Some years back a guest from India was visiting Dallas, and Sue had the opportunity to take him to lunch. She suggested that he might like an Indian restaurant, as opposed to Tex-Mex, barbecue and various other cuisines of note here in Texas. Her Indian guest was exceptionally delighted to discover that not only was it Indian food, but specifically cuisine from his home region in southern India. The meal satisfied more than his hunger for food, it allowed him to reconnect to his home with fragrances, textures and multi-sensual experience beyond a cell phone call back to his family.
In 2009 upon Inga's return from the University of Oregon, her request to reconnect to home was a trip to Cooper's BBQ in Llano, Texas. Between Christmas and New Years, the family spend 2 days and 1 night on the road sampling smokehouses with high ratings across the heart of Texas; beginning with The Salt Lick in Dripping Springs (outside of Austin), a couple of joints in Elgin (Tex-German Country) and finishing at the pit at Cooper's. This year, Inga had the need to replenish her bottles of Cooper's Sauce to take back to Eugene, as well as a hankering for some righteous smoked meats. It was made clear that this time it was to be only her and brother Grant - no parents.
One Sunday morn before Christmas, the two of them lit out on the 240 mile drive (one-way) to Cooper's. It was a Sister-Brother Road Trip, made possible by parental blessing and parental credit card. I was pleased to see the two take a whimsical trip such as this, about 30 minutes of gastronomical enjoyment sandwiched between 4 and a half hours of driving. Kinda makes me proud to be an American and to live in land of such pure pleasures of driving on long country roads with a cooked cow waiting at the end. Of course in Eugene, I am told there is no barbecue, just tofu, fantastic waffles and a passel of proto-anorexic coeds.
Cooper's has their smoking pits out front, and one cues up next to the pit where the meats have been finished to perfection. You are given a tray and a sheet of butcher paper, and as you mosey on past the offerings of brisket, sausage, chicken, ribs, ham and sirloin you point to the particular cut of meat that catches your stomach's fancy. A man wielding a sharp knife cuts off a piece and places it on your tray. Inside you select your sides, corn, potatoes, rolls, pickles, peach cobbler etc. At the end of the line your selection is weighed and you are charged accordingly. You find a place at a long table to slide into and have a seat while gathering plenty of paper towels. This is the real thang.
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| Tin Shed Dining Atmosphere ***** A Most Righteous Meal Worth the 240 Mile Drive |
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| Grant peels back the butcher paper for a bite on a rib |
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| Grant living High on the Hog - Carnivore Tour II |
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