Sunday, November 30, 2008

If there's better BBQ in Texas, I haven't found it


We decided that it was time to visit what is deemed by Texas Monthly Magazine as the best BBQ in the state. I'm usually quite dubious about such honors and awards. There is some absolutely amazing barbecue in the Texas Hill Country and surrounds and that is one hell of a bold statement.

We agreed to depart from Mike's at 7:30AM for the drive to Snow's. They are only open on Saturdays, open at 8, and close when they run out, which is apparently always before noon. We headed off on a scenic route that took us out of Wimberley and past more single wides that I've ever seen in a stretch. We rolled into Lexington, TX at about 9:20, and there was a line out the door.
As we made our way up through the line, we kept hearing reports of what they were out of, first ribs, and then pork butt. This torture was exacerbated by Saul who was right in front of us, and seemed completely unfamiliar with commerce on every level. He also had acute spatial and social issues, not to mention the joy he seemed to take in trying to order the last of everything.


When Edmond and I finally made it to the front of the line we were relieved to find that they still had brisket, sausage and chicken. We made our way out to a picnic table adjacent to their pits, and were quickly transported to gastronomic bliss. Simply put, consensus of all four put these three items at the top of what we had experienced, and overall Snow's had admirably earned the distinction of being the best in Texas. The only single item that rivaled and perhaps bettered anything that we had at Snow's was the beef rib at Cooper's in Llano.

Lessons learned:
1. Texas monthly is reputable and accurate at least in matters of BBQ.

2. If you want any selection at all, get to Snow's shortly after 8AM when they open

5 comments:

tracy said...

Beautiful photos! What kind of camera are you using?

I have to admit:I'm willing to low-brow it and eat BBQ at Smitty's
if it means I can eat it for lunch instead of breakfast.

Josh said...

The camera is a Pentax K10D and all of the Snow's shots were taken with the Sigma 30mm f1/4 Prime lens.

Brisket and sausage at 9:30AM after a 2 hour drive was a bit much. The dining room was packed, and the line was out the door. Very strange. Although the best, I would put it incrementally not significantly better than Black's or Smitty's in Lockhart.

LazyMF said...

Kilgore: Smell that? You smell that?
Lance: What?
Kilgore: Brisket, son. Nothing in the world smells like that.
[kneels]
Kilgore: I love the smell of brisket in the morning. You know, one time we had a brisket smoked, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' oak log. The smell, you know that post oak charcoal smell, the whole pit. Smelled like... victory. Someday this quest's gonna end...
[Kilgore unhappily walks off]

monochromish said...

epic

tracy said...

Te horror! The horror!

What I'm Reading

Followers

What I'm listening to lately

  • Ben Kweller-Changing Horses
  • Trojan Country Reggae Box Set
  • The Grand Archives
  • Sun is Shining- Bob Marley vs Lee Scratch Perry
  • A.C. Newman-Get Guilty
  • Justin Townes Earle-The Good Life
  • Bon Iver-Blood Bank
  • Breathe Owl Breathe-Ghost Glacier
  • Noah and the Whale
  • Conor Oberst
  • Frightened Rabbit-The Midnight Organ Fight

Smitty's Barbecue

Smitty's Barbecue