So this blog has been a long time coming. Back in my
old life there was a song that expressed at least part of what has been going
on in my life over the last couple of years as expressed by that hot drink
cooler Ice Cube: "Where you been? On a little vacation.
Oh by the way here's the situation . . ." and of course that's where I
have to leave it and oh by the way HERE'S the situation: I've been on a hiatus
from writing so to speak, a vacation if you will from exploring restaurants out
in the Great State of Texas. Due to being stuck in San Angelo and not
really being overly excited with a list of great choices to write about I just
haven't. I know, I know. I can hear the cacophony of cackling choir members
saying "but AFR what about The Grill, Cork and Pig, Concho Pearl, Zero One
Ale House, and the other places here in San Angelo that have great
food?" My answer is that I love a lot of the stuff at all these
places but I've been hungry. Hungry for something that is other worldly
amazing. I wanted all my wildest dreams to come true.
I've been hoping to find some good BBQ in San Angelo to write about and living here most of my life I've come to realize that San Angelo isn't a BBQ mecca. We've got some BBQ joints that I would say are generic at best. Some of them have some enjoyable morsels but just aren't quite up to spec with some of the top 50 bastions of BBQ. I feel as if I've been in a BBQ desert the last couple of years here in my hometown. When the opportunity presented itself to get to one or more of the Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas in Texas Monthly I took it. I used to subscribe to the magazine many moons ago before I started this quest for quality Q. Now I just buy the one issue with the Top 50 in it when it comes out. One of the joints on the list is Miller's Smokehouse and since we were in the Belton area I figured we'd have to go and test their BBQ mettle. Reviews ranked this place high and I was excited to try something deemed worthy of Texas Monthly's list. Let me just say that I wasn't able to get the full experience as they ran out of ribs by the time we got there. Ribs aren't really my bag but I try them to get the full experience. I'm a brisket man. I love to find those places that know what they're doing when it comes to the toughest of all meats to cook. If you can't BBQ a brisket then I don't really have much respect for your establishment. Pork is easy to cook. It doesn't take a whole lot of skill. Brisket on the other hand is a different story. I don't say this from a critical standpoint but from the many years of doing this for my family, friends, and for the parties I've catered. Many Q Joints have gotten into the habit of buying these electrical or propane smokers and most of the time turn out stuff that's pretty lacking in the taste department without drowning their meat in BBQ sauce. If you can't eat it without the sauce then you might as well feed it to the dog. They won't mind and you won't have to put up with tasteless meat. With that being said, I'll tell you that the king of all BBQ meats at Miller's did not disappoint. My family and I ordered a few different things. I had a combination plate with brisket and sausage (no ribs because the guy next to me took them all) with beans and potato salad. The brisket had just the right resistance as I pulled it apart. "Oh don't be coy with me little brisket," I thought to myself. "Come to papa!" As I put it into my mouth, I realized that I had made one of the best choices in the history of my life. Perfect smoke ring, perfect tug, perfect fat rendering, perfect tenderness, but yes I had a complaint. I'm not letting them off that easy. My $12 plate only had one slice of brisket on it. ONE. You ever heard that song? "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. Two can be as bad as one" NO, it can't! Not in this case. Portion size of this plate may be more along the line of true serving sizes. Is the BBQ industry caving to the first lady's food policing? Is there some Washington D.C. whiner telling folks that we're too fat so we have to cut portions back? Probably not. Brisket is so expensive (as beef is in general) nowadays and so I'm a little more understanding about the meat part of it. That brisket was so good I could have eaten 10 slices of it right then and there. No. Questions. Asked. Their homemade sausage was also very good and we tried the Jalapeno Cheddar and the Plain. Both very tasty with a very fine grind. I do prefer a coarser grind but it was very tasty. Potato salad was also very good. Textured with potato peel and a few other goodies like onions and pickles, it was the one thing on my plate I had plenty of but would have liked more. The one thing I can say that didn't compliment the rest of the plate was the beans. The beans had a very odd flavor and there were very few of them thank God. Not a lot of pepper or salt and a bit of a tangy taste. I'm glad it was the beans and not the brisket. I didn't go for the beans anyhow! My family grabbed a few different things and as is our custom we shared so we could all taste a little of everything. My wife had BBQ Chicken and it was very tasty. Caringly kissed with a light smokiness not in the least bit overwhelming. I'd buy that. My boys had sandwiches. JJ had the sausage and Jonah the brisket. Kandra had the lean brisket and the plain sausage, both also very good. One of the two other sides was buttered potatoes that reminded me of the hot potato salad at Salt Lick. My son JJ called them "nice" potatoes when describing them. The coleslaw was also a quality offering and my wife seemed to enjoy it very much. At this point I was very satisfied with the quality of the meats we had eaten and there were gold stars to go around for the pit masters and the kitchen staff.
TANGENT TIME: One of the kitchen staff reminded me of my BBQ Brother Daniel Pool. Daniel and I talk about BBQ at work on a regular basis and I've come to trust his judgment in this area. The guy behind the line had a handlebar mustache so I knew we were in good hands. Daniel would have appreciated this guy's epic look. If you've ever seen the www.artofmanliness.com you'll know just what I mean. I'm tempted to grow one myself as a show of solidarity with my brethren.
"Back to the lecture at hand" (quote lifted from the D R E): I totally agreed that this place should be in the top 50 and as this was no longer in question I had to make the meal complete. We typically try an appetizer, an entree, and dessert when we go out to do reviews. I missed the appetizer but we did get some of the most scrumptious dessert I've ever tasted. We had a moist chocolate cake that made me wanna get up and dance but alas my wife and children held me down as the people next to us looked on in horror. My wife ordered a Hurricane Cake that can only be described as next level dessert magic. Chocolate encasing coconut and cream cheese in perfect balance. I thought my cake was good. WOW. After I ordered some additional brisket and sausage for later in the evening I ran into Mama Miller as we were walking out and I told her how great the desserts were she touched my arm and said, "Thank you honey." I could tell she was a nurturing soul. I had a great experience there and I would highly recommend Miller's Smokehouse in Belton. This BBQ is the real deal. Like my friend Willie P. says, "Check it out fo yo ownself.! http://www.wildmillers.com/
