deep in the heart of texas

so i found myself in san antonio for a conference a few weeks ago. on a friday night, we decided that we needed some barbecue, so we took a $40 one way cab ride to the edge of town to go to the famous rudy's. it was worth the trip. a combination gas station, mini-mart and outdoor restaurant, the menu is simple: pork ribs, baby backs, brisket and a few sides with the unique texas accompaniment...slices of white bread. the meat is cooked in a dry rub and you add as much sauce as you like at the table. they had tubs of cold sodas and shiner bock in ice...if you went to college in texas or know someone who did, you know and love shiner bock.

anyway, here's my meal:



i had the pork ribs, with pinto beans and a pickle on the side plus peach cobbler for dessert...and, of course, two shiner bocks! as you can see, dinner is served very casually, a soda bottle crate is your tray, and you enjoy your feast outside on picnic tables loaded down with bottles of barbecue and hot sauce and dine to the tune of the latest country hits. it was hot at 9 pm and even hotter because the oak fired barbeque pit was about 10 feet from our table. we left the place about as smoked as the brisket they served.

here's my friends marty & taleen enjoying their ribs:



aren't they cute? needless to say, we all stood out for what we were, liberal lawyers in the middle of texas hill country! true to texas form, everyone was quite friendly even though we obviously didn't fit in. we bought some spice rub and bottled sauce in the mini-mart and i picked up a t-shirt that features a red-white-and-blue ribbon and the slogan "rudy's barbecue, remember our troops, freedom isn't free." que americana.