Blogcritics

Central Texas BBQ: The Cele Store

Dave Nalle — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 12:54:42 EST

After 106 years in business, the Cele store is closing at the end of this month and taking part of the heart of Texas with it.
For over 100 years there was a store in Cele Texas (pronounced like the aquatic mammal). There was never much of a town, but there was a combination general store, saloon, and restaurant that served the Czech settlers of the region and surrounding microtowns like New Sweden and Rices Crossing. Every little town in Central Texas had a store, and...

Central Texas Barbeque: The Salt Lick

Dave Nalle — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:33:31 EDT

Why make your own sausage if the result ends up like something you'd buy at Safeway?
One Sunday afternoon we went out for barbecue, but we got a late start and missed Smitty's in Lockhart, which closes at 3. So we thought we should fill a gap in our barbecue education and try one of the most renowned barbecue hotspots in the region and headed west to Driftwood and the famous salt lick. We'd been to their location on Highway 360...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Central Texas BBQ: Texas Traditional Barbeque in Manor

Dave Nalle — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:33:47 EDT

With all this barbeque reviewing it seemed unfair not to give some attention to some pretty good barbeque which is available right here in my own little town of Manor at Texas Traditional Barbeque. It's located right on Highway 290 near the Manor stoplight, in the old red railroad shack which served fine barbeque for many years as Dusty's Barbeque until Dusty retired a few years ago.The new owner used to work at Southside Market in Elgin and when he decided to strike out on his own he moved a few miles down the road, brought his family with him, and set up in a location already rich in barbeque tradition. Texas Traditional Barbeque is a true family operation with the kids working the counter a lot of the time. The building is small as can be. There's barely room for a half-dozen tables inside, but there's a drive-thru and you can get anything you want to go if there's no room to sit down.They offer all of the usual meats, but in addition to brisket, chicken, pork ribs, and sausage, they also have some special items like baby back ribs, pork steak, and the recently added beef ribs. It's a pretty impressive selection of meats for such a small place. Sides include beans, green beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and corn. In addition to plates and meat by the pound you can get sliced or chopped brisket sandwiches, brisket wrapped in a tortilla, and sausage wraps on bread or tortillas. There are lots of options and the prices are fairly reasonable.What's striking about Texas Traditional Barbeque is not that any particular item is outstanding or remarkable, but that all of their meats are so consistently above average. There is literally nothing they serve which isn't pretty well done. At a lot of barbeque places there will be one or two items which are good and one or two which are unimpressive, but at TTBBQ you may not find your dream meal, but you'll always be satisfied with what you get. One of the main reasons for their consistency of quality is a very solid rub which is used on most of the meats. It adheres well and has a good, strong flavor and seals in the smoke.A sign on the front of the building advertises "Elgin Hot Sausage", but although their sausage is made at Southwest Market, it's made to their own recipe which has some significant differences from the Elgin standard. First off, the sausage is in short links like you find in Taylor rather than the long rings you find in Elgin. Second, it's a bit hotter and a lot less greasy than sausage from Southside tends to be, while retaining the coarseness and solidity of a Southside sausage. The shorter length makes it perfect for wraps and the overall flavor is quite good. It does taste like a traditional Elgin sausage, but it's just different enough to stand out.There's only so much I can say about the other meats. They're all above average. The chicken can be a bit dry and sometimes the brisket has a slight sour aftertaste, but they're both still quite good. I haven't had a chance to try the beef ribs yet, but the baby back ribs are excellent. They're tender and meaty and probably the best thing on the menu. The pork steak is a pork steak. I haven't got much use for them, but at least the flavor of the ones at TTBBQ is pretty good, even if they're typically gristly and dry. They must have something going for them because they often seem to be sold out.I'm awfully glad that TTBBQ came to Manor and took over when Dusty retired. For someone who likes barbeque a lot, I find it enormously convenient to have barbeque of such consistent quality right in my own figurative back yard. If you're on your way from Austin to Houston, take a few minutes and stop here in Manor and give Texas Traditional Barbeque a try. You won't be disappointed.

Dave Nalle has been a magazine editor, freelance writer, capitol hill staffer, game designer and taught college history for many years. He is a Liberty Republican and former Libertarian. He now designs fonts for a living and lives with his family just outside Austin. You can find his writings on politics and culture at Republic of Dave, on conspiracy theories at IdiotWars and on design and fonts at The Scriptorium.

Central Texas BBQ: Crosstown BBQ in Elgin

Dave Nalle — Wed, 8 Aug 2007 13:51:49 EDT

In my recent trips to nearby Elgin I've visited Meyer's and Southwest Market and had some good experiences, but in talking with local residents, the consensus seemed to be that I should get off of Highway 290 and try out Crosstown Barbeque in old downtown Elgin (202 S. Avenue C) if I really wanted to taste the best of Elgin barbeque.Crosstown is located right on the edge of the old business district in an unprepossessing metal building. Once you get inside the atmosphere is classic Texas rustic, with boar and deer heads on the walls, a kind of cowboy decor, a long serving counter, simple basic tables, and a big TV showing classic westerns. Crosstown is newer than its more famous competitors, but it's already established a reputation and a regular clientele.The menu is about as basic as they come, offering brisket, pork ribs, sausage, chicken and beef ribs. The selection of sides is very limited, with just beans and cole slaw. They don't even have fountain drinks. They've got home made iced tea and bottled soda from a cooler.I couldn't try everything in one visit, but I got a reasonably priced three-meat plate with brisket, pork ribs, and sausage and had them throw on a beef rib as a bonus. I got double beans instead of cole slaw because I just can't stand cold, slimy cabbage in any form. Elgin is famous for its sausage and I think Meyer's deserves that reputation, but what surprised me most at Crosstown is that their sausage is even better than Meyer's. It's very much the same sort of sausage, a rough ground and very peppery mix, with lots of character, but it's extra spicy with both black and cayenne pepper, and it has variations in flavor which suggest that the ingredients weren't mixed very well, but which I found really interesting. Every bite is a little bit different, but they're all good. It's not too greasy and comes in long, thin links. In my experience it may be the best sausage I've had, with more character than Kreuz's and more flavor than any of the others I've tried. I could have eaten just the sausage and been perfectly happy.The brisket is also quite good. It's very tender with a mild outer rub which might be a little too sweet and a bit underapplied. The meat might be a tiny bit dry, but overall it's pretty good. The pork ribs also have a sweet rub, more liberally applied and pretty tasty, but they were a bit tough. Having recently had really excellent ribs at Meyer's they didn't hold up in comparison, though they're certainly above average. The beef ribs were prepared similarly to the pork ribs, but I found them to be drier and a bit too smoky. I did get one of the last of the beef ribs for the day, so it's possible that they had been sitting in the smoker a bit too long.As for the sides, there's not much to say, though I did think the beans were better than average. They reminded me a bit of what they call 'charro beans' in local Mexican restaurants, with more spice and less of the sweet molassas flavor typical of baked beans.On the whole I was pleasantly surprised with Crosstown and it was quite clear why it's rated so highly by locals, despite being relatively unknown. It doesn't have a fancy website -- or any website at all -- and it's not shipping sausage all over the world (though it should), but it does have generally good barbeque and what is arguably the best sausage I've had in my 25 years in Texas. That makes it a must visit for anyone seriously interested in experiencing Texas barbeque.

Central Texas BBQ: Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse

Dave Nalle — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:22:56 EDT

Recently my review of Southwest Market in Elgin attracted a comment from an employee of their competitor, Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse, who was wondering if I was going to give their meats a try and write a review. It had been in my plans for this summer anyway, so last weekend I dragged my teenage daughter along and gave Meyer's a try.Meyer's is on the strip of businesses that line Highway 290 running to the south of downtown Elgin. It's on the east end, balancing out the presence of Southwest Market on the west end. Meyer's has been well known in Elgin for 75 years, but as a sausage factory which sells their sausage all over the Central Texas area, rather than as a restaurant. A few years ago they moved to the current location and added a dining area with a full menu of barbeque to their offerings. You can still buy their sausage to go, but now you can sit down and eat it too, along with a variety of other meats and side dishes.As usual I tried to get a little bit of everything, though I have to admit to stealing some of it off my daughter's plate. The selection is pretty standard, with brisket, sausage, pork ribs, chicken, turkey and ham steak. The sides include beans, German potato salad, pickles, onions and creamed corn and banana pudding for desert. Either by intent or omission our plates didn't include any barbeque sauce which was okay with me since I'm kind of a meat purist. There was a bottle of pretty deadly chili sauce on the table, but I decided not to kill my tastebuds by trying it. I ended up ordering a three meat combo plate for just under $10 and my daughter got a half chicken for a bit less.Not surprisingly, with 75 years of history behind it, the sausage was the best thing on my plate. It's the first time I've had Meyer's sausage and I was pleasantly surprised. It's different from the style of sausage I think of as Elgin sausage based on my experience at Southwest Market. It's less greasy and has more black pepper and the meat is coarse ground beef rather than the pork or mix of pork and beef I'd expected. Overall the flavor of the sausage is excellent, rather like the sausage at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, but in a longer link and less greasy. They also offer a sage sausage and a hot sausage, but you have to call ahead for them.My other two meats were brisket and pork ribs. The pork ribs were very good. They had a nice, flavorful rub and were meaty and very tender. Among the best pork ribs I've had recently. The brisket was not as good. Although it was lean and tender, it was dry, too smoky and had an aftertaste of some sour marinade which was unpleasant. To be fair, my daughter liked it, but I don't think it stands up to the quality of brisket I've come to expect from Texas barbeque.To round out my tasting I sneaked some chicken from my daughter's plate and I was pleasantly impressed. Quite often smoked chicken is either too dry, over marinated or sort of flavorless, but Meyers' was tender, moist and had an excellent smoky flavor. I didn't get to try the turkey, but my sources tell me that it's similar to the chicken but with that little extra bit of flavor that turkey offers.The sides were all pretty good, but there was nothing unusual or remarkable. The banana pudding got high marks, but it's hard to make bad banana pudding. There are some nice bonus features you don't find at a lot of barbeque places. Meyers has a drive thru, which is a real plus for those needing a couple of sausage wraps to go. Plus they serve breakfast tacos, which is a nice bonus. They also have a meat market, but on the day we went there was nothing there but packaged sausage.On the whole I thought Meyers was pretty good. There's too much great competition for it to be one of the very best in the area, but overall it's certainly in the top ten and the sausage is outstanding - easily in the top three. It's also pretty significant that their chicken and pork ribs are so good, because those are items which the majority of barbeque places have a lot of trouble getting right. There's plenty available at Meyers for a really good meal even without the brisket.

BBQ Review: Rudy Mikeska's in Taylor, Texas

Dave Nalle — Thu, 4 May 2006 07:48:48 EDT

Taylor is a town known for its good barbeque. It may not be quite as renowned as Lockhart or Llano, but it has its own special character and a barbeque tradition, which goes back several generations. Taylor's barbeque history intersects the legend of one of the best known families in Texas barbeque, the Mikeska brothers, six of whom have been in the barbeque business spread all over Central Texas in towns like Columbus, Smithville (now defunct), Temple, and El Campo (3 locations) with brother Rudy in Taylor.The Mikeskas have quite a reputation and a lot of press coverage going, largely driven by the charming idea of six Czech brothers cooking barbeque all over Central Texas for 40+ years -- now carrying on into another generation. The problem is, despite the romance involved, it's not worth much if the barbeque doesn't live up to the reputation. Having tried three of the Mikeskas' locations, I have to admit that so far, the reality falls short of the legend.Rudy Mikeska's is right on Business 79 in downtown Taylor, around the corner from Taylor Café, and on the same block with Louie Mueller's -- they actually have adjoining parking lots. Tim Mikeska, who goes by the name Rudy, currently runs the restaurant, but he is actually the son of the founder. He's the head of the whole cooking clan, so you'd expect his home restaurant to be the best of the lot; but there's a lot of autonomy, so there may be a Mikeska's I haven't been to yet which is better.The menu at Rudy Mikeska's offers all the usual meats -- brisket, chicken, pork ribs, and sausage, plus lamb ribs and ham steaks for something more unusual. In the times I've been there, they have yet to have lamb ribs available, but after two visits, I've now tried everything else. The chicken is passable but a bit dry. The pork ribs have virtually no flavor and are a bit tough. The ham steaks are interesting, but are reminiscent of shoe leather with some good flavor to them. The low point of my meals there has been the brisket, which always seems to be consistently dry and overcooked. The rub is decent and mildly peppery, but the meat fails on consistency and flavor. The high point of the meats is the sausage. It's short links of coarse ground, fairly greasy meat, stuffed at Taylor Meat Market to the specifications of the original Rudy. It's pretty tasty, with a mixture of the cayenne pepper, which is characteristic of Taylor sausage, and a hefty extra dose of black pepper. The result is quite spicy but very good. Overall, aside from the sausage, the meats are unremarkable to poor. Not what I expected from such a legendary barbeque family.For what it's worth -- and it's a secondary consideration -- the sides are quite good and there's a nice variety. The German-style potatoes were not at all bad, and like the other Mikeska brothers locations, they have some very nice homemade bread to go with the meat. The beans and greens were also passable.Rudy Mikeska's in Taylor isn't the worst barbeque in the area or the worst of the Mikeskas' locations I've tried. Those dubious honors go to Southside Market in Elgin and Clem Mikeska's in Temple, respectively. Mikeska's in Taylor isn't a total write off; it's just not up to the standards set by the other fine barbeque cooked in the area and certainly doesn't justify the massive hype. They've got something going for them with good sides and sausage, but if the smoked meat isn't the high point of a barbeque meal, what good is it?

Central Texas BBQ: John Mueller's in Austin

Dave Nalle — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 18:16:41 EST

With Austin surrounded by good barbeque, it's inevitable that despite our own homegrown urban barbeque, our ambitious and justifiably well regarded neighbors would try to colonize us and bring some country barbeque into the big city. After all, there are so many people here and a limited number of truly good barbeque joints, so why not try to cash in on the market?The most recent barbeque colony in Austin is John Mueller's barbeque which brings Taylor-style dining into the area near the University of Texas. John Mueller has barbeque in his veins. Which may mean they're somewhat clogged, but likely very tasty. His grandfather is the legendary Louis Mueller whose barbeque has been for sale at the same location on 2nd Street in Taylor since 1959.John Mueller's Barbeque is very much in the Taylor tradition, but he's clearly made an extra effort to be sure that he outdoes his forebearers in both quality and variety. Variety is often an weak point with barbeque joints, which have an unfortunate tendency to all offer the same selections of meat and sides and hope that their particular version of the standards will win them a following. Mueller's doesn't have this problem, as he's always adding specials to the menu - he's willing to try barbequing almost anything - and he has a nice selection of sides. The catch is that the specials aren't always successful and they tend to run out right after the UT Atheletic Department slams through the place at lunchtime.The location is great, just down Dean Keaton (AKA 26th Street) from Disch-Falk field, within easy walking distance of UT and on the border between the Blacklands neighborhood and French Place. It's a great area for hearty dining, with Hoover's Home Cooking across the street and East Side Cafe just down the street. Despite the fact that there was never a barbeque restaurant there in the past, Mueller's seems to have found an ideal facility, an old brick building which was already grimy, quirky and full of atmosphere, with room out back for some outdoor dining. There's a great big cutting table behind the checkout so you can see your meat as it's being prepared and shout out "don't trim off the fat." Even better, it means that as he's cutting the meat the cutter - usually John Mueller himself - brings you an end piece of brisket to sample before you order, an endearing practice and smart marketing since their brisket is truly remarkable.The meats include the basic standards: brisket, sausage, pork ribs and pork loin. Specials are posted on butcher paper and frequent offerings include turkey, barbequed steaks and pork butt. Standard sides are coleslaw, beans, potato salad and (rather unexpectedly) squash. They usually also have green beans and all sorts of interesting seasonal offerings as well, designed to appeal to the UT crowd who are sometimes not willing to admit they ought to be carnivores. The sides are good, but I'm not a squash fan. Plus, if veggies are what distinguishes a barbeque joint there's either something wrong with the meat or they have to be really remarkable, so that's all I'm going to say about the sides. They also have bottled sodas and beer, and a nice big TV to watch while you eat. They take cash, checks and credit cards - when their phone line is working. The only shortcoming is that they close too early at 7 p.m. for those of us who tend to put off dinner while doing other duties.When it comes to the basic meats, I think that John Mueller's is arguably the best barbeque in Texas -- or at least in the top three. Their rub is excellent, peppery, and adheres to the meats really well, guaranteeing good flavor. Their pork ribs are a bit dry, but very flavorful. Perhaps not the very best I've tasted, but at least in the top 20 percent. The pork loin is passable, but like all pork loin it tends to be bland. Interestingly it's much better than the pork loin at Louis Mueller's in Taylor, but that's not saying all that much. The sausage is Taylor-style short links and just excellent. It's the only restaurant with Taylor-style sausage in Austin and that alone is a big plus. For those not familiar with Central Texas sausage styles, the Taylor link is about 6 inches long, slightly curved with relatively dry and finely ground meat and flavored with a heavy emphasis on cayenne pepper. It's the best sausage around for wraps and probably the best everyday sausage for eating again and again. I know I have a freezer shelf full of them from the Taylor Meat Company. So all that stuff is good to excellent, but the real star is the Brisket. Without a doubt John Mueller makes the best brisket in Texas and likely in the world. It's amazingly tender and flavorful, with a beautiful outer crust which is just loaded with tasty seasoning. I've been studying the brisket for months and I think the secret is that he trims it before he cooks it, leaving only about a uniform quarter inch of fat on the meat, so that it gets flavor from the fat, but isn't insulated from the smoke by it. With a lot of brisket you find that all the flavor ends up in the fat and the meat is dry and bland. Mueller seems to have found a way to integrate the flavor so that the whole brisket tastes fantastic. He does offer customers the choice of fat or lean brisket, and when given that choice you should always take the fat, which isn't all that fatty but is just a bit tastier. The brisket is so good that along with the rest of the meats being at least good, it raises the overall quality of the meat to the top of the heap. I should also mention some of the special feature meats. The turkey has been good the times I've tried it, but barbequed steaks are a crime against steak. It's the one cut of meat that really isn't better when smoked as it ends up tough, dry and flavorless. The highpoint of the featured meats I've tried has been the pork butt. Why anyone would barbeque pork loin when butt is cheaper and so much more delicious is an absolute mystery to me. Pork butt is naturally moist and becomes nice and tender when slow cooked. It's the one thing I've had at John Mueller's that rivals their brisket for pure deliciousness. It's reminiscent of the soul-food pork butt at Dot's Place, incredibly tender, rich, and flavorful. I wish they had it every day.I'm afraid that I have to admit that even though John Mueller's is a foreign interloper, I think it may be the best barbeque in Austin. Some of the others like Sam's and Ben's Longbranch can give it a run for its money, but Mueller's comes out ahead because of their Taylor sausage and excellent brisket. They've taken the best of Taylor barbeque and improved on it, and that's hard to beat.Now the bad news. Between the time I originally wrote this article and now when I finally wrote it up in final form, John Mueller's has closed. Just having great barbeque wasn't enough to keep them going. Between problems with their Time-Warner digital phone service making them unable to take credit cards or take call in orders and a lack of initial operating capital, they started to run into problems last fall and finally closed up at the end of January. The rumor is that they're going to reopen in a different location, but there's no news yet on when or where. You can follow the rumors on the local Longhorn fans message board or keep an eye on Rob Balon's website for news and developments.

Central Texas BBQ: Taylor Cafe

Dave Nalle — Sat, 5 Nov 2005 02:58:23 EST

Austin is the sun at the heart of a solar system of great barbeque. Orbiting around it are a number of towns known for their unique barbeque, most notably Lockhart to the southeast, Elgin to the east, Taylor to the northeast and Llano to the west. Each of these towns has their unique style of barbeque and several good restaurants, and I find myself driving every so often to one of these points to try out an old favorite or experiment with something new.This week I went for lunch at a unique spot that's new to me, but very old and familiar to the people of Taylor, Vencil Mares' Taylor Cafe. The cafe is a well-kept secret which I wasn't even aware of until I chanced to see a sign for it from an overpass by the railyard in downtown Taylor. I noted it and made plans to come back later and try it out. Other Taylor barbeque restaurants have gotten a lot of attention in the regional and national press and through it all the Taylor Cafe has remained the preference of the old-time barbeque afficionados of the local population.Taylor is one of the few still functioning industrial towns in Texas, a unique throwback to an older age, with factories and active train traffic and a lot of character. Vencil Mares started the Taylor Cafe almost 60 years ago when he got back from World War II. It's right by the railyard, so close that the walls shake and you can't talk on the phone when the freight trains pass through. Inside it's dark and welcoming. There are a few tables around the walls, but the proper place to eat is the u-shaped counter that fills most of the room, leaving room for a pool table and an old Galaga game in one corner.Authentic atmosphere doesn't always guarantee good barbeque, but in this case some pretty marvelous things come from the smokers behind the building. The menu is limited to standard offerings, with the usual beef brisket, sausage, pork ribs and chicken. An interesting addition is the turkey sausage, and the sides are pretty basic, including pickles, onions, bread and crackers. You can get your barbeque in plates, by the pound or in several types of sandwich. They've got the usual drinks, but they also have beer, which seems to be a major attraction for a lot of the locals who spend time at the Taylor Cafe which seems to have an almost resident clientele for whom it's a social gathering spot.As usual I spared no expense and tried to get a little bit of everything on a customized plate full of goodies. The standout items on the menu were the beef brisket and the sausage. The brisket is what Taylor Cafe is most known for and it lives up to its reputation. It's extraordinarily tender and flavorful. Apparently it's cooked for much longer than brisket usually is and I suspect it's also marinated before cooking. The result is a lot like a good quality pot roast, but with wood smoke flavor added. It's truly excellent, certainly one of the best briskets I've tasted. The sausage is also very good. It's a rough-ground big-link sausage remiscent of Elgin sausage, but not too greasy and loaded with black pepper which really gives it a memorable flavor. The turkey sausage is also good, though it lacks the character of the regular sausage. The ribs are the lowpoint. They're tough and somewhat vinegary. I literally couldn't eat more than a couple of bites. I'd also avoid the barbeque sauce which is heavy on the molasses and way too sweet. A small dab might be okay on a sandwich, but that's about it.So the next time you're driving down Texas Highway 79 - which I'm sure you do all the time - pass by Hutto and take a left at the bizarre exit that says Granger but actually goes to downtown Taylor. Keep an eyeout for the Taylor Cafe on the left as you take the bridge over the railyard and stop in for a brisket sandwich and a sausage wrap and maybe stick around for a beer. There are few finer ways to enjoy classic Texas barbeque in a friendly small town smokery.Dave

Downtown Barbeque - Sam's in East Austin

Dave Nalle — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 03:35:32 EDT

In the heart of the Blacklands neighborhood on the eastside of downtown Austin is Sam's Barbeque, the quintessence of the gritty urban barbeque joint. Sam's has character to spare, but it's not just about atmosphere. They've earned the coverage they've gotten in newspapers and magazines all over the nation as one of Texas' best by offering some fine no-frills barbeque for more than 20 years.I lived only a few blocks from Sam's for many years, so I'm intimately familiar with their offerings. We used to get take-out at least once a week when we lived in town, but since moving to the exurbs, my visits to Sam's have been infrequent. I did get back there recently for a late night flashback tour of their menu and a perfect opportunity to put together this review.When you first approach it, even with a beautiful sunset behind it as shown above, Sam's is pretty unprepossessing. It's a small, old frame house with a single small room for diners, featuring two booths, a couple of tables and barely functioning air conditioning. The walls are papered with posters and photos of visiting celebrities and community notices and there's a TV in the corner with basketball constantly playing. Seating capacity is maybe 20 people, but when Sam's burnt down in 1992 they added an outside deck with a few picnic tables for overflow crowds. It looks like it's been there since the dawn of time. The walls are greasy, the windows are almost opaque, and there are ziplock bags full of water hanging in the windowframes which somehow magically repel flies. The neighborhood is terrible - though the Nation of Islam finally chased off the floating crapgame which had been at 12th and Chicon for years - so it's not surprising that space is limited since most of their business is takeout. The uninformed visitor would never guess that Sam's was one of the most famous barbeque joints in the nation unless they noticed all the yellowing clippings, grimy awards and glowing testimonials thumbtacked to the walls.So that's the atmosphere. How's the barbeque? It starts off with the usual. There's sausage, brisket, pork ribs and chicken plus typical sides like beans, potato salad, pickles, chips, crackers, white bread and onions. That's all pretty typical, but there's also something you don't see that often, barbequed mutton. There's iced tea and a cooler with sodas and desserts in it. The food comes on styrofoam plates for dining in or wrapped in white butcher paper for carryout.All of the meats use more or less the same rub, which is mild and fairly lightly applied. This is different from most Texas style barbeque, and sort of begs for the application of at least a little sauce. Of the standard items the ribs and the chicken are nicely done, but unremarkable. Despite all the barbeque I've eaten over the years I know bad ribs or chicken when I taste them, but if they're good I can't always differentiate just good from really excellent. The chicken's not dry and the ribs are meaty and flavorful and that's a good start. The brisket isn't up to the same standard. It tends to be a little tough a little too lean and sort of flavorless. It's definitely their weakest offering. In contrast, their homemade sausage is really excellent. It's not as exotic as Kreuz's or as spicy as some, but it's a coarse-ground, flavorful and peppery long-link sausage similar in style to the renowned but overrated links from Southside Market in Elgin, but less greasy and much more tasty. Pretty good so far, but Sam's has a secret weapon, the breast of mutton. Mutton is a non-standard offering, and everywhere else I've tried it I've been disappointed to the point of downright horror in at least one case. It tends to be greasy and often flavorless and full of tiny bones and unidentifiable things. Not so at Sam's. Theirs is excellent. Most people won't be brave enough to try it, but if they do they won't be disappointed. I think the secret is that they cook it longer anhd slower than their other meats - the softness of the rib bones bears this out. It develops a rich and complex flavor, a lot of the usual grease cooks off, and it has a crust which has a concentrated flavor which is outstanding.As a barbeque purist I often deride sauce and those who put it on their meats. Too often it's used to hide bad cooking. But when BBQ mistress Ronnie (shown in the photo to the left) offers you some sauce, you ought to consider it. Sam's has one of very few sauces which are worth having in their own right. It's peppery and thick and not excessively sweet or vinegary. It's one of the few sauces I can put on barbeque and feel like it really compliments the meat rather than smothering the flavor. I think that to a large extent the excellence of the sauce is part of what makes Sam's such a hit with out-of-towners and food journalists. They're not from Texas and they're probably afraid to try the mutton, but they expect barbeque to have sauce on it, and in this are Sam's doesn't disappoint.Sam's is at East 12th and Coleto. Unlike John Mueller's which is not far away and closes inexplicably at 7pm, Sam's is open until 4am. It may not be as good as Mueller's overall, but it's got that killer mutton and it's open late at night, and that's hard to beat.Dave

BBQ: A Trip to Kreuz Market in Lockhart

Dave Nalle — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:03:12 EDT

Wasn't it Socrates who once said that Barbeque is the highest art form which a cook can aspire to? Or is that why the Golden Age ended - they lost the secrets of marinating brisket properly? Somehow, passed down from generation to generation and from the old world to the new, the deepest secrets of smoking meat to perfection have been preserved by the Schmidt family and put on display at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas.Lockhart is the Mecca of Texas Barbeque, largely because of Kreuz Market and its cousin Smitty's Market. The original Kreuz Market began selling Barbeque out of the back room of the butcher shop and market when the Schmidt family took over the store from the Kreuzes in 1948. Pretty soon their exceptional smoked meats became the main focus of the business. After 99 years in the same location, Kreuz's ended up moving to a new location on the Austin-Lockhart road because of a family squabble over who would control the market. Part of the family stayed behind and launched Smitty's Market in the original Kreuz's location and Rick Schmidt built a literal palace of Barbeque to continue the Kreuz Market tradition.Both the new Kreuz's and Smitty's have the same basic meat recipes and the same general style of presenting their offerings, but they've added small variations to their menus since they split up, while keeping the essentials the same. For example you won't find German Potatoes or Sauerkraut at Smitty's, but they're open on Sundays - trying a bit harder since they didn't get to keep the name - and they've made some small changes in how they cook some of the meats. Both are excellent, but there are just enough differences to distinguish them from each other. Look for a full review of Smitty's soon. The new Kreuz's is literally a barbeque palace, with enormous pits modeled on the brick monstrosities at the old location but three times the size, and with two dining halls big enough to function as a convention center. There are two cutting blocks and two condiment bars so there's not much of a problem with lines even at prime times. It's the biggest barbeque restaurant I've ever seen, easily large enough to accomodate 800 diners.The focus at Kreuz's is on their exceptional smoked meats. There's no Barbeque sauce on the meat or on the table - good Barbeque doesn't need sauce to hide imperfections in the flavor. All they offer to add to the meat is chili sauce and a tasty homemade salt and pepper mix similar to their meat rub. There are no 'plates' like you might find in a more common barbeque 'restaurant'. You buy the meat straight from the cutting block infront of the blazing brick pits and you buy it by the pound, served on butcher paper with squares of butcher paper for plates. It's a messy experience and you're expected to eat with your fingers. Fortunately there are plenty of paper towels at every table.The condiments and drinks are sold at a separate counter and include slabs of cheddar cheese, pickles, avocado, tomato, chips and the recently added sauerkraut and german potatoes. The condiments counter also has drinks (including beer) and also Blue Bell ice cream and cookies for desert. Around the corner you can buy sausage to take away. Unlike Smitty's they no longer have a full butcher shop.The selection of meats covers the basics with some unusual items as well. There are three kinds of beef - traditional fatty briskit and leaner shoulder meat plus the much more unusual smoked prime rib. For pork there are ribs, pork chops and boneless ham. And finally there are two types of sausage, their traditional peppery looped links and the newly added jalapeno cheese variant. While I appreciate their desire to innovate, there's no way on earth I'm going to eat a jalapeno cheese sausage, not even for a review. In addition to selling the hot meats they also offer cooked and uncooked sausage to take home individually or in large packs. They also ship their meats and sausage to barbeque lovers everywhere.Everything Kreuz's serves is good, but some items stand out as exceptional. On the whole their beef offerings are quite nice, with a tasty rub and good quality meat. The shoulder is really too lean, and even their brisket is less fatty than most, but has good flavor. Of the three beef selections the prime rib is the one which stands out as better than the rest, but accross the board Kreuz's beef suffers from being a bit too dry and not terribly tender. It's good, but it's not great. Their pork, on the other hand, is simply brilliant. The ham is the weak point, a bit dry and not terribly interesting, but I have to admit to not really being a fan of ham in the first place. The ribs are delicious, tender with a tasty rub and lots of meat. But the real standout of the pork items are the pork chops, huge loin chops with lots of spicy crust and the bone still in to give you something to hold onto. They're what I would call a Llano chop, because they are in the style of the chops which distinguish the barbeque of that hill country town. Most barbeque joints offer a very dry, relatively flavorless, boneless, trimmed pork loin which really has nothing to recommend it. Kreuz's chops are the same cut of meat, but presented in a way which preserves flavor and tenderness that's impossible to resist. Order end chops if they have them available. You get even more of the great peppery crust. And of course, the thing which makes Kreuz's legendary worldwide is their sausage. It's what defines the Lockhart style of sausage, a stand-alone link which is looped and tied to itself instead of tied to other sausages. It's filled with coarse-ground pork and seasonings, especially lots and lots of fresh ground black pepper. There's no other sausage like this. With black pepper replacing more common flavorings it has a unique taste which is really exceptional.Kreuz Market offers all their best items by mailorder through their website, including the inevitable commemorative items like hats and shirts. You can order pork chops, ribs, sausage and their beef selections, pre-cooked and shipped overnight ready for reheating. The sausage actually tastes even better reheated a few days later. There's a reason why Rick Schmidt could afford to give up the old location and build this enormous barbeque palace. Kreuz's is arguably the best barbeque in the world and they know it, and have seen it confirmed by the success of their mailorder business. Most barbeque places are doing great if they have one item on the menu which can stand on its own without sauce and truly tastes great, or several items which have good, solid taste. Kreuz's boasts exceptional chops, pork ribs and truly marvelous sausage, and none of their other items is less than good in its own right. If you can't get to Lockhart, order some Kreuz sausage right now and you won't be disappointed.Copyright 2005, Dave Nalle - from his forthcoming book Central Texas Barbeque and Beyond