Miles today: 162.
Miles to date: 3100.
Today was an easy day behind the wheel and involved great coffee @ Frank's (again) in Austin, a visit to the Austin Museum of Art for an interesting Smithsonian exhibit on The Art of Hatch Show Print, some unbelievable Texas BBQ, shopping at the most gigantic outlet mall I've ever seen, and the start of my visit to San Antonio which will mark the Southern-most point in my journey.
As some will recall, I encountered a BBQ sandwich outside of Chapel Hill, NC that has replaced the whale in my dreams. And until today, no other form of BBQ had come close to it. Well, Allen & Son, meet the Salt Lick. I have decided to worship at 2 BBQ altars and to split my journey toward smoked and roasted meat enlightenment between these 2 schools of wood-fired thought.
The waiter, a man named Jack with tremendous posture, suggested I try the combo plate. He also offered the all-you-can-eat option which I viewed as just plain wrong. Jack returned in a few minutes with the combo plate - a sampler of their pork ribs, sausage, and brisket joined by coleslaw, beans, and potato salad. A side plate of uber-fresh bread, pickles and onions magically appeared as well. Let me dismiss both the coleslaw and the beans as nothing special. The potato salad, however, was transcendent in a way that I was not aware potato salad could be.
But nobody traveled 3000 miles for potato salad. Redheads, maybe. But not potato salad. The star was the three parts of delicious former barnyard animals. The pork ribs were porky and smoky and sweet and barely hung to the bone. The sausage meat was finely ground but the casing had a serious snap to it. And the brisket. Sweet Jesus, I have never been a big brisket guy, but I hope to one day major in it at BBQ community college. It was moist and succulent and had smoke penetration of about 3/8" into the meat. WOW. And all of it was covered in a light brown/orange house bbq sauce that sang like angels. Here's a shot of their bbq pit - housed directly in the restaurant, just behind the cash register. When I asked to take a photo, they made me go into the prep area to get a good angle:
(YOU MAY WANT TO CLICK TO ENLARGE THE SHOT AND LICK YOUR SCREEN)Sadly, I've been on a Lipitor drip since. And I'm not sure, but I don't think Texas Hill Country is the most politically correct corner of the planet:
"Its you! Its Really you! A lightbulb went off in my head and I thought to myself, there is a guy who gets it! I will follow you anywhere Mr Gump!"
ReplyDeleteMatty, I'm doing some serious catching up with your blog. Extremely entertaining insights friend.
ReplyDeleteAnd as amazing as your descriptions and photos have been so far, the Salt Lick BBQ pit picture is the first that stopped me dead in my tracks.
My god that is that beautiful. Seriously. On par with Bernini's Dove of the Holy Spirit in St Peter's.
Patty