Royers Round Top Cafe

My wife and I enjoyed a great weekend retreat in Round Top, Texas. This is a neat town in between Austin & Houston. It's about 8 miles south of 290. Round Top consists of lots of scenic farms, bed & breakfasts, antique show venues and The International Festival-Institute. It's a great, relaxing place to spend a weekend or a lifetime if you can swing it.

On Friday night, we started off our weekend quite well at Royers Round Top Cafe. I was sitting on a bench in front of the restaurant waiting for my wife, when Bud "the Pieman" Royer walked out of the restaurant and joined me in a pleasant 5 or 10 minute conversation. We talked about the restaurant and the cities where we both had lived. I could tell within 5 seconds that Bud was a very friendly man.

My wife and I went in and both enjoyed our meals. I had Todd's Pork Tenderloin which was a 10oz grilled pork tenderloin topped with a peach & pepper glaze. For my sides, I had the mashed potato casserole and creamed-corn. Then, we were faced with one of the hardest decisions we've had in a long time. We had to decide what type of pie we'd have for dessert. If you've ever seen the pies, you'd know why this is a tough decision. We decided on Bud's Chocolate Chip pie with ice cream on top. Everything was delicious and the pie was "out of this world" incredible.

During dinner, we read about the history of the Royers Round Top Cafe and learned about the Royer family. They're a tight-knit group that appear to have never known a stranger. As we left the restaurant we passed by Bud who was visiting at a table with some of his customers. I was amazed that Bud still remembered my name as he thanked us for coming by.

On Sunday afternoon, we went back to the cafe to pick up a pie to go. As we entered in, we found Bud sitting again at a table with his friends (customers). I was even more impressed when after 2 days of originally meeting each other, Bud still remembered by name. It's no surprise why this cafe has been such a success. When you go there, I bet you'll enjoy the food just as much as I did and you'll feel at home too.

NOTE: I typically blog about BBQ restaurants and roadtrips. Eventhough Royers Round Top Cafe is not a BBQ restaurant, I had to write about it. It's definitely worth checking out. The food is great. The Roadtrip scenery is beautiful. And Bud embodies the laid-back, friendliness that goes along with eating great BBQ.

Top 10 BBQ Restaurants Around Austin

A friend from Austin checked out my blog and then asked me, "what are the top 10 BBQ restaurants in and around Austin?" This is a profound question, because in answering this question, you could make the argument that you would then basically know the top 10 BBQ restaurants in Texas, the top 10 BBQ restaurants in the USA and the top 10 BBQ restaurants in the World. Here's my attempt at starting a top 10 BBQ list for the Austin area. I'm short a couple of names and would like some help finishing out the list.

1) Kreuz Market - Lockhart
2) Smitty's Market - Lockhart
3) Louie Mueller Barbecue - Taylor
4) Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-b-que - Llano
5) Schoepf's - Belton
6) City Meat Market - Giddings
7) Salt Lick - Driftwood
8) Opie's - Spicewood

Notice that all of the names above are outside the Austin city limits. It might just be time for a BBQ Roadtrip.

Who else belongs on the list? Cast your vote(s) in the "Comments" section.

Update on Cooper's BBQ

In a previous post, I talked about Cooper's BBQ in Llano, Tx.
It's been brought to my attention that there is now a Cooper's BBQ in New Braunfels, Tx. I'm thinking this has made a lot of the folks who travel between Austin and San Antonio a lot happier. I'm also thinking that Cooper's is probably one business that is virtually recession proof. Assuming that's the case, it would be great for Cooper's to make an entry into the Houston market. If I can't buy stock in that venture, I'll at least buy the first Big Chop that comes off the pit!!!

Dreamland BBQ

About 15 years ago, a friend & I were driving from Austin to South Carolina to go to a friend's wedding. I was already thinking about trying as much BBQ on roadtrips as possible back then. We charted our course through East Texas and tried a BBQ joint that I had read about for lunch. I don't remember the name of that place, but I do remember that I wasn't too impressed. We kept on driving. Several hundred miles and one ticket later we ended up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at Dreamland BBQ at about 9pm. This is the original Dreamland BBQ and the place was packed with people, neat sports memorabilia from the University of Alabama and the smell of good food.

I walked up to the counter and a large African-American lady asked us if we "wanted a slab for one or a slab for two?" I asked her if she had a menu and she said, "honey, this is a rib joint, ribs is all we got!" That made my decision a lot easier at 9pm, after a long day of driving. I said, "alright then, we'll have a slab for two." A few minutes later and out came our slab for two. I bit into my first rib and noticed that the BBQ sauce on the ribs was not for someone with wimpy lips or a stomach that couldn't handle a bit of spice. It took me about 2.5 of those pork ribs to feel like I could actually enjoy my next bite. I finished the rest of my slab of ribs.

If you happen to be from another team in the SEC, put your differences aside and give the original Dreamland BBQ a try. If you can't make the pilgrimage to Tuscaloosa, you'll find Dreamland in other spots around Alabama & Georgia.

Updates on Clem Mikeska's & Schoepf's BBQ

I spent 10 days recently in the Central Texas area. In that time I ate at Clem's 3 times and Schoepf's 4 times. Don't tell my cardiologist about that. My cholesterol levels don't need that type of help. Anyway, Clem's new building provides a first class BBQ eating environment. Up along the walls are a wide array of hunting trophies keeping an eye on you while you eat. In addition to this location in Temple, Clem's BBQ can also be found in Belton, Killeen and Cameron. For more info go to: http://www.clembbq.com/
Schoepf's apparently found out about Clem's construction project and they are doing some renovating themselves. They've expanded their dining area and now have a good sized room in the back where you can breathe the fresh Belton air if it's not too hot outside. Schoepf's always satisfies & has never dissappointed me. For more info on Schoepf's go to: http://www.schoepfsbbq.com/

Clem Mikeska's Barbecue - Temple, Tx

Clem Mikeska's Barbecue in Temple is a great place to stop as you're traveling between Austin and Dallas. It's been at it's current location on South 57th Street for many years. The Temple Daily Telegram (June 17, 2007) says "Clem Mikeska's Barbecue will relocate a few feet to the west." "Also, after the successful launch of a barbecue restaurant in Cameron, the family is planning to open restaurants in Belton and Killeen." It sounds like there will be more of Clem's BBQ to go around. Clem's current location is filled with a variety of animal mounts on the walls & pictures of Clem with politicians and other famous folks. Clem's has good meats. Their beef is not the typical brisket cut. They serve Sirloin and it's really tasty. Check it out.

Texas Prize Barbecue - Hearne, Tx

The last few times that I had traveled on highway 6 through Hearne, I saw what appeared to be a new BBQ restaurant. Curiosity got the best of me and I went in to check this new BBQ joint out. It's called, "Texas Prize Barbecue" and is at 503 South Market (Hwy 6) in Hearne. I was told they smoke their meats with either oak or pecan wood. I enjoyed a tasty rib, tender brisket and some of Slovacek's jalepeno and cheese sausage. Their warm German potato salad was also unique and tasty. There's plenty of room at Texas Prize, so unload the bus and give these new guys a shot.