City Market / Luling TX

One restaurant wasn't enough to experience Texas BBQ. Dennis and I needed more after visiting Harmon's Barbecue! The next day we headed to another recommendation, a little further east than the last.

City Market is situated in the little town of Luling. The whole city population is under 6k. When googling, I also found a "Luling City Market" in HOUSTON, approximately 140 miles away, but they are unrelated. Added to my Texas food list!

When we got to the parking lot, there was a really strong smell of oil or similar. We noticed these oil rigs across the street. Not sure if they were real and/or in working condition but we were in Texas after all where gas is cheap! We hustled inside to get away from the smell.

The front was a small market or convenience store with snacks and chips for purchase. We looked around curiously to see where to purchase actual BBQ. In the back past the dining tables was a closed off room, with signs indicating a door to order and which to exit.

Walking in was like entering a barbecue smoke room. There was a gust of the flavors and smoke and meat in the dimly lit room. Several people were attending to the pits, others were taking your order and the rest were preparing the food.

We could see all the meat action in here! Sausage smoking over the grill! Fresh brisket pulled out from the grills! Just put it on our plates already!

We asked for recommendations and ended up with 1 lb of brisket, one sausage link, some pork ribs and jalapenos and pickles sides. The food was wrapped in butcher's paper which also worked as individual trays for eating. The barbecue sauce and utensils were picked up from the front counter.

The brisket itself had a really beautiful smoke ring on the outside but perhaps too lean and not as moist as we preferred. The ribs were exceptional with a really good texture plus a nice salty crust and some char. Too bad they were smaller than Harmon's. The sausage was savory though Dennis mentioned the insides weren't as firm as you'd expect. The meat slid around inside though the outer case had great cripsy skin! Sides had to be ordered from the front and we picked up a side of potato salad, which was so-so.

Even with a gigantic dining area, including a side room, it was quite a busy place. We came in just before a large lunch rush but the service was really fast. Our recommendations, at least per our preferences, is to give the ribs and sausage a try. Any recommendations on Texas BBQ for us to try next?