On The BBQ Trail

After all the wedding vows were taken, all the dances danced, all the bratwursts grilled (and eaten), and honeymooners sent on their way.... Dad joined Dale and me on a mini road trip down to San Antonio-- about an hour's drive south from Austin. That is if you don't stop for Texas BBQ. We stopped. Often.

The area between Austin and San Antonio is one of Texas' prime BBQ zones. I've been to Texas a few times, but so far never had a chance to really explore all the famous places I'd been hearing about. For the trip down, we took highway 183 to our first stop: Lockhart, BBQ Capital of Texas and home to Smitty's, Black's and Kreutz Market. Since it was pretty early and my companions were not looking too favorably on having BBQ for breakfast, I narrowed the choice for this stop to Black's, which claims to the the oldest BBQ restaurant in Texas owned by the same family.

We parked the car near the main square and followed our noses.

Instructions on how they do things down in Lockhart. Pretty easy to follow.

Since the meats are all sold by the pound, you can just order what you want, in the quantities you want. I chose a pork rib, some brisket and a sausage. Since this was stop number one, I didn't want to get too overloaded. Rounded out with a little coleslaw and a devilled egg.

Everything was really good. The sausage was not fatty at all. Texas BBQ differs from other types of BBQ like Carolina or St. Louis style in that it is not served with a sauce. Most places have some sauce, but you have to add it yourself. It is all about the smoke and the meat in Texas.

Yes, Virginia, there really IS a jackalope.

Lockhart is the county seat of Caldwell County and boasts this ornate courthouse on the square in the heart of the city.

Next stop--Luling, home of the world-famous Watermelon Thump as well as home to City Market, another great stop on the BBQ trail.

City Market was a little different than Black's in that you actually entered the smokehouse to order your meat. Not as many side dishes either. No frills....the food comes on butcher paper and I had to go ask for a fork. Again, I had pork ribs and brisket--both good.

My dining companions finally perked up and had some good looking pork ribs too.

A local Luling artist transforms these pump jacks into works of art. There are something like 20 of them throughout the town. This one honors the Watermelon Thump.

This jack was in the back of a Dairy Queen.

Next stop--San Antonio....and The Alamo!

I've been a big fan of "King of the Hill" for many years. One of the recurring themes is that of The Alamo and how important it is to Texans. One episode, Hank Hill did an Battle of the Alamo re-enactment, and last season, Hank even made a backyard bar in the shape of the Alamo.

San Antonio's big event is called "Fiesta" and it was going on while we were there. That meant there were many events going on around town, including one that afternoon at The Alamo put on by The Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Because of this the visiting hours were shortened and we only got to spend a short time inside. Dang...I really wanted to see if there was a basement! We met one of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and chit-chatted with him for awhile. He sure knew everything there was to know about The Alamo and Texas in general. When we came back later that evening, we saw they had presented these wreaths, which were still on display.

The Riverwalk was pretty neat, but it too was the site of a Fiesta event, so we couldn't really experience it like we wanted to. That evening was one of the main Fiesta events--a Boat Parade-- and all the walkways were lined with reserved seating. One restaurant was selling a seat at a table for $75! We came by later and got to see a little of the parade from atop a bridge.

Since we couldn't hang out on The Riverwalk, we hopped a bus and went to El Mercado. This was another open air place with restaurants and shops and here too, was another Fiesta event...there were three stages with live music going on and the place was packed. We were pretty hungry by this time so we stopped at Mi Tierra Cafe. This place looked like a total tourist trap and I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised with the nice dinner we had. This photo is only a tiny glimpse of the over-the-top decor going on inside.

When I go travelling, I like to stay in historic hotels, if I can. We chose The Menger for our stay in San Antonio. It has a great location-- "across the alley from The Alamo" and it was built in 1859. The lobby is gorgeous.

Here is a neat sign.

We had to head out back to Austin the next morning and we were all just too "touristed-out" to make any stops along the way. I had planned on stopping in New Braunfels for more BBQ and I guess Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum will have to wait for my next trip. San Antonio has a lot more to explore--we only scratched the surface.

We kept hearing "Y'all come back" and I'm sure we will!

Happy Easter!

Once the cats and squirrels had their morning nosh, I could go into the backyard and get this pic of the eggs we colored yesterday.

I don't have any special dinner planned for the day--we're sort of busy in "vacation preparation mode" due to our upcoming trip to Austin on Wednesday. You know....like researching all the kolache and BBQ places we are going to try, getting the iPods set up with tunes and movies and finding all the local radio frequencies (just in case we need to monitor any wild weather). Yeehaw!

All About Austin

In Texas, we did a few more things besides the Big Joe Polka Fest.

First thing to do on a road trip is get gas. Man, I thought LA gas prices were high!

On the way from Austin to Round Top, we stopped for some famous Czech kolaches. I had always heard of them and finally got to sample one (or two!).

These are from Weikel's, which is located in a gas station mini-mart. We had cherry, peach, and cheese. They are pretty much like a danish, but the base is a sweet, yeasty dough rather than flaky pastry.

Since we attended the Polka Fest only on Friday, Saturday we went for a ride in the surrounding countryside. The Round Top area is famous for their antique shops. Aaron took us to a disc golf place and we played nine "holes". Dale and I had never played before, but once we got the hang of it, we didn't do too badly. It was a beautiful day just to be outside and enjoying the fresh air.

One of our favorite tee-vee shows is "King of the Hill" and right or wrong, that show is how we think of Texas and Texans. ("I tell you whut") One of the things often seen on the show is the restaurant Whataburger. Conveniently, there was one across the road from our hotel. Didn't have a burger, but the breakfast stuff was OK.

On the way back into Austin, we stopped back in Round Top for lunch at Royer's. Wow. A country cafe on steroids.

Everything is bigger in Texas---these are jalapeno poppers!

The food was wonderful and the pies even better!


Much to our delight we learned that Brave Combo would be playing a show in Austin on Saturday night. They played at a restaurant/nightclub named Jovita's. The place was kinda small, there might have been 150 people there.
This show was a lot different than the Polka Fest. They played more Tex/Mex songs and of course, the famous Hokey Pokey! Alan, the usual drummer, was there too. Dale got to chit-chat with the band after the show and he got everyone to sign his cap. They were pretty impressed that we came all the way from California just to see their shows.

After the BC show, we got a whirlwind tour of the famous Austin music scene. We went to the Continental Club (where BC played a few weeks ago for SXSW) and to the Saxon Inn. The band at the Saxon Inn was "The South Austin Jug Band" and they were really good. Sort of bluegrass-y but a little more intense.

Sunday we took a ride out to Lake Austin and had lunch at The Oasis.

On the way back into town, we stopped at the University of Texas campus and checked out the tower. In 1966, a sniper inside the tower killed 14 people.

I loved this frieze on the Natural History building.


Monday, we checked out Congress Street for some shopping, then toured the Texas State Capitol.
I don't know about you, but I see something else here.

Can you guess what this is?

It is a BUBBLER!! You step on a foot pedal and water flows from the spout. So maybe not a true bubbler, but pretty snazzy just the same.

The capitol is very beautiful inside and we learned much about the history of Texas. I tried hard to forget Dubya also trod these very halls.
These elaborate door knobs and door hinges are on every door.





Lunch was at The Ironworks, for some yummy BBQ.


Aaron's mom gave me these cool-ass antlers! They are gonna look great on the patio. Maybe they will scare the squirrels.