While we intended to visit more places yesterday, we kept it to two. That was more than enough BBQ, so we did something else for dinner (more on that later)
Our first stop was John Mueller Meat Co. We got there at 10:30am and were the first in line.
Point Brisket (7 out of 10), flat brisket (5 out of 10), pork ribs (8 out of 10), beef chuck rib (8.5 out of 10), Sausage (5 out of 10), and Cheesy Squash (8 out of 10)
So I was snapping this pic of the wood and John zipped past and photobombed the shot. John stops and looks at me and asks "Do I come in your backyard and take pictures?" I respond and say "nope". He then asked "You know I have a reputation to be a d#@* right?" I said "That's what I heard but I don't want to believe it sir!" He emphatically responded "well you better f&^*ing believe it." He paused for a second, then said "i'm just messing with you, go right ahead". :laugh:
John was back there, but he wasn't too approachable, so we didn't really talk much after that. I thanked him for a great meal and he said he appreciated us coming out.
I thanked the staff and snapped a pic of some beef ribs John just dropped off.
All in all, it was a great visit and I'll definitely return to John's backyard. I think it's probably better to come after noon or 1pm as it will be more popping with folk music and hipsters.
Our next stop was to La Barbecue. We arrived at around 11:05am and there was about a 25 minute wait. John Lewis is the pitmaster here and for those of you that don't know, he was Franklin BBQ's Pit Boss at the trailer and B&M before they parted ways in 2012. Folk music was going and the free Lone Star was flowing into all the hipsters.
I get up to the window and John Lewis is cutting, which I love! There is nothing better than a pitmaster serving his own product, as I believe they take more pride in what they serve you. "Can I have please 3 slices of point, and 1 slice of flat?" John says "Oh, you know how to order" (that was his point but probably not verbatim to deserve a quote) and smirked at me. I admitted that I was a BBQ nut and I asked him about some of his activity on the brethren. He acknowledged that he used to post when he was competing and a couple times after he stopped. I ordered the rest of my grub, paid up, then went to find a table.
Point Brisket (9 out of 10), Flat brisket (10 out of 10), Beef Short Rib (10 out of 10), Sausage (8 out of 10), Pork Ribs (5 out of 10), Turkey (8 out of 10) and baked beans (8 out of 10)
Best freaking flat i've had in my life!
After we were done, I saw John was at one of the pits, so I walked over to give him some feedback. I told him that the point and beef rib were exactly what I expected, but I was most impressed with how much he nailed his flat. He smiled and thanked me. We got to talking about his rub and he asked me "would you like some rub to take home?" I said "HELL YEAH, I would LOVE some rub!!" He came back and hooked me up with a generous portion of rub. He then showed me some briskets ( I was so in awe, I didn't take a pic even though I had my camera in my damn hand) in his pit for tomorrow, and we chatted BBQ for about 30 freaking minutes. What an amazing experience and I learned a ton of information after a wonderful meal. Definitely lived up to his reputation as being an awesome dude! :thumb:
Some sausage he pulled off as we were talking.
Right before I left, he was relaxed and I saw a perfect photo opportunity, so of course I asked to snap a pic of him.
I would recommend La Barbecue without hesitation! They have a customer for life!
Before dinner, we took my 3 year old son to see the Texas State Capitol. He thought it was so cool.
During my visit to La Barbecue, I was pretty damn bummed that John's business partner wasn't there.. LeAnn Mueller not only runs a great BBQ joint, but she is a pretty kick ass professional photographer (see her work here) too.
9 hours after lunch, we decided we wanted pizza and went to this spot called Bufalina I found on Yelp.
Place was packed, had an hour & a half wait, so we just ordered two pies to go. As I'm waiting, the bartender started chatting with me. I mentioned that I was from San Antonio and was in town for a BBQ tour. After telling him I went to John Mueller Meat Co. and La Barbecue, he cracked a cheesy smile. He pointed outside at a lady and said "That's La Barbecue right there". I asked, "is that LeAnn Mueller?" He said "yep, you have to go outside and talk to her". What are the damn odds of that happening? LOL I talked to her a lil bit, then told her how wonderful the experience was at La Barbecue! She was very nice and thankful that I approached her.
I must say, this is probably one of the best birthday weekends i've had in a long damn time! More to come later today after we hit up Franklin BBQ. :biggrin1:
Our first stop was John Mueller Meat Co. We got there at 10:30am and were the first in line.
Point Brisket (7 out of 10), flat brisket (5 out of 10), pork ribs (8 out of 10), beef chuck rib (8.5 out of 10), Sausage (5 out of 10), and Cheesy Squash (8 out of 10)
So I was snapping this pic of the wood and John zipped past and photobombed the shot. John stops and looks at me and asks "Do I come in your backyard and take pictures?" I respond and say "nope". He then asked "You know I have a reputation to be a d#@* right?" I said "That's what I heard but I don't want to believe it sir!" He emphatically responded "well you better f&^*ing believe it." He paused for a second, then said "i'm just messing with you, go right ahead". :laugh:
John was back there, but he wasn't too approachable, so we didn't really talk much after that. I thanked him for a great meal and he said he appreciated us coming out.
I thanked the staff and snapped a pic of some beef ribs John just dropped off.
All in all, it was a great visit and I'll definitely return to John's backyard. I think it's probably better to come after noon or 1pm as it will be more popping with folk music and hipsters.
Our next stop was to La Barbecue. We arrived at around 11:05am and there was about a 25 minute wait. John Lewis is the pitmaster here and for those of you that don't know, he was Franklin BBQ's Pit Boss at the trailer and B&M before they parted ways in 2012. Folk music was going and the free Lone Star was flowing into all the hipsters.
I get up to the window and John Lewis is cutting, which I love! There is nothing better than a pitmaster serving his own product, as I believe they take more pride in what they serve you. "Can I have please 3 slices of point, and 1 slice of flat?" John says "Oh, you know how to order" (that was his point but probably not verbatim to deserve a quote) and smirked at me. I admitted that I was a BBQ nut and I asked him about some of his activity on the brethren. He acknowledged that he used to post when he was competing and a couple times after he stopped. I ordered the rest of my grub, paid up, then went to find a table.
Point Brisket (9 out of 10), Flat brisket (10 out of 10), Beef Short Rib (10 out of 10), Sausage (8 out of 10), Pork Ribs (5 out of 10), Turkey (8 out of 10) and baked beans (8 out of 10)
Best freaking flat i've had in my life!
After we were done, I saw John was at one of the pits, so I walked over to give him some feedback. I told him that the point and beef rib were exactly what I expected, but I was most impressed with how much he nailed his flat. He smiled and thanked me. We got to talking about his rub and he asked me "would you like some rub to take home?" I said "HELL YEAH, I would LOVE some rub!!" He came back and hooked me up with a generous portion of rub. He then showed me some briskets ( I was so in awe, I didn't take a pic even though I had my camera in my damn hand) in his pit for tomorrow, and we chatted BBQ for about 30 freaking minutes. What an amazing experience and I learned a ton of information after a wonderful meal. Definitely lived up to his reputation as being an awesome dude! :thumb:
Some sausage he pulled off as we were talking.
Right before I left, he was relaxed and I saw a perfect photo opportunity, so of course I asked to snap a pic of him.
I would recommend La Barbecue without hesitation! They have a customer for life!
Before dinner, we took my 3 year old son to see the Texas State Capitol. He thought it was so cool.
During my visit to La Barbecue, I was pretty damn bummed that John's business partner wasn't there.. LeAnn Mueller not only runs a great BBQ joint, but she is a pretty kick ass professional photographer (see her work here) too.
9 hours after lunch, we decided we wanted pizza and went to this spot called Bufalina I found on Yelp.
Place was packed, had an hour & a half wait, so we just ordered two pies to go. As I'm waiting, the bartender started chatting with me. I mentioned that I was from San Antonio and was in town for a BBQ tour. After telling him I went to John Mueller Meat Co. and La Barbecue, he cracked a cheesy smile. He pointed outside at a lady and said "That's La Barbecue right there". I asked, "is that LeAnn Mueller?" He said "yep, you have to go outside and talk to her". What are the damn odds of that happening? LOL I talked to her a lil bit, then told her how wonderful the experience was at La Barbecue! She was very nice and thankful that I approached her.
I must say, this is probably one of the best birthday weekends i've had in a long damn time! More to come later today after we hit up Franklin BBQ. :biggrin1: