Roadhouse BBQ, Lampasas, Texas

Visited October 24, 2006

This was our second trip to The Roadhouse and we confirmed this is a "find" off the usual BBQ circuit in central Texas. Excellent smokey brisket that was tender and juicy, peppery ribs, decent sausage. The jalapeno cornbred was a bit crumbly this time, but the pinto beans were the best I had this trip. Put this place on your BBQ to do list. We noticed they are closed Monday, lunch only Tues-Thurs, 11-8 Fri-sat.Outside photo in last years trip log.

Kreuz Market, Lockhart, Texas

Visited October 23, dinnertime

Kreuz is a genuine BBQ palace, built from scratch, about 15 years ago as the new home of a famous Lockhart institution. Some may complain that the atmosphere may not be "funky" enough for a BBQ joint. To that I say: shut up and eat. You get the same quality meal as at Black's, just down the street, but without forks or sauce. They just don't "do" forks and sauce at Kreuz and they really don't need 'em. The Q is that good. The ribs here were a bit chewy. A consistent problem on every spot we visited this trip. Ditto the brisket, but the flavor was wonderful with plenty of smokey goodness. I also had a jalapeno cheese sausage ring that was the best sausage I have ever had. If I'd had a cooler with me, I would have brought a box of 25 rings home with me. Next time, I will have a cooler. The German potatoes were an excellent side dish and I think I could make a meal of just those, as well.

Ben's BBQ, Austin, Texas

Visited October 23, 2006, lunchtime

This is a place I have been hearing good things about, so we hit it at lunch on a Monday to see what was what. The pork ribs were the meat highlight with a nice peppery rub, though they were a little chewey. The brisket didn't taste like BBQ at all, more like roast beef! The sausage had an extra tough casing and the meat itself did not have a lot of flavor. The sauce was definitely different. It tasted sort of like watered down honey with chili powder added. Pretty different, but it didn't work for me. Now the sides, they were something else. The green beans had a nice flavor, unlike those I had at several other joints this trip. The potato salad was the best I have had ANYWHERE. And I've had me some tater salad, believe you me. I can't wait to go back and have just some ribs and tater salad here.

Chisholm Trail BBQ, Lockhart, Texas

Visited October 22, 2006 dinnertime (and they were very busy)

Here's a place we didn't try last year, and while still gunshy from our near tastebud destroying experience at Bill Miller's house of horrors, we decided to give 'em a shot. We were pleasantly surprised, especially at the ribs and sausage, which ranked close to Black's (this trip). The brisket did not fare quite so well and the sides were very average. The big kicker here is the price. $6.95 for a 3 meat plate with 3 sides plus tea! I think if we had stuck to the rib plate and left the sides alone we would easily have called this the bargain of the trip. Unfortunately, on the 3 meat plate, you only get ONE rib and that was just not enough.

Black's BBQ, Lockhart, Texas

Visited October 22, lunchtime

One of the stone winners in last year's BBQ tour, this is still a solid feast. Everything here is excellent, though the ribs this time were not as tender as last year. The jalapeno sausage rings were tasty, but just a bit dry. Put that down to the vagaries of BBQ. The brisket was as good as it gets. Great smokey flavor, tender and juicy. The food here is great. Outside photo in last year's trip log.

Stay away from here!!

Bill Miller BBQ. WORST BBQ ever!! Stay FAR away from this chain!! Our experience was too horrible to write about, so I won't.

In Dallas we have small chains like Sonny Bryan's and Dickey's which fix some decent Q. Pity Austin. Poor, poor, Austin!

Taylor Cafe, Taylor

Visited October 21, 2006, a little after lunchtime

A wonderful, funky place in downtown Taylor with plenty of local culture. Some of the friendliest folks we encountered on our recent BBQ tour. When the owner saw me taking a photo of my plate full of goodies, he sent us some complimentary Turkey Sausage to try, plus a copy of the local paper with a long story about his place. We happened to be there at the end of an exciting Texas vs Nebraska football game and there were lots of locals sucking down $1.50 longnecks and hooting and hollering at every play on the TV. That made for a fun lunch. Texas won, btw. :)

The BBQ was quite good though the sides were not too exciting. The ribs were probably the highlight, though the Turkey Sausage was pretty good, too.

Calories and Cholesterol tour 2006!

Once again, your intrepid explorers set forth on adventures in BBQ!! A short trip this year, as Scott had to make a short week of it, but we made the most of what time we had. Eight different BBQ meals in four days. Some good, some great, one horrible, you can find all the details laid out below, with pictures.

As usual, we rented a big ol' Cadillac to travel in style and were pleasantly amused to find out it was BBQ-sauce-red in color. We immediately dubbed it the "saucemobile".