Greetings From Austin

Two Days In Austin

Salt Lick BBQ

The PIT
PECAN PIE

I have to be honest the drive to Salt Lick and their BBQ in Driftwood, TX is probably the reason why I wanted to come to Austin. It is a short 30 minutes drive through some beautiful rolling hills and pastures on the country side of Texas and then you arrive at this ranch themed restaurant. We’ve been to the Salt Lick before and absolutely loved it, so we were really looking forward to it. If you’re not familiar with salt lick BBQ, it’s a HUGE place with lots of outdoor seating. It feels like you’re visiting someone’s ranch and definitely doesn’t have a formal restaurant feel to it.

We took our time getting there but first made a quick stop at a local gas station to pick up some beers, since Salt Lick is BYOB for alcoholic beverages. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but it’s hard to argue with having a beer alongside some delicious Texas BBQ. Surprisingly, unlike the last time we visited, the Salt Lick wasn’t very crowded and we were quickly seated. We got to see the giant BBQ pit and they had a musician outside playing guitar and singing along which just adds to the whole experience.

The thing that makes Salt Lick great is that they use oak which really gives the meats a unique flavor. While there’s a family style All-You-Can-Eat option (that we did the last time we visited), we opted for indivual plates this time and had no regrets. The portions were still great, with plenty of food to fill all of us. We also ordered desserts: Pecan Pie and Peach Cobbler. This was a first for us as we didn’t have room for dessert the last time we visited, and we’re glad we got them. Both of these desserts were delicious, not being too sweet but having great flavor, which were a perfect ending to a delicious BBQ meal. After the meal we headed over to the kids playground where my kids got to ride the swings and slides while my husband and I relaxed on a picnic table. We then moved to another open area on the grounds of the BBQ where we laid on picnic tables and rested while the kids were off collecting sticks to build a fort and just playing around the open area. It’s a huge open area that just feels like someone’s backyard, very welcoming and lots of fun.

Texas Longhorns

After our lunch, we decided that no trip to Texas would be complete without seeing the legendary Texas Longhorns (the cows, not the football team). The country side is just so pretty we didn’t mind more driving and sightseeing for a few miles to find these longhorns. If you don’t feel like driving all the way out, when you land at the Austin airport there is a cattle ranch by the FastPark airport parking facility. It sounds odd, but you can literally park alongside the road by the parking lot entrance and enjoy some views of these amazing looking animals. There’s usually a herd of about 15-20 longhorn cattle in a fenced-in field. They don’t seem shy at all, they came right over and up close as soon as they saw us standing there watching them. They were definitely a highlight of the trip, and seeing them was very entertaining for my kids.

Drive Back To Houston

This was pretty much the end of our trip and it was time to head back to Houston, where we were planning to spend the evening with some friends before heading back home the next day.

We continued on our way, and since our friends weren’t home yet we decided to grab MORE BBQ and stopped at Rudy’s Country Store in Katy, TX. Rudy’s is a large chain with a lot of locations all over the place, but if you’re looking for delicous brisket that reasonably priced it’s hard to argue against going to Rudy’s. We got 2lb of moist brisket to share among the family along with all the bread, pickles, and onions that come with it, and took our time enjoying all of it. While it didn’t have that distinctive oak smoke taste that we got from Salt Lick, it was still delicious BBQ.

It was a busy weekend but we had fun and got a quick glimpse of Texas.

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