TexNewMex

But worth it! which one are you going to?......and have you heard about his new concept in decatur?

I am probably opening the door to various comments for this suggestion, but if you get tired of ethnic food, there is a place on Beltline and I35 in the old downtown Carrollton square. Its sort of novelty place, not fancy by any means, but I think the food is some of the best around. Its called Babe's Chicken dinner house......now before you mark it off your list....let me explain a bit. Babe's is not really a chain although they do have about 6 or so now. Its basically a southern down home type of place.....there is no menu, because there are only a few items....Fried Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak, Chicken Strips, Pot Roast, Catfish and for sides you get creamed corn, green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy.....and I dont want to forget the biscuit. Everything is served family style. The chicken, CFS and catfish are hand breaded. The country music is a little loud, and the waitresses's are very good singers...and dont forget to get up and do the hokey pokey.....my favorite is the byob....so buy a cooler and fill it up so you can hang out for a while.....dont go on sat night unless you have aleast a case, because the wait can be long. I enjoy taking out of towners....its really an experience.

The only traveling companions you mention are your wife and 8-month-old daughter, Molly. So who, pray tell, is your adorable little heterochromatic friend? ← The multi colored k-9 would be what my wife calls our daughter..... She usually goes where we go.....

They have only been open for a few months.....I think the place is great! It's in the old Colters building across from Lewisville High School. I am really happy for the GM or owner.....I am not sure which he is, there are six Weck's in Albuquerque and now the one here......the place has really caught on...there is usually a 10 to 20 minute wait on the weekends....people seem to love it. I am not sure where you live, but if you ever make it back you need to check it out. You can get green chile on just about anything....I recommend the Cinnamon roll, its as big as a plate and they slice it in half and put it on the grill....its pretty good!

Well, we have returned from the hill country of Texas. It was a trip that I will never forget; the experience was better than I ever thought it would be. They take their BBQ very very seriously down there and they should, every place we visited was absolutely great in its own way…….…but of course some were better than others. I come from the philosophy of if you like it and it tastes good to you……….”Its good” and that’s how I went into this trip. I have read so many posts that discussed the right amount of smoke flavor, to much seasoning, to little seasoning, sauce was watery, it was to sweet, to peppery….and on and on. I found each place to have something I enjoyed food wise and only one place seemed to be having a bad day at the pit. I am by no means a BBQ elitist, but I now understand what “these” people were saying when they were describing their experiences. All of the towns we visited were no more than 100 miles from Austin and the route we took we were never in the car for more than an hour. I couldn’t believe how concentrated these restaurants were in one area and what amazes me is how well known they are. Posted on the walls in all of these places were articles and covers from a myriad of magazines that have done stories on these bbq joints. Is the bbq in Texas that good? I will try to answer that one, but I would like to hear your comments if you have been to or eaten at any of these places. And Are there any other regions like this in the U.S. with such a concentration of well-known or famous bbq joints? Well, I have somehow talked my lovely wife into joining me in what some would say is a waste of two perfectly good vacation days. It’s July in Texas, the place where they invented humidity and triple digit temperatures. I am traveling with my wife and our 8 month old daughter Molly………I have a feeling its not going to be as easy as I envisioned it. I dreamed I would visit these historical bbq joints taking my time soaking up the history and the smoke….talking to the locals over a ice cold shiner bock lazily eating the local favorites….Smoked Brisket, Ribs and hand made sausages………well I realized …..that’s not going to happen…..at all! Our goal was to visit 14 different places in 3 days and when I explained to people what I was doing the logistics didn’t really enter my mind…..friends were asking how are you going to eat that many meals? I don’t know! that’s not important right now!....…..”it just happens” is what I told them. Then divine intervention…….we were dining at our favorite local breakfast spot with some good friends that own and run a great little restaurant in Coppell, TX called Daddy Jack’s. Victor was asking what places I was planning on visiting and I ran down the list like I had many times before. The conversation turned once again to logistics and I just came to the realization that there is no way we can eat bbq 5-6 times in one day with out causing some type of super size me syndrome…what happens if my liver shuts down?????…So it was then I formed a plan to methodically buy a ½ lb of brisket, ribs and sausage from each place and wrap it in foil put it in a cooler and bring it to the people!!! These people being anyone who will agree to come over and eat it all. So starts the journey! Day 1 7/27/06 6:00 AM Our day starts off like it should with a nice little breakfast at the place that takes me back to my childhood……. Weck’s in Lewisville, TX……..It’s a breakfast and lunch place that serves the best breakfasts in town……my favorite on the menu……..the Huevos Rancheros …..fresh corn tortillas from Albuquerque…..softened in hot oil topped with two eggs over easy smothered in a New Mexico red chile sauce…made from scratch on the premises….on the side a large helping of pinto beans and hash browns topped with cheese, chopped lettuce and tomato…..My wife’s usual is the original Pappas bowl…..hash browns topped with ham, sausage and bacon…smothered in hatch green chile sauce….also homemade……. and topped with an egg and cheese….just something light, because there is a lot of bbq coming up and we don’t want to fill up. Outside of Dallas down I35 is the little town of West, TX. There in lies my favorite roadside attraction….the Little Czech bakery……kolaches, sausage rolls and other fine baked goods…….we always stop…….its just what you do…..there’s always a crowd of travelers…..a very fine place indeed. BBQ tomorrow!...........day 1 continued.

With just knowing Dallas and Beltline Rd......I would guess you might be in the Addison area...if so....I know of a place called Queen of Sheba I have yet to go, but it is on my short list of places to visit. I have heard good things about this place and it recieved a pretty favorable review in the local food guide.

Jaymes, Thank god she is not a horticulturist!

First off I would like to say hello to all of the egullet members. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the assortment of opinions, topics and discussions on this very knowledgeable site. I have been lurking for about a year and instead of slowly commenting on subjects in the various threads I have decided to throw caution to the wind and jump in feet first. This is my first attempt at posting in any forum ever and I feel honored to be doing it here. I have visited many a forum and this is the only one I truly enjoy. I am by no means an eloquent writer and my sentence structure leaves little to be desired…so to deal with that problem I will include plenty of photos. If I breach forum policy I am sure you will let me know….. Now that the legalities have been taken care of I will start this journey. I was turned onto this site by way of a Google search on some random food item I was researching….what a glorious find it was. I perused the various categories and was eventually drawn to the Texas subforum. There was one post that caught my eye….. “The best Texas barbecue, let’s get ready to rumble!” (Here).... I live in Texas and never really knew how passionate people……mostly Texans are about their “Q”…….and of course everyone from here to there has an opinion. Embedded in the thread was another, earlier post from chefrodrigo...(Here).... this is the post that stirred my now morbid curiosity about what some call the “Smokering”……… the 200 mile radius around Austin/San Antonio that supposedly includes the best BBQ in the US. The Chefrodrigo road trip consisted of a few north westerners on a gluttoness, brisket fueled romp through the hill country……Mexican breakfasts, mounds of bbq’d mayhem and chicken fried steak dinners….wow…..that’s how I want to go out! The more I read the more I wanted to try it……well it has come to fruition! I will follow the Texas Lewis & Clark BBQ Expedition……my trip will not be as prestigious or carry as much historical importance as Chefrodrigo’s and will more likely be similar to the journey of Chris Farley and Matthew Perry in Almost Heroes (Here) ……………… I leave Tomorrow @ 6:00 AM Central Time! Is it possible to visit 14 BBQ joints in 3 days…..most say no! I say……..You’re probably right! The Itinerary Please! City Market….. Luling Luling BBQ….. Luling Smitty’s Market……Lockhart Kruez Market……..Lockhart Blacks BBQ……..Lockhart Salt-Lick……..Driftwood Southside Market BBQ……..Elgin Cross-town BBQ………Elgin Louie Mueller……..Taylor Rudy’s Mikeska’s BBQ……..Taylor Opie’s BBQ……..Spicewood Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ……..Llano Burnet County BBQ……..Burnet Schoepf’s Old Time Pit BBQ…...Belton I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I presented my wife with the vacation of a lifetime…a romantic trip to the Texas Hill Country……Bluebonnets…..Rolling hills…..Quaint little Texas Towns, Shopping & a little BBQ…. Cross your fingers everyone…… If you have questions let me know…i will try to answer questions along the way, but it might have to wait until i return on Saturday night or whenever they discharge me from the hospital. I will report back ASAP with anecdotes and photos! PS. I thought the general food topics thread would be best for this post, the Texas thread is full of BBQ………I just wanted to put it out there for the masses. I enjoy hearing stories from the east coast and the culture that surrounds that part of the US……so I thought I would reciprocate with a story from my little microcosm here in Texas. I hope you enjoy it.