Finger Lickin' Good

My brother, sister, and I share a common flaw, a flaw passed down from our father. I know what you are thinking, and, no, red hair is not a flaw. As Mark Twain said, "While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads descended from cats." I'm not quite certain what that means, but cats must be better than apes, right? Ruadh gu brath! No, our common flaw is something else entirely, though now that I think about it more, it is not a flaw either. You see, we share in common an inordinate love for barbecue. How could something that feels so right be wrong? So what better way to spend a weekend with my siblings than to treat them to the wonders of Texas barbecue. We all made the 45-minute pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas, home to two of the top 5 barbecue joints in Texas. How could we decide which one to try? We couldn't, so we had both. The verdict? Mmmm...meat candy. Best barbecue ever. At both, you order by-the-pound from a counter and are handed your meat and white bread or crackers on butcher paper. No utensils, no sauce, and slim pickin's for sides. I was initially skeptical of the no sauce approach, but was quickly won over by the delicious meat. No sauce necessary. Ultimately, I think we enjoyed the pork ribs more at Smitty's and the brisket more at Kreutz. Put the two together and you get one of the best meals you'll have. Of course, since barbecuing brisket is more an art than a science, I'm sure the balance might change on any particular day, so we'll always have to eat at both places so as to be sure we're not missing out. I think Andrea and I will return whenever we come up with a decent excuse to make the trip.The next day we were returning from zip-lining in the Hill Country and couldn't resist stopping at The Salt Lick since we were so close. Prior to Smitty's and Kreutz, The Salt Lick was our favorite barbecue spot in the area. It made honorable mention on that list of best barbecue in Texas. It was still excellent in its own way--we especially love the sauce. Instead of the family style meat buffet, we opted for a by-the-pound approach and still had plenty of leftovers, which we of course ate the next day. Count it, that's barbecue three days in a row. Three magical, delicious days. Thanks for the excuse, Wendy and John.