Central Texas BBQ joints for Father's Day

J

jimmyjazz

2,500+ Posts
This Sunday is Father's Day, and if you're like me, the best gift your family can give you is lunch consisting of BBQ and beer, followed by several hours of "alone time". I can't help with the latter, but if we all put our heads together, we should be able to come up with a fairly comprehensive list of CenTex BBQ joints that are actually open on Sundays. I'll start and update as everyone chimes in:

LOCKHART

Black's (10 AM - 8 PM)
Chisolm Trail (8 AM - 8 PM)
Smitty's (9 AM - 3 PM)
Kreuz Market (CLOSED)


LEXINGTON

Snow's (CLOSED)


ELGIN

Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse (9 AM - 7 PM)
Southside Market (9 AM - 9 PM)


MASON

Cooper's (8 AM - 5:30 PM)


CASTELL

Castell General Store (CLOSED)


LULING

Luling BBQ (7:30 AM - 7 PM)
City Market (CLOSED)


TAYLOR

Taylor Cafe (7 AM - 10 PM)
Louie Mueller's (CLOSED)


LLANO

Cooper's (10:30 AM - 7:30 PM)
Laird's (10 AM - 3 PM)


DRIFTWOOD

Salt Lick (11 AM - 10 PM)


BERTRAM

Bertram Smoke Haus (11 AM - 6 PM)


GIDDINGS

City Meat Market (CLOSED)


KERRVILLE

Buzzie's (11 AM - 3 PM)


SPICEWOOD

Opie's Barbecue (11 AM - 7 PM)


AUSTIN

Artz Rib House (Noon - 9 PM)
County Line (11:30 AM - 9 PM, both locations)
Rudy's (10:30 AM - 9:30 PM for BBQ at all locations)
Ruby's (11 AM - midnight)
Lambert's (11 AM - 2 PM, 5:30 PM - 11 PM)
Mann's (CLOSED)
Bill Miller (6:00 AM - 9:30 PM)
Bert's (CLOSED)



DISCLAIMER: I'm not responsible for errors! Call ahead to confirm.
 
We made the drive to Llano for my first trip to Cooper's BBQ. The 4 of us (me, my wife, and our 2 youngest kids, ages 5 and 4) got a little crazy and ordered about $50 worth of brisket, pork ribs, sausage and chicken. My wife also had peach cobbler and potato salad, but I wasn't about to waste valuable space in my stomach on things like that.

All in all it was good -- very good -- but probably not the best I've had, with one exception:

-- the chicken was out of this world
-- the brisket was over seasoned, but amazingly tender. Just a bit too much salt for my taste.
-- the pork ribs were "eh". Didn't stop me from wolfing several down. They didn't come close to those from Artz Rib House.
-- I don't eat sausage, so I can't help you there.

Cooper's sauce isn't sweet enough for my tastes, either, so I ate pretty much everything as God intended. If they would tone down the salt on their brisket, it would have been damn near perfect. I saw no signs of the alleged "dryness" that allegedly plagues Cooper's, because everything was really tender and moist.

All in all, a good family trip. Next, Louie Mueller's in Taylor. I'm expecting it to be good enough to render future trips to Llano unlikely.
 
Coopers Llano is not the same Coopers bar-b que that it is famous for.

Tommy Cooper died and his cook (chef?) went across town and opened his own place called Laird;s - MUCH BETTER.

The new guy that owns Coopers Llano isn't a Cooper at all - he bought the building but not the recipe./

There is not a more over hyped bar-b-que joint in TX unless you like standing in line with bikers for average smoked meat.

Mason's Coopers is good.

That Castel place mentioned above is good

Opie's in Spicewood is every bit as good and half the drive from Austin.
 
My parents came to town and we went to mass in the morning and then went to Rudy's off 360. It was a gorgeous day. Had 2 types of their brisket, turkey, chopped beef, ...

I have posted this before and some disagree obviously but to me Rudy's is the best bbq in Austin and I have been to almost them all. Just my 2 cents.

I have plenty of leftovers that my Dad didn't want to take home, so I am planning on making some brisket chili this week. :)
 
I think Rudy's makes fine BBQ. I don't like their restaurants as much as I like their food, but it's the food that counts.
 
I love the outdoors/covered area at the Rudy's off 360. Looks over a huge field, and it isn't as loud as the interior. It isn't AC but at least it is covered in the shade.
 
Cooper's in Llano is always crowded at feeding time, but I agree the BBQ isn't particularly special there anymore.

If you choose your meat wisely after you look at what they have available, you can still do alright.

Opie's in Spicewood at Hollingsworth Corner is very good and much closer to Austin or San Antonio.

You can drive there and back from Austin before you could get to Llano.

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Anyone else remember back in the seventies when the Hollingsworth Store at Hollingsworth Corner was the closest place to Austin, San Antonio or Houston that you could buy Coors beer?

Many people used to make sometimes very long road trips from points east to buy that particular beer.

Coors beer was heavily advertised as being kept ice cold from the brewery to the purchaser to maintain its good taste, but Hollingsworth Corner would take delivery of considerably more than they had cold storage for available on site and stack much of what they had unrefrigerated on the floor and they'd still sell every case.

Bring your own beer into Opie's BBQ just across the street until they get a license to sell it themselves.

I don't know when or if Opie's will do that.

I do know the proprietor named Opie's BBQ after his dog, so you won't have to ask him about that.

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turkey is not bbq

and real bbq isnt chained or franchised. that is for fast food and places like chili's. and rudy's
 
Gak, I smoked a turkey for the Holiday Bowl last year and that was pretty damn close to bbq. :) I brined it too. Of course I won't brine a brisket. :)
 
Opie's is fantastic BBQ and better than Cooper's. We started going there versus Coopers from my inlaws place at Horseshoe Bay about 4 years ago (before the new Opie's was built) and it is fantastic.

Even my picky little kids love Opies probably b/c of the tater tot casserole.... not the BBQ.

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