Catching up on some BBQ Blogging — Elgin, TX (pronounced with a hard ‘G’) is famous for bricks and barbecue and is said by the Chamber of Commerce to be the “Sausage Capital of Texas.”
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Elgin (about 25 miles east of Austin) to try a BBQ joint that I’ve heard rave reviews about, but had never tried — Crosstown BBQ.
Frankly, I don’t know what all the raving was about, as I had one of the most disappointing bbq experiences I’ve had in quite some time.
The Joint
Crosstown BBQ is housed in a red corrugated tin building next to the railroad tracks off the main road through town. It’s set up cafeteria-style, and the meat is served from warming trays rather than right off the pit.
The interior is uhm…minimalistic…with composite-board walls, trophies, old newspaper articles, and animal heads hanging on them.
I arrived around 1:30 — so just a bit after the lunch crowd had thinned out. The service was indifferent, and they were out of ice tea.
The Meat
I ordered a half lb of brisket and a link — when the server opened the lid with the ribs in it, they looked like they had been in there for a while, so I skipped on them:
The brisket had potential — another case of BBQ that is probably pretty damned good if you’re lucky enough to get it right off the pit. The flavor was about average, but meat that has been sitting in a warming tray tends to lose a lot of the hot smoky juice that really makes for excellent brisket.
Within just a few minutes, my brisket was cold and dry.
The sausage was good but not great. And in Elgin, you expect nothing less than the World’s Best Sausage. This wasn’t anywhere close.
Bad brisket can often be made better with a good sauce — the thin red vinegary hot sauce that I prefer for brisket was not very good, either. Too thin, too watery, and not enough cayenne.
Even the beans were disappointing — they tried to do too much with the herbs and spices…too much something…maybe bay leaves. But they weren’t very good.
It’s typically don’t judge a bbq joint by a single bad experience — but with the always-outstanding Southside Market (my review coming shortly) being just a few blocks away, I doubt I’ll make a return trip to Crosstown.
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SUMMARY — The general feeling that I got from Crosstown was one of indifference — it just felt like they didn’t care. Elgin’s really not a destination town. It’s somewhere you pass through on your way to or from Austin. If you are heading into Austin and want to try some great BBQ, I’d recommend Southside BBQ in Elgin over Crosstown. Especially if you want great sausage.
While I have never been to Crosstown, my friends that live in Elgin rave about it, and I have eaten their brisket and found it quite good.
That’s why there are so many BBQ places in Texas, everyone can have their favorites and finding the favorites is fun.
For an example, I found Cooper’s in Llano to be uninspired, and the brisket there reminded me of pot roast, it looked boiled instead of smoked. Others have found it to be great.
Any BBQ is a good excuse for a motorcycle ride.
Left by George on November 21st, 2007 at 11:30 am