The Salt Lick, Driftwood

Two things make The Salt Lick unique; the first is its cooking pit. This restaurant boasts one of the few open pits left in the state, plopped right down in the middle of the restaurant for all to see. There's no questioning whether the meat is really smoked here or perhaps sneaked into an oven; you can see (and smell) it for yourself.

The sauce is the second aspect of The Salt Lick that everyone discusses - ya' either love it or hate it. Real barbecue hardliners sometimes object to the sauce because it has a slight Oriental taste. If so, it comes by it honestly. The owner is of Hawaiian descent. His mother, Hisako Roberts, founded the restaurant in the late sixties and developed the secret sauce. We think it's great, and from the size of The Salt Lick's crowds, so do a lot of others.

The sauce is used in both the potato salad (really) and on the meats. Because the meat is cooked on an open pit, the flavor is less smoky than meat cooked in a closed smoker, subtler but still hinting at its trial by fire. You can select from brisket, chicken, and beef and pork ribs, all cooked over oak. We dined here with a group and enjoyed family-style service, with side orders of coleslaw, beans, and potato salad.

The Salt Lick is in a dry precinct, but diners are permitted to bring ice chests stocked with beer and wine.

Location: FM 1826 (southwest of Austin). From Austin, head out to Oak Hill; at the Y in Oak Hill stay left, continuing on US 290 west towards Fredericksburg. At FM 1826, turn left and continue for 13 miles.

Tel. (512) 858-4959

Hours: Open daily for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday

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