Good BBQ/restaurants in San Antonio & Corpus Christi?

[Jed]

So the wife has to be in the San Antonio area for a work conference in a few weeks. I'm going to cash in a frequent flier ticket and join her for a few days. It'll be our last *real* trip away from home before we have a baby in a few months. :shock:

Anyhoo, I'm a lover of *what I perceive to be* "real" Texas BBQ - ie. a cut of meat that has been slowly smoked into a succulent bit of delicious submission and *isn't* smothered in sauce. Please set me straight if this isn't in fact The Real Deal!

We'll be in San Antonio for a few days and then down in the Corpus Christi / Port Aransas area for a few more. We've got to get some sunlight on our pale northerly bodies!

Any restaurants and/or music venues that shouldn't be missed??

The last time I was in San Antonio I was about 11. I went to the Alamo and I do remember being very impressed by the River Walk at that age (and having grown up in a small town).

What else should we see?

 

[pucho812]

Why not just DIY it at home...

Texas Brisket
Barbecue in Texas is different than most places. The meat is slow-cooked over a smokey fire and the sauce is served on the side as an optional dip.

* 1 Tbs cumin
* 1 Tbs chili powder
* 1 Tbs sugar
* 1 Tbs salt
* 1 Tbs black pepper
* 1 Tbs dried oregano
* 1 Tbs garlic powder

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Take a whole brisket of beef (3-4 lbs) and rub the mixture into it. Refrigerate overnight. Place in a smoker at low heat (200°F) for 5-6 hours. Add wet mesquite chips to the smoker twice during the cooking period. Use a half & half mixture of red wine and water in the smoker's water pan. When finished, slice into 1/8" slices against the grain of the beef. Server barbecue sauce on the side with Ranch Beans, fried potatoes and home made bread.

Or if you want to make the trip, go to Joe Cottons BBQ in Robstown TX.

Robstown is on HW 77 and is west of Corpus Christi

Actually if your comming down from San Antonio you most likely will be taking Interstate 37. So going south on I-37, you will see sounds for HW77 south. Take that to robstown and you will see signs for joe cottons. Arguable the best in Tejas...

 

[Jed]

The trip is on for sure. But that recipe sounds darn good too. I need to DIY myself a smoker.

Joe Cotton's is definitely on the way - I'll be sure we hit it! Thanks, Pucho!

Other suggestions?

 

[Freq Band]

It's been a while....but right across the enterance from the Alamo, there was a place called....something with the word "Uncle..." in it.

Billy Blues BBQ is in San Antonio....if they're still around. At nights there were live blues jams on a stage, while dining.

=FB=

 

[CJ]

get some fork lift beef in houston.

its the best

richmond ave, right next to the anntenna at Billy Gobbons old high school.

 

[Jed]

Yeah...

That was not a pretty scene.

I was a vegetarian before my wife came along -- whenever I see stories like that I think long and hard about trying to persuade her to adopt the lifestyle.

 

[Mbira]

Other suggestions?

Come to Austin! It's only an hour away, and there is certainly a lot more live music!

 

[Jed]

You know, we talked long and hard about Austin but decided that the highest priority was to be able to lie in the sun near a pool / the ocean.

Ah well...

 

[Mbira]

hmmm...well it's cloudy and low 30's here today, so hopefully you'll have better luck when you get here!

 

[Jed]

Crap!

I hereby give the weather two weeks to get it's act together!

I can get that weather all day long here in Portland.

 

[emorysmith]

If you get to the DFW area, stop in at Main Street BBQ in Euless.
It is definitely the real thing *AND* it's a buffet!!!

I died of BBQ pleasure there several times when I lived three blocks away.

... And I'm from Memphis!

 

[Jed]

Well we just got back on Monday. Thanks for all the suggestions everybody.

We did find Joe Cottons. It was everything that was promised and more. The "stringy" brisket was just amazing. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

And the weather couldn't have been better for us. We got our pale Oregon skin out in the sun for three days straight. I was so excited I even sun burned my shoulder a little.

But now we're back in the damp and the cold. I'm gonna need to DIY a smoker to compensate.

 

[SSLtech]

A little late, and I know you weren't going to Austin anyhow, but it might be worth quoting from an email which David Kulka sent to me a while ago:

[quote author="David Kulka"]Hi from Austin, Texas. If you're ever here, check out the Salt Lick BBQ in the little nearby town of Driftwood. That's about the busiest restaurant I've ever seen. Amazing scene. [/quote]
Keith

 

[pucho812]

[quote author="Jed"]
We did find Joe Cottons. It was everything that was promised and more. The "stringy" brisket was just amazing. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
[/quote]

:thumb: