Sunday, July 19, 2009

Where to Go For Barbecue in Texas

Maybe you have noticed that I haven’t been posting here for a few days. This is because I am by my very nature somewhat of a technological dinosaur in that I am tied to a desktop PC.

I could never get the hang of those laptop things.

So when I go mobile, if there isn’t a free internet-ready computer handy the blog stalls for a time.

I just got back from the annual Advanced Placement Conference. It’s a thing that the College Board puts on every summer for AP teachers and those associated with those things. It was in San Antonio this year.

Now one of the nice things about having to make the drive to San Antonio is that you get the opportunity to eat some really good barbecue because you have to drive right past Luling, Texas.

And no, we’re not talking about that abomination with branches springing up all over, in this case the highway-side tourist trap outside of Luling called Buc-ees.

No, to get what is probably the best barbecue in Texas, you have to drive into Luling and walk into a building that was built when the earth was young.

Then you get in line. On any given Saturday a line leading to the smokehouse snakes through the eating area but it moves quickly. There is a sign on the door to the smokehouse that commands you not to hold the door open, and once you pass through the door you immediately realize why that sign is there.

It’s smoky in the smokehouse.

And it is hotter than Dante’s Inferno.

But it is worth the few minutes you are there because of the pork ribs, whose meat practically falls off the bone, the brisket that you can cut with a fork, and the homemade sausage rings.

All you buy there is the meat. To get sides and drinks you go to the main dining room and order at the counter.

I know, it’s kind of quirky, but that and their choice of dinnerware – butcher paper – makes it all that much more quaint.

And, come to find out, there is another reason to visit Luling in the summertime.

Watermelon Thumping!

Whatever that is.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) The best barbecue in Texas can be found in Lockhart, about half an hour from Luling. LBJ used to have Lockhart barbecue flown in to the White House, and several Lockhart bbq restaurants have been featured on Food Network.

2) A "good" watermelon can be found by literally hitting, or thumping, it and the firmness and sound indicates the quality of the melon. The Watermelon Thump is a festival in the last weekend of June where people flock to Luling, eat watermelon, and get drunk off their keisters. All in all, a good time.

Susan said...

No wonder you're Anonymous, considering that you think Lockhart is better than Luling. Them's fighting words.