spudboy

Yup, understood. That's pretty damn funny. Mine are the same way.

Wow, not sure what happened there. Anyway.... Boy, we do have it good in central Texas as far as slowcooked meat is concerned. Great thread! Couldn't help but to pipe in on this one. Cooper's in Llano - My alltime favorite. The pork chop is simply something that just can't be missed before death. Slow cooked on an old school hardwood pit then just completely submerged while still piping hot in vinegar and drippings. Viola! One of the pitmasters from there opened his own place, Opie's which is at the Spicewood turnoff, out on West 71, but half the distance to Llano and almost as good. Sam's - The old stanby on East 12th has the best ribs I've ever tasted. Good sauce and kickass sides too. Also open till like 3:00 or 4:00 in the AM on weekends. Artz Rib House - Country Style Pork Ribs and Baby Backs are the bomb. Good sauce too. My son loves the banana pudding sundaes. Kruez - THE best in alot of people's opinion, I would have to agree for the simple fact that they share a passion for the most perfect and succulent cut of pork for rubbing and smoking - the PORK BUTT! Brisket is the bomb too. Their method is THE quintessential old time German style pit BBQ way, meat, pickles and butcher paper is all you'll possibly need. Love that. Black's, also in Lockhart is pretty good too. Salt Lick - Hmm, maybe the food is at times a bit overhyped, but give me a break, the atmosphere out there on a summer evening with the fireflies is as close to heaven as anyplace I've been. And BYOB? I finally got there early enough on a Sunday to attempt the smoked Prime Rib. OMG. Well it looked like something from the Flintstones, the eye of perfectly cooked MR meat was like the size of a phonebook and almost as thick. I couldn't believe it and was glad to be a passenger on the way home. Definitely not for the faint hearted. I can't recommend it enough. German style sides pretty good too, and unique as far inner city standards are concerned. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081...1742174-1013466 That's a link to the Amazon page for the new book by Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook". I bought this book and basically sat down and read every page in one sitting. I passed it out in Korea on my BBQ trip there this spring, and it's pretty much the new BBQ bible in my honest opinion. The most history, technique and information on Texas style BBQ compiled in one book to date. Cheers! PS: County Line Sucks.

Hello all,

This is a little note to all who have said good things about the restuarant Starlite. I was the founding chef and cooked there until a few months ago. The food there is excellent and yes it did get 4 stars again in the Statesman. Good job! Anyone who is looking for "big city" style food needs only to look to a few restuarants in town who aspire to create that experience. Starlite is one example. Joshua Heines trained for 10 years in NYC before transplanting to Austin. His food is an excellent reflection of that time. Wink is another great example. Stuart Scruggs is a great old school Austin chef, but more importantly, he has an excellent staff, all at the top of the talent pool. Check them out for sure. Also, Zoot's chef John Maxwell hails from DC I believe, and as well as the others, his food is trendy yet solidly backed with decades of experience. Granite Cafe is another great theater, and Sam is a very old friend of mine. Austin has several other "foodie" type stuff going on, and to keep this to a paragraph, I'll only mention Boggy Creek Farms. If you've never gone out there, it's not far at all, and now is a great time if you love tomatoes. In my opinion, Austin is pretty arid as far as foodies go, but we need to support these establishments. Word of mouth keeps these kind of places in the headlines, and that popularity is what keeps the art of handcrafted cuisine alive. I've been working in South Korea as well, consulting at hotels for the USMEF (alot of people are confusing our work as being with the Beef Council), and will be at a new restuarant soon. Thanks again for the good word. Cheers! Chris Howard