Coffee helps...and coffee with Bailey's is just the "lubricant" needed to get my rusty brain working again.
Today seems like the perfect day for a drive in the country...so...around 11:00 or so, I set off for the town of Taylor...about forty miles north and east of Austin. Taylor is home to Louie Muellar Barbecue which, on my last trip to Texas, I selected as my favorite Barbecue place.
Pulling into the parking lot, I see that it looks just the same. Inside, it's exactly as I remember it...cavernous, dimly lit...and very quiet. People come here not for revelry, but to eat...eat what is, perhaps, the best barbecue in Texas. I queue up in line...about 15th...and wait my turn. The pitmasters are friendly...I get two slices of "fatty" brisket, a sausage and potato salad. No beer sold here, so I get a coke instead. The brisket is outstanding...it's got a nice crust that's a little spicy from the black pepper in the rub...and the meat is juicy and tender. That's what sets the barbecue here apart from the others...it's easy to dry a brisket out during the long slow cooking process...but the meat here is moist. Sausage is also top-knotch...coarsely-ground meat and assertive spicing. Even the potato salad shows some extra care. As the nice lady at the cash register puts it..."We put a lot of love into our barbecue". So...for the time-being, Louie Mueller jumps into the #1 spot on my list.
Back at camp, it's a lazy day. I stay in the shade...watch a little TV...work on the Internet.
Around 5:00PM, I head down the street a short ways to the Shady Grove...a nice friendly little spot with good food,cold beer and interesting cocktails. I have a couple glasses of something called a "Shady Thang"...it's essentially a frozen Pisco Sour served in a big glass...very refreshing. At 7:00, I'm a little hungry...even after that big lunch. A half order of Pulled Pork Nachos is just what I need.
Back at camp, it's sundown...the weather's cooled off (a bit)...I've got beers iced down in the cooler...there are a few "Frasier" reruns and a Gary Cooper Western on TV.
Life is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment