Austin BBQ

As I mentioned in my last post, we were on a road trip and the next stop was Austin, TX.

Trixie and I made it to Austin just around lunchtime and as the friend we were to visit hadn’t yet returned from her current business trip, we set out to find a spot to dine.

Trixie is a most excellent co-pilot, navigator and google searcher when I’m driving, so she began to check for good listings for food.

Being in Austin which is known for some pretty excellent eats, I thought that our criterion for lunch should be either Barbeque or tacos as that is two of their acclaimed food groups.

I had done a search of my own before leaving on the trip and several of the places were familiar in my brain. The one that required a two hour wait in line was nixed as neither of us could expect it to be that fantastic to want to stand idle for that long for food.

The next spot was one that intrigued us both.

The reviews were excellent and their fare met both of our criteria as they smoke their own meats for their own specialty tacos.

One reviewer said that if the truck moved it’s spot to Hades, they would still follow.

We decided the best bet would be to swing by the parking lot where Valentina’s Food truck is parked and see what that was about as the reviews also said that once the meats were sold out that day, they closed. It was also stated that the lines could be long at times.

The Smoker and Food Truck were parked at the end of a small parking lot that also contained a small gas station and a liquor store.

I dropped Trixie to hop into a spot in line while I located a parking spot down the street a bit.

The line was only maybe about 6 people deep when we arrived, but by the time we received our eats, there were nearly 20 people anxiously awaiting a turn to order up the enticing fare.

I have to say, it is on the top of my list of places I would return to. The meats were very well smoked and would have been delicious alone, but they pared them so well with garnishments picked for the specific type of meat and home made sauces and tortillas to give you an eye rolling, toe curling bit of wonderful.

We should have taken a photo before we started to eat, but really, we were proud that we even remembered to stop eating long enough to take a picture at all.

We went to an event with our friend during the day(more on that later), and then that same evening a small group of us went to another amazing place.

Going to The Salt Lick was a bit like going to a small county fair. It was out in the country and surrounded by their own vinyards. The parking lots were dirt and large as were required for the amount of people there at any given time. When you arrive, you’re given a pager so that they can let you know when one of their 800 seats are available. On any given Sunday they feed around 2000 people.

The seating is available outside under the large beautiful trees.

Or inside in one of their several buildings.

They have unique smoke pits inside two of the buildings where the smoked meat is kept warm and smoking a bit more until orders are placed.

I think we ended up sampling nearly all of their meats and can say that it is exceptional BBQ. Their sides were tasty as well, but at a spot like this, it really is the meat that steals the show. Which made it all the more special as our host doesn’t even eat meat, but wanted us to experience the splendor of the place even if she could not participate in the carnivorous aspect of it.