Review
of Hays County BBQ (San Marcos, TX)
Scott had heard of a
new brewery between San Marcos and New Braunfels called Ruggedman Brewery that
we decided to pay a visit to (more on that later). Since we were headed that
way anyway, it seemed like a good time to swing by Hays County BBQ. We'd like
what we'd seen of them at the Texas Monthly BBQ festival, so an up-close visit
was in order.
James, Scott, myself
headed down there and met Ric (my boss) and Jerry (Ric's dad). Hays County is
located on the feeder of southbound I-35. It's located in what honestly looks
like a small former used car dealership. They have some inside seating and a
large covered outside area out back with a venue for live music.
They offer the
typical selection of meats: pork ribs, sausage (original and jalapeno-cheddar),
brisket, turkey, chicken, and pork chops. Between us we'll end up trying
everything but the chicken.
Jalapeno-cheddar sausage: (Scott's comments: A wonderful balance of jalapeño flavor,
cheese, and meat. Nice heat, but never overpowering. I swooned.)
(James' comments: Thought the cheese
was a little overpowering.
Fact check about the swooning: I was
in close proximity to Mr. Valla at that moment, and he did some swooning.)
James - 7.0/10, Scott - 9.0/10. Avg: 8.0/10.
Original Sausage: The sausage is has an
excellent snap, and is very tender. There's a touch of heat. I personally found
it a touch greasy for my taste, but James and Scott both liked it more than I
did. Tom - 7.0/10, James and Scott - 8.0/10. Avg: 7.66/10.
Pork Chop: The pork chop is bone-in, and is cut
to preference (so you can get it one inch thick, two inches thick, etc.). It is
extremely tender and has some excellent spices complimenting the smoky flavor.
Scott - 8.5/10. Tom and James - 9.0/10. Avg: 8.83/10.
Pork Ribs: The pork ribs have a nice amount of
spice and there's a good smoky flavor. There was definitely some variation in
tenderness. Ric and I found ours to be reasonably tender, Scott felt his were a
bit tough, and James thought his was too tough. Scores varied a lot here as a
result. Tom and Ric - 8.5/10, Scott - 7.5/10, James - 6.0/10. Avg: 7.5/10.
Brisket: The brisket has a heavy smoky flavor,
and there's a bit of pepper complimenting it (although smoke is definitely
dominant). It is very tender and well-rendered. My impression was that we all
felt it could use a heavier rub, and scores seemed to vary depending on how
much one likes smoke as the primary flavor. Ric - 6.5/10, Jerry - 7.0/10,
Scott, James, Tom - 8.0/10. Avg: 7.5/10.
Turkey: The turkey was tender and extremely
juicy. It had a nice light smoky flavor, and a goodly amount of pepper.
Interestingly, the pepper flavor in the turkey was stronger (or at least more
noticeable) than it was in the brisket. James - 7.5/10. Ric, Scott, Tom -
8.5/10. Jerry - 9.0/10. Avg: 8.4/10.
So what's the
verdict on Hays County? Well, you can look at it a couple of ways. We had
three items that averaged 8 or higher, which certainly ranks it as excellent in
our book. But you can also note that on every item that had more than two
people scoring it, at least two people found the item in the excellent range (8
or higher). So excellent ratings had a plurality or a majority for every item
there.
Is it worth a visit?
Definitely.
Incidentally, once
you have had your BBQ, head a few miles further south to Ruggedman Brewery (aka Drink the Damn Beer!).
It's run by three former marines who wanted to get into the brewing business.
They are turning out some excellent beer!
(Scott: Every beer we had and sampled at
Ruggedman was very well done. We have a double IPA to look forward to drinking
next time around. And we're not IPA fans. It's that good!)
(James' comments: Absolutely agree!)
-Tom
