Before we leave on a trip I usually ask around to see if anyone has suggestions for the area we are going to visit. That is how I got a strong recommendation for “the best BBQ in Texas”. It was only twenty miles off the freeway. It sounded like a great place, and twenty miles doesn’t seem too far…when you’re looking at a map. It’s different when you are actually driving it!
The first day of traveling we drove continuously south on 35W for twelve hours…stopping only for bathroom breaks and fuel…eating snacks and lunch in the car. We traveled with friends. We listened to an audio-book, and read a year’s worth of precepts over the 3,000 miles (round-trip), from a book recommended by a friend, 365 Days of Wonder, Mr. Browne’s Precepts: A Quote for Every Day of the Year About Courage, Friendship, Love and Kindness by R. J. Palacio. Both the audio-book and precepts helped pass the time and prompted discussion and laughter throughout the trip.
The morning of the second day we got back in the car for another long day of driving. This was the segment where we would exit the freeway and drive to the BBQ place. My co-travelers were interested, yet a little skeptical, but we decided to take a detour and try it. The GPS took us on different turns and it seemed we were on a back road in Texas.
As we kept driving down this country road I think we were all envisioning a “hole in the wall” joint along the side of the road. I kept shrinking in the back seat, thinking to myself, I’ll never hear the end of this! The twenty miles seemed to take a very long time.
Then, voilà! There was it was in the middle of nowhere in particular – The Salt Lick BBQ restaurant we were looking for. It had a huge parking lot for all the customers who come to this unique BBQ restaurant in Driftwood, Texas.
We were all pleasantly surprised. It looked very promising and our friends recognized it from a food network episode. I was breathing a sigh of relief! It was unique, rustic, large, and what one would imagine a grand, country, Texan, BBQ place to be, and best of all – it was delicious! It was the best BBQ we’ve ever had.
The Salt Lick seats about 1,000 people, the waitress shared with us. They usually turn over 3,000 people on weekend nights. It’s not uncommon to have a 2-3 hour wait, she said. We arrived at a good time…it was a Friday afternoon about 3:30 p.m. so we didn’t have to wait, although there were plenty of customers already seated.
On your way to the seating area you walk by an open fire pit where they cook the BBQ. Between the four of us we had the pork ribs, pulled pork sandwich and brisket. All were amazing. And to top it off, we ordered a blueberry cobbler for dessert, which was also the best we ever had!
After our fun, tasty, and satisfying meal, we continued driving for another couple hours putting 500 miles on the car that day.
By lunchtime on the third day we finally made it to the southern border of Texas, our destination. Our friends dropped us off in Mission, Texas and they continued on to Alamo, Texas about 15 miles down the road.