Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [232]
(Although they were originally related and do business pretty much the same way, this Cooper’s is now an entirely different operation from the one in Llano. The Llano one tends to be much more crowded at mealtime, and while some local connoisseurs consider this Mason store to be far superior, we’ve had great meals at both.)
Crosstown BBQ
211 Central Ave.
512–285–9308
Elgin, TX
LD | $$
Crosstown BBQ is a relative newcomer in the world of Texas smoked meats, located in Elgin across the street from where the venerable Southside Market was before it moved to the outskirts of town. It is a stark tin building with little decorative charm, outside or in, but the allure of pit smoke is a seductive perfume impossible to resist.
Service is cafeteria-style. Tell the man what sort of meat you want, and how much you want of it. He slices it, puts it on a plate, and sides it by white bread and, if desired, beans. The available choices are ribs, brisket, mutton, and sausage. They’re all exemplary, and we would recommend the ribs, brisket, and sausage to anyone. Mutton has a sharp flavor and isn’t as fall-apart tender as the beef, but if you are a serious barbecue person, you will find it immensely satisfying.
We took our place at the long communal table in the center of the room and dug into vast platters of meat, using the bread to mop juices, slaking our thirst with tall cups of iced tea. In the corner of the big dining room, a television was tuned to a show of celebrity gossip from Hollywood, but everyone was way too interested in what was on their plates to pay attention to such nonsense.
Dyer’s Bar-B-Que
Wellington Sq.
806–358–7104
Amarillo, TX
LD | $$
Dyer’s is a family-friendly barbecue that is especially convenient for travelers along Interstate 40. When we walked in on a Sunday at noontime, it seemed that every single person in the room was dressed in church clothes. Tables were occupied by large, multigenerational groups of happy Texans all plowing into big plates of ribs and brisket. Décor is Lone Star rustic, including bare wood tables, a brick floor, paintings on the walls of such regional icons as roadrunners, the Alamo, and a stagecoach. Catch ropes and branding irons also share wall space with a few neon beer signs.
A good choice for one-time visitors passing through is a combo plate that includes beef brisket, Polish sausage, and a rib. Strangely enough, this being Texas, the brisket was a disappointment: although tender, it was pretty dry. Sweet-and-sour barbecue sauce, presented warm in a Corona beer bottle, did a good job of rehydrating it, but it still did not attain succulence of really great Hill Country brisket. Sausage, on the other hand, was fine: a taut, full-flavored section that needed no sauce whatsoever. And the rib was delightful, its surface sticky with cooked-on sauce, its meat moist and succulent, pulling easily in long strips from the bone. All meals come with the house apricot sauce, which the waitress suggested I use to garnish the meat. It’s a curious condiment—not necessarily an idea whose time has come.
Goode Co. Texas Bar-B-Q
5109 Kirby Dr.
713–522–2530
Houston, TX
LD | $$
Goode Co. isn’t exactly a little-known name in the Houston food world. Driving south on Kirby from the city center, you pass Goode Co. Seafood and Good Co. Tacqueria, and there is another branch of Goode Co. Bar-B-Q on Katy Freeway. The place on Kirby is a large eating barn (with a nice covered outdoor patio) surrounded by stacks of wood and the perfume of smoldering mesquite. Inside, there’s always a line leading to the cafeteria-style counter, but the line moves fast, because nearly everyone knows exactly what he or she wants when they come