Further Adventures in Barbecue

The Dining Companion and I have now visited just about all of, what are considered to be, the top BBQ spots around. At this point we're at the "varying degrees of good" phase. All of the barbecue we've had recently has been good; some has even been great. At the top level of the smoked meat game, clearly, these people know what they're about. First up is la Barbecue in Austin, TX. la Barbecue is located in a food truck park in Austin, TX and is another BBQ place with a Mueller family association.

We got in line about an hour before they started serving which put us about twelve people back. Not too bad and gave me a chance to take a look around GoodLife Food Park.

I'd also like to point out that GoodLife Food Park is pet friendly.  

Once la Barbecue started serving the line moved fairly quickly.

We placed our order and had our food in no time.

Frito Pie, pickles, Turkey, Brisket, onions, Sausage and bread

 Everything was great. The turkey and brisket were cooked perfectly with just the right amount of smoke flavor. The sausage is course ground and home made with a perfect balance of  seasoning. The Frito Pie with its shredded beef and pork topping was a delicious add on.

Overall la Barbecue does smoked meat on par with all of the other big hitters in this category.

I stopped by one of the other food trucks at GoodLife too, Hey Cupcake. I got a sampler of their mini cupcakes. Just the right thing to cap off our visit.

Next up is Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, TX. For those of you who may not know, Lockhart is one of the main BBQ towns in Texas. It is home to many of the most visited and written about barbecue joints in the state. Old school places that have been around for what seems like forever. We chose Black's as our Lockhart stop. Black's has been around for something like 80 years and has been in the same family all that time.

 

I looked over the menu and placed our order.

On this stop we got our barbecue to go. 

Sadly, that means I don't have any pretty pictures of the food we bought to show you.
These shots will have to do...

 

The good stuff is in the bag!

Once again, all of the smoked meats we had from Black's were really good. They also had something on their menu we hadn't seen before, a smoked pork chop. We had to try it and I'm glad we did. The thick cut, bone in pork chop was cooked to perfection. The smoking process brought out all of the pork's great flavor without drying it out. I'd definitely have it again.

Until we get to Memphis, I think this closes the current chapter on the Great BBQ Adventure. If something new and exciting happens in the world of barbecue we'll check it out and I'll be sure to mention it here.

Happy dining!