By: Julie Blakley | May 13 2010
Posted in Find It - Driftwood, TX

Eating delicious barbecue was definitely on my priority list during a recent trip I made to Austin, Texas. Besides experiencing Austin’s nightlife and enjoying the live music, I knew eating a big piece of smoked meat was an absolute must while visiting the Lone Star state.

Photo: Julie Blakley

When I told my friend, an Austin resident, about my plan to eat barbecue, she suggested making a 45 minute pilgrimage outside of Austin to the legendary Salt Lick Barbecue in Driftwood, Texas. Some may raise their eyebrows about having to drive that far for barbecue (especially when you’re in a town with plenty of other choices inside the city limits), but because I’m always down for a road trip and had heard amazing things about the Salt Lick, I eagerly agreed.

Not only was the drive beautiful, through low rolling hills in the country, but the food was worth every minute we spent in the car. As we pulled into the parking lot, the aroma of smoked meat was already filling our nostrils and making us more than eager to chow down on the legendary Texas barbecue.

Even at 3 p.m., the Salt Lick was packed on the sunny February day when we arrived. The place is BYOB, and patrons are encouraged to bring their own coolers full of beer to help pass the time as they wait for a table among century-old oak trees or to enjoy at the large picnic style tables with dinner.

The menu at the Salt Lick is simple—a few barbecue sandwiches, family-style plates with heaping helpings of beef, sausage, and pork ribs, served with potato salad, coleslaw, beans, bread, pickles, and onions, or smaller individual plates with your choice of two meats (beef, sausage, pork ribs, turkey and chicken in season) served with all the same fixins as the family-style plates.

The best part about the Salt Lick? The tender, falling-off-the-bone meat and the tangy, spicy (not too sweet), barbecue sauce that was slathered on the meat. (I think it's my favorite barbecue sauce I've had to date). The peach cobbler served a la mode for dessert also wasn't too shabby.

Find the Salt Lick and see if it lives up to the hype (and make sure you bring cash, the restaurant is cash-only):

18300 FM 1826
Driftwood, TX 78619
Hours: Open every day 11am to 9pm

What's your favorite BBQ joint?