🚀 go-pugleaf

Friends in Houston Eats, &etc

I went camping last weekend with my beloved Dawn and about 20
other folks.  We went up at Inks Lake State Park in the Hill
Country.

On the way out Friday night we needed dinner.  Heading out
I-10 West, we passed Sealy and I pulled the car over at exit
709.  There's a BBQ joint there that can't figure out its own
name.  One sign for it said 'Truchard's BBQ'.  Another just
said 'Texas BBQ and Tacos.'  The sign over the door says
'Texas Travelers Pit Barbeque.'

It's great.  The place is a dilapidated ex-filling station /
convenience store.  And they serve some of the best smoked
chicken that I've ever had.  We got two chicken halves ($3.50
ea) which we ate while driving.  Dawn, who knows her woods,
said that the distinctive flavor is oak smoking.  The chicken
was INTENSELY smoky and we polished it off in just a few
minutes.  Along with a liter of diet Coke.

Now, last time I'd been up that way I'd gone all the way to
Llano looking for barbeque from the Inman Ranch.  It had been
closed for the 4th of July holiday when we got there.

And on that previous trip, on the way out of town on monday
morning, we had passed another place called Coopers.  It
looked VERY promising.  Huge outdoor barbeque pits with
massive stacks of mesquite.  Well, I'd come back to Houston
and did some research to find out that some people consider
Coopers to be in the top 10 of Texas BBQ.

So of course we had to go back to Llano and try Coopers.

I was told by the rest of the group that on such campouts, it
is traditional to have a Saturday night potluck.  Well, I had
my heart set on BBQ.  I decided to drive 25 miles to Llano and
bring back some BBQ to share.  It was on my mind to stop at
both Inmans and Coopers and bring back a bit of both.

We got to Coopers and I knew it was going to be wonderful as
soon as I opened the car door.  The smoke....mmmmmmm.  We got
1 1/4 lbs of ribs and a half pound of brisket. 

Dawn is a cabinet maker.  Mesquite has a reputation as a
beautiful, extrememly hard wood.  She was interested in taking
a bit back to Louisiana and using it in a project.  So I asked
the guy if they'd sell us a log.  Well this caused a great
deal of consternation.  They sell great meat, not wood.
Eventually they let us pick out a log for $2.  Which is
probably way too much for a mesquite log, but under the
circumstances not too bad.

We packed the log in the trunk and the meat in the backseat
and headed down the road to Inmans.  It was closed with a
big sign on it saying "Closed - gone, back on Sept 21st".  So
once again, no Inmans.

Back at Inks Lake, I put out the meat from Coopers and it was
gone about as fast as I could inhale.  I took the first piece,
but I had to wrestle Dawn into the line to make sure that she
got a rib, ahead of the stampede.  Charley Gipson pronounced
the rib that he got "the best ribs I have ever had in my
life." I heard similar praise for the brisket.  I'd give both
the brisket and the ribs about a 27 on a 30 scale, myself.

----

On the way back from the campout, after climbing Enchanted
Rock and taking in the incredible scenery along the Willow
City Loop, we had lunch at Uncle Kunkle's in Johnson City.

It's too bad.  When you're facing the stiff competition of the
meats in the Texas Hill Country, 'pretty good' bbq seems
downright paltry.  Uncle Kunkle's ribs came in about a 19 or
20 on the 30 pt scale.  Which would be very good around here
in Houston, but ...

  (Uncle Kunkle's 830-868-0251.  210 Hwy 290 & 281, South,
Johnson City TX.)

Dawn made me stop again before Sealy - just HAD to have some
more of that chicken.  She flew back to Hammond last night,
leaving me wonderful memories of her, and of barbeque.  And a
mesquite log in my trunk.

David "Smoky" Throop