My father, brother and I planned to eat at three Hill Country barbecue restaurants in a row, but stop two had seemingly shut down. No problem. On our windy two-line drive west, we passed through a small town about every 15 minutes. One of them was bound to have decent barbecue. We entered Bertram and my father spotted a tan brick building that read “Bertram Smoke Haus.” He said, “Why don’t we at least take a look.” “Take a look” can only mean one thing in my family: Let’s eat.

An elaborate two-story restaurant offers high ceilings and full service. Our waiter told us that the building was erected in 1904 as a lumberyard, and sat vacant for years until 1994, when Paramount Pictures transformed the space into the Omaha Hotel for “The Newton Boys,” a movie starring Matthew McConaughey. The building then hosted special events until March 2008, when Stan Hausenflock, son Erick and nephew Chris Reinhart moved their two-year-old barbecue establishment from across the street.

The landing on the grand staircase features a mural from an unidentifiable river city. The riverboat seems to indicate the city might be located along the Mississippi. More interesting was the taxidermied lynx.

Bertram Bar-B-Q Plates are named for famous movie bad-asses, ranging from The Eastwood (half a pound of a single meat) to The Duke (3 pounds of mesquite smoked beef ribs). We ordered the Good The Bad & The Ugly ($13.50) – 1.5 pounds of brisket, spicy sausage and pork spare ribs.

Stan told us he’s in charge of the brisket. His son and nephew handle award winning ribs and chicken. Stan cooks the brisket for 10 hours out in the open, creating a smoke ring, then 2-4 hours more in foil, to retain moisture. He said the briskets weigh 12-15 pounds, and cook down to 8-10 pounds.

Bertram buys their terrific pork sausage from Taylor Meat Company, which has been around for over a century. The gritty dark sausages are seasoned with Cajun spices and green onion. They’re cooked for two hours out in the open, then finished for 1.5 hours in foil. Stan said the longer they cook the sausages, the spicier they get, but cook them too long and most customers can’t handle the heat.

Pork spare ribs were ridiculously tender, beyond fall-off-the-bone. If anything, they may have been too tender, a product of being finished in foil, which generates steam. Still, flavor was intact, as was the smoke ring. Erick and Chris cook the pork ribs for 3.5 hours total, the first two hours exposed to the smoke.

Our sides consisted of mesquite-smoked corn on the cob and country potatoes – sliced baked potato with onions and bell pepper in gravy.

Stan said his steaks are also good, grilled out back, never touching gas. He buys ribeyes from Express Meats in Austin, then hand cuts them.

After our meal, we asked Stan for a tour. Out back, Iron Star Hall features a stage that hosts country musicians, and a beer hall with picnic tables.

Stan was happy to show us his outdoor smokers.

Mesquite wood cooks and flavors meats.

On the drive from Austin, we commented that it’s been five years since the last Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue list. As if on cue, Stan said that Texas Monthly just visited and he was told Bertram Smoke Haus will make the Top 50 in the June 2008 issue. Stan said he recently received a follow-up phone call, to ask him a series of questions, which seems to indicate Bertram will appear in the Top 10, complete with an article in Texas Monthly. After our outstanding experience, we’re all convinced the impending accolade is well deserved.