SAN ANTONIO: Augies Barbed Wire Smokehouse Barbecue
3709 N St Marys St
San Antonio, TX 78212
210-735-0088
Open M-Tues 11-3 W-F 11-9, Sat 12-9, Sun 12-6
www.augiesbs.com
Augie's is an eclectic joint near Trinity University that was founded in 2000. In addition to serving BBQ, they also operate a cigar bar and wine bar on the premises. It was plenty busy on a Saturday at lunch time, but I was taking my order to go. They allow you to order by the quarter pound, so I went for a pork spare rib, a beef rib and some brisket slices. The knife man clued me in that they smoke with mesquite, and the website lauds their all iron pit, which I presume is wood fired.
My first bite of beef rib tasted like acrid meat. The fat had soaked up too much of the bitter flavor from the mesquite wood, and had tainted the flavor of the fatty parts of the rib. The top of the rib had good smokey flavor, and a nice punch of saltiness from the rub. The salty rub was also present on the fatty brisket slices. The meat was falling apart tender with plenty of well rendered fat to keep it moist. Although it had plenty of smoke, it was overcooked. The decimated pork ribs were also overcooked, and they couldn't even hold their shape. There were gobs of melting fat between bits of meat, but there was just too much fat to wade through to enjoy these ribs. This time there was also just too much smoke and too much fat.
Rating **
I actually have to disagree with negative rating given to Augie's. I was there just this past Saturday and I felt that it was some of the best barbeque I have had in long while. The brisket was incredibly juicy and tender with a great smokey flavor in the fats. It was something I don't normal see and I found it the right balance of flavors for the meat. Now I know that traditionally good barbeque is not rated with the sauce but in this case I think it is somewhat necessary. They serve their meat with a thin sweet sauce that had an interesting blend of spices. It was the perfect complement to the smokey flavor and I believe that if the ribs (which I did not try) had a bit of sauce on them they would not have seemed acrid. All in all for me it was an amazing experience and I am glad to know that such a good bbq place is this close to campus.
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