Originally Posted by bpauker

I just made a drive yesterday from Schulenburg to Temple up the "BBQ Trail" since I had some time to kill. I stopped at Smitty's in Lockhart, Meyer's and Southside in Elgin, and I drove through Taylor but was so full by then that I couldn' bring myself to stop for more food. My plan was to sample about a 1/4-1/2 pound of meat at each location (sausage and brisket). Here's my non-expert opinions:

Smitty's: great atmosphere; I loved the huge pits right when you walk in and where you order. Meat was served on butched paper with a knife and some bread or crackers. Prices were good. I only got the brisket here, which, while flavorful, was a little drier than I like my brisket to be.

Southside Market: sausage was absolutely great. Again, I found the brisket to be a little drier. Maybe I'm weird about how I like my brisket... Anyway, Of the three I tried, I think this was my favorite.

Meyer's: Sausage was also great here, especially the beef sausage, but the atmosphere reminded me more of a restaurant in some respects and not how I felt a BBQ joint would normally be. They also sold a bunch of shrink-wrapped dessert pastries. That tended to take away from the homey feel of the place.

All were quite good and all were reasonably priced. I'm looking forward to coming back down and trying the ones in Taylor and some more on the west side of Austin.