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I had 2M about 3 weeks ago and it was just above average. The brisket was moist enough but slightly undercooked. The ribs were cooked perfect. I also had some of the sausage with serrano peppers and oaxaca cheese. Everything was under seasoned including the sausage. I’ve been many times before and been very happy but they definitely had an off day. (Pics below)
     Burnt Bean has been consistently great every time. I haven’t tried Reese Bros but am planning to soon.

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7 minutes ago, SuckitKevin said:

I had 2M about 3 weeks ago and it was just above average. The brisket was moist enough but slightly undercooked. The ribs were cooked perfect. I also had some of the sausage with serrano peppers and oaxaca cheese. Everything was under seasoned including the sausage. I’ve been many times before and been very happy but they definitely had an off day. (Pics below)
     Burnt Bean has been consistently great every time. I haven’t tried Reese Bros but am planning to soon.

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i will say i agree with @Patricio Swayze w/r/t Reese Bros > 2M. those boys are killing it out there.

i wonder what the long term plan is for 2M, obv they aren't going to close it (they own the building IIRC?) but blu lacy is clearly going to pull a ton of their talent/owners time over there. wonder if we see 2M actually split and Joe take 2M and Esaul take Blu Lacy? (no inside info here)

 

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On 1/31/2024 at 2:40 PM, NoName said:

i will say i agree with @Patricio Swayze w/r/t Reese Bros > 2M. those boys are killing it out there.

i wonder what the long term plan is for 2M, obv they aren't going to close it (they own the building IIRC?) but blu lacy is clearly going to pull a ton of their talent/owners time over there. wonder if we see 2M actually split and Joe take 2M and Esaul take Blu Lacy? (no inside info here)

 

2M with their current location is just bad....especially with the location of Pinkerton's and Reese Bros. 

Blu Lacy is in a nice building and will be a draw to people who don't want to go to the 2m location because it's a much nicer establishment.

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On 1/30/2024 at 12:30 AM, UT_OB1 said:

You mean brick and mortar as opposed to say a food truck?  What about brick and mortar makes to operate a bbq business?

I read this article this morning and thought it was germane to your question.  Food trailer to brick-and-mortar back to food trailer.

Spoiler

A Change of Name and Location Revived This Wimberley Pitmaster’s BBQ Passion

Kelly Evers closed Creekside Cookers in Wimberley in 2021 and opened Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue the next year. Going from brick-and-mortar back to a trailer has allowed him to focus on perfecting his brisket.

 

Daniel Vaughn

January 31, 2024

 

kellys-hill-country-barbecue-1a.jpg?auto Greg Garrison and Kelly Evers.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn

Kelly Evers has experienced the highs and lows of barbecue in nine years as a business owner. In 2015, he and his wife, Melody, opened Creekside Cookers, a Saturday-only barbecue truck in Wimberley named after their competition barbecue team. Evers would fire up the smokers every Friday evening after a week of teaching sixth graders so he could serve it up the next day. It was an exhausting routine, so he went full time into barbecue the following year, giving up his long teaching career and role as a golf coach.

Creekside Cookers outgrew the trailer. Evers sold it in late 2019 when he partnered with an investor to open inside a century-old building in downtown Wimberley. With impressive brisket and pork ribs, the restaurant made it onto our honorable mentions list in the November 2021 barbecue issue. Surprisingly, it closed for good the following month. The partnership didn’t work out, but Evers wasn’t done with barbecue.

After buying a new trailer and changing the business name, Evers opened Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue two years ago and parked it not far from the old restaurant. “I like this model a lot better because it’s simple,” he said, adding that he now has four employees instead of more than fifty. “With the cost of goods being what they are right now, having as small a footprint as possible is kinda your best model, in my opinion.” (Justin Pearson, the owner of San Marcos Barbecue, will soon test that theory when he opens the new J. P.’s Wimberley BBQ in the former Creekside Cookers location.)

 

Greg Garrison was running the thousand-gallon Moberg smoker parked next to the trailer when I visited. I was awash in oak and pecan smoke when he opened the doors to show me the briskets. They were about 80 percent done, so Garrison was folding heavy-duty aluminum foil to make boats for briskets to sit in while they finished their cook. This foil-boat method was popularized by LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, and allows for the bark on the top of the brisket to get a firm texture while keeping the bottom juicy. “I want a crunchier bark,” Evers said, which he didn’t get with the butcher paper wrap he employed before.

kellys-hill-country-barbecue-2.jpg?auto= Pork belly burnt-end tacos with apple pecan slaw, beans, mac and cheese, sausage, turkey, and brisket from Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn

The thick slice of brisket Evers served had that expected crunch on the peppery bark. It was a tender slice, despite its thickness, with a deep smoke ring. The house-made barbecue sauce was a better complement for the smoky turkey breast slices. A side of creamy mac and cheese was decent, though I preferred the savory pinto beans with chunks of tomato, jalapeño, and chopped cilantro.

There isn’t much room for cold storage on the truck, so when the pork rib delivery comes on Friday, smoked pork ribs are available only on Saturday. I was there on a Friday when the pork belly burnt ends (also available Saturday) are the special. They’re smoked, cubed, then tossed in a super-sweet sauce to get a candy-like coating during their second dose of smoke. I tried them in a taco topped with more sweet sauce and a scoop of apple pecan slaw. All the elements together was a bit of a sugar overload, but I enjoyed the decadent burnt ends.

Evers doesn’t make his sausage, but he gets it raw from a producer who uses his recipes. That includes a juicy jalapeño cheese version and a pork boudin, which was smoked until the casing had a good snap. The Friday I visited he was also testing out some smoked and fried chicken wings to see if they would bring in some business during the dinner hours, though he normally closes at 3 p.m. I asked if it was easier to watch a smoker than a bunch of students. Evers assured me that briskets fall in line more readily than sixth graders, and he’d chosen the right path with barbecue.

Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue
14306 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley
Phone: 512-947-1609
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 11–3
Pitmaster: Kelly Evers
Method: Oak and pecan in an offset smoker
Year opened: 2022

 

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I read this article this morning and thought it was germane to your question.  Food trailer to brick-and-mortar back to food trailer.
Spoiler

A Change of Name and Location Revived This Wimberley Pitmaster’s BBQ Passion

Kelly Evers closed Creekside Cookers in Wimberley in 2021 and opened Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue the next year. Going from brick-and-mortar back to a trailer has allowed him to focus on perfecting his brisket.

 

Daniel-Vaughn.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&fit=fit&fm=jpg&h=0&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=92
By Daniel Vaughn January 31, 2024
  kellys-hill-country-barbecue-1a.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&fit=fit&fm=jpg&h=0&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=1250Greg Garrison and Kelly Evers.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn

Kelly Evers has experienced the highs and lows of barbecue in nine years as a business owner. In 2015, he and his wife, Melody, opened Creekside Cookers, a Saturday-only barbecue truck in Wimberley named after their competition barbecue team. Evers would fire up the smokers every Friday evening after a week of teaching sixth graders so he could serve it up the next day. It was an exhausting routine, so he went full time into barbecue the following year, giving up his long teaching career and role as a golf coach.

Creekside Cookers outgrew the trailer. Evers sold it in late 2019 when he partnered with an investor to open inside a century-old building in downtown Wimberley. With impressive brisket and pork ribs, the restaurant made it onto our honorable mentions list in the November 2021 barbecue issue. Surprisingly, it closed for good the following month. The partnership didn’t work out, but Evers wasn’t done with barbecue.

After buying a new trailer and changing the business name, Evers opened Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue two years ago and parked it not far from the old restaurant. “I like this model a lot better because it’s simple,” he said, adding that he now has four employees instead of more than fifty. “With the cost of goods being what they are right now, having as small a footprint as possible is kinda your best model, in my opinion.” (Justin Pearson, the owner of San Marcos Barbecue, will soon test that theory when he opens the new J. P.’s Wimberley BBQ in the former Creekside Cookers location.)

 

Greg Garrison was running the thousand-gallon Moberg smoker parked next to the trailer when I visited. I was awash in oak and pecan smoke when he opened the doors to show me the briskets. They were about 80 percent done, so Garrison was folding heavy-duty aluminum foil to make boats for briskets to sit in while they finished their cook. This foil-boat method was popularized by LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, and allows for the bark on the top of the brisket to get a firm texture while keeping the bottom juicy. “I want a crunchier bark,” Evers said, which he didn’t get with the butcher paper wrap he employed before.

poster.jpg?width=720

MORE kellys-hill-country-barbecue-2.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=1024&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=819&wpsize=largePork belly burnt-end tacos with apple pecan slaw, beans, mac and cheese, sausage, turkey, and brisket from Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn

The thick slice of brisket Evers served had that expected crunch on the peppery bark. It was a tender slice, despite its thickness, with a deep smoke ring. The house-made barbecue sauce was a better complement for the smoky turkey breast slices. A side of creamy mac and cheese was decent, though I preferred the savory pinto beans with chunks of tomato, jalapeño, and chopped cilantro.

There isn’t much room for cold storage on the truck, so when the pork rib delivery comes on Friday, smoked pork ribs are available only on Saturday. I was there on a Friday when the pork belly burnt ends (also available Saturday) are the special. They’re smoked, cubed, then tossed in a super-sweet sauce to get a candy-like coating during their second dose of smoke. I tried them in a taco topped with more sweet sauce and a scoop of apple pecan slaw. All the elements together was a bit of a sugar overload, but I enjoyed the decadent burnt ends.

Evers doesn’t make his sausage, but he gets it raw from a producer who uses his recipes. That includes a juicy jalapeño cheese version and a pork boudin, which was smoked until the casing had a good snap. The Friday I visited he was also testing out some smoked and fried chicken wings to see if they would bring in some business during the dinner hours, though he normally closes at 3 p.m. I asked if it was easier to watch a smoker than a bunch of students. Evers assured me that briskets fall in line more readily than sixth graders, and he’d chosen the right path with barbecue.

Kelly’s Hill Country Barbecue
14306 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley
Phone: 512-947-1609
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 11–3
Pitmaster: Kelly Evers
Method: Oak and pecan in an offset smoker
Year opened: 2022

 

Yep. I loved this restaurant when it was open and it was damn popular in Wimberley. We miss it and will likely hit up the new joint if it’s halfway decent.

His trailer has always been great! I’m glad he’s happier keeping things small. I didn’t know he was a golfer.
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1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

About to hit up Rudy’s for lunch, review and pics incoming. I can already tell you that the cups and tea SLAM !!!


very very avg to below avg. tea was great …IMG_8808.thumb.jpeg.b6b2f7858a01fb43979c4f61ce4218de.jpegIMG_8809.thumb.jpeg.0797aaf762d0b862c937419cf1ee1827.jpeg

IMG_8810.thumb.jpeg.1f5b2fc77cae17a2dd4e056cca80cc87.jpeg


 

very misleading sign, I was expecting a spicy pork chop, it was chopped beef 

Good beans 

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53 minutes ago, DallasSooner said:

Meh, if you eat at Rudy's on the regular you know they call their chopped beef "spicy chop".  I had one the other day on a road trip.  Not a bad sandwich for under $10. 

spicy chop breakfast tacos also do ya just fine

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4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 
Katyville, my buddy works about 4 mins away so easy choice for lunch 

Damn.  Was hoping the spicy chop was on sale in Austin.  That's a damn good sammich.  (Pro tip:  order by the pound and get the free bread.)

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Is City Meat Market in Giddings any good? Recommendations on what to order? 
City Meat Market in Giddings is old school. Don't get brisket. Try the sausage and pork steak. Enjoy the history of Texas barbecue.

Tootsie and her husband owed it back on the day. This is where she learned to smoke meats. She still eats there regularly.
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Went to JNL Barbecue for lunch today. One of the few Austin joints that I haven't tried before. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Moist brisket, pulled pork, and coleslaw. Pork ribs and cajun butter turkey were sold out when I arrived at 1:30.

Brisket was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Top level for sure. Pulled pork was mixed with a Carolina vinegar sauce. Sauce was light but gave it a great flavor. The mixed in cracklins added a bit of texture. Really well done. Vinegar slaw was good as well.

I'll definitely go back.

07ca04bae803845d52531d8f516fa22c.jpg4160b51283474eccbe5a9f8a3368e893.jpg

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Houston Chronicle article on brisket prices. 
 

Quote

Texas barbecue has a math problem. Specifically, with the cost of brisket. Both in how much a pitmaster pays to acquire and cook the raw product and in what the customer pays to consume the finished product. 

This has resulted in the unthinkable: some barbecue joint pitmasters have considered removing brisket from their menus, if only temporarily. No one is willing to go on the record yet, though. 

How did we get here? Essentially, it’s due to the stubbornly high cost of beef, specifically brisket. The economics of selling brisket are broken.

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GUIDE: Houston's best barbecue joints 

First, a quick refresher on how brisket is made and sold. Conservatively, it costs a barbecue joint about $10 to produce a pound of high-grade brisket. This includes the wholesale price of raw brisket, the loss incurred when trimming and cooking it and other expenses, like salt and pepper and the wood needed to cook it. 

In order to cover the other costs of running a restaurant, specifically labor and overhead like rent, the pitmaster needs to sell that brisket at three times the cost, i.e. $30. This is just to break even. 

Over the last few years, pitmasters have determined that consumers, at least in Texas, have a price ceiling of about $30 per pound when it comes to buying brisket. Some joints are trying to squeeze out a small profit by selling at $32-$34 per pound. 

So, barbecue joints are stuck selling their most popular menu item either at a loss or just to break even. You don’t need to be a math whiz to realize this is unsustainable. 

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Armchair beef economists may note that the price of raw brisket goes up and down all the time, so what’s the big deal? Indeed, in the past, a spike in beef prices would result in a commiserate increase in barbecue joint brisket prices. When that spike passed and the cost went down, the barbecue joint left their price the same (usually temporarily) to recoup some of the lost profit that happened during the spike. 

No harm, no foul, right? Well, the problem in the last few years is the raw cost of beef isn’t coming back down, or at least not enough. The wholesale price of Prime grade brisket continues to hover in the $4-$6 per pound range, resulting in a stubbornly high total cost of $8-$12. 

Why is the price not coming down? This is the subject of endless debate, but it comes down to Texas barbecue being a victim of its own success. As barbecue has expanded both nationally and internationally, the demand for beef in general and brisket in particular has remained high. 

Additionally, other industry stakeholders, such as cattlemen, have accused the biggest meatpacking companies of colluding to keep beef prices artificially high. In the absence of government intervention in this alleged collusion, or a collapse in demand for beef, prices are expected to remain high. 

Barbecue joint owners and pitmasters are looking at the numbers and looking for a solution. One obvious solution is simply to not sell a product at a loss. In other words, just take brisket off the menu and replace it with something else.

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Article continues below this ad

Unfortunately, there aren’t many substitutes for brisket in terms of flavor and tenderness. Beef cheek has been substituted in some cases, though the economics of that cut has its own challenges. 

For now, pitmasters are stuck selling an unprofitable product. To be sure, brisket won’t disappear from menus anytime soon. But as new menu items are developed and consumer tastes evolve, something else may replace brisket as a Texas barbecue staple. 

 

 

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On 2/8/2024 at 3:06 PM, DallasSooner said:

Meh, if you eat at Rudy's on the regular you know they call their chopped beef "spicy chop".  I had one the other day on a road trip.  Not a bad sandwich for under $10. 


same sandwich is $14 at buccee’s 

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Houston Chronicle article on brisket prices. 
 
Texas barbecue has a math problem. Specifically, with the cost of brisket. Both in how much a pitmaster pays to acquire and cook the raw product and in what the customer pays to consume the finished product. 
This has resulted in the unthinkable: some barbecue joint pitmasters have considered removing brisket from their menus, if only temporarily. No one is willing to go on the record yet, though. 
How did we get here? Essentially, it’s due to the stubbornly high cost of beef, specifically brisket. The economics of selling brisket are broken.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
GUIDE: Houston's best barbecue joints 
First, a quick refresher on how brisket is made and sold. Conservatively, it costs a barbecue joint about $10 to produce a pound of high-grade brisket. This includes the wholesale price of raw brisket, the loss incurred when trimming and cooking it and other expenses, like salt and pepper and the wood needed to cook it. 
In order to cover the other costs of running a restaurant, specifically labor and overhead like rent, the pitmaster needs to sell that brisket at three times the cost, i.e. $30. This is just to break even. 
Over the last few years, pitmasters have determined that consumers, at least in Texas, have a price ceiling of about $30 per pound when it comes to buying brisket. Some joints are trying to squeeze out a small profit by selling at $32-$34 per pound. 
So, barbecue joints are stuck selling their most popular menu item either at a loss or just to break even. You don’t need to be a math whiz to realize this is unsustainable. 
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Armchair beef economists may note that the price of raw brisket goes up and down all the time, so what’s the big deal? Indeed, in the past, a spike in beef prices would result in a commiserate increase in barbecue joint brisket prices. When that spike passed and the cost went down, the barbecue joint left their price the same (usually temporarily) to recoup some of the lost profit that happened during the spike. 
No harm, no foul, right? Well, the problem in the last few years is the raw cost of beef isn’t coming back down, or at least not enough. The wholesale price of Prime grade brisket continues to hover in the $4-$6 per pound range, resulting in a stubbornly high total cost of $8-$12. 
Why is the price not coming down? This is the subject of endless debate, but it comes down to Texas barbecue being a victim of its own success. As barbecue has expanded both nationally and internationally, the demand for beef in general and brisket in particular has remained high. 
Additionally, other industry stakeholders, such as cattlemen, have accused the biggest meatpacking companies of colluding to keep beef prices artificially high. In the absence of government intervention in this alleged collusion, or a collapse in demand for beef, prices are expected to remain high. 
Barbecue joint owners and pitmasters are looking at the numbers and looking for a solution. One obvious solution is simply to not sell a product at a loss. In other words, just take brisket off the menu and replace it with something else.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Unfortunately, there aren’t many substitutes for brisket in terms of flavor and tenderness. Beef cheek has been substituted in some cases, though the economics of that cut has its own challenges. 
For now, pitmasters are stuck selling an unprofitable product. To be sure, brisket won’t disappear from menus anytime soon. But as new menu items are developed and consumer tastes evolve, something else may replace brisket as a Texas barbecue staple. 
 
 

It’s fairly simple. Learn how to cook fucking choice or select grade briskets the way OG pit guys did it and still do it. Railhead and David’s sell very good sliced brisket for less than $20 a pound. Last time I was at Railhead the brisket was $17.50 lb. Chopped $13.50. Same as their great salami. And they have killer fries and ice cold beer.

This is the way. Get back to roots smoking scraps and problem cuts expertly and give up all this crafts farm prime meat.
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On 2/8/2024 at 3:06 PM, DallasSooner said:

Meh, if you eat at Rudy's on the regular you know they call their chopped beef "spicy chop".  I had one the other day on a road trip.  Not a bad sandwich for under $10. 

Rudy's is fine if you stick to a sandwich or stuffed potato.  I made the mistake of getting sliced brisket there once last year, and even though it was inexpensive, it was awful and a waste of money.  Rudy's is perfectly fine for what it is, and I am to blame for trying to order there like it was something more than that.

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Yeah it's really something they've brought on themselves, they don't HAVE to use prime and their race to the bottom of profit margins is entirely their own fault.
 

The crazy increase in overhead with folks building massive structures with big staffs is dumb too. No enterprise has more negative factors impacting profitability. Food costs, labor, fuel, rent, everything just costs more.

Growing up most Texas barbecue was a roadside shack with an old dude selling some “beef” (what was it? Shoulder clods? Brisket? Knuckles?), chicken, and sausage. Bags of chips on a rack. Cokes in an ancient machine that were somehow colder than 32 but still liquid. That’s it. Or a diner in town that served it as a special on a plate lunch with vegetables. Or a little shop on the square or across the tracks on the black side of town. Always owner operated.

I think there is a bubble busting. It’s not just the financial pressure. It’s hard fucking work. Derek Allen had award winning barbecue and opened a joint in the medical district (where Hurtado is now). He and his super hot wife ran it hard, and had to keep adding hours like breakfast, then evening hours, and it just burned him out. He shut it down blaming the lifestyle it inflicts. It’s why I respect the Goldee’s model. Three days. Open til sold out. Done.
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39 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Growing up most Texas barbecue was a roadside shack with an old dude selling some “beef” (what was it? Shoulder clods? Brisket? Knuckles?), chicken, and sausage. Bags of chips on a rack. Cokes in an ancient machine that were somehow colder than 32 but still liquid.

Salivating Homer Simpson GIF

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Admittedly, I am not experienced in running a restaurant, but I don't really understand the 3X cost model.  Let's say brisket used to cost $3/lb, and that price has spiked to $5/lb.  It would seem that the selling price would only need to go up $2/lb to cover that cost increase.  However, the argument is that total cost went from (say) $9 to $11 per pound, so the selling price has to go from $27 to $33 per pound.

The only explanation I can come up with is that ALL costs rose a similar amount, not just the cost of the meat.  That makes sense in a time of high inflation, but blaming the price increase only on the cost of the meat is wrong.

I am the definition of the "armchair beef economist" referenced in the article, so there you go.

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On 2/10/2024 at 4:38 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

Is City Meat Market in Giddings any good? Recommendations on what to order? 

We ate there fairly recently on the way back to Austin from Houston.  You’re far better off eating at Truth in Brenham if they are open.  
 

it was pretty ordinary and about as interesting as cue from a charity fundraiser.  

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1 hour ago, Mittens said:

Man, it feels like they moved into that brand new building less than 5yrs ago, but I'm guessing they were there a bit longer. 

In 2017 they were operating out of a portable building while they were building the new brick and mortar behind it.  So your timeline is pretty close - probably 6 years.

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