Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => Member Gatherings and Road Trips => Topic started by: IR2dum on June 13, 2014, 04:05:41 AM
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As some of you know, Albert and Jaxon flew to Houston for a taste of Texas BBQ. They flew around, under, over, and through a massive storm front all the way from Alabama to Texas. Luckily, Albert is a great pilot and held Jaxon's hand so he wouldn't be scared. Apparently Albert doesn't have a stewardess to serve an in-flight meal so they were hungry when they arrived. We called CaptJack and he met us at Pizzatola's for a little Que. The pitmaster and manager were kind enough to take us back to the pits and explain how they smoke the meat from the temps of the fire to the rub they put on it. We had a great conversation over dinner and then I put them to bed because they were tired. The next morning, we took to the road early and traveled the Texas BBQ Trail. First stop was Buc-ees in Luling for gas and a look around because you have to see it to believe it (eat your heart out, Tim). I'll just list the places that we stopped and sampled the BBQ.
1. City Market in Luling
2. Smitty's in Lockhart
3. Black's in Lockhart
4. Kreuz in Lockhart
5. Salt Lick in Driftwood
6. Franklin's in Austin (no tasting here because it was too late and they were sold out, but we checked out the building and looked at the pits)
7. Lone Star Bakery in Round Rock (for the world's best donuts)
8. Louis Mueller's in Taylor (we did find pulled pork here - first I have seen in central Texas)
9. Southside Market in Elgin (we ate mutton)
We were pretty full by then so we drove back to Houston. The next day, we visited Pits by Klose which is just down the street from my house. They had all sorts of wild and famous BBQ pits in their warehouse/showroom. One was the Orange County Chopper that has a side car BBQ. Others were a mailbox, a phone booth, a baby carraige, a torpedo, and they are working on a real fire truck bbq. Then we were hungry for some more Que, so we went to Killen's in Pearland where we met Ronnie Killen and got to talk about his pits and philosophy in general. Then I dropped them off at the airport for their return flight which was very pleasant and calm. We had a wonderful time. And contrary to popular opinion, Albert and Jaxon are both great house guests. I think that Jaxon and Albert have some pics that they will post in a couple of days and add their thoughts. I took a few pics on my phone and am desparately trying to get hold of Dee so he can tell me how to post them. Dee was supposed to come this trip but he is in the middle of a house remodel that needed his immediate supervision.
Well, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
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Sounds like a good time Don! Looking forward to seeing the pictures!
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Would have loved to be on that trip.
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Sounds like a great time!
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Sounds like a great time. Wish I was with ya on the trip to Davids pit factory.
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Would have loved to be on that trip.
That would have been a good road trip down from Dallas to join in on that fun!
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Sounds like a great time was had by all. ;)
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A bucket list trip for sure! Saw a pic on FB already but I don't think they had eaten much at that point because they both still looked relatively hungry.
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Finally getting back to "normal" after a fantastic trip by Air & Asphalt with 2 good friends...
Don provided the play-by-play, so I'll give you a few pics, though they may not be in any particular order:
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Thanks for the pictures, Jack! Looks and sounds like a great trip ... adventure! Good for you guys!
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We had the roof put on today. Rain has prevented it being done yesterday. Great crew and quality of work. Never took a break. Eight men working. For lunch they would rotate two at time--two eating six working. Finished start to finish in eight hours.
Now as to the trip. I'm really sorry I was unable to make it. Not only is it a let down for me but it is a let down for all of y'all also because if I had been there you would have seen more pictures and better quality than what was posted. I apologize for letting y'all down which resulted in y'all not having a good photo record of what was obviously a great trip. :'(
Dee
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And another thing...
I didn't even get a shot at Pizzitola's with Capt Jack...sorry about that. I REALLY enjoyed our tour of the pit with their pitmaster of 30 years. He gave us some very good tips, especially cooking chickens the way THEY do it. He gave us the recipe for their rub as well (I'll be glad to share it with you).
The folks at these places were very friendly and opened their bbq pits for pictures. They answered questions and put up with a lot from Don and Albert (inquiring minds wanna know).
This will be a trip I will always remember and cherish as the gift it was for me. If you ever get a chance to take a trip like this...GRAB IT!
Don was a gracious and generous host.
Albert is a very proficient pilot. He and his wife, Sylvia, spoiled me while I was at their house.
These folks have been our friends for a long time now. We got acquainted on the forum and met up in Augusta at the Fall Gathering about 2 1/2 years ago.
Don has been inviting us to Houston for quite a while. This past Spring, Albert decided it was time to take him up on that invite and put this trip together. I am thankful to both of them for letting me ride along. Dee was supposed to go with us tour keep the pictorial journal, but had responsibilities at home and couldn't make it.
The Three Amigos of BBQ will ride again...hopefully Dee will join us.
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Wow!! Great trip and food ...
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Incredible trip great pics. Thanks for sharing.
Oh and that is the biggest rib I have ever seen - Fred Flinstone style
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Awesome and thanks for sharing the pictures!
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Great pictures thanks for posting them. ;)
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Oh yeah! You guys were living the dream. Thanks for sharing that dream. Can't wait for my next trip to Texas.
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What a great trip guys! ( I miss that food!!!! ) ;D And - You got to meet the famous Capt' Jack!
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Oh and that is the biggest rib I have ever seen - Fred Flinstone style
We got that rib at Black's Market in Lockhart. Although we were stuffed from having eaten at 3 places already, I just HAD to have the Flintstone rib at Black's. It did NOT disappoint...
just sayin'...
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Great looking trip. My only question is how you can eat at so many places with all that food, and still be able to continue to the next stop? I would be stuffed after one stop.
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Oh and that is the biggest rib I have ever seen - Fred Flinstone style
We got that rib at Black's Market in Lockhart. Although we were stuffed from having eaten at 3 places already, I just HAD to have the Flintstone rib at Black's. It did NOT disappoint...
just sayin'...
Jaxon, when we were there in March the smallest rib they had out to serve was 1 1/4 lb. We sent a good mix of Blacks 'cue home to some relatives and after eating it they said their freezer will never be without it. I'm thinking they may wind up in Texas at some point.
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Awesome photos Jack! I would love to take a trip like that!
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Great looking trip. My only question is how you can eat at so many places with all that food, and still be able to continue to the next stop? I would be stuffed after one stop.
DUDE! If you only knew!! We did okay for the first 3 spots, but when we stopped at Kreuz Market, we could only look. The pit crew was very friendly and showed us the pits and opened them for us. The rest of the spots were samples only.
All that day we ate MEAT and no vegetables - nothing green. I managed a dish of ice cream at the Southside Market, but they didn't have any peanut butter to go with it.
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Great looking trip. My only question is how you can eat at so many places with all that food, and still be able to continue to the next stop? I would be stuffed after one stop.
For 150 miles I preached about moderation....just eat a little sample bite of each meat, but at our first stop, our moderation tactic went out the window. I didn't even practice what I preached. I don't know how it got away from us so fast. I guess we just got caught up in the moment. We were so sick of BBQ that we had to wait until noon the next day to get some more.