chefrodrigo

I agree! I have to tell you, I drove chefrodrigo to the airport for Texas & was sulking the whole way knowing what feasts lay in store for him & Kyle without me (boo hoo). After about 3 days of looking at their photos, I was calling him a motherf*er too. I have since broke down and yes have bought an unplanned for ticket to join them for the tail end of their BBQ trail. Yippy! Yippy indeed. You have a real treat waiting for you when you arrive. Don't have any of those yummy plane treats. See you tomorrow r

Hey Foodie There are 2 Coopers and according to the last Texas Monthly top 50 the one in Mason has moved ahead of the one in Llano. I believe it might have something to do with G Dubya saying the Llano Coopers was his favorite bbq. Sales go up and quality goes down. Texas Monthly said that with the meals they had there recently it almost didn't even make the top 50. See you soon Rodney

Today we had the best bbq of the trip so far at Smitty's in Lockhart. We ordered fat brisket, pork chops, and sausage. Everything was perfect. The brisket had the perfect texture. The pork chops were smokey, tender, and juicy. The sausage was as good as any on the trip so far. Due to gorging ourselves at Smitty's and since we used to always eat at Kreuz we decided to just have the one meal. Tomorrow we head to Coopers in Mason. We'll see about Llano on the way home. Rodney/Kyle

We started making our way back to Austin from Bryan and made our way thru Taylor to stop at Louie Mueller's. Mueller's was one of the top 5 in Texas Monthly. You get a choice of lean or moist brisket and we took moist. We also ordered 2 links of regular sausage and 2 links of jalapeno sausage. The brisket was tender, smokey, and had a nice crust but didn't stand out above some others. Never the less it was a fine piece of beef. The clear winner of the day was the jalapeno sausage. It had a great jalapeno flavor but was not overly spicy. We went back for some ribs but, unfortunately, they were having an off day. Our next stop is Smitty's in Lockhart. This will be our first time at Smitty's and we are definitely looking forward to it. More updates to come Rodney/Kyle

Today was another day of mostly travelling. We left Laredo on our way back to Bryan and stopped in Pleasonton, just south of San Antonio, on the way. Pleasonton is the home of McBees BBQ and it was right up there with some of the better stuff we've had. The brisket really stood out here with a nice dark crust and very tender meat. We had our first pork chops here to. They were good but were cooked individually and not as a whole roast and we prefer it the other way. The sausage had a really nice squirt when the lady cut it for us. Beef brisket, sausage, pork chops, and pork ribs They also had some nice old pits Tomorrow we head back to Austin. Next week we hit some of the big ones. More to come Rodney/Kyle

Question1- Sean is always looking for excuses to eat meat and is easily corruptible. He only had to deal with us for 2 days. Question2- We are going to be starting a business in Portland next month and this is the last chance we'll have to get out of town and do this for a long time. We've been wanting to do a bbq tour for a while. There will be more of a story to tell at the end of the trip.

DAY 5 We spent the day in Nuevo Laredo and started off with a snack at La Unica with tostadas and flautas. That's the only choices they have. Then we wandered around some markets and supermarkets. We had a few drinks and then started to get ready for dinner at El Rincon. Jaymes you were right on about this place. Here is a shot from the entrance This was the parillada for 2 + cabrito al pastor. The parillada itself came with grilled beef ribs, sweetbreads, chicken, skirt steak, and chorizo. Our mostly vegetarian friend Sean really enjoyed the sweetbreads. Today we start heading north to get back to bbq territory. First stop Pleasonton just south of San Antonio. More updates to come. Rodney/Kyle

DAY 3 We spent most of the day driving. Fortunately we were driving thru Luling and Gonzales to get to Laredo. You know that you are surrounded by greatness the minute you step in the door at Luling City Market. We tried to order a reasonable amount, we failed, since we knew that we would be eating again in 30 minutes. Sorry but the camera was running out of batteries and we were working against the clock. I guess we'll just have to go back. Luling City Market- Brisket, Pork Ribs and Sausage. We didn't talk much during this meal. It was definitely the best meal of the trip so far. After Luling we drove to Gonzales which is about 30 miles from Luling. We went to the Gonzales Food Market for some of their "Come and Take It" sausage. When we were standing in line we noticed they also had lamb spare ribs which is becoming one of our favorites. The sausage was a little spicier and a little more fat content than Luling. We weren't complaining. After Gonzales we drove thru some flash flooding and hail on the road to Laredo. We met our friends, Sean and Donna, in Encinal and then headed across the border for some drinks and snacks. More to come on Day 4. Rodney/Kyle

Hey Jaymes, Its funny you should mention that. We're staying with some friends in Encinal and that is exactly where they plan on taking us. Rodney

We started the day with a proper breakfast after way too many chuggers of Shiner Bock. Menudo at our favorite Mexican restaurant Tampico in Bryan. For lunch we stayed in Bryan and went to a great soul food restaurant named Shannons Cafe. We had some really nice beef tips and stewed pork ribs. For dinner we drove out to Rockdale for bbq at No Teeth BBQ. You people from Austin need to make the drive out there. Wallace Brandyburg makes some fine brisket and ribs smoked over mesquite. Make sure you have some of his special hot sauce and when he tells you its hot believe him. Also ask him how he got his name. Tomorrow we head to Laredo to stay away from the crowds at the food festival. We are going to beat you bus people to Luling and Gonzales though. More updates to come. Rodney/Kyle

We'll be back in Austin next week so we'll find you at CM.

I forgot to mention something about the Country Inn. The extra small steak starts at 1 1/4 lbs. and goes up to the large sirloin at 3 3/4 lbs.

Day1 The day of the Holy Trinity. Starting in Austin with a plate of migas at Mi Madres. We both used to live down the street from this place. After a quick trip to central market we hit the road to College Station with a quick stop in Elgin for some meat at Crosstown bbq. The sausage was good but we plan on hitting Southside Market on the way home for a comparison. As you can see Elgin is a pretty live spot After lunch we needed a break so we sat on the porch at Duddley's in College Station with several chuggers of Shiner Bock(which ain't what it used to be). And to finish the Holy Trinity we went to the County Inn in Sommerville for a chicken fried steak and one of the finest I've ever had. We'll be back with updates on day2. Rodney/Kyle

Yep, Zinc is gone. I got an email from them about a month ago that said they were closing the doors. The food was good after the last chef arrived but I would hate to be a French bistro owner now with all the tough competition out there. rodney

That is definitely not a Texas thing. Another disagreement I have with the California inlaws. They love the black olives and I can't stand them (with Mexican food that is). rodney

I'd like to throw in my 2 cents on burritos vs tacos for what it's worth. I've always considered it a size issue. Small tortillas, corn or flour, have always been tacos to me. Large tortillas, flour only, have always been burritos to me. My Mexican/American inlaws in California disagree though. They say flour, small or large, is a burrito and corn is a taco. As for breakfast tacos being from Texas I'd like to throw this in. Ordering a plate of eggs with whatever and getting a basket of tortillas on the side is not the same as ordering breakfast tacos. When I lived in Dallas I don't remember seeing many breakfast tacos. But it seems from Austin south they are everywhere. Rodney

Thanks for the invite memesuze. We are actually headed out of town the morning of the 31st after migas and a trip to CM and won't be back until the following Tuesday. We are coming to Texas for a big bbq tasting but we'll be spending the weekend down on the border. We didn't realize the food/wine festival would be going on as soon as we arrive so we'll be hiding in Mexico until its over. Hopefully there will be something else going on while we're there next week. I'd love to have a drink with everyone. Rodney

Hey Foodie52, Don't you work at CM? I'm going to be in Austin in a couple of weeks and I know that will be one of my first stops. Thought I'd say hi. Rodney

I totally forgot about cascabels. Thats a great chile.

There is a small city just outside of Xalapa in Veracruz called Xico. The town is pretty popular for making mole (mole de Xico) but they also make a chipotle paste that is almost like a chipotle mole. Its fantastic but, unfortunately, they don't send it across the border. I was there with a friend several years ago and we each bought a case and lugged them around Veracruz for the rest of our trip. Every town we would stop in someone would always recognize the box and comment on our mole de Xico. Rodney

Frank that rub sounds interesting. how does the coffee stand up to the grilling?

Did you get tired of the canned type first? I can't stand the canned ones now but I still occasionally use the dried ones. I'm a big fan of guajillos blended into chicken, beef, and pork stews and pasillas blended into lamb stews. Rodney

I was mostly comparing it to Campbells because that was still fresh in my mind from eating there the week before. Campbells was indeed smokier but the meat was so dry that it subtracted from the extra smokiness. I think that is usually hidden at Campbells because they will drown their meat in sauce unless you stop them and Logans barely sauces their meat. My ribs were not dry at Logans the other day and the brisket was much better than that at Cambells. Maybe from a northwest point of view you would like the others places better. To each his own but I would take Logans over YamYams or Campbells. Rodney

Good job Jim. http://www.jamesbeard.org/about/press/news....php?news_id=37