Barbecue Heaven in Luling

I know some people love Kansas City ribs, and others dream of North Carolina pulled pork, but in my mind, nothing can really beat Texas barbecue. There's a grittiness to it, a cowboy color that makes Texas barbecue the most hardcore barbecue there is.

I recently went to Luling on a drive home from Lake McQueeney, and I stopped at the Luling City Market.

This place is famous for barbecue, and it had better be, because they serve basically nothing but meat. When you walk in, it looks like there's nothing to choose from at all, because you have to walk through the main dining room into a closed smokehouse area.

You can barely see through the glass because the room is so black with smoke within, and on the glass, they proudly proclaim, "No out of town checks!" Nope, at Luling, it's cash or nada. Once inside the smoke room, you pick the meats that satisfy your cravings, shouting out, "One pound of lean brisket!" And, don't even think about turkey or chicken... they don't sell that fowl here. It's red meat or bust.

You get your food on a very elegant piece of brown butcher paper, and they will toss in a few pickles out of a five gallon jug, if you're lucky. Top that off with some processed, white sandwich bread, and you're off to the races!

In total, with a pound of sausage, a pound of ribs, and a pound of brisket, our total was $17. It was a steal. Of course, that price didn't include what we would pay with indigestion in the near future, but the suffering was well worth it!

Luling may not be a large town, but it's barbecue packs a massive punch.