The Perry Brothers 2011 Texas BBQ Tour, Pt. 3 - Day 1

    My apologies for the hiatus in posting, but due to hospital time and computer BS I've just now got around to photoshopping pics, etc., etc. Upon arrival at the Austin airport, my bud Charles picked me up and we were on our way to Mann's Smokehouse. I hate it when people don't keep their website up to date. When we got there, the sign said 'New Hours - Closed on Monday'.
   I said, 'let's just go to Iron Works'. And we did, and here's a gander at the Brisket Plate and the Sausage Plate. Iron Works is kind of like 'maintenance' BBQ - it'll get you through until you reach a higher destination. Their meat is consistent, the sides are OK and the sauce is passable, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. This was a stopgap measure to keep Charles from gnawing on his arm.
   From there we headed to Gabe and Stepha's apartment complex to chill for a while, have a little bourbon and get ready for our next stop, The Salt Lick.
   The Salt Lick is an institution in the Austin area, and about a 1/2 hour drive southwest to Driftwood, TX. It's a huge complex with two dining areas and on this night they were using the large banquet room.You can see the pit the minute you step through the door and it's a thing of beauty.
   What I like is, they offer a Senior Plate with smaller portions, and I was still somewhat full from Iron Works. Charles opted for the Rib/Link Plate and I chose the Rib/Brisket Plate. They have a unique mustard-based sauce which is actually pretty good. The rib was a little fatty and greasy, but the brisket was tender and tasty. The links were so-so. The potato salad was more of the German style, with a bit of vinegar and little or no
mayo, and the slaw and beans were adequate.
   The Salt Lick is BYOB and you can bring a keg if you like, which any number of UT students will do when they have a large gathering. This is a must-visit BBQ.

The Perry Brothers 2011 Texas BBQ Tour, Pt. 2

   First let me say that my computer isn't allowing me to bring up Kodak Easyshare, so I won't have pictures from our tour until that's fixed.
   BBQ is a hotbed of debate. Every Q'er will say his style is the best, the area where he's from is the best and most authentic, and so on and so on. I'm from KC and I like that style the best. Trust me, I've been to North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. They all have merits of their own and something they tend to focus on as a specialty. In KC, it's ribs; in North Carolina, it's chopped pork - they say in the old days a lot of people had bad teeth and needed meat they could easily chew on; in Tennessee, it's pulled pork and ribs; in Georgia, it's pulled pork, and in Texas it's brisket.
   One of the main factors in BBQ is the cooking method. Do you cook with low indirect heat or right over the coals? I'm an indirect guy when using a standard BBQ grill. When I smoke, I use a Weber Bullet with a water basin to provide moisture and I never let the heat rise above 220 degrees. In Texas, they use huge cast iron 'pits' and cook over mesquite or post oak coals. And while the meat is usually tender, it's also somewhat dry, especially with the brisket. I noticed too that nobody slices the brisket at an angle, which is what you normally do with tough cuts of meat like brisket, tri-tip and flank steak. A lot of Texans boast that they don't need sauce 'cuz we ain't got nuthin' to hide.' I'm happy to say that we had any number of sauces that were quite good, but not as good as Gate's from KC. You do need sauce for Texas style brisket.
   Another thing Texans pride themselves on is sausage. With a large population of Germans and Czechs, you've got sausage coming out of your ears. The one thing I noticed was the grind used in a lot of the sausage we tried was fine, not coarse. This results in a texture not unlike Slim Jims. Also, a number seemed to have a low fat content, resulting in dryness.
   As for sides, we found some real winners, such as the Tater Tot Casserole with Onion Rings and Cheese at Opie's in Spicewood, and the Creamed Corn at Black's in Lockhart. Most of the potato salad was the generic variety you buy from wholesale food dealers. A lot of places include beans with your meal and most of these were unexciting, cooked with pork fat and little seasoning.
   Be patient and we'll have those pics up hopefully this weekend.

The Perry Brothers 2011 Texas BBQ Tour, Pt. 1

  Wherever I go, people ask me, 'who are the Perry Brothers?' What do they stand for? Are they members of the Bilderberg Group? Will their culinary escapades affect the future eating habits of my children? Due to reasons of National Security, I cannot answer any of these questions. All I may say is that Charles W. Hardy was born in Perry, GA, and attended the University of Georgia in Athens, where he majored in Animal Husbandry - until they caught him. He left under a small dark cloud and arrived in San Francisco, CA on June 10th, 1978. William M. Eichinger was born in Perry, MO, and attended the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He was accused of masterminding the theft of a suckling pig at the 1st Annual Tito Gazar Jazz Festival, at the home of one Fat Ida. He arrived in San Francisco on June 10th, 1970. The coincidences of the Birth Place names and Arrival dates in SFCA cannot be ignored, and there are some who have attempted to explain them through certain forms of Kabbalistic Divination and Anthropomancy; the results are not available to the uninitiated. Be that as it may, one should be aware that there is honesty and sincerity in the words they speak, upon whatever topic they choose.
Sincerely,
Lance Goodthrust, publicist and Perry Brothers chronicler

The Chili Dog will be on vacation from 5/4 to 5/15/11

Product Evaluation

   Whenever I make a supply run to BevMo, I invariably check the snack section. At right, my recent selection of two products I hadn't seen before. I'm pretty much a Casa Sanchez Organic chip kinda guy, and I still am after trying these. First off, what's with the name? You name something 'aunts'? (presuming it's Spanish). Secondly, I don't like foodstuffs that leave some schmutz all over my hand, like those Fiery Cheetos that turn your fingers a nice of red. Remind me to tell you the joke about the guy with the orange penis. Lastly, it's just impossible to impart a decent salsa picante flavor to chips.
   As for the queso, it doesn't hold a candle to Tostito's brand, if you must buy a ready made product.

Universal Cafe - 2814 19th St. at Bryant, SFCA

    A nice way to start Saturday is being a guest of friends at brunch. My friends Rachel and Justin treated me and turned me onto a new place that I might not have heard of if not for them. Tucked away in a corner of the erstwhile dot.com gulch, the Universal is turning out some great food. It may be a bit pricier than the Pork Store, but the quality is better.
   At the top, Justin's French Toast (12) with Lucero Farms strawberries and creme fraiche chantilly cream. I fought the temptation to order this and after one taste I wished I hadn't fought quite so hard.
   Take a close look at these Garlic-Herb Potatoes (4.75). This is what I'm talkin' about! If you're tired of the average home fries that are just some sliced potatoes thrown on the flat top, these are for you. Soaked, roasted in the oven and then deep-fried, they're close to what I cook at home. I could have used some granulated garlic for a more pronounced taste, but these were good enough, soft on the inside, a little crunch on the outside and salted just right.
    The Acme Toast (3) kind of reminded me of the sugar bread I used to get as a child, which was just plain white bread loaded with butter and sugar. Here you get fromage blanc, honey and cinnamon. I immediately said to Rachel, 'this could be trouble.'
   The toast was a shared item, as was the Little Gems Lettuce (10) with avocado, French feta, radish, cucumber and lemon vinaigrette. If you could manage to a bit of each ingredient in a mouthful, you got a great combination of flavors. We were starting to believe we'd ordered a little too much, but being true trencherpersons (isn't that just so PC?) we plowed on.
    My personal choice was the Poached Eggs and Becker Lane Pork Confit Hash (15.5) with onion, leek, fennel and carrot, topped with creme fraiche and salsa verde. The pork confit had good flavor but was a bit dry and chewy in spots, which should not occur at that price. The salsa provided a bit of zest and I think they could have been a little more liberal with it.
   While the Ginger-Sage Sausage (5.75) added some contrast, I think it could have been the one dish we might have skipped. I don't know about you, but I like my sausage cooked all the way through. This was a bit pinkish in the center. A good spicy mustard would have been welcome with this wurst.
    Rachel went with the Soft Scrambled Eggs (12) with asparagus, pecorino, lettuce and toast and she said it was perfect. What more can I say to that?
    It says at the bottom of the menu, 'we use pasture-raised eggs'. I wish I'd noticed that before we left, because I'm interested in knowing exactly how that's done! The menu changes with the seasons and most foodstuffs are local and sustainable.
   To see a sample menu, go to: www.universalcafe.net

Wexler's - 568 Sacramento St., between Sanome & Montgomery, SFCA

   Another fine high-end lunch with Dr. Manson in the heart of the FiDi. It's a small venue with a bar, several deuces along one wall and a larger table up front. The menu is simple but imaginative, and everything we had pretty much worked. The Beet Salad (9) was an automatic and comes with arugula, smoked feta, blood orange and charred jalapeno vinaigrette. As I've said in previous posts, I'm glad to see beets on more menus these days, and I hope they keep this salad on their menu for a while.
   Chili is my game and so I didn't hesitate when Michael asked if we should try the Bowl of Red (9). I've never seen creme fraiche added to chili, but it works and the secret is just not to overdo it. This tasty concoction utilizes shredded house smoked short ribs and comes topped with pickled shallots. I liked it, and I don't say that lightly - most chili I've tasted in SF has been terribly disappointing.
   They do have BBQ and it's a Brisket Banh Mi (14), a healthy sized sammy with pickled cabbage, Fresno chiles and cilantro and a side of bacon mac 'n' cheese. I didn't have a taste but Michael said it was as good as any banh mi he's had so far. I think however that there was no pate on this, which scores a minus point for authenticity.
   I'm still looking for that killer Cobb Salad (13) and I'm afraid this wasn't it. I know this is SF and baby greens are the darling of the salad world, but I really don't mind good old-fashioned head lettuce in my Cobb salad. Points for using Niman Ranch bacon and Pt. Reyes blue cheese. However, no sliced avocado. When I commented on this the server said there was avocado in the dressing. If there was it was barely detectable, the dressing itself being barely detectable.
   Overall, I like the quality here, but it is a bit pricey. With a $10 Manhattan, tax and tip it came to $70. If I were to return, it would definitely be for dinner. The menu is larger and completely different and just as interesting. To see it, go to:www.wexlerssf.com