Restaurants
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Sushi is the name of those morsels of rice that have been lightly seasoned and cooled off. They are topped with any number of different foods, or rolled up with them in a sheet of seaweed. You can get sushi with raw fish, cooked fish, caviar, cooked egg, raw egg, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, pickled vegetables. I've even seen sushi rolls with chicken (cooked of course) on some menus.
I was in Manhattan before Christmas and had a chance to stop by.
I ordered a quarter pound of wet (fatty) brisket, a quarter pound of shoulder, and a regular link which were appropriately served with a few slices of white bread. Ordering sides is a judgment on the meat, so I only added a hunk of cheddar, a piece of cornbread, and some begrudgingly paid for pickle slices so I could have some acidity to counter the fat and smoke. Lone Star beer isn't a great beer: it's watery, made with a lot of rice, and isn't particularly interesting. For barbecue, in my opinion, those qualities provide a good neutral backdrop so I got a bottle.
The links were made by Kruez's, a Hill Country legend, and tasted the way they always taste. Unfortunately, something was lost in the translations because the casing didn't really have the good bite that I expect out of a good link. Despite any resistance from the casing, the fat did squirt into my mouth the way I expect from a good link, and once I was into the filling said fat was well melted and distributed. The crust on the beef wasn't really seasoned enough for my tastes, although it had a good texture. That continued into the meat which was correctly marbled and melted the way good 'cue should. The flavor of the meat was outstanding. On the other hand, smoke was seriously lacking in all three cuts, but that might be because the pits are so very young. The shoulder might have been a little dry, but that was OK since I'd rather they err on that side for that particular cut. In short, the beef felt the way it should, but of the three elements of flavor, dry rub (crust), smoke, and beef, the first two were really lacking.
To me it's purely scandal to add sauce to meat as it will overwhelm the subtleties of the dry rub and hard wood smoke. On the other hand, I like to spread some on the supplied bread and take a few bites between the meat since separately it does provide a nice counterpoint and palate cleanser. The sauce here is more thought out than anything I've had in the Hill Country (where they probably have a lower opinion of sauce than I do). It was almost balsamic in flavor. I liked it for how I used it. The cheese was what it should have been (at four times the price). The pickles were pretty lousy, but I can't eat 'cue without pickles and cheese for between bites. I went back for some Blue Bell, and paid two dollars for the same tiny little puck that they sold in my elementary school for a quarter. Just like my school, Hill Country over froze it and rendered it a solid, textureless mess. I'll try one of their in house deserts next time.
I'll go back to Hill Country, but I'd probably stick to the wet brisket and a link. That might free up some space to try some of the tarted up versions of the traditional Texas sides. Judging by the ancho honey butter that I got with my cornbread, they're probably at the very least interesting. Obviously someone put some thought into designing them.
Hill Country attempts to emulate the revered barbecue joints around Austin. This might be a case of aiming for the stars so you can reach the moon. While it would certainly be the worst barbecue place in the Hill Country, it would be in my top five in either Houston or Austin. That's no small feat. Moreover, it was easily the best (Texas style - the best style) barbecue I've had outside of the state. Still, when I stopped in to the City Market in Luling, Texas a week or so later, I got to experience what had been missing at Hill Country - flavor.
I ordered a quarter pound of wet (fatty) brisket, a quarter pound of shoulder, and a regular link which were appropriately served with a few slices of white bread. Ordering sides is a judgment on the meat, so I only added a hunk of cheddar, a piece of cornbread, and some begrudgingly paid for pickle slices so I could have some acidity to counter the fat and smoke. Lone Star beer isn't a great beer: it's watery, made with a lot of rice, and isn't particularly interesting. For barbecue, in my opinion, those qualities provide a good neutral backdrop so I got a bottle.
The links were made by Kruez's, a Hill Country legend, and tasted the way they always taste. Unfortunately, something was lost in the translations because the casing didn't really have the good bite that I expect out of a good link. Despite any resistance from the casing, the fat did squirt into my mouth the way I expect from a good link, and once I was into the filling said fat was well melted and distributed. The crust on the beef wasn't really seasoned enough for my tastes, although it had a good texture. That continued into the meat which was correctly marbled and melted the way good 'cue should. The flavor of the meat was outstanding. On the other hand, smoke was seriously lacking in all three cuts, but that might be because the pits are so very young. The shoulder might have been a little dry, but that was OK since I'd rather they err on that side for that particular cut. In short, the beef felt the way it should, but of the three elements of flavor, dry rub (crust), smoke, and beef, the first two were really lacking.
To me it's purely scandal to add sauce to meat as it will overwhelm the subtleties of the dry rub and hard wood smoke. On the other hand, I like to spread some on the supplied bread and take a few bites between the meat since separately it does provide a nice counterpoint and palate cleanser. The sauce here is more thought out than anything I've had in the Hill Country (where they probably have a lower opinion of sauce than I do). It was almost balsamic in flavor. I liked it for how I used it. The cheese was what it should have been (at four times the price). The pickles were pretty lousy, but I can't eat 'cue without pickles and cheese for between bites. I went back for some Blue Bell, and paid two dollars for the same tiny little puck that they sold in my elementary school for a quarter. Just like my school, Hill Country over froze it and rendered it a solid, textureless mess. I'll try one of their in house deserts next time.
I'll go back to Hill Country, but I'd probably stick to the wet brisket and a link. That might free up some space to try some of the tarted up versions of the traditional Texas sides. Judging by the ancho honey butter that I got with my cornbread, they're probably at the very least interesting. Obviously someone put some thought into designing them.
Hill Country attempts to emulate the revered barbecue joints around Austin. This might be a case of aiming for the stars so you can reach the moon. While it would certainly be the worst barbecue place in the Hill Country, it would be in my top five in either Houston or Austin. That's no small feat. Moreover, it was easily the best (Texas style - the best style) barbecue I've had outside of the state. Still, when I stopped in to the City Market in Luling, Texas a week or so later, I got to experience what had been missing at Hill Country - flavor.
I limit myself to wet brisket and links, too. (Well, and beef rib -- when they have it.)
The sides are fairly special, in my uneducated opinion. I'd be curious to hear what you think.
They have an all-Texas wine list. Once, as a lark, instead of having beer I had a bottle of this Texas sangiovese. You know what? (A) It wasn't bad. (B) It went with the 'cue perfectly.
The sides are fairly special, in my uneducated opinion. I'd be curious to hear what you think.
They have an all-Texas wine list. Once, as a lark, instead of having beer I had a bottle of this Texas sangiovese. You know what? (A) It wasn't bad. (B) It went with the 'cue perfectly.
I might try the prime rib. One of the best pieces of barbecue I've ever had in the hill country was a pork chop at Kruez's. I've ordered it from them at least twice since then and they've never managed to repeat that transcendent first chop. Usually, however, you can find other cuts of meat that are prepared really well. While brisket and links are king, it would be nice if Hill Country could get some other cuts right for variety's sake.
Like I said, the sides look good, but not terribly authentic. That's not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. While the sides in hill country 'cue places are good, they're never nearly as good as the meat and so I don't waste time with them. My hunch is that the meat and sides are much closer in quality at Hill Country than in the hill country. I'll definitely check them out the next time I visit.
I used to drink a ton of St Genevieve Texas Red a decade ago in college. It cost $10.00 for three bottles at the convenience store down the street. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either, especially for the price. After I got a little money in my pocket, I never really looked back. From time to time, I've had a bottle of Texas wine but never really found something I liked. On the other hand, I hear they've gotten much better over the last few years.
Like I said, the sides look good, but not terribly authentic. That's not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. While the sides in hill country 'cue places are good, they're never nearly as good as the meat and so I don't waste time with them. My hunch is that the meat and sides are much closer in quality at Hill Country than in the hill country. I'll definitely check them out the next time I visit.
I used to drink a ton of St Genevieve Texas Red a decade ago in college. It cost $10.00 for three bottles at the convenience store down the street. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either, especially for the price. After I got a little money in my pocket, I never really looked back. From time to time, I've had a bottle of Texas wine but never really found something I liked. On the other hand, I hear they've gotten much better over the last few years.
