This past weekend, I was surprised for my birthday by my wife with a road trip deep into the heart of Hill Country.
She promised to take me somewhere I’ve been talking about heading to since we moved to Central Texas in January. The destination was about an hour east towards Snow’s BBQ in the tiny town of Lexington. Population 1,231.
I have been looking to visit this smokey mecca since we were living in Jersey City when I first watched the Chef’s Table episode featuring Snow’s pitmaster, Tootsie Tomanetz. For those who don’t know, this rusted rib shack churns out what has been voted the best BBQ in Texas. In a state where such competitions are fierce, Texas Monthly bestowed the honor to this small but mighty operation twice. The first time in 2008 and again in 2013. Tootsie herself was nominated for a James Beard Award just a year later.
If you watched her work on that Chef’s Table episode (if you haven’t, I suggest you do) you see the method to her time-honored madness. After working all week as a custodian at a nearby school district, she wakes up at 1am every Saturday and is behind the pits at Snow’s by 2am with the pits already fired up. She takes simple pride in the old traditions of smoking meat she grew up with in this region.
That tradition is often referred to as the Hill Country method. Rather than smoking the meat, it’s cooked directly over hot coals burned down from hunks of wood, usually of the mesquite variety. Once ready, these coals are removed from the feeder fire and shoveled into large metal boxes known as flat pits. The result is not as tender as using a smoker but just as delicious. Instead of getting that smokey flavor from the wood, it captures the aroma of its own fat as it drips down to the coal underneath.
Because this setup can be costly—running two fires at once—the Hill Country method is not used as much these days, making Snow’s and Tootsie holdovers from a bygone era, preserving this way of doing things in a time where we are always looking to do everything cheaper.
Suzy has listened to me ad nauseum about Snow’s and how we should take the drive to check it out. She remembered and told me her plan to take me after work on Friday evening.
We set our alarms and awoke the next morning around 5:30. Snow’s is only open one day a week—from 8 am until they sell out, usually around noon.
“Barbecue brings people together. It gives people time to visit with each other more. People just kind of slow down to speak to one another and look at the bright side of life. A lot of people don’t realize what a wonderful feeling that is.”
-Tootsie Tomanetz
Due to the scarcity of hours, this place often boasts long lines, much like the infamous Franklin BBQ in Austin, which pushed Snow’s out of the top spot on the Texas Monthly list back in 2018. So, if you want a taste of Tootsie’s BBQ, you got to hit the road pretty damn early and then get prepared to wait online for a bit once you get there.
We hit the road toward Lexington around 7am. I’m not a morning person, especially on a Saturday, so we left a little later than planned. We drove directly into the rising Texas Sun, which felt a little more intense than sunrises back in Jersey. In case you weren’t aware, every day is a sight to behold when you catch a glimpse of the sun rising or setting in the big Texas sky. It made the drive all the more pleasant as we traveled down winding two-lane roads surrounded by what makes this part of the state famous -- rolling green hills and pastures with cattle grazing every inch.
It was just after 8am when we pulled up to Snow’s, located on a block too sleepy to be called Main Street. A rusted pair of grain towers stood across the street. Cars started filling up down the block for the weekly livestock auction.
The sun was barely up, but the line was at least 100 deep as we parked. I hate waiting in line for anything. However, when you consciously decide to wake up at the crack of dawn and drive an hour to grab BBQ at a place that is open one day a week, you expect (and accept) that it is going to be a while.
I’m glad we did because even though we waited over two hours to order, the time never dragged on or felt torturous. I’m sure the free beers and cocktails they offered as you wait helped to make the time fly by.
It took me 30 minutes to give in and break my longstanding rule of never touching a drop of alcohol before noon. The two icy Lone Stars I had proved to be the perfect appetizer before the main course.
The drinks were, of course, not the only thing to help to pass the time. The line at Snow’s is more like a tailgate than waiting to order. People come for the long haul and make a day out of it. They are too jovial for people who gather before sunset to claim their spot in the queue. In-depth conversations among strangers as they sip their drinks are commonplace on this line.
It speaks to what Tootsie the pitmaster said on her episode of Chef’s Table…
“Barbecue brings people together. It gives people time to visit with each other more. People just kind of slow down to speak to one another and look at the bright side of life. A lot of people don’t realize what a wonderful feeling that is.”
I couldn’t agree more with her sentiment.
What I noticed at Snow’s is something I have caught glimpses of since moving to Central Texas. There seems to be an appreciation among the locals for the simple pleasures. Everyone seems to be more present and truly enjoying their idle leisure time. The people here are not as tightly wound as people back in New York and the Northeast.
It didn’t take Suzy and me to experience what Tootsie said on Chef’s Table. We were standing online a mere 15 minutes before a group of two couples behind us stuck up a pleasant conversation that lasted nearly the entire time we shuffled towards the front door.
It was 11am by the time we got to the order counter…close enough to lunch that we didn’t feel like gluttons who travel an hour to have BBQ for breakfast. We got ourselves a sampling of nearly everything. Brisket, Pork Steaks cut from the shoulder, turkey breast, and jalapeno sausage. Immediately upon tasting the BBQ at Snow’s, you quickly learn first-hand about the (legit) hype behind the Hill Country method. It’s neither better nor worse than the traditional smoked Texas BBQ. It’s entirely its own thing with a unique flavor and just as succulent as any other slow-cooked meat you would find in these parts.
The food capped off what was probably the most Texas experience I’ve had since we moved to the Lone Star state. The only downside of the morning was Tootsie herself who was nowhere to be found long gone from her position behind the pits.
We never got the chance to thank her for that wonderful feeling.
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