Enjoying the Journey: JEFF STONE'S EATING TOUR OF TEXAS

Last week Texas was host to the Jeff Stone (son #2) tour of eating places....you would think that he was here for the Food Network! It was so good to have him here. He had never been to Texas and wanted to check it out while we were here. Knowing that Jeff is a connisseur of good food, I was a little nervous as to where to take him. So we tried a little of everything. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, we thought he would like Gonzales' Burgers. Unfortunately so does everyone else. The Winter Texans will stand in line for however long it takes to get one of the amazing 3/4 pound burgers. They are SO good. The three of us waited for two hours for a burger. They open at 12 and close when the meat is gone. They actually grind it in the back and bring it straight to the grill. The burgers are about the size of a small pizza. I asked Jeff if it was worth the wait and he actually said yes...which really impressed me. It MUST have been good.
We also stopped to eat the next day at the Longhorn Cattleman's BBQ and Steak House. He liked it too....it had really good brisket and the best pinto bean soup anywhere. The ambiance there was truly Texan. The iced tea was served in pitchers! We also got to eat at the El Dorado, a really good Mexican place here in Donna that he liked.
In San Antonio we had to do the Riverwalk where we ate at the Saltgrass Steakhouse. Although Jeff liked the steak, it was not on the top of his list of best meals.
Jeff's favorite meal was experienced west of Austin after an afternoon of checking out the music scene in Downtown Austin, which was really cool. It is easy to understand why it is the Music City....Willie Nelson wannabes everywhere. Willie still lives on his ranch just west of the city.
The Salt Lick BBQ is about a 20 minute drive outside of Austin in the country. You come around a bend in scenic Hill Country and there it sits, and it is huge! There were hundreds of cars in the lot and all you could smell was BBQ. The place seats 1,000 and we waited about 45 minutes for a seat. It was Jeff's favorite meal of all and was it ever good. Everything is smoked to perfection. No wonder so many people make the drive...it is well worth it and it is a Hill County experience that all should try.
We stayed in a timeshare just 2 miles from Canyon Lake and got to drive through some incredibly beautiful countryside. It was so great to have Jeff here....I hope that he enjoyed the few days as much as I did. Texas is a beautiful state and there is SO much to see.
Below are some pics of Jeff at Padre Island, at the condo, at the Riverwalk in San Antonio, the Alamo, the state capital in Texas and finally at the Salt Lick BBQ. Texas rocks!