The Garven Store

GARVEN: The Garven Store
27304 N Hwy 83
Mountain Home, TX 78058
830-640-3235
Open M-Sat 8-7, Sun 9:30-6
www.garvenstore.com

If you look at an aerial photo of the intersection of US Highway 83 and State Highway 41, you'll see just a few scattered houses and The Garven Store. Keith and Jackie Dowdy were running the tiny store when we arrived as the sun was setting. They are in a long line of operators, all in the Dowdy family, that had a hand in operating this place since 1932. The store is chocked full of what you'd expect from a convenience store along with a room full of leather biker wear and an extensive line of jerky. I tried a few varieties and they're all incredible. Don't skip anything labeled as spicy. They're no joke.



They also have brisket and homemade sausage on the menu. Thin slices of brisket were respectable with a bit of smoke and subtle seasoning, but the star here is the German sausage. A 50/50 beef and pork mixture was seasoned with salt, pepper, red pepper and something else that was hard to identify. When I went back inside and guessed ginger, I got a forlorn look as if they weren't too happy that I guessed it. Not only was the flavor top-notch, but the casing had a good snap and the link were just juicy enough without dripping with fat. Keith joked that they'd only been doing BBQ for eighteen years, so they're still trying to figure things out. I'd say they've got the jerky and the sausage figured out, but the brisket needs some perfecting.

Rating ***

Belli Deli

KIRBYVILLE: Belli Deli
Hwy 96
Kirbyville, TX 75956
409-330-5537
Open?

Looking in vain for the much heralded jerky of the now closed Lazy H Smokehouse in Kirbyville, we happened upon the Belli Deli. A sign said BBQ just south of town on the west side of Highway 96, and we had to stop. No other customers were around, and I was beginning to wonder if there were any employees as I waited in the small foyer. To the left was a menu and an unmanned ordering window, and to the right was a door which suddenly opened to reveal a drum set, a few pieces of furniture and a rush of funny smelling smoke. The smoke I smelled outside the joint was odd, but this was all the confirmation I needed to know that they're not just smoking with wood at this joint.



A older man named John with a gravely voice talked up the brisket as he sawed off a few slices from the cold slab of meat. He urged me not to worry because he was only going to slightly warm it in the microwave. Very reassuring. He put a couple of ribs on the plate and, with his back turned, he ladled on some sauce before serving. The meats were smoked with oak, pecan and some fruitwood. Brisket had a solid smokiness, but had been overcooked to the point of crumbling. It may have been pretty good about 10 hours earlier. Huge spare ribs probably weren't good at any point on this day. Way over-smoked with a creosote flavor, they were also dried out and chewy with lots of unrendered fat.There just wasn't much to like here, and the ding of the microwave just added insult to injury.

Rating *

Cooper's BBQ - Statewide

I tried four different barbecue joints with the name "Cooper's" in just over a month. Here's what I found.

Cooper's - Mason
This is the original. Started by George Cooper in 1953, but sold to Duard Dockal (who still runs it) in 1983. This is where the family traditions of cooking directly over mesquite coals and ordering straight from the pit were born. It was one of my favorites of mine and Sam's inaugural BBQ tour back in 2006, but it disappointed a few years later. This visit would sadly be more like the second than the first.



On this day you could see the dried out edges of meat when the pit lid was raised. A thick beef rib was still chewy despite the prolonged warming time, but the hefty cut still had some juice left. Brisket was over-tender and a bit spongy while goat ribs provided the most disappointingly bone-dry meat. With all the sub-par meat here, the goat sausage was a revelation. A mix of pork and goat, these links also get a good dose of spices for a bold flavor that's not too heavy on the salt and a great snappy casing. Even with the numerous disappointments heaped on the butcher paper, I would return if just for the goat sausage.

Cooper's - Llano
In 1962, Tommy Cooper was sent out by his father George to expand the Cooper's BBQ business from Mason to Llano. Tommy sadly died in an accident in 1979 and the business was sold. It was sold again in 1986 to current owner Terry Wootan who has seen this Hill Country staple's fame reach new heights. The Wootan's have also taken to some expansion of their own and have seen new stores open in New Braunfels in 2009 and Fort Worth in 2010.





This is by far the most popular location with weekend road-trippers and bikers flooding the place by the dozens on the weekends. We opted for a visit right at opening time on a Friday where we had the dining room to ourselves. All the meats are ordered from the pit at the entry. The cooking pits are scattered about under the same roof, but this pit is just for warming. This is also where Cooper's can suffer. Meats are stored here without any protection, and I've had dry meats on occasion when I make a late afternoon visit. I didn't let the drying process start on this day and the meats were all superb. Beef ribs and brisket were boldly seasoned and tender with that signature flavor from those coals. It ain't called 'Home of the Big Chop' for nothing, and the one on this morning was better than I'd ever eaten. The two inch thick chop was still hot from the fire just flowing with juices. This was best meal I've had at a Cooper's anywhere, so get there early, folks.

Cooper's - Round Rock
I didn't dine here since it's closed, but I thought I'd add a word about it since we're talking about Cooper's. Another of George Cooper's sons named Gary Cooper opened this location in 1985, but it had to close in 2006.

Cooper's - Junction
The sign may claim that they've been smoking since 1953, but this joint opened in 1999. Current owner Mark Cooper is a grandson of George Cooper, so they're sort for taking credit for a few decades of Cooper's operation in Mason. The woodpiles and pits are just as impressive as the Llano and Mason versions, but its position at the off ramp of I-10 belies some of the quaintness offered in the smaller towns.

 

The general theme here is dry, dry, dry. The brisket was tough to pull apart and most of the moisture was gone before it was sliced. Pork ribs hadn't lost all of their juices, but again the meat was tough. Save for a good fatty jalapeno sausage, this one was hardly worth the effort.

Cooper's - Fort Worth
This was my third, and best visit to the newest Cooper's near the Fort Worth Stockyards. This is the newest in the Wootan empire, and it pays to get here early as well. Even at 11:00 the 'Big Chop' was starting to lose some of those juices. Fatty brisket edges which I usually relish for their richness can hardly be enjoyed here given the massive amount of salty rub applied.

 

Pork ribs had a bit more a kick from black pepper, but they were also a bit chewy, especially the rib tips. A beef rib had decent flavor, but wasn't particularly memorable. One memorable item worth noting is the beans. These are freebie beans to be doled out by the bucket-load if you wish from the communal pot. For free beans, they certainly put plenty of effort into them. Viscous and meaty enough to be a meal on their own, there are also plenty of jalapenos floating around if you want some greenery with your meal.

If I were to rank on these visits alone, it would be hard not to put the Junction location at the bottom with Mason barely beating them out with that excellent goat sausage. The Fort Worth location is still a pretender in my book with Llano easily outshining them all.

- BBQ Snob