Fun Fun Fun and Eat Eat Eat 2008

We've been receiving a steady stream of visitors since we moved down here nearly a year ago. Last up was my sister and brother-in-law, Melissa and Chris, who flew in from New Jersey for the weekend. If you've been following the blog, you'll probably guess that we planned much of our weekend around what and where to eat. If so, you're right, so I guess we owe you a tamale or something.

We picked our guests up from Austin-Berstrom airport, which is conveniently located well south and east of downtown Austin. Happens to be right in the direction of Lockhart, one of the great BBQ meccas of Texas. We picked them up at the departure area and kept heading south.

After a pretty quick drive, 30 minutes or so, we found ourselves in Lockhart. Having been to one of the three main Lockhart BBQ places already (Kreuz Market), we decided our options were the remaining twosome of Smitty's Market and Black's Barbecue: one, the other or both.

We opted for both. First we checked out Smitty's Market. Smitty's is owned by relatives of the family that runs Kreuz Market, which used to be located in the Smitty's building. After the family patriarch passed away, his children couldn't agree on some things. One of them took the "Kreuz Market" business and moved it into the roomy place it still is in today. The other set kept the original building and equipment and reopened as Smitty's Market.

Where we ordered a pound of brisket, one hot sausage and a few pork ribs. I have to say, the brisket was excellent. Second best of the briskets I've tasted behind only Louie Mueller, and not by much. Ribs were also moist and tasty, not as well done or overly salty as they were at Kreuz.


Rachel, Chris and Melissa in front of Smitty's during our BBQ double-header



Melissa and our food pile. As for amenities, what you see is what you get (paper, plastic knife)


Venerable BBQ pits at Smitty's

After our warm up lunch, we had our final course around the corner at Black's Barbecue. Here we just decided to get a small amount of turkey and brisket to sample, along with a few sides we couldn't resist. The brisket was cut differently and not as smokey or spicy as Smitty's. Good flavor and pretty good texture, but not stand-out like Smitty's. Turkey, like any decent BBQ, was not dry and had a good smoky-sweet flavor. One difference between Black's and Smitty's is that the former offers sauce, the the latter doesn't (and doesn't need any).


Plate of turkey and brisket, Black's BBQ

We hit up some other memorable food and drink spots during our weekend. Once again, we proudly showed off Austin's Mexican food with a meal at homey, old favorite Habanero and another at Sago, a more upscale, modern take on Mexican. We also had a great breakfast at one of Austin's southern food institutions, Hoover's Cooking, where Rachel and I remarkably had never been. Chicken fried steak, eggs, biscuits, cheese-garlic grits and hoecakes (like a pancake with cornmeal) were among the things we all got to taste. Enjoyed a fresh beer, too, at the Gingerman, which is known for the wide selection of beer on tap.

Melissa and Chris are both music fans. As luck would have it, one of the better music festivals outside of the big two (ACL and SXSW) was being held that weekend, the Fun Fun Fun Festival at Waterloo Park, right downtown.


Three hardcore festival goers

The line-up at this year's Saturday/Sunday festival was heavy on the old American hardcore punk music, but it had lots else to offer as well. Saturday afternoon was beautiful out, so we went that afternoon and caught Dengue Fever, a band from L.A that play a style heavily influenced by Cambodian pop, especially from the 1960s. Their set was short and had a few sound issues, but was lively and fun, especially for the daytime outdoor setting. We also heard a fair amount of a great set by Texas's Centro-Matic, followed by another good set of tight indie-rock by Bishop Allen (at Melissa's good suggestion). After a taking a break and having some dinner, we headed back to Waterloo to catch some of Z-Trip's turntablist gig near the entrance before heading over and seeing The National close things out as the night started to get just a bit crisp. An excellent, well-rounded day of music.


Dengue Fever's Ethan Holtzman and Senon Williams


Bishop Allen

Crazy dancer being watched by his puppy

Typical hairstyle mix at an Austin music festival

We didn't have time to do much else. We took some walks, strolled some shopping areas, drank some good java and hung out. We always like to talk about all the things we didn't do but could have to try so people will want to come back and visit us again.

Special thanks to various grandparents for taking care of Gabe, who we hope can make it down to Central Texas another time.