Saturday, August 25, 2007

Salt Lick review

Jeremy's Take on the Building/Overall
Atmosphere:
Upon arriving in Driftwood, Texas to the popular
and well known restaurant, JMob and I were expecting to eat some
amazing BarBQ. The gravel drive and cedar post fence provides a
wonderful "ranch" atmosphere which adds to the restaurant patrons
experience. The building was built by the current owners parents and
each stone was hand picked from the land to build the building that is
home to the Salt Lick. Sitting at the long, old, and wooden tables,
watching the fire will excite any patron.

JMob's Take on the Building/Overall Atmosphere:
I've already been here previously, but it was years ago so I already knew what to expect. There were some things I noticed this trip I hadn't previously. For instance a sign that reads "Please limit eating time to 1hr and a 1/2 to allow others to enjoy our food." A second thing i noticed on the wall was a Texas Monthly article about Sandra Bullock, which says the interview took place at Salt Lick.

Jeremy's Take on the Beef,etc.:After adjusting to being served at a BarBQ restaurant (typically, I order meat market style), I ordered the beef and sausage plate that came with coleslaw and potato salad. Trying both meats without sauce first to preserve the original taste, I found the sausage very typical of a sausage anyone could buy at your local grocery store. I make this comparison to grocery store, because I expect homemade sausage to be distinctly flavorful and fresh. The flavor was not well seasoned or fresh tasting. Upon eating the second bite of the sausage, I might have chipped a tooth on the bone pieces I found in the sausage. Even when I drowned the sausage in sauce, I was unable to completely enjoy or eat the sliced link that was brought out. The sliced beef or brisket was a different story. Although this brisket is not one brag about. It seemed like any typical brisket, yet was lean* and juicy (as any brisket should be). There was nothing flashy about the beef, but I did enjoy it with and without sauce. The sides were not typical potato salads and coleslaws. Each had a distinct flavor and I enjoyed the different recipes served by the restaurant.
*I prefer the lean beef.

JMob's Take on the Beef,etc.: I ordered the combination plate of beef and sausage. I enjoyed the beef, but disliked the sausage very much. The sausage was too much on the crunchy side, almost like it was warmed, and not grilled. For instance at Kruez, it's almost falling off the casing. That tells me it's DONE! The sauce was probably the best sauce i've ever had. But if you need sauce to make it good, that tells me the meat is lacking.

Jeremy's Take on After Sweets:
After not being completely full, because I left half the sausage on my
plate, we both agreed it was time for desert. We both ordered peach
cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Once it arrived,
there was no doubt we had made an excellent choice. The orange and
yellow warm combination of the sweet treat melted in my mouth. It was
bowl licking good.

JMob's Take on After Sweets: OOOHHHH mama...."Them are some good eats." While not being full on the entree, I was glad to get something good. Peach Cobbler. And A LA MODE! It was definitely the highlight of the meal. The portion was huge and I couldnt finish it.

Jeremy's Finally Thoughts:For the two of us to eat, including a tip, I could think of several other BarBQ restaurants to visit for $40.00. Excellent service, not so good entree, unique sides, and a great desert. Basically, I left the restaurant full on potato salad and peach cobbler. Not a good sign from a restaurant with the reputation of having great beef. I give it two stars and would not recommend it to any friend of mine.

JMob's Finally Thoughts: I say 2 out of 5 stars as well. The most points coming from the peach cobbler. I would definitely recommend KRUEZ first, and Salt Lick would probably be third or fourth on the list sadly. When leaving, we were asked "how was it" and much to their amazement we responded with an "It was alright." Apparently they aren't very used to mediocre reviews.

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feedback. Have a great day.