Scott!

Great report. Beautiful food porn. Oh sweet Jesus, I am so excited--I can not wait to get down to Texas. I will be sure to go to Laird's when I am in Llano and report back.

That sirloin looked so incredible. Is that a rarity to see sirloin?

Thanks again,

Kristina

trixie-pea wrote:Is that a rarity to see sirloin?

It's not at all ubiquitous. But a small minority of places do it (usually ones that are using direct heat and mesquite). And it turns up in backyard barbecues and some competitions.

Speaking of less common barbecue items in Texas, last Sunday at 5:30 AM I was waiting in line at a Mexican barbecue joint in the Lower Rio Grande Valley for barbacoa. This is the only restaurant in Texas that still does barbacoa with mesquite coals in an underground pit, rather than steaming/braising the cow heads stovetop or in an oven. Fantastic stuff. It was so good (and my pictures turned out so poorly) that I'm tempted to make the 9-hour drive back down there in another couple of weeks.

While "foodie" culture seems to be on the rise in Texas, great old-school barbecue seems to be on the decline. These places are dinosaurs.

Scott

I am back from Austin/Central TX. Wow! It was an eye-opening trip. There were a lot of surprises---I will post my report with pictures soon.

We ended up going to :

Llano: Cooper's and Laird's
MarbleFalls:Pete Mesquites
Austin: Artz Ribhouse
Elgin: Meyer's, Southside Market, Crosstown,
Taylor: Mueller's and Vencel's
Lockhart: Kreuz Market (twice), Black's, Smitty's
Luling: City Market
Driftwood: Salt Lick (but it was closed)

Sounds like a great trip. Look forward to reading and seeing the results.

Earlier in this thread, there were some enquiries about the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

I've posted a few photos of a recent meal there at THIS LINK.

Scott

Scott--DFW wrote:Earlier in this thread, there were some enquiries about the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
I've posted a few photos of a recent meal there at THIS LINK.

A most enjoyable read, Scott. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Regards,
Erik M.

Scott--DFW wrote:Earlier in this thread, there were some enquiries about the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church

Scott,

Very interesting, especially the Yellow Rail info/pictures

I've never been to New Zion, great pictures and, even with your lukewarm review, I am very keen to go there.

Far as William's being worth $17 per lb for ribs, (Question posed Here]) that seems like quite a bit, could it have been $17 per full slab? I've been 4-5 times and thought the ribs and sausage very good, with the brisket good, but not as good as the ribs and sausage. My friend John, who lives in Houston, really likes their sauce as well.

Frankly, I have not been to William's or Otto's, another Houston favorite, in a while, my Houston BBQ preference now being Thelma's.


Not only is Thelma an extremely gracious hostess, but her ribs, brisket and, maybe most especially, fried catfish are top rank. Don't get me wrong, Thelma's brisket isn't Cooper's in Llano, or even Black's, but it's very damn good for 'city' BBQ.

Hugo's is high on my list for my next Houston trip.

Enjoy,
Gary