Snow’s BBQ / Lexington, Texas / January 2, 2010
Texas Monthly Magazine has rated Snow's BBQ as the #1 place in Texas to eat barbecue. When deciding on such subjective matters as ranking the taste of food, it's difficult for me to conclude that one establishment is the best of all. It should also be said that we have not eaten as widely as the judges for Texas Monthly Magazine. However, I don't think the magazine was wrong in placing Snow's BBQ in a very small group, say the top 2%, of all that they have sampled. I believe their scouts visited more than 300 barbecue houses. It's not easy to arrange a visit, with Snow's schedule as restrictive as it is, but the memory of the brisket will make me want to find a way to return.
We learned of Snow's BBQ thanks to an alert last year by Harry Turner. Harry sent us an article that Calvin Trillin had written in The New Yorker about a virtually unknown small barbecue house being named the best place in Texas. Each year Texas Monthly Magazine names the 50 best barbecue houses in Texas, and Snow's came as a surprise to many smoked meat aficionados. We were unable to arrange a visit to Snow's last year, but this year luckily for us, the stars aligned.
Snow's is a truly unique enterprise in that the owners are satisfied with very modest success, despite being named as the best barbecue house in a state that places a high value on such things. Snow's only smokes meat on Saturday, and is only open for a few hours on that day, until the meat is gone. They open at 8 AM and close when the meat is gone. On the day that I was there, I asked when that day's output would be exhausted, and was told they would be sold out possibly by noon and almost certainly by 1 PM.
Lexington is 40 miles east of Austin, and has a population of about 1200. There are no primary roads from Austin to Lexington, but a winding farm road through attractive gently rolling pastureland covers the last 25 miles. The land looks more productive than much of Texas, but somehow the farm buildings don't suggest prosperity. The town also doesn't appear too prosperous.
The restaurant is a small red metal building. The meat is smoked out behind the restaurant, under large corrugated metal awnings that also protect some picnic tables for use on warm sunny days. Some items are smoked in the classic low long smoker, with an open fire on the floor at one end and a chimney at the other end. The brisket is smoked in a more modern steel rotary smoker. After I ate I was able to speak out in back with Tootsie Tomanetz, who is in charge of all the smoking. She's a very pleasant lady, about 75 years old, who says she has no words to describe how she feels about their success and the attention it has brought. She says that although they knew they had a fine product, being named the best in Texas took she and the owner by surprise. She has been smoking meat for most of her adult life, for other barbecue houses, and has long muscular arms and hands.
I was eating by myself this Saturday, Kay opting out of arising early enough to get to Snow's by 8 AM so she could eat barbecue for breakfast. The meat is ordered and sliced inside. I ordered our standard order of brisket, ribs and sausage. The sides were potato salad and slaw. Beans were available free in a big pot on a warmer at the side of the dining area. There are six picnic style tables inside and all were at least partially occupied by busy eaters at 8:15 AM. I shared a table with a mid-fifties husband and wife from Cambridge, England. They were also barbeque chasers like me, and were temporarily teaching at Texas A&M at College Station, about 50 miles to the east.
I've never had any brisket better than what is offered at Snow's. It had a very mild rub, no sauce, a deep smoke ring, pulled apart extremely easily, was very juicy and had a heavenly flavor. I don't believe we have previously awarded a 5 to any single item at any establishment, but I don't know what Snow's could have done to make this beef any better. The ribs also had a fine taste, but weren't as tender as the brisket. The sausage was a classic Texas/German with great juicy taste and snap. The beans were heavy with pork chunks and very good, but the other sides were average. I gave the brisket a 5, the ribs a 4 and the sausage and beans a 4.5. As I stated above, the memory of the brisket will make me want to find a way to return.
Ms. Tomanetz talking to visitors
Downtown Lexington
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