Saturday, March 14, 2009

BBQ Road Trip Day 2

7:40: Vik -- I'm gonna show you a trick. Leighton -- Is it re-using yesterday's undershorts? Vik -- (pulls up pants)

After chilling on a rainy and cold Friday night, we headed off at 8:05am for Lexington, Texas, home of Snow's BBQ. Snow's is only open Saturdays from 8am until they run out of food, which is usually around 11am. We arrived after nearly killing a buzzard and flying down some country.

Leighton: Seeing as how Snow's was ranked #1 in Texas Monthly, we all had high expectations for this place. I am happy to say that it did not disappoint! We had brisket, ribs, sausage, and pork which were all very good. The brisket was very tender with just the right amount of fat and the pork was incredible. I must say that the pork ribs were not as good as Louie Mueller's. However, the side dishes at Snow's were top notch. We had a mayonnaise based potato salad (I usually prefer a mustard based but was still great) and they also had free beans which were fantastic. Finally, the BBQ sauce was just perfect. It was a fine mix of sweet, spicy, and tangy and added a great finishing touch for the main course. All in all, I give Snow's an 8.5.

Wes: The shack on Main Street met all my expectations. The brisket and sauce combination was fantastic. Only negative, no alcohol. 9

Jon: I'm the requisite northerner for this leg of the group (I'm from Virginia), so I didn't grow up eating great barbecue like these people. I've had good barbecue, and I've had very good barbecue since I moved to Austin, but I wouldn't really call myself a connoisseur at this point in my life. Snow's is one of those places you have to be looking for to find. While Leighton was ordering the meat and chatting up the staff Vik decided he wanted more brisket. As it turns out, we ordered way too much barbecue, which to be honest is better than the alternative. The best thing about Snow's is how tender the meat is. The meat fell off Vik's rib when he shook it a little (though who knows why he was shaking his rib), and the pork and brisket were both cooked really well. The brisket got the most praise from the group, but I'm gonna go to bat for the pork for a minute. It was so tender and had this great smoky flavor that didn't overwhelm the meat. I wasn't as big of a fan of the sausage as some of the others, but it was very good. The sides of potato salad and beans were both also very good, but let's be honest; this a barbecue road trip (or so I was told), so the barbecue should be the main consideration. Luckily, Snow's set a very high bar. Rating: 8.5

Vik: Rating -- 8.5. This was an incredible BBQ place. The brisket was the perfect blend fat and lean meat. The sausage was pretty good. The ribs were also good, but not as good as Louie Mueller's. There was a pork loin that was great as well. The sauce was much better than Louie Mueller's. I only wish there was more pepper and spice on the rub. From what I could tell, the rub they used was red chili pepper, salt and black pepper (just not enough of it). Even though we arrived at 9:05 am, there was a line and people gathered outside. Great BBQ.

I'm also hoping the weather improves soon. Not being able to go outside in Austin is somewhat disappointed, although I'm sure tonight's rodeo with the Randy Rogers Band and extreme bull riding (how that could be more extreme, I don't know). More to come later.

No comments: