Yesterday the Mrs and I took a road trip to Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, just a bit north of Giddings on 77 if you haven’t been there.
In 2008 Texas Monthly declared Snow’s the #1 BBQ joint in Texas. I had never heard of Snow’s, never been to Lexington. What prompted the visit for us was a Netflix episode of Chef’s Table — in a series dedicated to barbecue — featuring Snow’s and 85 year-old pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. (I don’t know if “pitmaster” is her official title, but it seems fitting to me.)
Snows BBQ | Voted Best BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine
Click an image to expand it — click it again to return to the page.
Snow’s is only open on Saturday from 8-12 — or until they run out of food — so the lines can get pretty long. We left Katy at 6:00 and got there a few minutes before 8, and the line was already very long. As you approach the place you can smell the meat cooking before you see it. I like meat.
We got in line at 8 and finally got to order at 10:45 but the wait didn’t seem anywhere near that long.
The first thing I wanted to do is make sure that the star of the show was present. Another guy was next to me taking pictures, said he and his wife had just seen the Netflix episode and had to drive up as well. There were some guys from Michigan in line next to us so we chatted it up with them for a bit. They said they were working in Texas for a short while and saw the Netflix show, and had to get over here for some of Miss Tootsie’s brisket
If you don’t want to stand in line the whole time they have folding chairs you can borrow, so anyone can sit while they wait. Every so often the line moves so you pick your chair up and scoot up a few feet. There are also umbrellas in the ground along the line to provide some shade if needed. The weather was perfect on this day, with a cool breeze keeping things comfortable the whole time we were there.
My wife went to get us something to drink while we were waiting and came back with two Bloody Marys and a Sprite. The girl at the drink stand said the drinks were all free, they just work for tips! We had a second Bloody Mary a little later and tipped generously, of course.
Once you’ve made it to the front of the line, you step inside the main building and order here. We both got a plate of brisket, sausage and ribs, plus a whole brisket (vacuum sealed) to bring home for Sunday dinner with the family. I did not bother with potato salad or cole slaw because it would occupy stomach space that was specifically reserved today for meat.
I’ve had better sausage but this brisket was something else. It was so tender that it barely stayed on the plastic fork, it just falls apart. I ordered the fatty cut because it’s the most flavorful. The ribs were excellent as well, tender and delicious, but the brisket is the star of this show.
We got to chat briefly with Miss Tootsie and the owner, Kerry. Super nice people. It was a great day.
In 2008 Texas Monthly declared Snow’s the #1 BBQ joint in Texas. I had never heard of Snow’s, never been to Lexington. What prompted the visit for us was a Netflix episode of Chef’s Table — in a series dedicated to barbecue — featuring Snow’s and 85 year-old pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. (I don’t know if “pitmaster” is her official title, but it seems fitting to me.)
Snows BBQ | Voted Best BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine
Click an image to expand it — click it again to return to the page.
Snow’s is only open on Saturday from 8-12 — or until they run out of food — so the lines can get pretty long. We left Katy at 6:00 and got there a few minutes before 8, and the line was already very long. As you approach the place you can smell the meat cooking before you see it. I like meat.
We got in line at 8 and finally got to order at 10:45 but the wait didn’t seem anywhere near that long.
The first thing I wanted to do is make sure that the star of the show was present. Another guy was next to me taking pictures, said he and his wife had just seen the Netflix episode and had to drive up as well. There were some guys from Michigan in line next to us so we chatted it up with them for a bit. They said they were working in Texas for a short while and saw the Netflix show, and had to get over here for some of Miss Tootsie’s brisket
If you don’t want to stand in line the whole time they have folding chairs you can borrow, so anyone can sit while they wait. Every so often the line moves so you pick your chair up and scoot up a few feet. There are also umbrellas in the ground along the line to provide some shade if needed. The weather was perfect on this day, with a cool breeze keeping things comfortable the whole time we were there.
My wife went to get us something to drink while we were waiting and came back with two Bloody Marys and a Sprite. The girl at the drink stand said the drinks were all free, they just work for tips! We had a second Bloody Mary a little later and tipped generously, of course.
Once you’ve made it to the front of the line, you step inside the main building and order here. We both got a plate of brisket, sausage and ribs, plus a whole brisket (vacuum sealed) to bring home for Sunday dinner with the family. I did not bother with potato salad or cole slaw because it would occupy stomach space that was specifically reserved today for meat.
I’ve had better sausage but this brisket was something else. It was so tender that it barely stayed on the plastic fork, it just falls apart. I ordered the fatty cut because it’s the most flavorful. The ribs were excellent as well, tender and delicious, but the brisket is the star of this show.
We got to chat briefly with Miss Tootsie and the owner, Kerry. Super nice people. It was a great day.
That's much easier to get, but I've gone to smoking my own stuff instead. It's a time investment, but I can feed 15-20 people for what I pay for my family to eat BBQ these days.
