Pictured above is smoked brisket from Louie Mueller Barbecue of Taylor, TX (see the Roadfood.com review). In our admittedly limited experience with Texas barbecue, we've found none better. They finished in fifth place, out of ten highly rated barbecue joints, in The Dallas Morning News' taste tests of Texas Barbecue. The group from the paper calls themselves the Texas BBQ Posse, and they visited all ten spots within a 48 hour window, sampling brisket, pork ribs, and sausage at each stop. Coming out on top, as it always seems to do these days, is Austin's Franklin Barbecue.

There's a wealth of barbecue information to be found here. Besides the very extensive main story, there are three videos, multiple photo galleries, and 360-degree panoramic shots of many of the joints. This is mandatory reading before your next trip to Texas barbecue country.