San Antonio

I've been in Austin for almost 2 days now and I still haven't seen downtown. I spent all day yesterday in San Antonio.

I can't tell you how long the drive took me, but it was relatively smooth sailing. I've discovered that in some states if you don't have exact directions, you can kind of follow the signs and get where you need to go. Not so in Texas. While their highways are wide and basically free of slow-downs despite a lot of traffic, the whole system is extremely confusing, and most major freeways seem to have more than one name or number to them. When in Texas, google your directions. Luckily I did.

Anyway. The first thing I did after parking in San Antonio was wander off to Market Square. This small shopping center really shows off the Mexican presence in the city, with a mix of Tex-Mex in the food stalls, import shops, and football themed gift stores. I had a fantastic burrito for lunch with a huge Dos Equis -- the beer only came in one size, which I believe was called bigger than an effing bucket.



Belly full, I wandered down historic Houston street, running into several tipsy football fans along the way, until I reached the Alamo. After perusing the entire grounds, I realized that the Alamo is nothing like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and everything like I remember from ethnic history class in college. The Texas Revolutionaries got their asses handed to them more than once in their attempts to defend the Alamo. These losses were briefly touched upon in the Alamo museum, but the clear focus is on the single battle where they had success... and a hell of a lot of casualties. To be sure, Remember the Alamo really means Remember the time that we finally won.

Next, I strolled along the river walk, pausing in the shade for a few minutes, and soaked up my last bit of San Antonio culture on the walk back to the car. I only saw part of it, but the town seems vintage, historic, a place for tourists. I'm not good at being a tourist, but I was hungry.

Last stop, Rudy's, "the worst bar-b-q in Texas."

Before I left Seattle, Rio pinged a couple of folks she knows who live and work around Austin and San Antonio, to find me the best BBQ in town. They both mentioned Rudy's.

Rudy's has a few locations spread around the area, but the original is an unassuming red building with a couple of smoke stacks. It is located on the side of a small highway, which runs alongside the main highway. It is very much the pride of a small town called Leon Springs, despite its being just on the San Antonio side of the city limits.

Being from a city that features overwhelmingly terrible barbecue, I was expecting to order some kind of sandwich or meal. No. Rudy's offers meat by the pound and a few slices of white bread on wax paper -- make your own damn sandwich if that's what you like -- along with traditional sides like potato salad and mac-n-cheese.

The brisket was tender, flavorful and juicy, and the turkey was amazing, barely a touch of smoke. All the meats are served dry, allowing the customer to add sauce as they see fit. Apparently the sauce or no sauce debate is still raging in Texas, and Rudy's will not make the decision for you. Me, I'm a sauce girl, although I do also love the meat on its own.

I purchased a large bottle of the Rudy's signature sauce, and am now hoping I can get it home intact. I make a great Jewish-style brisket, but I think this sauce would put it over the top, especially alongside my macaroni and cheese made from scratch. Mmmmm... Wait. Am I Southern?

Today, finally to downtown Austin...