The 50 best BBQ joints in Texas
According to Texas Monthly.
Picking your favorite BBQ place is like picking your favorite Billy Squier song. There are so many. But if you held a gun to my head, I could pick a solid top 5 and that’s what Texas Monthly did.
No. 1: Lexington: Snow’s BBQ
I’ve never even heard of this place, but I love everything about it. The pitmaster is a 73 year old woman named Tootsie. They’re only open on Saturdays, and when they do they open at 8am. Being able to acquire BBQ for breakfast is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The Texas Monthly writers went apeshit over it even if they did turn me off by two of them ordering chicken. Ordering chicken at a BBQ joint is like reading BarkingCarnival because of Doperbo. Who does that? Nevertheless, I’m there.
Top 5: Lockhart: Kreuz Market
BBQ requires dedication bordering on obsession, and their pit master (whom I discreetly refer to as the Mexican Elvis) has not taken a day of vacation in 21 years. I like to amuse myself by watching out of town people look for forks and sauce. They have the best prime rib around.
Top 5: Lockhart: Smitty’s Market
The best combination of heat, sweat and BBQ. I love walking through the door and feeling the heat off the pits. If I’m not sweating by the time I order, I feel cheated.
Top 5: Luling: City Market
My soprano girlfriend goes to the Victoria Bach Festival once a year, and she passes through Luling. On being informed of her good fortune by me, she said she would stop on the way back and bring me some BBQ.
So she calls me:
“There are two BBQ places here. Which one do you want me to go to again?”
“Which one has the line?”
“Ahh.”
Top 5: Taylor: Louie Mueller
When I die, I don’t want to be buried. I want to be coated in Louie Mueller’s salt and black pepper rub and then cremated.
Damn it’s good living in central Texas.
My favorite ‘unknown’ BBQ joint is in La Coste. Where? Exactly. I’m not going to tell you what it’s called. Shit, I don’t even know what it’s called. I just know how to find it. The guy who runs it normally processes deer, but he makes BBQ out of deer season. Great fall off the bone pork ribs and brisket. He also makes the best dry sausage.
May 22, 2008 at 12:18 pm
My soprano girlfriend…
A soprano, huh? I thought castrati were more your style.
In my experience, Kreuz and Smitty’s are 1A and 1B. Never been to Snow’s or Luling City Market. Louie Mueller’s is very good, but a big step below the Lockhart duo. It doesn’t help that they always seem to run out of the good stuff early.
Perennial darling Cooper’s sure took a beating in the most recent rankings. Not only was it out of the Top 5, but it appeared to rank near the bottom of the Top 50.
May 22, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Cooper’s in Llano.
Dunno why they don’t like it.
May 22, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Sacreligious.
There is nothing better than Coopers, although I believe Kreuz comes very close. I’m actually planning a roadtrip to lexington on saturday morning to test this theory.
Seriously, Coopers is the holy grail.
I also just bought a bulk quantity of Zimmermanzel’s sausage on Monday. I am looking forward to whenever the fuck I can enjoy that.
May 22, 2008 at 1:57 pm
i prefer luling to coopers
both are fantastic though
May 22, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Salt Lick?
May 22, 2008 at 3:59 pm
We’ve gone through this about a billion times. Unless you live in Dripping Springs, or really need a BYOB outdoor experience, there really isn’t any reason to go to the Salt Lick. Kreuz in Lockheart.
Its like comparing a steak at Friday’s to a steak at Ruth Chris at that point.
May 22, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I had luling’s city market while crewing for a racer in the texas water safari. Waiting at a pit stop, a crew member from another team hid our half pound of moist brisket wrapped in butcher paper from us when she planted ass on it without noticing.
When she got up and we found the beef, any anger was quickly neutralized by the giant, shiny grease stain clinging to her giant, greasy right cheek. That she never noticed or pretended not to kept us in high spirits for the rest of the race.
May 22, 2008 at 6:01 pm
My least favorite part of the Salt Lick is the cozy relationship of this cash-only business with the local law enforcement.
No one forces me to go there, of course, but when I do I find myself resenting the hell out of the fact that the parking attendants pack heat and badges.
Why don’t they just issue yellow safety windbreakers to some pimply teenagers and be done with it?
May 23, 2008 at 4:52 am
They left out Prause’s in La Grange. I have to question the integrity of the list based on that.
May 23, 2008 at 5:28 am
“Its like comparing a steak at Friday’s to a steak at Ruth Chris at that point.”
Don’t overstate your case. If we’re looking state-wide there are certainly a good number of better options but let’s not pretend it’s Bill Millers. If you live in the Southwest Austin area as I do it’s without a doubt your best BBQ bet in a fifteen minute radius.
Friday’s. Nigga please.
May 23, 2008 at 5:53 am
We recommend that overrated cobbler and brisket be afforded the full protection of factory-loaded, jacketed ammunition delivered via polygonal rifling.
May 23, 2008 at 5:57 am
Did anybody here get to experience the greatness of Cross Town BBQ in Elgin. Hole-in-the-wall place hidden back 10+ blocks from the Highway close to old downtown. Not quite what it used to be, but I’ve never had better sausage. Evar.
May 23, 2008 at 6:11 am
Yes, Crosstown is the best BBQ joint in Elgin.
May 23, 2008 at 6:41 am
Shoepf’s in Belton.
May 23, 2008 at 7:48 am
I need a designated driver just to leave Salt Lick. Yes the cash BS is awful but c’mon…not in the top 50? It’s better than Lamberts.
May 23, 2008 at 7:49 am
Fellas, sorry to be the bearer of (possible) bad tidings, but I do believe that Crosstown in Elgin (some of the BEST damn ribs you’ll ever find) is closed permanently. The steel building off of Main Street has been sold to a BBQ joint based in Bastrop, and I’m not sure if Mr. Morgan is planning on opening up a third time (first lost to fire, second sold). The purchasing company has been making exterior changes to the Crosstown building for the last month or so in preparation for a grand opening. I hope that my info is wrong, and that another Crosstown pops up soon for us poor Elginites.
May 23, 2008 at 8:00 am
Minnesotahorn— My personal grudge against Salt Lick may have something to do with it. I won’t go into it, but its always been a fairly crappy experience for me. Especially considering the drive.
Overstate I did. Its more like Outback vs Ruth Chris.
May 23, 2008 at 8:01 am
Fellas, sorry to be the bearer of (possible) bad tidings, but I do believe that Crosstown in Elgin (some of the BEST damn ribs you’ll ever find) is closed permenantly.
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
May 23, 2008 at 8:03 am
Sorry, HJ. Hope I didn’t superdeuce on your Memorial Day weekend with that tiddy.
May 23, 2008 at 9:50 am
That’s a big ol’ tiddy.
May 26, 2008 at 9:16 am
Morning news story on an aggy researcher who, flying in the face of all logic and tradition, decided to see if brisket weren’t good for us after all. Turns out it’s got goodness all over it. Hats off to meat researchers everywhere.
A A S
May 26, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Crosstown is closed??? Noooooooooo! Say it ain’t so, say it ain’t so!
Seriously, that place has the best sausage anywhere in the state. Close 2nd is City Market in Luling.
Man, I remember going to that place when it was a few blocks away by the RR tracks.
This is the saddest day of my life.
May 26, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Harold’s Pit Barbecue in Abilene is the best on the list IMO.
May 27, 2008 at 9:04 am
Yes, as an Elginite I can back up the Crosstown news. But if you’d been there in recent months, you might have noticed something amiss anyway. The old man passed away last year, and apparently took the sausage recipe with him. It just wasn’t the same, and wasn’t as good. I sadly quit going there well before they even shut their doors.
Trust me, the whole town (apart from the Meyer and Bracewell families) feels the sting of that loss. It’s like having a 10-year losing streak to Manor.
The good news is, I have found it’s Taylor equivalent. Davis Grocery and BBQ on MLK Jr. St., just across the tracks from Downtown Taylor. Odd little place; sides aren’t homemade, but the man’s beef is Sam’s-tender, sausage and sauce are his own, and he threw in a small pork steak free, just for me to try it out. Pork ribs were ass-kickin’ good. Four stars for this fella.
June 24, 2008 at 11:23 am
The Salt Lick vs. KC
June 24, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Did they compare sauces or something?
The Victoria Bach Festival was this past weekend so I got some City Market on Saturday. It was fucking fantastic.
June 28, 2008 at 8:16 am
I hit up Snow’s this morning. A bunch of BBQ enthusiasts from work and myself were going to meet up, and then carpool out there. After reading some reviews last night around midnight, I found out they started running out of BBQ around 9-930…we were planning on leaving at 9.
Me and a buddy took off at 730 from downtown, made it there by about 820, and had to wait till 9 to get some BBQ.
The ribs were a bit tough, but the rub had an awesome salty flavor. The pork was heavenly, and the brisket was quite amazing, but not to th level of either Kreuz or Coopers.
As a BBQ enthusiast, I must say that I sound like a tourist, but the sauce made everything. We didn’t need to drench the meat, but it was a perfect and light accompaniment to the ‘cue. Light, vinegary, and just enough sweet.
Overall, I would say this is a solid #2 or#3 BBQ joint in the state for me, right behind 1A and 1B, Coopers and Kreuz. Coopers may have the best in the state, but for convenience and regularly mind blowing smoke flavor, Kreuz is my favorite BBQ joint in the world.
Snows is no slouch, though. Not only that, but the staff are some of the most awesome people you will find. They had a “I wonder how long this rush will last” feel, and aren’t compromising what they do simply because of Texas Monthly.
June 28, 2008 at 11:21 am
Thanks for the review. I’m going to wait until the crowds die down a bit before I visit them.
June 28, 2008 at 1:59 pm
So the group of people that I was originally going with from work showed up about 30 minutes or so after I left. There were close to 10, but got enough food and loved it. They stuck around while the owner was cleaning up, and cracked open a case of beers with the dude. Carrie (Snow) is a pretty awesome old dude, and the entire family is are pretty gracious hosts.
They let my friends in on a little secret, something that we will be trying the next time that we through Snow’s into our BBQ rotation: call in an order in advance. Apparently you can call in an order anytime during the week, and they will make it/reserve it for you. They even take special requests (sirloin, prime rib, etc)…so the next time our group goes, we are calling in advance the week before, and may even try to get some lamb bbqed, just to see what it would be like.
Very cool, and that way we can get out there around 11 instead of at the ass crack of dawn.
The pit ham will be an essential addition….
Again, they definitely have the best people working the store of any joint in Texas. Made you feel kinda like of the family.
June 28, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz starts the fires every Saturday morning at three.
Photograph by LeAnn Mueller
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