East Texas BBQ lover not impressed w/ Central Texas BBQ can you recommend me some places? (Houston: high school, college)

[Redlionjr]

OK I've read Texas Monthly since I was in high school and i'm in my late 20's now. Anytime I've seen a issue about BBQ Central Texas is highly recommended as having the "best BBQ" in the State of Texas. I've tried some of the BBQ joints they've mentioned in Central Texas and i'm not impressed what's so ever. I've been to some of the popular BBQ spots in Austin and one thing I realized is a lack of FLAVOR!! Not a huge fan of the European influenced BBQ in that part of Texas. However everybody I know outside of East Texas praises Central Texas style BBQ. To me and some of my East Texas comrades I feel their being a bit biased since central texas BBQ is in a more populated area in Texas stretching from Austin to San Antonio and the great iconic BBQ joints are in between the 2. Even the BBQ from Luling didn't impress me. I'm a east texas boy and our BBQ rely heavily on sauce and chopped beefs. Sauce is very important and has a sweet and thick taste to it. Plus the type of wood that is used being a heavily wooded area. Most of my peers and family members from East Texas feel the same way I do. Alot of BBQ restaurants in Houston and Dallas mostly black BBQ joints or "urban" BBQ joints serve East Texas style BBQ. Black East Texans migrated to Houston and Dallas and just took their style of BBQ with them. I just feel that major media outlets like "Texas Monthly" puts East Texas to the side because it's a region that's full of small towns and small cities. Seen as like the Mississippi/Alabama of Texas.

What would be some good BBQ joints in Central Texas that could possibly win me over since I haven't been convinced yet.

[RooCeleste]

One of my favorite BBQ places around Austin is Smokey Mo's -- with extra sauce. (Van, in NE Texas, is my home.)

[Westerntraveler]

I like Prause's in La Grange and Smitty's Market in Lockhart

[hound 109]

Admiring (& passing judgment on) the sauce that comes on the meat..... is like deciding who wins Miss Texas based on who has the nicest pair of shoes.

Great BBQ can be found all over the state (I found a good spot in Tyler last year), but Snow's, City Market, Smitty's, Coopers & other fabulous spots aren't known for their sauce (which might be good).

It's about the meat.
.

[Nairobi]

All I can say is prepare to be ridiculed by several posters here. I've made the mistake of going against the machine and suggesting that, perhaps, East Texas BBQ is the best in the state. Because of it, I'm sure I've lost credibility in the eyes of a few.

It's the generally accepted rule that CT has the best BBQ, so any opposition to that simply won't be taken seriously.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by hound 109

Admiring (& passing judgment on) the sauce that comes on the meat..... is like deciding who wins Miss Texas based on who has the nicest pair of shoes.

Great BBQ can be found all over the state (I found a good spot in Tyler last year), but Snow's, City Market, Smitty's, Coopers & other fabulous spots aren't known for their sauce (which might be good).

It's about the meat.
.

Well of course it's about the meat. But the sauce is very VERY important as well atleast where i'm from.

Originally Posted by Nairobi

All I can say is prepare to be ridiculed by several posters here. I've made the mistake of going against the machine and suggesting that, perhaps, East Texas BBQ is the best in the state. Because of it, I'm sure I've lost credibility in the eyes of a few.

It's the generally accepted rule that CT has the best BBQ, so any opposition to that simply won't be taken seriously.

LOL, I'm ready for the BBQ WARS

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

Well of course it's about the meat. But the sauce is very VERY important as well atleast where i'm from.

The fact of the matter is, sauce is important in most legit BBQ regions (Memphis, the Carolinas, etc.). Texans are really the only ones who are so adamantly anti-sauce.

In a way, I'm on both sides of that argument, since I've never eaten brisket with sauce and don't plan on it. Pickle, onion, and bread are all I require for that meat. But dry, "Texas-style" ribs without sauce is out of the question. Sauce is great with chopped pork/beef, and I also enjoy it with sausage.

LOL, I'm ready for the BBQ WARS

Well, Texans are a hard-headed bunch, but, due to the size and diversity of this state, we're bound to butt those heads with each other. This ain't Georgia, and we don't even all root for the same college football team, so why do we all have to agree on the barbecue?

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

The fact of the matter is, sauce is important in most legit BBQ regions (Memphis, the Carolinas, etc.). Texans are really the only ones who are so adamantly anti-sauce.

In a way, I'm on both sides of that argument, since I've never eaten brisket with sauce and don't plan on it. Pickle, onion, and bread are all I require for that meat. But dry, "Texas-style" ribs without sauce is out of the question. Sauce is great with chopped pork/beef, and I also enjoy it with sausage.


Well, Texans are a hard-headed bunch, but, due to the size and diversity of this state, we're bound to butt those heads with each other. This ain't Georgia, and we don't even all root for the same college football team, so why do we all have to agree on the barbecue?

East Texans are pro-sauce. It's the only way I eat BBQ. I honestly didn't know it was a difference in BBQ in Texas till I went to school in Waco. In east texas it was perfectly normal to get a side of cheese and alot of BBQ sauce as a side dish. I went to a few bbq joints native to Waco and asked for some cheese and they looked at me like I was batsh*t crazy. And I had a friend from Bryan/College Station area who considered that weird and never heard of that combo. But I got so many weird looks for asking for that in Waco. Only place I see cheese was at Rudy's which was a chain.

Other things I noticed though was in etx its pretty common to serve a burger with fries and chilly beans. I haven't been able to get that combo outside of home.

[love roses]

I grew up eating East Tx. BBQ and I love it as well as I do CT BBQ. I pretty much agree with Nairobi about what type of meat to have with sauce on it. I've had good bbq in Houston, Corpus Christi, Lake Jackson, Austin, etc. But that said, I've not seen Cheese as a menu item/side/condiment in any of those places. That's a new one!

[neddy]

If ya get a chance go to peetes mesquite in marble falls, red shack across from the Wal-Mart. That is my fav and I grew up all over east texas...I love east texas bbq..