City Market Bar B Que in Luling, Texas

When we moved to Fentress we were told that we had try all the local bar-b-que because the area we live in was apparently voted the Bar-B-Que Capitol of Texas by Food Network. We hit all the places in Lockhart and I am just going to be honest.. I wasn't impressed. Here's what the family liked at these famed restaurants:

Kreuz: the ribs won hands down (voted one of 5 best bbq joints in Texas by Texas Monthly)

Black's: the sausage (voted one of 5 best bbq joints in Texas by Texas Monthly)

Smitty's: decent brisket

Chisholm Trail: good sausage, great dessert

Having hit all of the big bbq players in Lockhart, we moved on to Luling. There are two places there and we have tried one thus far. City Market Bar-B-Que was a real, down home bbq joint. You buy your meat in the back by the pit and your sides up front. It reminded me of the inside of an old VFW. The place was packed on a weekday, so we knew it had to be good. All the food comes out on a big piece of wax paper family style. I mean, except the beans.

I liked the lean brisket. It was flavorful and well, lean. I am no fan of gummy, fatty brisket. I like the lean sirloin type. The sausage was fantastic. It was no Eckrich sausage that they threw on the pit. This was real, wildly flavorful hand packed meat. The sauce was different than your traditional sauce, but I'll be honest, I didn't need it. The ribs were great and the price was right. The down side was that there was no sweet tea. To me, if you don't have sweet tea, you shouldn't sell bbq. This is Texas. We have a reputation to uphold. 

One of our other favorite places to eat breakfast (all day) is at The Coffee Shop in Luling. I'm sure you will see it hit the blog soon. If the other bbq joint is blog worthy, I'l let you know.

 You know your food is going to be seriously good when the guy making it is wearing a hard hat.

How could you not love that old guy in the cowboy hat?