I have passed the location for JMueller BBQ almost daily since they’ve been open.  The problem was that I never knew it was there because I was looking at some restaurants across the street.  I knew it was in the area, but just didn’t realize it was where it was.  It’s a trailer after all and it just didn’t really catch my attention.  The sign is parallel with the street instead of perpendicular, which may have led me to miss it as well.

Photos by Ray Pierce

Selection Close Up

A Different view of the Selection

Little Movie of the meats

My Selection

The Mighty Beef Rib

The Line

The Menu

When we arrived it was about 11:15am.  The line was fairly deep, as you can probably tell be the photo.  It took us about 45 minutes to get through the line.  They had already started to sell out of things by the time we got to the window to order, specifically the Prime Rib.  Their prices weren’t as high as I had expected them to be.  It was still really affordable for a good bit of food.  Another big plus for me is that you get a small sample at the window before you order.

I wanted to get a bit of everything, but my body can only hold so much.  So I started off with the basics.  Brisket, Beef Sausage,  Pork Ribs, and a gigantic beef short rib.  Needless to say, it took be three meals to finish off everything because my eyes tell me that I can eat it all.  The sausage was very good, it had a great smoke flavor and a really good consistency.  I’m not sure if John makes it onsite, or just has it made for him, but it is good.  The pork ribs were very tasty with a good peppery rub on them.  The meatier end was fantastic, but the lean end was visibly dry and chewy.

Knowing that John grew up in the pits of Louie Mueller’s I couldn’t pass up ordering a beef rib.  And I was rewarded for it.  It’s a huge amount of meat on the bone, but it was so tender and flavorful.  I was able to just take my fork and do some light pulling on it for a bite.  The brisket was more of the same.  Fantastically smoked and super moist.  All I needed was fork to cut it/shred it in the bit sizes.

The BBQ sauce is something a bit different than you typical place.  It’s chunky, it has bits of onions in it.  It’s almost the consistency of chunky picante sauce.  It’s got a different flavor than most “Texas” BBQ sauces, but it similar.  Although you don’t need it for the meat, it’s still gives it a different experience.

JMueller BBQ also has a few sides if you are in the mood.  The potato salad was good, but nothing spectacular.  The side of note is the baked squash, it was really well done and you just don’t find it on many other BBQ menu’s.

So far this is in the top 2 for BBQ joints for me.  Everything that I had across the board was really good.

]]> http://eatsbbq.com/2012/05/04/jmueller-bbq-in-austin/feed/ 1 http://eatsbbq.com/2012/03/25/blacks-bbq-in-lockhart-tx/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blacks-bbq-in-lockhart-tx http://eatsbbq.com/2012/03/25/blacks-bbq-in-lockhart-tx/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:08:33 +0000 Ray Pierce http://eatsbbq.com/?p=474 Our last stop in in Lockhart is at Black’s BBQ. Eric had visited here a few weeks ago when I wasn’t available. He decided to roll back down there with me so that I could try it out. He initial evaluation of it was essentially “Meh”.

Black´s BBQ

Black´s BBQ

Black´s BBQ Giant Beef Ribs!

Black´s BBQ Interior

Ribs

Awesome Brisket

Deviled Egg and Potatoe Salad

Ribs, Brisket, Sausage

The selection

When you walk in every picture on the wall seems to have one of the Black’s in it. The booth that we sat in had pictures of Norma and Edgar Black’s Wedding, Aggie Ring Dance, and posing with Senator Lloyd Doggett. They have definately infused themselves into the dining area. Another thing that I noticed were the mounted Longhorn’s all around the top of the wall in dining area. Lots and lots of stuff on the wall to gander at while you are eating.

We walked through the tiny hallway to get to the serving line. Due to the space constraints I didn’t take any pictures in that area because I couldn’t get my camera to focus correctly or have line of sight to what I wanted to see.

I ordered essentially the same thing that I always do. 1/2 lbs. moist brisket, 2 pork spare ribs, and a link of sausage. They serve their sides off of a buffet tray serving area. They are after my heart though. They had candied yams on there topped with some marshmallows. I picked up a side of potato salad as well.

The course ground beef sausage had a pretty good smoke flavor, but like my other experiences outside of Elgin, TX the sausage just wasn’t that good in my opinion. The pork ribs had a great smoke flavor, they pulled apart nicely and weren’t overcooked. They didn’t seem to have a very heavy rub on them.

Now the best for last. The brisket was amazing! Great smoke flavor, super tender, and satisfying. This brisket is something I would come back for. This redeemed my hope in Lockhart to produce a good brisket since the other three places I’ve been to there just didn’t meet that test. Black’s makes a good sauce, it’s pretty tangy and more savory than sweet in my opinion. Although you don’t need to use it at all on the brisket.

Eric seemed to be of the same opinion as I this trip, and I believe that it may have made both of us question if we had just gotten bad batches of brisket at the other places in Lockhart. I know I was pleasantly surprised by Black’s and I’ll be going back there.

When you walk in your are greeted with old photo’s and maps of Texas. They were hung in the 80′s and haven’t been updated since. They still show Ronald Reagan as the President. The parking lot of full, but there wasn’t a line outside. It was to the door though, but moved along pretty quickly.

Photos by Ray Pierce

Brisket, Ribs, Sausage

Brisket

Bobcat

Ribs and Brisket

Salad Bar

Sausage

BBQ Sauce, Potato Salad, Fried Okra

The sides

More Sides

Chishom Trail Bar-B-Q

Mounts

When you get to the ordering area, you pick up a plate and choose what sides you want from a buffet serving line. They have quite the selection of sides and salad bar for a BBQ joint. They don’t just serve potato salad and beans like most, which was a welcome change. I picked out potato salad (because I like it and it’s what I’ve gotten everywhere else) and some fried okra. I love me some fried okra, even though this appeared to be pre-breaded and from the freezer.

Once you make your way to the cutter section of the line, you’ll be asked what it is that you want. I picked out moist brisket, pork spare ribs, and a link of sausage. I try every week to make the same basic selection so that I can compare apples to apple so to speak. And to wash it all down was a glass of sweet tea.

The brisket was tender, which from my experience in Lockhart up to this point seems to be a rare occasion. There was still quite a bit of the fat that hadn’t rendered into the meat as you can see in the pictures. There wasn’t a lot of smoke penetration into the meat itself though which was disappointing. It was also a little light on the rub. Chisholm Trail does serve sauce with their meat unlike Kruez and Smitty’s. It’s a bit sweet with a tang to it. The pork ribs had a good flavor, but were a bit over cooked on the bone end. On the meatier end they were just right. The sausage was decent, but didn’t have much of a smoke flavor at all. It was a course ground beef sausage served in single links.

Chisholm Trail out paces Kruez’s and Smitty’s over all, but it’s still not what I’m expecting from a city steeped in BBQ lore.

Photos by Ray Pierce

Big Red

Brisket, Pork Rib, and Beef Sausage link

Brisket, Pork Rib, and Beef Sausage link

Brisket, Pork Rib, and Beef Sausage link

Cash Register

Smoke tinted prices

The cutter

The pile of meat

Cashier

The fire box

DSC_7040

Prices

Order Here

Don´t take the sauce

City Market

The store is right in front of the railroad tracks in the middle of town. It’s sort of town squarish, but it’s just a few blocks long and it’s not centered around a courthouse. There wasn’t any waiting in line outside here, instead the line snaked around the dining area. I’m not sure if this was because it was cold outside or just the way it works there. The line moved pretty quickly though. It seemed to have more locals in it, than most of the other places that we’ve tried lately. I didn’t get the sense that there were any other BBQ bloggers or pilgrims in the dining area, but I also didn’t ask anyone. The seating was wooden booths with upright backs, picnic style tables, and a few 4 top regular tables. Some of the booths tables were very well worn from constant eating at them. All around the dining room you see signs about not taking the sauce bottles from the table, I’m guessing that is to deter people from taking them home. It seems like a common trait in the Luling, Lockhart area to have the pit area and dining area inside, but segregated by a wall. The same practice of purchasing the meat separate from the sides and drinks is in effect here as well. I’m not sure that I like that, having to stand in two lines for one meal doesn’t seem right. Throughout the course of our meal the main line stayed pretty constant at about 40ish people deep.

Once we reach the pit area where the meat is served, you are met by a sign warning to keep the door shut and a blast of warm air rushing out. The warming pit is to the right with it’s vents open. There’s a hanging sign that’s browned listing the prices of meat. The cutters and pit masters are busy serving the customers as they order. It appeared that the cutters were pre-cutting the brisket and ribs and letting them lie on the cutting table until someone orders it.

As for the food itself, the brisket had a good smoke ring on it, but it was visibly dry. There wasn’t much of a bark on the brisket at all. It tasted fine, but was not tender and was a bit chewy. Even a forceful pull with my hands wouldn’t tear off a bit size piece. I had to use knife to make it manageable. I was thoroughly disappointed with the brisket. This is what Texas BBQ is all about, and this was mediocre at best. Eric even commented that this isn’t something he would drive this far for again.

The beef sausage link was course ground, and was quite tasty. It was moist almost to the point of greasy though.

The highlight of the trip was the pork ribs. They were had a great smokey flavor. They weren’t too tough and with a little tug of the teeth the meat came off. There was a sweet BBQ sauce glaze on them. I really wish I had gotten more of these and forgone the brisket.

City Market has a couple of sides as well which are paid for in a separate area than the meat. They include potato salad and pinto beans. Another highlight for me was having bottled Big Red soda. I’m not sure where my affinity for it comes from, but it sure is good. We had to ask for the BBQ sauce since it wasn’t on the table. It was very good. A light orange color that had a sweet mustardy flavor to it, I would recommend it for sure. I had to use it to put some moisture back into the brisket.

My expectations for a Top 5 BBQ Joint were so high and the results were so low. I’m not sure if it is just my luck, or that quality has been sacrificed to keep up the demand generated from publicity. Overall, I’m truly disappointed in City Market.

Photos by Ray Pierce

Entryway to pit area

Slicer

Scale

Cold Box

The old counter

BBQ Closeup

The selection

Homemade Weiners

Street Entrance

Smitty´s Market Back Entrance

We showed up a little later in the afternoon, just past the lunch rush. Smitty’s is located just off of the square in downtown Lockhart. It’s really quite a cool looking courthouse, surrounded by classic small town shops. One of these days I’ll take a side trip just to shoot photo’s of it.

When we arrived, we made our way around the back of the store. It’s a little weird, but the main entrance is on the backside. There is a street entrance, but it leads you to the back of the building. We waited in a small line, and as we walked through the entrance we were greet by a soot covered doorway that right next to the serving pit. It was complete with fire going to keep the meat warm.

I ordered brisket, a pork rib, and link of sausage so that I could get a good sampling of their offerings. By the time we got there they had already sold out of the Prime Rib, otherwise I would have gotten some of it as well. I passed on the smoked pork chop because I knew that I couldn’t hold that much. They are smoked as whole pork loins and then sliced into chops when the customer orders. The servers weigh the meat on an antique scale with a rolling dial. I didn’t want to hold up the line so I didn’t get a picture of the area. In typical BBQ fashion the meat is served on butcher paper.

Something that is a little unique is that you pay for your meat in the pit area, but your drinks and sides are paid for in the dining area. Everything is cash or check, so don’t expect to pay with credit card. Pleasantly surprising though was the cost of the meat. I was expecting to pay a lot more, but either I finally ordered an appropriate size of meat or their price per pound wasn’t as much as anticipated.

The order itself looked great. The brisket dried out rather quickly for me during the process of taking pictures before I dove in. That was a little disappointing to me. For a place that doesn’t have forks, the meat was a bit too tougher than my liking. That’s not to say that it was bad, but we are talking about a joint that’s supposed to be in the upper echelon of BBQ joints. This could be because of the time that we arrived and their constant firing of the meat in the serving pit. The brisket tasted good, but didn’t seem to have a penetrating smoke flavor. It also lacked in a thick bark, but that wasn’t a deterrent for me. It’s gotten to the point where a lot of places may have too thick of bark in my opinion and this was a nice change of pace.

The pork rib was quite nice. It had a sweet flavor to it, as if they were glazed with sweet BBQ sauce then smoked. The meat stuck to the bone just as it should. Having it too tender makes them harder/messier to eat in my opinion. Just a little tug with the teeth should be all that’s needed. The sausage link was the star of the day for me. It was plump, juicy, and well flavored. Each link looked to be smoked by itself, rather than in a chain.

After the meal we looked around a bit and were told that we could go look at the empty front counter. It contained quite a bit of old antiques used in store in an earlier time. The building itself looks to have a great character about it. You know you are in a places that’s seen it’s fair share of business through out the years.

Photos by Ray Pierce - click on the images to go to the Flickr set

Chris´ plate

More Brisket and Sausage

Brisket and Sausage

The building looks like it’s been there forever. When we rolled up, you could smell the smoke coming off of the pit. That’s always a great smell to me. There is quite a lot of paraphernalia on the walls that’s been there a long while and has absorbed the the smoke. Most of it has a smokey yellow patina to it. The stove behind the counter looks as if it had been there since the 1920′s.

The day we were there, they had the combo plate on special, so that we indulged in it. I grabbed the brisket and sausage, while Chris grabbed the brisket and pork loin. The brisket had a great flavor and was pretty tender. It was a very lean brisket though. If there wasn’t sauce ladled over it, it would have been pretty dry. The sausage was a good grind, but it lacked in flavor. There was nothing about it, that would make me long for it. Chris’ pork loin was tender and moist, but lacked flavor as well. The plates come with mustard potato salad, large cut coleslaw, and pinto beans. The potato salad was good, it had some peppers in it that gave it a good flavor. I’m not a cole slaw fan to begin with, so I won’t even try to review it. The beans were good, I think they were cooked with some of the BBQ sauce to give them a little different flavor. The BBQ sauce itself was a little thin, but wasn’t fully stained so there was some of the puree that a bit chunky. It had a good flavor, and worked well to cover up the dryness of the brisket.

I went with my friend Andy to pick up some Railroad BBQ for dinner this past Thursday. He’s talked about this place before, but I’ve not had the opportunity to go down there until now. We were just getting a to go order to feed everyone before we watch Tron: Legacy at this house.

When you drive up, you know this isn’t a large operation just because there wasn’t much parking available. Although the parking that was there was completely filled. It’s just a simple corrugated tin building with the kitchen on one end and the dining area on the other. Once we got inside we quickly found out what was filling the parking lot. There was about 20 people playing various instruments and singing in what appeared to be a regular jam session. Oddest thing was that they weren’t playing very loud at all, you could carry on conversation at normal levels. That just struck me as odd.

We ordered a pound of pretty much everything and quart of potato salad and banana pudding. The lady taking our order said it would be a while and gave us a couple of free drinks, that were very much appreciated.

Once we got our order back home we dug in. The brisket had a good smoke ring on it, and a good mesquite smoke flavor. The meat wasn’t as tender as I would have liked to see, but it wasn’t tough. You still needed a knife to cut through it though. The turkey had an awesome smoke flavor and was really moist. I think it was my favorite part of the meal. The sausage links that we got came in two’s. The blend was fine enough for me and it had a good casing on it. The sauce they served had a lot of smoke flavor to it, but it reminded me more of store bought KC Masterpiece or Kraft, as it was quite thick.

The potato salad was pretty good. It was chunky, and a bit sweeter than I was expecting. Still quite good. As for the banana pudding, I heard that it was good. I don’t like banana’s so I didn’t try it.

All in all it was solid barbeque, I wouldn’t turn it down if it were offered to me.

As for the food, the group didn’t want to splurge on the all you can eat plate ($18.95) when you can could accomplish the same goal with the 3-Meat plate ($11.95). I can’t blame them for that, that seems to be a hefty up charge for just about the same thing. Something that I was a little disappointed in was the bread, it was just plain white bread from a store. That was always one of the more enjoyable things from the other location.

I ordered Brisket, Sausage, and Turkey this trip. I hadn’t ever had the turkey in my recollection, so I gave it a shot. It was the highlight of the meal. It was moist, and there was a generous portion of it on the plate. The sausage was just as good as always. Fine ground and awesome with the Salt Lick BBQ sauce. The biggest disappointment of the night was the brisket. It didn’t have a very smokey flavor, the bark on the outside didn’t taste of anything, and it was wasn’t very tender. Now I know that I comparing it to some of the best brisket in the world now, but that’s where the bar is. It was pretty just standard fare brisket. The BBQ sauce as always was great and lifted up a floundering brisket to make the meal pretty enjoyable.

The service we got was a little spotty though. The waiter never brought refills, even though we asked twice. They sold out of both the black berry and peach cobblers before we could order dessert, so we ended up skipping that all together.

All in all this experience was good, but not great. It feels more like your neighborhood BBQ joint rather than an award winning drive out of your way to go to it joint.

The outside didn’t seem to match what I was anticipating on the inside. It was a wide open dining area, that was quite clean with a picnic tables and mesquite framed chairs. I was greeted by someone at the door and asked if I had been there before. They then opened the large steel door to a warming pit that all of the meat was served out of. Definitely a nice view, but I had my camera stowed away under a slew of presents so I didn’t get it out this trip.

I ordered a sampling of everything but the smoked chicken. Brisket, pork loin, 1 baby back rib, and 1/4 link of sausage were what I got. It turned out to be a more than I could eat of course.

They had quite a few sides available for sale. There were several that caught my eye (specifically the tater tot casserole), but I wasn’t there for the sides. I was even more tempted when I reached the desserts, but I was a good boy this time. They also served up free beans, onions, pickles, jalapenos, sauce, and bread on a different island.

The brisket was very moist and tender. It ended up up being more shredded brisket when I took my fork to it. It was good, but it didn’t seem to have a lot of smoke flavor in it. It seemed to be the theme of the meal, just not enough smoke flavor coming through in the meats. The pork loin had a great peppery crust on the outside of it that had some great flavor, but I think it may have been the victim of the warming pit. It ended up really dry, and you had to dip it in sauce to eat it, which was a blessing and a curse. The sauce was a thin vinegary sweet sauce, I liked it a lot. As for the rib, it was properly tender but not falling off the bone. It was done just right. I was really sort of disappointed with the sausage that I got. It seemed to me that it was just prepackaged German sausage and warmed up. Not much smoke flavor to speak of at all, but it was moist and cooked well.

I would also like to mention that the owners, Tom and Kristin Ashmore were quite friendly and welcoming to place.

All in all I think Opie’s a good BBQ joint, but with so many other excellent choices in the Hill Country they just don’t measure up to the elite. If you are in the area, it’s above your average BBQ joint and you should stop in.

When you walk in it’s not your typical BBQ place. There aren’t pits anywhere to be found. Before you lose total interest, know that they actually smoke the meat in Taylor, TX. So there is some cred there, just not the full allotment. It looks like a restaurant that’s in an office complex. Walls are clean and untarnished by smoke, there are windows and they let a lot of light in, and their are pictures of BBQ pits, pitmasters, and meat on the walls. Very atypical of the every other BBQ place you’ve seen.

Even with the decor not what I was used to, I bellied up to the counter and placed my order. 2 meat plate with sausage and brisket, sweet corn, and potato salad. The rest of crew ordered and I think we got every kind of meat they had available. So there was a sampling of everything. One of the bright spots of day was the serving size. It was very large. In the downtown area you just get accustomed to paying a lot or small serving sizes. So nice surprise.

Photos by Ray Pierce - click on the images to go to the Flickr set

Turkey and Chopped Brisket

Brisket and Ribs

Brisket and Sausage

The brisket was well smoked and had a good flavor. It wasn’t as tender as I would have liked, but not bad none the less. It seemed to be a pretty lean cut of meat, and I suppose that is what lead to it. The sausage was a medium ground packed sausage. It was well above average. Not as good as Meyer’s sausage, but good. They serve it with a sweet BBQ sauce. Not as sweet as the Salt Lick though. From trying the other guys plates, we also found out that they do a mean smoked turkey. Next time that I go I will probably order it.

As for the sides, they had large serving sizes as well. The corn that I had was very good and seemed pretty fresh. The potato salad wasn’t as good as I was hoping for. It was like Rudy’s Potato salad, just not as good.

I was very pleased with the results of the lunch. Especially since it wasn’t overly expensive either. I spent under $15 for all of that and was more than I should have eaten. It’s not got the history of some of the out lying BBQ joints, but it puts up a decent fight. So in my opinion this was a very good value and would recommend it for anyone in the downtown area.