A FT dilemma: prepaid breakfast before prepaid AYCE Q.
Gluttony or thrift or whatever won out. As those watching
the thread may have noted, certain of us spent more time
at breakfast enjoying the free Internet than the food or
each other's company, but I shoveled a few sausages and
strips of bacon down the hatch to make a good prelude for
the day.
It's about 30 miles to Driftwood, the site of the original
Salt Lick Barbecue. The site lists two others, but as it
turns out these are a stadium concession and the franchise
at AUS. And twisty turny miles they are, so by the time we
got there, we were hungry, slavering, I believe the term is.
We were sent to the misnomered Garden Room, which looks and
feels like the mess hall at summer camp, if you went to
summer camp when you were a kid. The food isn't summer
camply, though.
(Oh, by the way, we stopped en route at a place called
Bubba's, as there isn't a beer to be had at the Salt Lick,
which is in apparently dry Hays County. There's a pretty
good selection of beers and some wines at not-too-bad
prices. They do make it up in volume - this is the nearest
boozerium to the pilgrimage site. I got a Lone Star (tastes
sort of like PBR) for old times' sake; forty plus years ago,
underage and thirsty, I'd drink this or Jax, which I believe
no longer is made, and thank goodness for small favors.)
The prix fixe offers family-style (if your family is called
a pride or a streak) platters made up of
brisket - very tender, nice flavor, almost corned beefy but
without most of the salt. Smoke wasn't overdone, but I like
oversmoked meat if it's not too salty;
ribs - excellent; the exemplar of ribs if you will: smoky,
tender, but not mushy nor falling apart. But I am a
Texas Q purist - pork must take second place to beef;
sausage - I think maybe the best spicing, but I thought it
quite a bit too salty for my diet.
The famous sauce came on top and on the side. I thought the
small dose on top was more than plenty, but I am not a great
fan of the mustardy sauces, of which this is one.
Vegetables on the side:
chicken - it was chicken, what can I say. As close to a
vegetable as animal protein can be. Even with gallinophiles
dominating our table there was a piece left over;
potato salad - cuminy and tasting almost like Indian food;
I liked this quite a bit;
beans - good for beans; but I didn't want to discomfit my
traveling companion(s) by my reaction to beans;
slaw - didn't taste, partially because it's green and
partially for the same reason.
Interesting thing about the brisket - after the table
polished off all of it, I ordered a second plate, whose
contents were less tender and juicy than the first (but
still well in contention with the best from the previous
day). It also came unsauced, a plus.
Our table ate distressingly modestly. I am told that
others made up for our abstemiousness.
We accompanied our meal with the Layer Cake Shiraz, the
Butterfield Station Cab, and the aforementioned Lone Star.
Also offered were Shiner beers aplenty, in various flavors
and colors, courtesy of Starwood Lurker.
Dessert (extra charge) was I believe peach cobbler, anyhow
something cobbler. Our table I believe passed unanimously.