Austin to Dallas BBQ

Any recommendations for a BBQ lunch between Austin and Dallas.

[ridgeback]

Cowboy's in Salado is both good and convenient. It may not make anyone's best of Texas but the people are nice and the food is very good and reliable.

[Centexraider]

Schoepf's in Belton is hands down your best stop close to I-35. I seriously doubt the tales of them cooking with treated lumber. They have been making great BBQ for many years. I would suggest the chicken or the pork chop for something different, but they have all the standards. It's very good.

I haven't seen Jackson's in Holland open for some time. I live in Salado, so I don't believe that I missed a re-opening.

Tasty travels my friend.

[angusb]

I have eaten at Schoepf's many times over the last 8 or 9 years, but not since my brother moved away from Belton about two years ago. It was easily the best barbeque in the area, for my money. Their setup is similar to Cooper's, where you choose your meat out of the pit before heading inside to choose your sides.

Regardless of the other postings here, I've eaten at Schoepf's half a dozen times and never had a complaint. So you might want to give it a try once and see for yourself. Jackson's Smokehouse in Holland isn't too far out of your way, but is only open Th-Su. And while I agree with the praise for Vitek's, which makes a great sandwich especially, Tony DeMaria's in Waco is also worth a visit.

Schoepf's in Belton isn't bad. It's kind of in the style of Cooper's, but not as good.

Brian

I went to Schoepf's once several years ago and was horrified to see scraps of treated lumber mixed with natural wood on his woodpile. Since I had driven two hours to get there I went ahead and ate. It wasn't very good. I would never go back there.

Jim

"scraps of treated lumber"

Yummmmy...

Check out Tex's web page for some possible ideas (link below).

It's not "great barbecue," but I do enjoy a dish at Vitek's in Waco. They call it the "Gut Pack"--basically a barbecued frito pie with chopped beef, sausage, cheese, onions, and jalapenos. They're only open for lunch on weekdays, so it's been ages since I had it.

Ditto Steve's recommendation of kolaches in West--particularly those at Kaska's (which uses sausage from Nemecek Brother's, also in West).

Scott

Link: http://texasbbq.150m.com/GravelRoad.html

"Tex's" ratings are whack. He has Black's brisket rated with the LOWEST score of any in Texas? Sorry, Tex, you are not very knowledgeable about what makes brisket good.

Amen to that! Black's brisket flat out rocks. Some may not care for the sausage (I liked it fine) or the sides (blah), but the brisket is quite
possible the best I have enjoyed.

[angusb]

I realize the thread is old, but I just came across it today. I have to disagree about Black's. Traveling to Lockhart and eating at Black's is akin to traveling to Paris and eating only at Burger King. I've been to Black's twice, and the food (brisket particularly) was so bad that I will never go again. I wouldn't have gone a second time, but I heard/read so many recommendations for the place that I thought it must have been a fluke. It was not.

I think the rating on Tex's website are pretty accurate, except for the inclusion of a zero for Kreuz Market's sauce (they don't offer sauce), which brings their very respectable 5/5/4 meat ratings down to a paltry 3.67 average score.

Louie Mueller's in Taylor (10 minutes east of Round Rock) on SH 79 is about the best you will do.

I don't know of ANY good BBQ places north of Round Rock until you get to Ft. Worth. There is a Mikeska's in Temple, but their meat isn't that good. Can't think of any place to rec. in Killeen, Waco or Hillsboro.

I would suggest you stop at West, TX. and grab some sausage kolaches in one of the bakeries there. THOSE things are good.

Mikeska's is a MUST AVOID. The billboards say award-winning, but it
must've been a BBQ competition in Poughkeepsie.

Louis Mueller's is almost as worthy of a special trip as the Lockhart three. IMO, more worthy than Black's. Great suggestion.

I can't rate LM any higher than about 4th or 5th in the state simply because their brisket is so inconsistent.

And I'm ALWAYS skeptical of a place when I order brisket and they say "Fatty or lean". That tells me they are using the huge 12 to 15 lb. cry-o-vac briskets that are 3 inches thick at one end and 8 inches thick at the other, leaving some of the brisket dry and the other end laced with fat.

Thats why I have always preferred Blacks, where they only use the 4 lb. or so trimmed briskets that are uniform in thickness pretty much throughout. I will say that LM sides are BY FAR the best anywhere.