It was a warm and humid day in May, because days in Austin in May are mostly warm and humid. Ryan and I were headed to Houston to see the U2 concert, and I was looking for something to read in the car. My mother had passed along the latest issue of Texas Monthly, the BBQ issue, and I opened it and a passport fell out. A BBQ passport.
50 BBQ joints in Texas. The challenge? Eat at all of them by December 31, 2020.
I thought -- we could do that! Most the places are easy day trips; a couple are a little more far flung, but road trippin' with Ryan is my idea of a really fine time, so no worries there.
Nothing I love more than a project. Ryan agreed to the endeavor, either because he knows better than to stand in my way when I get set on something (smart as well as good looking!) or because he knew there were pork ribs out there in his future.
We plotted out our path to Houston and picked out three places we could hit during our quick one night visit. On the way there, the first 2 were sold out by the time we arrived in the lateish afternoon.
Not an auspicious start.
We did devise some rules. Well, guidelines at least, with the knowledge that good BBQ doesn't always come cheap.
We will order brisket because that is the best measure of a place and it is my favorite. It will be moist, not lean because as Ryan says "We aren't Californians." We will also order pork or beef ribs because those are Ryans favorite. We have to order at least one of the traditional BBQ sides - potato salad, beans, or slaw. We will do our best to order any off the beaten path menu items or items that place is particularly known for.
We managed to hit the one of the places on the way home and so we are off. 1 down, 49 to go.
