Daily Bull 6.21.18: Your Sentimental Favorite BBQ

Outrage is everywhere, folks. Splitting our nation into bitter geopolitical factions, causing ugly social media battles, and fostering distrust of journalists among millions of people.

We’re talking of course about BBQ.

BBQ has lost its mystique in recent years. It’s no longer just an obscure genre tucked back among country road gas stations or church picnics. It’s nationwide. It’s hitting Brooklyn. It’s hitting both coasts, actually. It’s trendy.

It’s still just BBQ, folks.

This post is for us to celebrate our favorite unheralded joints. Not the ones that have lines 400 people long by sunrise in Austin. Not the ones you see all the time on TV. Just maybe the ones you grew up with and can count on in a way you can count on very few things nowadays.

I’ll start. I grew up with Busbee’s. It ain’t fancy. You’ve got a simple menu: meats, sides, plates, a couple desserts. They do also make burgers, which are pretty damn good. It ain’t clean inside. It’s full of authentic ranch artifacts and Americana that would make any chain neighborhood bar/restaurant insanely jealous. It’s also got plenty of trophy heads and a generous dusting of cobwebs. A little piece of a Northgate dive out west.

Busbee’s is good, but it won’t ever be held in the same regard as other Hill Country joints. To paraphrase Cookie from City Slickers,

You ain’t gonna get any nouveau, amandine, thin crust, bottled water, sauteed city food. Food’s brown, hot, and plenty of it.

You can load up your tray and chase it with unlimited iced tea while watching all the county’s traffic roll through as the smoker puffs away a few feet behind the back door, all of it right dead center on Main Street. If you had too many borracho beans (addictive), get your peach cobbler to go.

What’s your comfort Q? Share ‘em with us.