Restaurant Review: Hill Country Barbeque Market

I don't think classifying this post as a restaurant review is really accurate.  I think a more accurate categorization might be "ode to barbeque " or "prayer to the gods of fat and flavor." In short (and certainly in blasphemy), blessed are those who eat this barbeque.

We chose Hill Country Barbeque Market to celebrate the birthday of a coworker, S.  Her December 29th birthday screws her in the work celebration department since our office is a ghost town the week between Christmas and the New Year.  To make it up to her and also to relive some of the delicious barbeque we've enjoyed together on Southwest border travels, our little Communications team decided to give this place a try.

When I walked in, I was surprised by how large the restaurant is for occupying what looks like only a small store-front on 7th Street in the busy and crowded Penn Quarter neighborhood of DC. But this New York based barbeque joint is definitely trying to channel the "everything is bigger in Texas" vibe and does so pretty successfully.  I was also surprised to realize that while I made a reservation ahead of time, it's not a sit-down restaurant.  Once seated, you're each given a card with the menu on it.  When you've decided what you want you walk up to the counters and order, receive your food on a tray and take it back to your table.

Because we're good food sharers and like to try everything (READ: we're gluttons for the right food), S, V, and I decided to each choose one combo from the lunch specials list and have them throw it all together.  Together we chose a Brisket, Chicken and Rib Special, a Brisket Chomp Special and a Kruez Sausage Special.  The meat, wrapped all together in paper right there in front of us, totaled one-quarter pound lean-brisket, a half-pound moist brisket, a quarter of a chicken, one-third of a pound of jalapeno cheese sausage, and a large pork spare rib.  Each combo also came with a side of cornbread with ancho-honey butter and an 8 ounce side.  That meant between us we had three sides.  And here comes the real gluttony. We couldn't make do with just three because the Long Horn Cheddar Mac & Cheese looked too good for just one side so we added an extra to be able to try the Campfire Baked Beans with Burnt Ends and the Corn Pudding.  All unwrapped at the table, this was the spread for three people.

I'd like to say there were leftovers, but I'd be lying.  We laid waste to our meal, leaving only a few bits of lean brisket and pork rib and maybe all of three bites of our sides.  But this food was phenomenal.  We've all been to Texas and had real barbeque.  This may have lacked the smoke that you get there with outside smokers (you can't do that in downtown DC), but otherwise, it brought all the flavors we've come to expect from real barbeque.  The moist brisket fell apart on your fork, the chicken was so juicy I nearly spattered it on the guy sitting to my left and then there was the sausage.  I don't know what it is about us and sausage, but every time it's ordered it's enjoyed above all else.  I've written about this before.

The sides were, for the most part, the same great combination of flavors (and, let's be honest, a whole lot of fat). The mac and cheese was rich and creamy. Having been made with penne rigate, every furrow of every noodle seemed to soak up the cheese sauce.  The corn pudding was a surprising favorite.  A dish I at least had never tried, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't mushy. Instead, the texture was a juxtaposition of still crisp corn kernels and a creamy pudding base.  And the natural sweetness from the corn was played up with just the right amount of salt. The last side, the baked beans, didn't wow me.  They were good, but not something I'd go back for.  Next time, it's all about the corn pudding!

By the time we cashed out, there was a lot of grumbling about how full we were and more than a little wondering about how we'd manage to stay awake for the remainder of the work day.  Somehow we managed it, but I don't think I'll be going back to Hill Country for lunch.  This will have to be dinner next time and it will have to be only as a special treat if I want my pants to continue to fit.

Texas tasty

The second week of August brought more travel, this time to the Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost part of Texas and usually one of my least favorite places to visit. My preference for, well, anywhere else, comes from the fact that for about six months of every year this place is hotter than the lobby of hell. Yes, I travel to lots of hot places since my work takes me all over the American Southwest. But there is nothing like the perfect storm of humidity and heat found in this southernmost part of the United States. Couple this with the fact that we stay quite close to the U.S.-Mexico border, which means that safety is always a consideration, and you find me wishing for the garden spots that are San Diego or Orange County. I’d take Indianapolis or Dallas as improvements even.

But like it or not, I had to go. The work we had going on was critical to the success of our program. And I had my comms team traveling with me. These are phenomenal people, who, in addition to wowing me all the time with their commitment to the mission and work, are a blast! Oh, and they dig food the same way I do. Score!

The Rio Grande Valley is not rife with fine dining establishments, but there are a couple of things they do and do well – barbeque and tex-mex. We dug into plenty of both in the four days we were there.

Our first afternoon we needed to do a short lunch and get quickly back to work. With some help from some local contacts, we chose Rudy’s. This walk-up BBQ place makes their own turkey, sausage, brisket, you name it, every morning. It may be quick and easy, but there’s no shortage of flavor. Since Rudy’s is actually a small Texas chain, I’ve been to the one in El Paso a couple of times and I know I love their brisket. I prefer to try new things when repeating a restaurant, but I got stuck managing an issue on the phone while waiting in line so when I got up to the window I started to order what I knew. I scarcely got the words, “brisket sandwich” from my mouth, when one of my traveling cohorts in crime nearly squeals, “No, you have to get the turkey – it’s amazing – try it!!” Hanging up the phone, I begged the guy behind the counter for a sample of this “amazing” turkey. Wow! Not disappointed. The best, most tender and moist turkey I’ve ever had with an intense smoky flavor that made it BBQy and not Thanksgivingy.

By the time all of us had ordered, and there were nearly a dozen of us, there were meat sandwiches of every variety being consumed around picnic style tables. The same coworker who had talked me into the turkey had also ordered a house-made jalapeno sausage. Listening to the love affair she was having with it, I had to try it too and stole a bite. Wow, again! For a place that let’s you get in and out with a big group for under $12 per person, this place skimps on nothing. Great first lunch and culinary start to our trip.

Our work, which involved public meetings in the evenings, found us eating dinner on the fly, sucking down whatever takeout was close by and easy. So it wasn’t until lunch on Tuesday that we found our way back to another blog-quality food stop. While we still hadn’t had a chance to chow down on some local tex-mex, our location was prime to try Fat Daddy’s, another homestyle BBQ place.

A shot of the menu. It’s a good thing it’s lamenated, there’s a lot of

BBQ sauce floating around this place.

Let me start by saying that what I ate at this restaurant could not have been undone by my run that morning or the following, but it was worth every bite. Again, we came in with a large group of about 15. We crammed ourselves around two picnic style tables in one corner of the tin-roofed restaurant. The menu is huge. Nearly everything is made with some variety of slow-roasted or BBQed meat, again, all made in-house. On top of the menu, they had daily specials - specials that we couldn’t resist. Several of us ordered the chicken fried chicken. Served with mashed potatoes, a side salad and more homemade chicken gravy than you could ever dream of, it was amazing. This place is also known for their enormous burgers. Since no one could choose just one thing, there was a lot of sharing happening around the table.

 

Mmm. Chicken fried chicken. Try not to think about just how bad this was for me.

The larger than life burger.

It was truly miraculous that anyone could stand up when we were done, let alone go back to work for the remainder of the afternoon.

We managed to keep ourselves very busy from our enormous lunch well into the evening. We finally finished up with our work at about 830. By this time, even we were starting to get hungry again and since both our major initiatives for the week had gone very well, everyone was in the mood to celebrate. One of the local leadership suggested that we try out Costa Messa, a local tex-mex spot in McAllen. So it was agreed.

We descended on this place with a group of 20 at nearly 9PM on a Tuesday. Many small town restaurants would not have been able to accommodate such a group. But through their flexibility, my muddled Spanish (it’s not uncommon to find restaurants in South Texas where few if any staff speak English) and the saving-grace fluent Spanish of another coworker, we got our group set up to enjoy a late dinner.

After the lunch we’d had, a couple of coworkers and I decided that our best bet was to choose two small items and split them between the three of us. It’s a good thing we did, too. We placed our orders expecting to enjoy tacos de cazuela (tacos filled with meat that has been braised in the Spanish version of a dutch oven) and enchiladas de pollo (chicken enchiladas). We did enjoy both dishes tremendously. In fact, the tacos de cazeula were the best, most authentic tacos I’ve had in the U.S. However, as a group of 20, we didn’t count on people ordering appetizers to share with the whole table. But you cannot say no when queso, melted with jalapenos and chorizo, materializes in front of you. Nor is no an option for table-side prepared gaucamole de molcajete. I’m sorry there are no pictures of this delicious fare, I was too tired and preoccupied to remember my camera. But needless to say, we’ll be going back here the next time we’re in the Rio Grande Valley.

It was a productive and delicious trip filled with good food and good company.  In the end, I couldn't even remember my usual list of gripes about traveling to South Texas.  Thanks, Rio Grande Valley, I'll be back!

Dry-rubbed ribs or how to turn procrastination into something delicious

This weekend I brought home a four-inch stack of work. And because that's just how exciting my life is, working my way through the stack has eaten up my entire weekend.  I am still an inch and half and several emails from finished and it all has to be done before I go to work tomorrow, but I can't take it anymore. I have to divert my attention! What better way, therefore, to procrastinate completing my momentous pile of work than to play with new food items.  I snagged some baby back ribs on "sale" at Whole Foods this morning and decided to create a BBQ masterpiece with some store-bought Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and a spice rub made only with items I have on hand.  This latter component is not that impressive considering most of the spice aisle resides in my cabinets, but it was still fun to play with my various viles of spicy goodness.

Here we go...

Ingredients
4 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
3/4 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 slab (approx 2 lbs) baby back ribs

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well with a fork, break up any lumps in the brown sugar.  Cut your slab of ribs in half.  Place each 1/2 slab on a large piece of aluminum foil, shiny side down.  Brush both sides of each half slab with canola oil.  Coat the meat on both sides with the spice rub, patting it into the meat.

Close the aluminum foil around the ribs like a pouch. Place on a baking sheet and place in the preheated over for about 2 hours. Twenty minutes before the ribs are ready to come out, preheat your grill to hot.  After two hours, remove the ribs from the oven and carefully unfold the aluminum foil to expose the ribs.  Be careful, there will be built up steam so make sure to use oven mitts.  The ribs should look something like this...

 

Your grill should be preheated by now.  Brush as much BBQ sauce as you like onto the ribs. We like a lot so I go for it in big globs.  Place on the grill, concave side down until the ribs begin to develop nice grill lines and some charring.  Continue to baste with BBQ sauce.  Flip the ribs to the convex side and continue grilling.  Once both sides are nicely charred, it's time to eat!