhat  complicated history wrought with the kind of family drama in made-for-tv movies.  I don't know it all but I do know this is good bbq.  Smitty's had the best environment -- a real Texas meat market feel.  The pits had open fires on the floors (seriously...don't bring your young kids into the smoke room to order...just a pile of fire on the floor right by the walkway).  The smoke was so thick we (us and the workers) had a hard time seeing straight.  We ordered brisket and sausage; both were good.  The sausage is a very chunky grind which I love with a good bite to the casing.  They did a good job rendering the fat in the brisket and it had a nice bark.
Val's overall: 5
Luke's overall: 5
Overall brisket: 4
Val's brisket: 4
Luke's brisket: 4
Overall sausage: 5
Val's sausage: 6
Luke's sausage: 5

6. City Market -- Luling, TX
Do not be fooled by the Luling City Market here in Houston. That is an interlopper of the worst kind (and not good bbq). There's a story there but I don't have time to tell it. City Market, in Luling, is the real deal and one I've enjoyed in some form or fashion my whole life. As a disclaimer to this ranking -- Luke and I both agree this was an off-day for City Market.  We've been there before and it was way better; we'll definitely go there again.  Houston folks, this is your closest bet for good bbq (and it's easily on the way to San Antonio). We ordered brisket and sausage.  Both were good.  The sausage casing could have used a little more bite and the brisket was tender but lacked the usual flavor and marbling we've come to love. The sauce is a mustard-y original and one of the best out there (my personal fave...I could put it on everything).  Usually the smoke room is full of smoke (duh!) but this time it wasn't which is what makes us think something was off.
Val's overall: 7
Luke's overall: 8
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 7
Luke's brisket: 7
Overall sausage: 7
Val's sausage: 7
Luke's sausage: 7


6.  Kreuz Market -- Lockhart, TX.
We have another tie, this time  for 6th. Once again we find ourselves in Lockhart. Kreuz's is part of the family feud I was talking about with Smitty's.  When you visit you'll notice some striking similarities (fire on the floor, though Kreuz's is somewhat covered; same uniforms; same butcher block). They are so similar it's difficult to rank them separately...except it's not really.  Kreuz Market has moved to massive new building in 1999, bringing with them the old vestiges of yesteryear lest anyone forget they have been around since forever (99 years at the previous location).  And the food was good...it really was.  Just not as good as Smitty's. There was nothing striking about any of it -- all very well done, but the brisket was a little dryer than others and the sausage not as seasoned.
Val's overall: 6
Luke's overall: 9
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 6
Luke's brisket: 8
Overall sausage: 8
Val's sausage: 8
Luke's sausage: 8


8. Black's BBQ -- Lockhart, TX.
And another tie, for 8th. Located just one block from Smitty's, Black's is another Lockhart staple.  We ordered sausage and brisket.  The sausage was great with a nice garlicky seasoning.  Eat it on its own sans sauce.  They lost a few points from me when the cutter sliced off the bark from the brisket.  He also didn't like it when Luke asked him to leave the black.  The original flavor sausage was a happy accident as we ordered jalapeno but once again cutty-joe messed up.  There is a larger emphasis on sides here than any other place visited but the meat can hold its own.  I'm also regretting not trying the pecan cobbler.
Val's overall: 9
Luke's overall: 7
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 8
Luke's brisket: 6
Overall sausage: 4
Val's sausage: 4
Luke's sausage: 4

8. Micklethwait Craft Meats -- Austin, TX.
Micklethwait's makes the list not for it's adherence to the traditional; this "new school" BBQ truck, located just blocks from Franklin, may not do it the way the founding fathers of BBQ do, but they are certainly doing it right.  The absolute impeccable attention to detail was remarkable.  Homemade pickles?  Yep (and absolutely incredible if you haven't had any before).  Homemade bread? Absolutely. The sauce was even non-traditional with an unmistakable addition of cloves.  The brisket was just okay and alone would not be reason enough to stop for a visit, but the sausage was awesome.  Micklethwait's offers a different, homemade, sausage daily.  For our visit, the offering was chorizo. It was great! The show stealer?  The cheese grits.  Oh my word!  These were the real deal -- nothing instant about the grits.  I think we ate more cheese grits than meat! And you have to finish the meal with dessert -- homemade buttermilk and pecan pies, and homemade moon pies. All so good!
Val's overall: 10
Luke's overall: 6
Overall brisket: 11
Val's brisket: 11
Luke's brisket: 11
Overall sausage: 3
Val's sausage: 3
Luke's sausage: 2

10.  Valentina's TexMex BBQ -- Austin, TX
Located behind Star Bar, on the infamous 6th Street in Austin, Valentina's is another "new school" bbq joint.  I have a soft spot in my heart for Valentina's primarily because of the commitment to cooking "what you know." I also love any place that does fusion food well -- and Valentina's does. We had the smoked brisket taco, the smoked carnitas taco and a cerveza fajita taco.  The brisket was done very well by bbq standards.  Obviously we didn't use bbq sauce -- but we didn't need it.  The carnitas were amazing too.  The stand out favorite was the cerveza fajita but duh -- cerveza and good steak are always a winning combo.  It's hard for me not to talk about Valentina's like a texmex spot -- the queso and chips were good, the tortillas were homemade, the tomatillo salsa was great.  Because of the fusion aspect, it's difficult to compare Valentina's to the likes of Louie Mueller and Franklin.  I will say the brisket was good -- definitely smoked like it should be.  On it's own -- I don't know; put it  in a tortilla with some onion and cilantro and YES! This is a must visit and one place I will definitely want to revisit when I can!
Val's overall: 8
Luke's overall: 10
Overall brisket: 9
Val's brisket: 9
Luke's brisket: 9
(they didn't have sausage, so no ranking for that)

11.  Blue Ox -- Austin, TX.
We had to work to get some bbq from Blue Ox!  Yelp steered us wrong on the time it opened so we had to re-work our plan to get this one to work.  Blue Ox BBQ truck is located behind Buzz Mill in a quaint courtyard with homemade "backyard" games.  We grabbed some brisket and pork tenderloin to go (along with some bacon mac n cheese). The brisket was just okay. The pork was tender and very well done -- it will just never be the reason we visit a bbq joint.  The sauce was nothing to write home about, as well it shouldn't be (sauce shouldn't steal the show!).  We have heard from others that this place is really good but we found it a little lacking compared to others.  There is some suspicion that we got an off day.  According to the girl cutting our meat, the two days prior were HUGE for them so we have to wonder if the demand was more than they could handle by day 3.   If there is any truth to that, it's understandable.  Don't write off Blue Ox just because it made 11 on our list. It was really good; we'll definitely give it another shot when we are in Austin.
Val's overall: 11
Luke's overall: 11
Overall brisket: 10
Val's brisket: 10
Luke's brisket: 10
(no sausage so no ranking)

So that's it.  Our definitive word on bbq. It's taken me 2 weeks to write this post and I am finally able to think about eating bbq without getting sick.  Luke, on the other hand, is already planning more stops the next time we head to Austin!

On habits and focus and lent and writing

Today marks the beginning of Lent and if the world's social media feed reads anything like mine, it feels as if everyone is focused.  Focused on making habits or breaking habits.  I find it interesting, regardless of faith, so much of the world seems to groan and stretch this time of year, yearning with a desire to right and return order, like some giant bear waking from it's hibernation slumber.

For those of us with Christian roots, we understand that this is the Lenten season -- a time of preparation, through prayer and self-denial, for the remembrance of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  Our self-denial (we prefer the word "fast" don't we?) is done with the goal of a closer relationship to God.  Of course, if the self-denial also helps break a bad habit then we've benefitted from the proverbial two birds and one stone scenario.

It's all this focus and waking and fasting that has me thinking today.  Much like the world-bear, my life has been in hibernation for a while.  Not holed up in a cave in the woods (although, don't tempt me) but nonetheless disengaged in my world; I've simply been going through the motions and imitating emotions.  I can feel my spirit groaning and stretching; I can feel the desire to right and return order.  Y'all it's been a dry and weary land around here lately. And I'm parched, deep down in my spirit -- thirsty.  And that's what's driving this writing -- here, today.  If I'm longing to restore order and if I'm stretching and throwing off old and if I'm desperately thirsty for life-giving Water, then to Him I must run, Him I must seek.  So for Lent, I'm not giving up something like soda or sugar or even meat (none of those wrong, by the way). No, I'm giving up chaos; I'm giving up disengagement; I'm giving up anger (someone much wiser than me said it was my choice...what a duh moment for me).  And I'm running, I mean RUNNING, for the Well-Spring.  I'm taking up discipline (hello budget and to-do list and food journal). I'm taking up deliberate (hello devotional and daily prayer appointments). Daily choosing life and the Life Giver.

Maybe it's not typical but nothing has been too terribly typical for me lately.

And with all that, maybe I'll write again. Maybe along the way I'll rediscover my voice.  Maybe.

Pinewood Derby

Hi, it's Jack.  On Friday I had my Pinewood Derby.  My Pinewood Derby was at Kingsland Baptist Church, in the loft room.  The race was between 1st-5th grade.  My car was called the Blue Storm.  It won 2nd place out of all 3rd grade, and I came in eighth place in the finals.  It took me three days to make my car.  I had a lot of fun.