My father attended grad school at the University of Texas in the late ‘60s, long before urban sprawl began encroaching on the surrounding Hill Country. Every spring, my father, brother and I converge on Austin to gorge on barbecue, driving through Hill Country to eat at many of the same restaurants that were available to my father forty years ago. This is the travelogue from our latest 36-hour bender, which lasted from May 16-18.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The best Texas barbecue places typically limit their decor to mounted animal heads, and some spots don’t even bother with utensils, so the prospect of consuming Lamberts “fancy barbecue” was a little daunting. However, Louis Lambert and chef-partner Larry McGuire did print a pig-butchering chart on the menu, so it was worth giving them a chance. Crispy Wild Boar Ribs were a lot like Buffalo chicken wings, but there wasn’t nearly enough meat on the tiny bones. The brown sugar and coffee rubbed Natural Beef Brisket featured thick, juicy, oak-smoked slices, with a pretty respectable smoke ring. Oak-grilled meats sounded especially delicious, and were. Mustard and Brown Sugar Crusted Niman Ranch Ribeye was terrific, crusty on the outside, juicy within, sweet and spicy. Buttery Natural Hanger Steak was slathered with spicy Cholula butter. A blackboard special - Country Side Farms suckling pig porchetta – featured two wide slices of a sausage made from a de-boned baby pig. The tender, crisp-edged hog meat was plated with a dish of rosemary & fennel jam, organic arugula and grilled toast. We shared four of Lamberts Family Style Sides, highlighted by Baked Mac and 3 Cheeses, made with creamy cheddar made exclusively for Lamberts, goat cheese and spicy Mexican cheese, baked until crusty. For dessert, Chocolate Brioche Bread pudding was hot and buttery, not too sweet, crowned with vanilla bean ice cream and chunks of walnut brittle. The thick slice of Banana Cream Pie featured a thick layer of whipped cream, plenty of banana chunks, a flaky crust and candied macadamia nuts. Fried Blackberry Pie was a letdown, way too tart, especially when paired with tart lemon ice cream.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
We drove north out of Austin at 10:30 to begin our only full day of eating. In Texas Monthly’s 2003 round-up of the state’s Top 50 barbecue spots, Schoepf’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que scored a 4.5 rating out of 5, making it our first stop. Schoepf’s definitely lacks the history of Texas’ better-known barbecue establishments. According to the counterman, Ronnie Schoepf, Sr. opened the restaurant just fifteen years ago. Now Ronnie, Jr. and wife Staci run the show. The three of us purchased almost 4.5 pounds of meat for $46.49, an absurd amount of meat, especially considering we had three more lunches planned. The brisket had zero smoke ring and was both dry and bland. Highly disappointing, especially considering any Texas barbecue spot is judged on its brisket. Thankfully, we found more success with other meats. The half chicken was cooked for 2 hours and had a peppery crust. Pork ribs and the pork chop were similarly peppery, with nice lacquered skins. Sausages were available mild, medium or hot. We chose medium. The sausage was smoked for a paltry 30 minutes, and it showed. The meat was a little watery and the skin had no snap. Brick-sized slabs of plain and jalapeno cornbread were semi-sweet and moist. It was only the first of the day’s four barbecue stops, and though we would find better down the road, the Schoepfs do a respectable job with pork and have a deft touch with chicken.
Burnet County Barbecue had a disconnected phone number, so we flipped through two barbecue books and that 2003 issue of Texas Monthly to find an alternative. Richard K. Troxell rated Lucye’s an 8.75 out of 10 in “Barbecuing around Texas,” and it was nearby in Salado. Lucye’s had been replaced by a steakhouse, so we drove west toward Llano.
On our windy drive down two-lane blacktop, we passed through a small town about every fifteen minutes. One of them was bound to have decent barbecue, right? In Bertram, 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.
We discovered an elaborate two-story restaurant with 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,” starring Matthew McConaughey. In March 2008, Stan Hausenflock, son Erick and nephew Chris Reinhart moved their two-year-old barbecue establishment from across the street. Bertram Bar-B-Q Plates are named for famous movie bad-asses, ranging from The Eastwood (1/2 pound) to The Duke (3 pounds of beef ribs). We ordered the Good The Bad & The Ugly ($13.50) – 1.5 pounds of brisket, spicy sausage and pork spare ribs. 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. Bertram buys their terrific pork sausage from Taylor Meat Company, which has been stuffing casings for over a century. The gritty dark sausages are seasoned with Cajun spices and green onion. Stan said the longer they cook the sausages, the spicier they get. Pork spare ribs were ridiculously tender, beyond fall-off-the-bone. After our meal, Stan was happy to show us his outdoor smokers and mesquite stack. Out back, Iron Star Hall features a stage that hosts country musicians, and a beer hall with picnic tables. On the drive from Austin, we commented that it had 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 was set to make the Top 50 in the June 2008 issue. They did. After our outstanding experience, the accolade was well deserved.
In Burnet, the book Texas Barbecue, by Paris Permenter & John Bigley, listed Hill Country Smokehouse in town, but we either couldn’t find it, or the restaurant had closed down. The book was over five years old, after all. On our way out of town, surprise, surprise, we drove by Burnet County Barbecue, which definitely hadn’t closed. “Food GPS my ass,” my dad said. Turns out the nearly 40-year-old establishment had a new owner and a new phone number. This tiny order-at-the-counter establishment somehow made the Texas Monthly Top 50 in 2003, with a 4.5 rating. It’s certainly a cool looking place, long and lean, with stonework on the outside, and a wood and corrugated-metal interior. A self-defeating message on the menu read: “We may not serve the best bar-b-que in Texas – okay – but we still serve good food – with a good attitude and a happy heart!!!” When we ordered at the counter, the demoralized owner literally couldn’t find a slice of brisket that wasn’t pure fat. It was incredible that he’d admit that, and that he’d buy such feeble meat. When asked what kind of wood he uses, he said, “Mesquite, but if you mix in pecan, it gives the meat a real nice flavor.” Why didn’t he use pecan? Not that it would have mattered. The Three Meat Plate ($8.75) - sliced beef, sausage and pork ribs - came with vinegary cole slaw and potato salad that was absolutely swimming in mayo. In case you don’t know, mayo is a four-letter word, so this was a disturbing sight. The brisket was so fatty it was impossible to eat, and the other meats were rubbery and bland. Strangely, after the new owner bought Burnet County in March, he kept the 2003 Texas Monthly article on the wall, as if it were still notable. It wasn’t.
We arrived in Llano, “the deer capital of Texas,” to find a row of motorcycles parked outside Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que and a line of customers near their impressive mesquite smokers. Seven or eight years ago, we ate at the revered barbecue restaurant and had an earth-shattering dining experience. Once again, we chose to tango with memories of great meals past, always a dangerous pastime. Each massive smoker held trays of spice rubbed pork tenderloin, lamb ribs, brisket, pork chops, sausage, chicken and ribs. We ordered half a sausage link, a thick slab of brisket, half a chicken and Cooper’s signature “big chop.” The pitman asked if we wanted “sauce.” We did, so he speared our desired chunks of meat and dipped them in a bucket of sauce before tossing them on a plastic tray. We took the heavy tray inside for weighing and carving. Walls held the requisite amount of deer heads, plus a lynx poised to pounce on customers dining at the picnic tables below. The walls also featured photos of famed Texans who have dined at the restaurant, including 43, UT football coach Mack Brown, and Governor Rick Perry, who evidently went to school with owner Terry Wootan at Texas A&M. Each slice of brisket featured a nice smoke ring, not too much fat and plenty of smoky flavor. The chicken was tremendous, lacquered and luscious. If the bird had crisper skin, it would have achieved poultry perfection. The big chop was similarly outstanding, peppery and moist. The sausage link featured nice snap, but could have been grainier. The finely chopped cole slaw was nice and crisp, without too much corrupting mayo. Cooper’s barbecue wasn’t as staggering as we remembered, but the food was still very good, probably still in the Hill Country’s Top 8. Of course it was tough to gauge after eating three other barbecue meals.
My father, brother and I capped four consecutive barbecue lunches with a pie stop in Marble Falls. Blue Bonnet Café is named for a local flower that lines Hill Country roads in the spring. The café has been open since 1930, the current owners are John and Belinda Kemper, and yes, they offer Pie Happy Hour. We were clearly in the right place. Most of the house-baked pies involve cream or high-top meringue. Peanut Butter Cream featured crumbled peanuts and a dish of chocolate sauce. My chocoholic brother selected Chocolate Cream, which was semi sweet and dusted with cocoa powder. Coconut Cream sported toasted coconut shavings. We clearly didn’t need a fourth slice, but in the interest of research, ordered one non-cream pie: apple. The crust was firm, pocked with cinnamon, and contained sweet strips of baked apple. We’ve eaten better pie in Texas Hill Country, but Blue Bonnet Café definitely delivered a sweet ending to our gluttonous day-trip.
Four hours later, we clearly didn’t need any more food, but we all had fond memories of Hoover’s Cooking, Hoover Alexander’s soul food spot in northeast Austin. Since we’re only in Texas once a year, might as well make it count, no matter how much damage we do to our stomachs. Hoover is a native Texan who credits his mother Dorothy as an important influence. He also seems to have a sense of humor. On his restaurant’s colorful sign, the apostrophe in Hoover’s is a green chile pepper, and he wears a sausage link necklace. We quickly received a complimentary basket of dry cornbread muffins and fluffy sweet potato biscuits. Glazed and charbroiled ham steak was succulent and smoky, served with a dish of “Jezebel” sauce, a mixture of horseradish, orange marmalade and pineapple. Hoover’s always offers a top-flight list of sides, plus blackboard specials. My accompaniments were spicy jalapeno creamed spinach and buttered cabbage. My father ordered meatloaf, a half-pound blend of chuck, onions, bell peppers and spices. His sides were fried okra and cinnamon-tinged candied yams. My brother also ordered the meatloaf, but since he’s a traditionalist, opted for mashed potatoes with gravy and smoky green beans seasoned with pork. The pitcher of lemonade was the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Was the dinner at Hoover’s Cooking worth the additional damage to our stomachs? Absolutely.
Incredibly, after all our consumption, my dad was craving ice cream, so driving back to the hotel, he swung the car by Amy’s and said, “If I can find a spot, we’re going.” Of course we found a spot out front. It was gastro-destiny. Coconut tres leches was tempting, but my stomach might have imploded. My dad got a small cup of coffee, and Eric got a small cup of chocolate. They skipped “crush ins.” Must have been watching their figures.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Before driving to the airport and heading our separate ways, we always stop at The Salt Lick BBQ, a now legendary barbecue restaurant that has reduced two family members to tears. The Salt Lick has become a Hill Country tourist attraction. As a result, they’re happy to usher diners (including me) behind the hand-built pit to take photos. We ordered family style dinner ($18.95 per person), all you can eat pork ribs, brisket and pork sausage. As always, the brisket was luscious. The ribs could have been meatier, but sported caramelized skins. The sausage had taut skin and massive flavor. We of course requested refills with burnt ends, the prized outside pieces of brisket that are caramelized and chewy from smoke-buffeted applications of sauce. The dinner comes with helpings of German potato salad (with mustard and onions), cole slaw (with celery seed), pinto beans and white bread. We received a bowl of the Salt Lick’s classic vinegar and mustard-based barbecue sauce, plus a habanero version that was a lighter shade of orange, with more kick. For dessert, my father insisted on ordering a peach cobbler. After downing burnt ends, I could only manage a bite each of cobbler and vanilla ice cream. After eating five other barbecue meals at some of the most highly lauded spots in Texas Hill Country, we still had supreme respect for The Salt Lick. Sure, the Lick has a booth in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport food court, but consistently high quality has kept the original location a deserving gastro-destination.
A week after we returned home, Texas Monthly published their latest Top 50. Turns out the new #1 barbecue joint in the state, Snow’s Barbeque in Lexington, is just an hour from Austin, and there are five other spots within easy driving distance of the state capitol that we haven’t eaten at, including Opie’s Barbecue in Spicewood, Mann’s Smokehouse Bar-BQ in Austin, Taylor Café in Taylor, Whup’s Boomerang Barbecue in Marlin, and City Meat Market in Giddings. On the trip, we debated the benefits of returning for a fourth state meal. With six new places to try, the debate is over.
Here are links to the full reviews of our two favorite stops on the barbecue trail:
After reading your reviews It’s easy for me to see you know almost nothing about Texas BBQ. My main complaint has to be about your review of Burnet county BBQ. As a longtime resident of the hill country I have sampled many kinds and this review is flat WRONG. I have ate there several times and enjoyed every encounter. The brisket is second to none along with the chopped beef and sausage as well. Also the potato salad is a mustard base and doesn’t even contain mayo. I highly recommend this establishment to anyone visiting the area. So my comment to you Mr. “Bender” is to stick with your Cali bbq!!