Southside Market

ELGIN: Southside Market BBQ
1212 U.S. 290, at Hwy 95
Elgin, TX 78621
512-285-3407
Open M-Thur 8-8, F-Sat 8-10, Sun 9-7
www.southsidemarket.com/

Update: Sometimes my first visit to a joint is misleading. It can be the best day of an average joint, or the worst day of a good place. When I visited Southside Market four years ago, I felt like I might have been catching a decent joint on a very bad day. I've been anxious to get back since, but it took some time to get the opportunity. I'm glad I made the return visit.



A four meat sampler is available, so I watched as they heaped on sliced brisket, pork ribs, a beef rib and that famous sausage (a.k.a. hot guts). Hot guts aren't quite as hot as they were back in the old days since they took some of the cayenne out of the recipe in the 70's, but you can douse yours in the hot sauce that's on every table. I even tried some of that hot sauce on the brisket with a surprisingly tasty outcome. Not that the brisket needs the sauce. It was well cooked, plenty moist with good flavor from a simple rub. It could have used a bit more smoke, but it was a good brisket overall.



I and my daughter both enjoyed the beef ribs. Big meaty back ribs were tender and covered with a rub heavy with black pepper. Pork ribs were also good, but had some chewy fat that could have rendered out a bit better. Both types of ribs needed more smoke, but they had good overall flavor. A little shot of hot sauce woke them right up. While another trip will probably focus on the sausage options, I was glad to see that Southside does a commendable job on their other meats too.

Rating ***

2006: This place is more of a superstore than BBQ joint. You can buy everything from a BBQ to bulk sausage to prepackaged jerky. I ordered a two-meat plate with brisket and their famous Elgin hot sausage. The sides tasted like Sysco, and the hot sausage wasn't hot. Southside makes an all-beef sausage that is incredibly greasy. It has good snap and a nice black pepper flavor, but almost no heat. The gray brisket here is full of unrendered fat with no crust or smoke flavor. Stick with the sausage, just drain it first.

Davis Grocery & Bar-B-Q

TAYLOR: Davis Grocery & Bar-B-Q
400 S Robinson St
Taylor, TX 76574
512-352-8111
Open Daily 10-7

After a stop at Louie Mueller's up the street, I had Davis Grocery on my mind. I read about it in Follow the Smoke, and have wanted to stop since. Walnut Street is just on the other side of the tracks from the bustle of downtown Taylor. Without the Louie Mueller traffic, it was positively serene around this tiny metal building. Things inside were quiet with only one other customer, so our group was certainly noticed. Along with my family and I, we brought along a group from Houston that included Chris, Fulmer, Phaedra (the inventor of the term foochebag) and her husband who took a load of great photos.

This joint is a true grocery store with walls full of dry goods and plenty of drink options. I snagged a tall boy of Big Red while I waited to order at the counter where owner and pitmaster James Davis does the carving.



In addition to the Central Texas BBQ standards, the menu also features mutton ribs and smoked fajita meat. We ordered a little of everything, but the highlight for me was the brisket. The meat was intensely smokey with a great crust. A simple rub allowed the beefiness to shine through. The meat was plenty moist, but could have been a bit more tender.



Ribs had the same issues with tenderness, but again the meat had incredible flavor from the balanced spices and great mesquite smoke. I continue to order mutton ribs in order to acquire the taste, but I still haven't come around. They were certainly well cooked, but the taste just reminds me of the smell of wet wool. Fajita meat (or skirt steak) is a notoriously tough cut. It requires fast cooking and a deft slicing hand (and usually some meat tenderizer) to make it chewable. I learned here that smoking it can provide a very unique flavor, it doesn't result in tender meat as the finished product. My next trip to Taylor will certainly include this joint, but I'll be sticking with the brisket and ribs.

Rating ****

Bar-B-Q Shack

OKLAHOMA: Bar-B-Q Shack
107 US Highway 70 E
Kingston, OK 73439
580-564-2323
Open ?

The Bar-B-Q Shack is run out of a tiny metal building in the tiny town of Kingston, Oklahoma. Most orders are taken at the window for to-go orders, but there are a few seats inside and some picnic tables outside if the weather is right. The sign says "100% Hickory Smoked", and you can definitely smell it in the air when ordering. I went with my regular order of a brisket and ribs combo plate with potato salad and beans. Meaty beans were an option, and they came out as a pile of smoky beans a la chopped beef. Perfect. The potato salad wasn't bad either.



Brisket was a bit overcooked, and slightly dry, but all else was good. The crust and smoke level were great, and the overall flavor was quite good as well. Big meaty spare ribs had well rendered fat throughout, and the meat was nicely tender. A good bark helps the smoke level, but it could have been smokier deep into the meat. I'm just glad to know I have a good option for BBQ when I'm visiting the family at Lake Texoma. This is truly some quality 'cue.

Rating ***