Hey folks! Welcome to Day 3 of our BBQ pilgrimage in the barbecue capital of the U.S. — Austin, Texas.
I apologize for the break in blog posts! On our trip, I didn't have time to finish all the blog posts. Finding time to write between getting back to work and routine has been a little harder since I got back! But fear not, today we are back on track! I'm going to do my best to continue to tell of our adventures as if they're happening in real time, just because it's fun to imagine that they're still happening right at this moment.
On today's adventures, we visit a couple of newcomers to the Texas barbecue scene who are doing traditional barbecue with a twist, we tour the biggest state capitol I've ever seen and we swing by the spot where LBJ first courted Lady Bird.
Day 3
Itinerary
Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ
Among our many goals for the trip, one is to find some delicious Tex Mex breakfast tacos. That's what brings us out to Valentina's on this beautiful Texas morning.
Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ is in South Austin, about a 25 minute or so drive from where we are staying. It's our first try outside of the downtown area. As we hop on I-35 and head south, it only takes a few minutes for us to take notice of just how broad and wide open Texas is, even just a little ways away from the fourth largest city in the state.
The interstate takes us quickly from the bustling burbs of Austin to the rolling desert hill country that gives you a real sense of what the wild, wild west might have been like. Wild country, open skies, homes and businesses dotting the countryside and in between them — vast swaths of untamed land.
Winding our way down the highway to the tiny community of Manchaca, we find Valentina's. Valentina's epitomizes the roadside barbecue joint because for one, well, it's literally on the side of the highway. They still operate the restaurant from their food truck, which, believe it or not, is pretty common for bbq places in Austin.
Started by Miguel Vidal, the restaurant is a family business. In fact, the restaurant is named after Miguel's daughter. He says that what he wanted to do with the restaurant is combine the best of Texas barbecue with the best of what he calls Tejano/Chicano cooking. That means homemade flour tortillas, spicy salsas and bbq with a little bit of a kick. Oh, and breakfast tacos!
(Quick note: If you are looking for breakfast tacos at Valentina's, they have their menu on their website. It's not exactly clear to us what the deal is, but the menu they put out on display at the restaurant was missing some things from their online menu, but we believe they will still serve them.)
I will just go ahead and tell you that in my opinion, Miguel accomplished what he set out to do. As we were ordering our food, they promptly handed us a sample of the brisket. It was tender and juice, with just a little bit of a kick. It's clear that in addition to utilizing the best of Texas barbecue methods, this place has added a good dose of spice!
I also want to note that as far as bark — the black, crunchy exterior of the meat that forms from a combination of the spices, smoke and the heat — this might be the best brisket bark we had.
We ordered the brisket taco (of course), the smoked carnitas taco and a breakfast taco.
Just thinking about all the delicious flavors, even these weeks later, makes my mouth water. We were looking for great Tex Mex tacos and we found them!
You can tell the flour tortillas are fresh and delicately made. The were light, stretchy and tasty.
To my slight disappointment, the brisket taco was chopped brisket, instead of sliced brisket. My disappointment quickly disappeared as soon as I took the first bite. The brisket taco is topped with sea salt lime guacamole and their signature tomato serrano salsa. Everything just melded together perfectly — the punchy serrano heat balanced perfectly by the savory, fatty brisket.
The smoked carnitas taco is a taco with low-and-slow smoked pork topped with caramelized onions and a tomatillo habanero salsa. As much as I loved the brisket taco, the carnitas were just incredible. This one was a little on the spicy side, which is right up my alley.
The breakfast taco we got was a special for the day — packed with eggs, potatoes and spicy sausage topped with their tomato serrano salsa. I know I've said a lot already about sausage, but I couldn't get enough of this stuff. Again, a little on the spicy side, which means I love it, but also just great flavor and a well-made sausage.
I should also mention that Valentina's has the best of both worlds: a comfortable indoor seating area and great outdoor seating. This trip has had its fair share of "must-eats." I would definitely add Valentina's to the list, especially if you're a fan of Mexican flavors and a little heat!
Texas State Capitol
Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the state capitol! Completed in 1888, the state capitol building in Austin, like many state capitols, is modeled after the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (If you're curious, as I was, here's a list of state capitols NOT modeled in the neoclassical revival style like the U.S. Capitol.) The Texas Capitol is the sixth largest state capitol building, and at the time of its construction was advertised as the seventh tallest building in the world.
Here are some quick facts about the Texas State Capitol for ya:
At over 280 feet tall inside the central capitol dome, our tour guide tells use you could house the Statue of Liberty (standing at 150 feet) inside of the dome.
As I pointed out previously, the capitol serves as the endpoint of Congress Avenue, which sprawls southward from the capitol across the Colorado River.
Until the 1970s, buildings in Austin could not be over 200-feet-tall to maintain the capitol's prominence. That changed then with the advent of high-rise corporate headquarters and apartment buildings in downtown Austin.
Surprisingly, despite being one of the largest states of the union, the Texas State Senate has just 31 members and the Texas House has 150 members. The state legislature meets once every two years for about a four month term.
The capitol dome rotunda includes a portrait gallery of every governor of Texas. Emblazoned on the floor is a seal with the name of the six nations Texas claims to have been a part of: Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States.
And there are stars and "Texas" just about everywhere you could imagine.
Seriously. Everywhere. (The first picture in the slideshow above is kind of hard to tell - but those are the door hinges.)
Our tour at the capitol ends with a perfect illustration of just how wild Texas can be. All along the tour, our guide kept mentioning that there were "snakes" at the capitol today and that, at the end of the tour, we could go see these snakes.
My first thought was, "There's a joke about politicians in there somewhere."
My second thought was there must be some kind of zoo lovers day at the capitol building.
So all along, we waited with heightened curiosity of what exactly might be at the end of the tour. And sure enough, it was just snakes!
And not just any snakes. Yes, those are timber rattlesnakes.
At one point in recent history, they decided they needed more room at the capitol for offices and meeting spaces. Instead of building out from the original capitol structure, they chose instead to build down into the ground. So today, there are at least two stories underground behind the building known as the Capitol Annex. It has office space, meeting rooms, a gift shop. Oh, and a perfect little outdoor rotunda/viewing area that makes for a perfect snake pit on days like today.
So I had to ask what in the world were a bunch of men with snakes doing at the capitol. I even asked if it was some kind of awareness day for snakes or something. Nope! Turns out they are some sort of chamber of commerce group and the snakes were basically to get them attention — and obviously it worked! But weirdly, they were also very well trained snake handlers? I still don't really get the connection.
The Driskill Hotel
If you're gonna go to the Austin State Capitol, they have beautiful grounds for you to walk around and enjoy the views.
For us, however, the capitol tour really took it out of us and we were famished. After taking in a few minutes of the capitol grounds, we headed south from the capitol, down Congress Avenue to see where we could get some sustenance.
We heard that Congress Avenue was a good place to walk around but the area close to the capitol seems a lot more tourist-y to us. There's some much better stuff if you keep going south across the bridge on Congress.
Nevertheless, after a pit stop for some tea and a bathroom break we wondered around a little bit more and stumbled upon one of Austin's more unique historic landmarks: The Driskill Hotel.
The Driskill Hotel was completed in 1886, just shortly before the state capitol. And it is indeed something out of another time! With soaring ceilings, elaborate fixtures and incredible details, you feel like you are stepping into a hotel fit for the Great Gatsby.
It is the Driskill where LBJ would take Lady Bird out for their first date, where he pestered her with probing questions and asked her to marry him that very night. Later, Johnson would use the hotel as a campaign headquarters for his senate campaign.
But we're here just to look at the architecture and design more than anything! There is a nice restaurant and bar on the mezzanine level. If we were to do it again, and if I were a richer man, I'd probably try to set up a nice dinner for two there!
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue
Our last stop of the night and we are famished! Tonight, we're checking out LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue. It's where one of my favorite bbq chefs — Chud's BBQ — used to work. They are pretty new to the scene, starting in 2017, and as such, they are doing some cutting edge stuff with barbecue. How cutting ede you ask? How's about barbecue cauliflower? That cutting edge enough for you?
Like Valentina's, though, they are doing traditional Texas barbecue — as in making really good meat by cooking it low and slow with fire — with just a little twist in the flavors, or the presentation or seasoning ... or by using vegetables! At LeRoy and Lewis, they call it "inventive barbecue." Whatever you call it, it's good!
Remember when I said that it's pretty common for Austin bbq joints to be food trucks? Well, LeRoy and Lewis is one of them and, in fact, is located some kind of food truck park. It's located in the lot of the Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden, which is a pretty cool bar (I assume you can get coffee there, too). The lot connected to it plays host to three food trucks, LeRoy and Lewis among them.
The main thing I am looking forward to at LeRoy and Lewis is the beef cheeks. Well, much to my disappointment and ignorance, turns out people really love LeRoy and Lewis, and they are another barbecue place where when they're out ... they're out. And they were out of beef cheeks by the time we got there. Also pretty much everything else on the menu. Literally, the last citra hop pork sausage — made with real beer hops — was sold to the couple in front of me.
Luckily, people in Austin are really nice. And when the couple in front of me realized I was a tourist and really wanted some sausage, they gave us a bite of theirs! Also, these nice Austintonians in line tell me that the beefs cheeks are pretty much the same as the barbacoa. So we ordered some of the barbacoa, which is dressed with onions (we left those off) queso fresco and jalapeno salsa, an order of the kale caesar slaw and some of the refried beans dressed with queso fresco.
Let me just tell you that they are nailing old school Texas barbecue with a new school twist. The barbacoa is so tender and flavorful. And who doesn't love a little cheese and salsa on top of that?
I am not a fan of refried beans normally (who likes mushed up bean puddy for a side??). These refried beans were incredible! The flavor is nearly indescribably good — the right amount of earthy, rich and a little bit of spice. When I ask what the secret is to the beans, they tell me they're made with ancho chiles and cayenne. I don't know if it was just that I was so hungry, or these were so good, but I just loved the full, well-balanced flavor.
You'll have to ask Allyson what she thought of the kale caesar slaw. I'm coming around to cole slaw but just not there yet. I'm pretty sure she liked it a lot. And no, I wasn't brave enough to try the barbecue cauliflower!
Conclusion
And that, friends, is day 3 of our barbecue pilgrimage (finally). Valentina's is most definitely worth the 25-minute trip outside of Austin (especially considering that we went to places further away later in the trip). As I look back on the trip, it's getting harder and harder to pick a "favorite" but Valentina's really might be the second best brisket we had the whole trip. As for LeRoy and Lewis, it lived up to the hype. Just make sure you get here earlier than we did so you can try more of their stuff!
Tomorrow, we head out into the wild, desert hill country as the weather takes a turn for the uncomfortably cold, we meet our first longhorn and visit a place that really harkens back to old, old school barbecue. See you then!
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