Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Troubador Barbecue Festival in College Station TX. Elite Texas BBQ restaurants and chefs met up on the campus of Texas A&M for a day of barbecue, music and fun. Now, I was a guest, so yes I was gifted tickets and in fact worked with the team to promote the event.
But . . . I was truly impressed with what I experienced. There was no way I could experience all 30 BBQ offerings but I did hit up more than my fair share. Here are a few of my favorites.
The Vitals:
the spot: Vaqueros Bar-B-Q 965 Garden Park Dr, Allen, TX 75013
the eats: Chicken Mole
Vaqueros Bar-B-Q wasn’t the only mole offering at Troubador Barbecue Festival but they did get the memo. Because Troubador is a food festival, there more than a few tacos being served. But tacos are very much a part of Texas Barbecue, especially these days.
Aside from needing a few napkins to wipe off that gorgeous chocolate brown sauce, this taco came with zero regrets.
The Vitals:
the spot: Opie’s Barbecue 9504 State Hwy 71, Spicewood, TX 78669
the eats: Brisket
Opie’s is one of the few old school Texas barbecue joints that does Brisket like the new school ones. Granted they don’t go back nearly as many years as the Lockhart restaurants, the vibe in my mind is similar. The brisket eats like a Texas Monthly top 50 spot. As tender as one seems to expect these days.
The Vitals:
the spot: 2M Smokehouse 2731 S WW White Rd, San Antonio, TX 78222
the eats: Smoked and seared Teres major steak
Troubador Festival worked with 44 Farms who supplied the pitmasters with their exceptional local Texas beef. This included seldom used cuts like Teres Major. Cut from the shoulder, the steak is a relatively new cut and prized by chefs who called it the “bistro steak”.
2M smokehouse, located in San Antonio TX, did a fine job on the smoker with this steak. Superbly beefy and remarkably tender. Of course it helps when the cut is from a great rancher like 44 farms. Worth looking for at a reputable butcher.
The Vitals:
the spot: CM Smokehouse mutiple locations in Austin TX
the eats: Barbacoa tacos
I’ve song the praised of CM Smokehouse before on this blog and for Austin Monthly Magazine. The mind of Chef Cade Mercer is the mind of a chef who also has a mind for barbecue. His slow cooked beef cheek barbacoa was what the doctor ordered, even on the hot day that was Troubador Festival.
The Vitals:
the spot: Teddy’s Barbecue 2807 N Texas Blvd, Weslaco, TX 78599
the eats: Barbacoa tostada & Pichana
Teddy’s Barbecue just might be the final push that gets me to head down to the Rio Grande Valley. Sure, I could go for the James Beard award winning taco spot but why not kill two birds with one stone. The mole on the barbacoa tostada was right up there with the best I have ever had(spoiler alert it is here in Austin). And the Pichana was some of the best steak I have ever had.
It’s not cheap but it all you can eat and drink. And I certainly covered the eating. Sadly I had to drive back home that day so no whiskey for daddy. That being, when I go back next year, I’ll be spending the nigth
Leave a Reply