The Salt Lick BBQ has become a Lurie family tradition. My father first ate at the now-legendary Hill Country barbecue establishment while attending grad school at UT in the late ’60s. My father, brother and I now convene in Austin each spring to eat obscene amounts of barbecue, always concluding our long weekends at The Salt Lick. Not only for nostalgia’s sake, but because The Lick features some of the best barbecue in the state. Meaning it’s some of the best ‘cue anywhere.

The Salt Lick entrance resides along FM 1826. FM stands to Farm-to-Market, clearly a bygone term now that the farmland between Austin and Driftwood is being developed at such a rapid clip.

In honor of Mother’s Day, The Salt Lick was overflowing with customers. There were easily 100 people waiting outside the next-door pavilion, listening to a guitarist sing songs from local artists like John Prine. Unfortunately, my dad and brother had a 4:10 flight to catch, it was 12:40, and our ETA on getting a table was an hour to an hour-and-a-half. There was a pretty good chance they’d miss their flight. We were given two options: takeout or chance it. We stuck it out. Thankfully, after over a half-hour, the teenage girl who controlled the list took pity on us and allowed us into the Banquet Room, usually reserved for special occasion bookings.

The stone banquet room was strung with white Christmas lights and fit several rows of lengthy picnic tables.

There was minimal decoration in the Pavilion. This wagon wheel and Lone Star were a couple exceptions.

Considering how many times we’ve eaten at The Salt Lick, we didn’t need a menu. We ordered family style ($15.95 per person) which included unlimited portions of sliced sausage links, pork ribs and beef brisket. All the meats came slathered in sauce. The ribs were especially succulent, with bronzed skins and tender meat that was infused with sauce and smoke. The brisket was juicy, with a nice quarter-inch smoke ring and caramelized crust. The links could have featured crisper casings, but they were still juicy and had good flavor. As part of the meal, we also received white bread, a plate of pickles and onions, and bowls of pinto beans, German potato salad and cole slaw.

The most eagerly anticipated part of the meal for my family is always the burnt ends. Sadly, I saw pitmen trimming and discarding these prized caramelized brisket crusts, which form when the slathered sauce is buffeted with oak smoke. It’s incredible that other customers wouldn’t place the same value in the burnt ends.

After 40 years in business, The Salt Lick doesn’t hold many surprises anymore. I was happy to see one new entry: a dish of habanero barbecue sauce. The original sauce features a tantalizing mix of sweet and spicy, which builds with each bite to a delicious zenith. The habanero version added one more note of complexity. It’s like a singer who goes from a sixth octave to a seven octave range.

Here’s a squeeze bottle of The Lick’s classic burnt-orange barbecue sauce.

I’m sure they were fine, but I didn’t bother with the plates of sesame-studded white bread or pickles & onions. I preferred to preserve stomach space for the stellar meats.

I spotted several freshly baked pecan pies sitting on the counter in the main dining room, removing any doubt about what I’d be eating for dessert. The pie was excellent, topped with candied pecans, with a syrupy filling, and a satisfying crust.

>My father ordered a peach cobbler, which was a little too pasty, and could have used more peaches. This was the only down note of the meal. Even warm, the cobbler couldn’t find redemption.