Thursday, May 21, 2015

Ki Yi Yippie Yippie Ay

I'm pretending I'm in Texas this morning... it's a typical Saturday and we've slept in a little. Coffee and paper, we had a bowl of cereal and now we're beginning to get hungry for some lunch. Lot of choices but only one if you want BBQ! Just a few miles up I-10 and Highway 80 north (exit 628) is Luling City Market! About an hour east of San Antonio, it's the best barbecue you will ever put in your mouth! We were lucky enough to share many meals here with good friends BW and Carol. I don't know if it was the company or the food, but this place remains in my memory as one of my favorites! Rough-around-the-edges, City Market offers few amenities. You have to fetch your meat the old-fashioned way, waiting in line. When you enter, the delicious smell hits you like a ton of bricks!

At the back of the dining room a swinging door leads into a shadowy, cave-like room illuminated by the glow of burning logs in pits. I can remember the first time we visited City Market, the anticipation I felt as we waited in line. Towards the back of the line we were visiting, laughing and taking in all of the "local flavor" of the place. But as we got close to the enclosed area, the pit, our moods changed. There was a reverence that came over us, just like the scene in Seinfeld when George realized he needed to order the soup in a very particular way.


The meats are cooked long and slow in a brick smoker that holds enough food to feed Luling plus the hundreds of visitors that come each day from far and wide. As you enter the pit, men take your order, cut and section the amount of meat you want, and assemble everything on a big sheet of pink butcher paper. They gather the edges of the paper together so it becomes a boat-like container that serves as both carrying device and eating surface. Once you get your paper-wrapped order of meat, you leave the pit and carry it back into the comfy pine-paneled dining room.Find a place to sit and join the citizens of Luling who are kept alive by the sauce and BBQ! John Wayne, Tommy Lee Jones and Dubya thought it was worth the trip!


Tender smoky brisket, succulent ribs that fall away from the bone or links that have been made the same way for 50 years...you can't go wrong if you choose a little of each. My favorite was the links, cut and placed on a slice of bread and doused with the orange BBQ sauce that Luling is famous for. No other sauce, anywhere tastes like this. First time users aren't sure, then BAM...you're hooked. You need the stuff for everything!


Sides are basic, white bread, pickles and onion...


Don't forget the sweet tea, or maybe Texas' favorite Big Red!

Besides having no plate for your meal, City Market deems all you need to enjoy this feast is a plastic knife, fork and spoon. They're right, the meat is so tender it cuts like butter!

Take a minute and soak up the relaxation this YouTube video will impart.
Just like being there, well almost!

A RE-RUN, too good not to share again!

13 comments:

  1. It's only 745 and I am craving a taste of City Market Barbecue. Do you think they deliver (to NJ?) I will have to add it to my destination list. Thanks for sharing.

    Deborah

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  2. ~yes...i'd l♥ve some too...lucky lady you were...bbq is one of my most favorites...nothing quite like it!! warm wishes and brightest blessings~

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  3. Thank you so much for joining my site. I am now your latest follower as well.
    Looking forward to getting to know you. Cannot stay on here long today but will be back.
    Love this post about Luling
    Thanks again
    Maggie

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  4. Harvey and I took a drive to Luling but didn't know about Luling City Market.

    I guess we will just have to take that drive again and try the BBQ it looks tasty!

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  5. I want to go...I am so hungry right now and that looks so good! YUM! Come say hi sometime :D

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  6. Okay, that did it!!! I'm officially hungry for B-b-q and also for a trip to Texas!!

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  7. Oh...you're killing me!!!

    Home! Home!Home!...& BRISKET!

    I've just about been in Korea for a year now & I've got another year & a half to go.

    I had to stop the video halfway because I just couldn't take the torture anymore. But thanks so much for sharing. It's good to know some things never change.

    Much love from an overseas Army wife,
    Jennifer

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  8. OMG!!! Farmboy and I need to travel down to Texas and try that place out. I'm drooling! Thanks for that. Thanks for sharing this with us too...it sounds like not only good food but a fun experience.

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  9. Oh wow, Joycee, you're making hungry hereeeee! hehe.... Salivating....

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  10. Joycee, you may never see this comment since I'm more than a year late in seeing this post ...but I can't believe you were in Luling! That's right up the road from us! Well, an hour and a half away, but in Texas that IS just right up the road!

    I am very familiar with Luling, went to church there Sunday nights when I lived in San Antonio and have lots of friends there. I hope if you ever visit this part of Texas again, you will give me a heads up. We'd love to meet you guys for BBQ.

    : )

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  11. Joycee dearest,

    I so wish I could travel to ALL the states of the UNION to listen to everyone's dialect (I am a fanatic about linquistics) and to taste everyone's cuisine. I have lived in three states and the culture shock was enough to write a book!!! THIS LOOKS FABULOUS!!!!

    Thank you for your visit and well-wishes for a new school year. It is the best job ever.

    Anita

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  12. How the heck did I miss this post??? I swear it didn't show up on my dashboard. I found it through the one you just posted.

    Haven't been near Luling in forever!

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  13. Just so you know I wasn't being a slacker, I just went back 2 days on my dashboard and this post does NOT show up. PMS and the Squirrel do, just not Luling City Market.

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