Project Smoke is one man’s attempt to explore the world of barbecue by eating it every day for a week. Find all of the entries here, and please pray for his soul.
Barbecue is the ‘most Texas’ of cuisines. Only the semi-eponymous Tex-Mex even comes close. The heart of Texas barbecue has always been Central Texas, mainly due to the German immigrants who helped make it what it is today.
When I started this week of eats, it was just a goof, a way to give some substance to an objectively frivolous activity. Still, I had lots of time to think and reflect on this food, these establishments, and our collective love of barbecue. Here then are some lessons learned.
Barbecue ain’t cheap
While it might be considered “down home” or folksy food “of the people,” barbecue is expensive. I spent $20–30 on each meal, and that was with almost always ordering water and limiting sides. Check out the price board from Franklin Barbecue below, and even though they’re on the high end, it gives a clue to how two Andrew Jacksons can disappear in short order.
Eating barbecue is hard
No one leaves a meal at a barbecue joint feeling chipper and spry. Or at least they shouldn’t. There’s something about the protein and fat of these cuts of meat combined with the powerful taste of smoke that satiates beyond reason. It’s like a marathon of food.
Lines are lines
Waiting in line, for better or worse, is often a part of the modern barbecue-eating experience. The line at Franklin is famous/infamous, but that’s not the only place. Any number of places could have you cooling your jets while waiting for some smokey goodness. While it’s easy to poo-poo this phenomenon, it happens for a reason. This food is really freaking good! Certainly there’s a lines-beget-lines thing happening at times, but more often than not there are a just a lot of people wanting a limited amount of product. Me, personally? I hate waiting in lines, so I go in eyes wide open, and try to minimize it, but sometimes it’s the price I have to pay. And pay it, I do.
There are a LOT of places to eat barbecue
I could spend another week eating barbecue in the greater Austin area and not repeat a single place. And another. And probably another. Just off the top of my head I can think of 20 more restaurants, not even counting the dismiss-able strip mall spots.
Farewell?
This final revelation means this project isn’t over. It can’t be. There’s more work to be done! No more week-long excursions, but it’s not like I’ve had my last barbecue meal. And then there’s travel. I know a place or to around the state I’d like to get back to or maybe even try for the first time.
Let me end with the best possible thing: more pictures! These didn’t make the cut for each piece, but I like them anyway. Enjoy, and check back for more in the future.
