BBQ road trip

Hi everyone,

My husband, 2 month old son and I are taking a 4 week road trip through BBQ territory. Starting in San Antonio in early November we are hoping to hit the countryside and following cities (Austin, New Orleans, Pensacola FL (family visit), Memphis, Nashville, Asheville NC (family visit), and Athens GA) before looping our way into Atlanta the week after Thanksgiving.

We have named this trip "BBQ across Dixie" and are eager for suggestions about our route, must-sees, local haunts, weird Americana, fun things to do and of course good BBQ !! Please let me know your expereinces and opinions!!

thanks a ton,
Christina

Guideline NUMBER ONE- Check the hours of operation for a place (especially a smaller rural business) before driving a long way out of your way to try it. (Lots of 'week-end only' operations)

My number one recommendation based on your outline would be HAYS SMOKE HOUSE in Lexington, TN. It is located about 15 minutes off I-40(exit 108) about 1/2 way between Nashville and Memphis. BUT it is open only Fridays and Saturdays!! It is a great little BBQ place...see the review on this site... but everything depends on the hours you will be in this area.

We just returned from a loop thru the NC/SC/GA corners and can recommend a few places in that area. See my trip report in the Misc- Food Related Forum for photos and info.

Sounds like a fun trip. I hope you find all that you are looking for.

If there's any way you can route through Natchitoches, LA, pleasae do! You can come across Texas easily enough: here's a [url='http://mapshare.delorme.com/Consumer/V.aspx?p=zrwhdpmj']map and directions[/url] from Austin. We have one outstanding barbecue joint and many decent-to-good other eateries. And it's a neat town to boot: lives from festival to festival while still being mostly kid-friendly. You'd get here just before the Christmas festival, which begins with the lighting of our tacky (but fun tacky!) Christmas Lights.

Come see us--and eat!

Rick:

What is the name of the great BBQ place in Natchitoches?

Kruetz Market in Lockhart, Texas is a must.

quote:

Originally posted by Islander

Rick:

What is the name of the great BBQ place in Natchitoches?

Actually, it's in Clarence, about six miles east of here at the intersection of LA 6 and US 71. Grayson's BBQ also has outstanding ham; and if you're having a sandwich be sure to ask for a site-made bun for a modest extra cost.

Where are you going to be in Alabama? There are several places worth trying there depending on which area of the state you'll be crossing.

If you're coming across I-10 in LA, Get off in Breaux Bridge LA and visit Poche's Market for some good Cajun BBQ and all other things Cajun. If you have an RV, they have a Fish-N-Camp and RV Park there too!
Best Andouille I ever et.

www.pochesmarket.com

There's a map on their web site. I believe the get "off" is exit 109 and Poche's is north of I-10. Worth the trip I Guaron-Tee

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

If you're coming across I-10 in LA, Get off in Breaux Bridge LA and visit Poche's Market for some good Cajun BBQ and all other things Cajun. If you have an RV, they have a Fish-N-Camp and RV Park there too!
Best Andouille I ever et.

www.pochesmarket.com

There's a map on their web site. I believe the get "off" is exit 109 and Poche's is north of I-10. Worth the trip I Guaron-Tee

Amen, though I like [url='http://www.belluescajuncuisine.com/']Bellue's[/url] andouille better. Also, if you're up for a little side trip, 7 miles west of Opelousas on US 190 you'll find Port Barre, home of [url='http://www.bourquespecialties.com/']Bourque's Supermarket[/url], which is wonderful. (It's also profiled on Roadfood [url='http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1889/']here[/url].)

Let me add to Al's Guide Line #1. Don't just look up the hours, actually call them and make sure ot the day you are planning to be there.

Please come back and give us a trip report in December.

Keith

Forget Austin. From San Antonio, just head east on I-10 for a short distance (look at your map), turn north at Luling exit and stop in Luling, just a few miles north. In Luling, try City Market located downtown. Then on northward a few more miles to Lockhart, home of Kreuz, Black's and Smitty's BBQ. If you eat at those places you've had some of the best BBQ in Texas. Head on east to Houston and stop at William's Smokehouse on Wheatly Ave in Acres Homes for pork ribs. Selected more than once as one of the TOP TEN BBQ places in Texas the ribs are always good. Houston has more good BBQ places but Williams is among the very best. Thelma's and Burns are good too but hard to find.
Grayson's in Clarence, Louisiana (just east of Natchitoches) used to be a small shack on the side of the Winnfield road east of Clarence till they moved into "town" and still serves the best BBQ in that area. Get the sandwiches on what Old Man Grayson (now deceased) used to call "Frog Rolls". Taste like French bread but shaped like a bun with a humpback. Other meat here is good too.
That should get you on to Mississippi.

If you find yourself near Gainesville, Ga. and it's on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, do yourself a favor and stop at The Hickory Pig on Hwy 60 just north of town. It's nothing fancy, but the pork sandwiches, spareribs, sliced pork loin, and Brunswick stew are top-notch. The marinated/smoked chicken is nothing to sneeze at either. It's on the right heading south across the highway from a Krogers. Phil Beaubein is the pitman/owner and a nicer guy you'll never meet. Tell him porkbeaks sent you. pb

I have a few places in ATL if you're interested. Let me know which part of town you'll be in and I can steer you.

If you can work it in, go to the 'Church of the Holy Smoke' New Zion Baptist Missionary Church in Huntsville, TX and sit down to the family style
,

If you're looping from Asheville down to Athens and Atlanta, consider looping east through Greensboro and down through Charlotte (I-40 to I-85). You would hit Stamey's in Greensboro and the many places in Lexington. Stamey's and the Lexington places are about the best in terms of West Carolina bbq.

second to that comment.

Just south of Austin in Driftwood Tx. is the Salt Lick. You can't beat the all you can eat deal.

[url][/url]http://www.saltlickbbq.com/[url][/url]

On Hwy 71 about 20 min. west of Austin in Spicewood Tx. is R.O. Outpost. They have imo the best ribs because they have sauce cooked onto them. Don't blink or you will miss it.

In Leon Springs west of San Antonio on I10 is Rudys BBQ. My favorite.

[url][/url]http://rudysbbq.com/[url][/url]

In Elgin Tx. on Hwy 290 east of Austin is Southside Market my 2nd favorite.

[url][/url]http://www.southsidemarket.com/[url][/url]

Big_G shhhh you want everyone to find out about this Texas secret.LOL

joe

Are you hitting the Mobile(South), Birmingham(Central), or Huntsville/Decatur(North) areas?

A great place in Gainesville, GA, is the Smoke House - Thurs-Fri-Sat only place - with great ribs and pork BBQ. It's among the top five in GA.

It's a block south of I-985 at the Hwy. 53 (Gainesville College) exit.

Athens has a number of excellent restaurants which everyone knows about, including one or two included in the "Best of Atlanta", which is 60 miles away.

Agreed on skipping Austin. Love the town, but the best is outside. City Market in Luling is good (get the hot link), as is the Lockhart triumvirate mentioned above.

In Houston, Williams is good, off the beaten path tho. Can't go wrong with Goode Company, which for some inexplicable reason gets dogged on this forum despite having great brisket, jalapeno cheese bread and pecan pie. Not to be missed.

Have a good time. Sounds like fun. Wish I had the time/stomach to do it.

Christina, an absolute must it a visit to the Rendezvous Restaurant which is located in an alley-way in downtown Memphis. Go for lunch or dinner and have their famous ribs!

In Atlanta, try Harold's Barbeque on the Southside. It's been their since 1947 -- try the sandwich and stew!!!

Both of these places have a website. You will thank me later!

John

For sure, if you make it as far a the GA/FL line, you'll want to stop at the Georgia Pig in Brunswick, GA--right at the I-95 exit. Several RF posters have argued about the owner's politics, but I still say their chopped pork sandwich is one of the best on the planet and their ribs are not to be missed if you're a rib fan!

QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

quote:

Originally posted by Texianjoe
Big_G shhhh you want everyone to find out about this Texas secret.LOL

joe

No Sir..but I figure if enough folks try it, maybe they'll learn how to make it in other places ;) I've introduced a little Texas Q to my neighbors...now everytime I fire up my smoker you can hear plates hitting the tables in about 4 homes around me. I can't just cook a brisket....got to do some sausage links and maybe a rack of ribs. So we tend to share some.

We lived in South Austin and hit the Salt Lick at least once a month, as well as Pokey Joe's, and Artz (both only a mile or so from the house) and Blacks and Smitty's when we would go south to Victoria.
Big_G

If you have the time... Drive through Austin, on I-35 to Round Rock, take 79 to Taylor and say Howdy to Mr. Vencil at the Taylor Cafe

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/05/025823.php
http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=27711&pageIndex=2

If passing through the Charlotte area (45 minutes south of Lexington)
Stop in and try our bbq bufet.

http://www.ebsbbq.com/Restaurant.htm

Big-g wrote:

quote:

No Sir..but I figure if enough folks try it, maybe they'll learn how to make it in other places ;) I've introduced a little Texas Q to my neighbors...now everytime I fire up my smoker you can hear plates hitting the tables in about 4 homes around me. I can't just cook a brisket....got to do some sausage links and maybe a rack of ribs. So we tend to share some.

I'm the same way. It takes about $30 worth of firewood to keep the smoker going for 24 hrs so you have to fill it up to make it worth the trouble.

joe

Thanks Raine.

MikeS.