Salt Lick

18001 FM 1826, Driftwood, TX - (512) 725-8542

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Posted By Michael Stern on March 8, 2008 9:04 AM

The Salt Lick is a vast restaurant, banquet facility, and outdoor pavilion with seats for 2000. Located in the Hill Country west of Austin, it is a theme park of barbecue, its limestone buildings surrounded by rough-hewn log fences, the air smelling of slow-smoked meats. Compared to the region's back-of-the-butcher-shop barbecue parlors, it's a fairly civil place with ambience I would call Rustic Deluxe. There is a printed menu; you are served at your table by waiters; food comes on plates rather than on butcher paper; utensils are supplied; and the kitchen's repertoire includes all sorts of side dishes and dessert as well as barbecued meats. Fancy, it is not, but neither is the Salt Lick primitive.

The meats come pre-sauced, which is not a bad thing, because Salt Lick sauce is terrific: a tangy-sweet glaze with perhaps a hint of mustard. In fact the sauce is so good that I use it as a between-meat dip for the slices of good white bread that come alongside the meal. Sausage is kielbasa-rich, made from equal amounts of pork and beef, more sophisticated than the beefy hot links sold in butcher-shop barbecues. The brisket, slow-smoked for sixteen hours, comes from the pit lean and polite; and if it lacks the succulence of fattier meats, Salt Lick sauce snaps it up to speed. Pork ribs drip juice from the tender meat at the bone and deliver a stupendously concentrated smoke-pit flavor in the chewy burnt ends.

Among the worthy side dishes are an intriguing cabbage slaw flecked with sesame seeds and cool, German-style potato salad. And of course, pickles and sliced raw onions are available with every meal.

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Posted By Elizabeth Wilson on March 9, 2008 11:46 PM

I was glad to see Salt Lick reviewed as our version of Roadfood (the book) did not include it. It is a great place that we visit every year as we RV in Texas in the winter. My husband prefers Cooper's but Salt Lick has the best sauce going.

Order the all-you-can-eat "Family Style" meal and they will keep it coming, although the single plate isn't too shabby and you can order whichever meats you want. I'm not a big fan of the ribs, but the sausage and brisket are very good. If you feel too full to order the cobbler, get some as takeout (even with the ice cream). We managed to finish it on the way back to the RV.

Don't worry if the lines seem long; it doesn't take that much time. We also bought rub and sauce to take back to Upstate New York to share with friends during the summer. The one thing to know is that the restaurant does not serve alcohol, but you can bring your own. Beer is especially good with the BBQ, but we've also had red wine.

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