Red Dirt BBQ and music festival - BBQ, beer and good music

Red Dirt BBQ and music festival

My favorite sausage and brisket came from La barbecue.  If you look really hard you can see John Lewis (pitmaster)  standing in the background - he's the tall, lanky one.

The beef rib from Louie Mueller was transcendent.  The brisket was also great - topped only by La Barbecue.  Wayne Mueller (pitmaster) is the dude hunched over slicing meat - he was muscled and intense.

This was the first year for the Red Dirt BBQ and Music festival here in Tyler. The basic premise of the festival was to bring some of the best BBQ joints from across Texas in one place for the people of Tyler to give a try, then to follow that up with some great local music.

Your choices were to get a VIP ticket - $90 (and enter an hour early to beat the crowds, with a special VIP area for the concert and a VIP tent), general admission for the BBQ and the music - $45 and then just the music/concert - $30.  I went with a VIP ticket, mostly because I hate to fight crowds and my days in the Army make me "waiting in line" averse.

In addition to the BBQ, they served Shiner beers and Mike's hard lemonade ($4 bucks a drink ticket wasn't too high either) and had several local business with tents advertising their wares. 

I got there a little early and was in the first group of VIPs to go running into the festival.  I knew I wanted to try La Barbecue (great reputation - From Austin) and I was the third person in line.  John Lewis unwrapped his brisket and cut a couple of quick samples and handed it to the first three dudes in line.  That bite told me all I needed to know, I was in BBQ brisket heaven.  The smokiness was sublime, the seasoning perfect, the tenderness just right.  I also had their in-house made jalapeno sausage - and it had just the right amount of meat, fat and spice.  I couldn't have made a better first choice.  I didn't sit there and talk with John Lewis, but he seemed super nice and really interested in making people happy (if a bit stand-offish).

Next I went to Louie Muellers (Taylor, TX) and tried their brisket and beef rib (and maybe sausage), and again I was blown away with just how great central Texas BBQ really is.  I have to admit that Wayne Mueller scared me a bit, he is a tall, muscular dude with a stern expression on his face.  He was very friendly, but intimidating.

Other highlights included Black's brisket (Lockhart) and the ribs from Hutchins (McKinney).  Overall, everyone was friendly and happy to be there.  One thing I was worried about was not getting enough food.  That was an idiotic thought.  Within about thirty minutes I hit the "meat wall" and literally couldn't eat anything else - for about 24 hours.  I didn't stay for the music, but I enjoy the music from all the band that played (Randy Rogers, Whiskey Myers (my fav), Green River Ordinance and The Bigsbys).

The verdict:  5 out of 5 edible Tyler roses.  The festival sold out this year and I imagine they will again if they put it together next year.  I had a great time, at way too much great BBQ and plan on staying for the music next year.  Great unique festival for Tyler.

The Rack Hamburger Grill - My kind of place

***UPDATE:  Wow, The Rack has closed.  I feared for their business success because of their location and recently downgraded their rating.  They were having problems in the kitchen and keeping beers on tap.  I am truly sad to see The Rack go, but you gotta keep people happy and coming back to succeed.

**UPDATE:  I have been to the Rack multiple times since the original post.  I have to say that they have some real problems with consistency.  I have yet to have a burger as special as the one I had on my first visit.  They just can't seem to get the meat temperature right.  I still enjoy the place and definitely recommend giving it a try, but just not as enthusiastically they go from 5/5 to 4/5 Edible Tyler Roses.

The Rack Hamburger Grill
http://www.theracktexas.com/

The Rack Hamburger Grill is a new restaurant that opened up near the Azalea district off of Broadway, just south of 9th street, located in the Tyler Shopping Center (next to Steinmart).  I don't think their has been a restaurant in this particular space, but it seems like a pretty hard place to keep a restaurant open.  From the outside, they have a little patio area with some large picnic tables.  Inside the place there is a healthy bar area and a dining section.  The decorations consist mainly of stuffed/mounted animals.

The spread:  As you can imagine this is trying to be a hamburger joint, but they are doing a lot of interesting things with the food menu. Their apps consist of candied bacon, salads, seared tuna, cheese fries, etc.  The star of the show is their hamburger selection.  You can choose their regular ground meat burger (ground and seasoned in house), buffalo burger, blue cheese burger, venison burger, lamb burger, ahi tuna burger, veggie burger, turkey burger and a few others.  The meals come with charro style beans and choice of one side:  regular fries, sweet potato fries, mac and cheese, etc.  They also offer a few desserts.

Perhaps the most impressive is their MASSIVE draft beer list.  They have a lot of beers on tap, almost all of which are craft microbrews from Texas (20 beers on tap on a regular basis).  I was in beer heaven.  They also offer a large selection of bottled beers.  A beer lover could get quiet happy here.

The verdict:  THIS IS THE BEST HAMBURGER IN TYLER BY FAR.  Stop what you are doing, go to The Rack and get a burger.  I recommended this place to a friend of mine who loves burgers and he told me it was the best hamburger he has had in his life.  I ordered a Rack burger with cheddar cheese, bacon and egg and I ordered it medium well.  This is one of the rare places that actually cooks your burger to your desired temperature.  They care about their food.  The burger was one of the best I have had in my life.  The meat is juicy and tender, with the right amount of sear from the grill.  The french fries are also done right, in house, from real potatoes and fried twice (the way fries are supposed to be done).  The beers were great.  This is definitely a place that I will go back to again and again.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5.  Get a burger and a beer and enjoy!  I fear that location will doom this place, but it is worth the drive....yum.

Cork - nice atmosphere and very good food

Cork Food and Drink
http://www.corktyler.com/



Cork is a relatively new place located in the Times Square Cinema shopping center off of Broadway/I-69 just south of Rice road.  The shopping center itself doesn't really lend itself to 'high end' dining, however, they have the entrance decorated nicely with modern design and a little sitting area.  Inside, they continue the modern theme with a bar area, decent dining area, and small area for live performances with some interesting modernish type art on the wall and many references to wine.

The spread:  They have an ambitious food and drink menu.  I'm not sure their theme, but they offer different kinds of sushi, small 'tapas' style plates, cheese and cured meats plate(s), a few different bowls (mac and cheese, soups, stir fry and grits), and a few traditional dishes (seafood, steak, etc).  For me, the menu was a bit unfocused and perhaps they are trying to be a tapas-sushi-wine-asian bar that serves food?  The wine list is extensive and they have a full bar with a few original concoctions.

The verdict:  I really enjoyed my experience at Cork.  The service was friendly, prompt and knowledgeable.  I tried the mac and cheese and it was the best I have had in a long time.  It comes in a bowl with spiral pasta with a bechamel-cheese sauce with bread crumbs on top with little bits of ham.  I also tried their spicy tuna roll and it was solid, but not very spicy.  The quality of tuna was good.  The charcuterie plate came with three types of cheese, a great grilled french bread and three types of cured meats.  There was a very mild soft/brie and two harder styles that offered a nice difference in texture and flavor, but none of the cheese were memorable.  The prosciutto was very good, but the cured sausage and pepperoni like sausage were both average - mildly spiced and a little bland. I also tried the ribeye which was cooked a perfect medium rare and had a nice bourbon glaze, but the cut of meat was lower grade (lots of fat and gristle).  I also tried a couple bites of the burger and it was almost amazing as my wife had ordered it medium and it came out well done.  The wine list was extensive and the bottle I split was very very good (Shatter something or other).  I also had a Cork Old Fashioned that had whipped egg white in it that gave the old fashioned a unique texture that I particularly enjoyed.  Overall, I think Cork is almost a great restaurant/bar.  I think if they trimmed down the menu some and really concentrated on quality, this would be an amazing place.  Also of note, they are very committed to having plates come out in a visually appealing manner, with nice presentation using unique plates.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5, a great place to have drinks/wine and apps, a good place to eat.

St. Arnold's brewing company

St. Arnold's Brewery Company
http://www.saintarnold.com/



St. Arnold's is a large micro-brewery located in Houston, TX.  They started pretty small time at a place just off of 290 and Ella, but moved to a much larger facility just off of I-10 north of downtown.  One of my favorite activities was to get a picnic together and head out to St. Arnold's for a tour of the facilities, free beer and live music.  The old place had a certain ambiance - if you call melting in a warehouse with no A/C ambiance, but the beer was cold and that made up for a lot.

The new location is really, really nice.  They have a big operation now.  The also have a beer drinking/dining hall that can accommodate a lot of people comfortably (and A/C).  The tour used to be 5 bucks and you got three free beers.  Not sure how it works now with changes to the alcohol laws (now breweries can sell small amounts to the public directly).  Also, they have afternoon fixed price lunches now with a fancy chef, which sadly I have been unable to try.

St. Arnold's offers a nice variety of different beers:  Lawnmower (a light, almost fruity Kolsch, that goes down great on a hot day), Amber Ale (well balanced, full flavored ale), Brown Ale (malty, chocolatey with a little sweetness), Elissa IPA (a very good IPA that has a well balanced hoppiness to it), and then some seasonal ales (Summer Pilsner, Spring Bock, Oktoberfest, Winter Stout, Pumpkinator and Christmas Ale).

I just can't pass up a six pack of St. Arnold's when I see one at the store.  My favorites are the Brown ALe, the Summer Pilsner, the Sprin Bock and the Oktoberfest.  I really like to pour a Winter Stout in my homemade chili in the winter time.  The owner is also a super cool guy who works tirelessly for his company and the beer community.  Go drink some great St. Arnold's beer and if you are ever in Houston, try to take a tour of their facilities.

Mario's Italian Restaurant - Old school Italian

Mario's Italian Restaurant



Mario's is a local Italian restaurant nestled back in a strip center off of broadway/I-69 just south of Heritage (south of Carmike movie theater).  I can never seem to figure out the hours of operation and we have stopped by on multiple occasions when they were closed.  My wife and I visited once for a date night.  The place looks a lot better on the inside than on the outside, it is your typical Italian restaurant with cozy booths and tables with a nice romantic atmosphere.  They also have live music on Fridays and Saturdays.

The spread:  This place has apparently been in operation since 1977, so it is old school Italian-American.  The appetizers range from bruschetta, fried mozzarella, fried zucchini, fried calamari, etc.  They also serve pizzas with all the regular toppings.  The entrees range from chicken/shrimp primavera, blackened snapper, venetian chicken/veal, chicken/veal marsala/piccata/milanese, etc.  We tried the bruschetta, fried ravioli, pizza, chicken piccata, fettuccine alfredo.

The verdict:  I really liked the atmosphere of this place.  It is old school Italian with Frank Sinatra playing in the background.  The waiter was young, but attentive and provided good service.  The food was also very good, some of the best pizza in town.  My wife and I really liked the fried ravioli.  The pasta were good as well.  Overall, the place had good food, plenty of it and a nice atmosphere.  It isn't cutting edge real Italian cooking, but it is good, reasonable priced stick to your ribs food.  What's not to like?

Edible Tyler Roses:  4 out of 5.  Only drawback for me are the hours of operation.

Lago del Pino - location, location, location

Lago del Pino
http://www.lagodelpino.com/




Lago Del Pino is a beautiful restaurant overlooking Lost Pine "lake" a little west of Tyler.  The outside construction is beautiful brick and looks like a fancy ranch/resort.  The views from the bar are great.  They have live music on Friday and Saturday nights.  My wife and I have been interested in trying out this place for sometime, although, they have pretty terrible reviews online.

The spread:  I'm not sure exactly what cuisine they are trying to model their menu after, but there are various appetizers:  Chips and queso, bacon and blue cheese fries, crab cakes, hummus, etc.  A couple of salad and soup selections.  Their entrees range from Texican burgers, pretzel chicken sandwiches, chilaquiles, fish tacos, enchiladas, shrimp and grits and various steaks and seafood.  I tried the bacon and blue cheese fries and the chips and queso.

The verdict:  Well, did I mention the view?  That is basically all the place has going for it.  The dining portion of the restaurant felt loud and a little sterile.  The service was below average for the prices, not particularly horrible, but certainly not attentive or friendly.  My wife and I only go out occasionally by ourselves, so I promised that we would get a couple of drinks and appetizers and then see if we wanted to order entrees.  Well, the bacon and blue cheese fries came out and they were WAY overpowered by the blue cheese.  I love the idea, but the execution was lacking.  They were memorable in that the the amount of blue cheese made them nearly inedible (a little goes a long way guys!).  Then we got the chips and queso.  The chips were fine, crispy and well, chips.  The queso had a slightly off flavor, like liquid smoke or something like that - not horrible, but not inedible.  We decided to try to give the entrees a try seeing as we were already there, but right as I said that I took a bite of my chips and queso and got a mouthful of plastic bag.  Needless to say, we decided to skip the entrees and will not return.

Edible Tyler Roses: 2 out of 5  - I would recommend going for live music and drinks (the view is great), but just eat somewhere else beforehand.  I also don't see how they will stay in business for very long.  Their overhead has to be killing them.

KE Cellars

****UPDATE:  KE cellars has shut down, apparently the new alcohol laws allowing for the more widespread selling of alcohol was too much for this place to stay in business.  That is too bad, I like this little wine shop.

KE Cellars - Tyler
4574 S. Broadway
Tyler, TX 75703
https://www.kiepersol.com/kecellars/index.shtml



KE Cellars is a nice little place just south of the loop and Broadway/69.  It really is a wine shop that happens to have a little grub and lets your taste on site.

The spread:  The always have several different wines for tasting/drinking.  The store has a nice collection of different wines from Texas.  I haven't been in since they changed the alcohol rules for Tyler, so I am not sure if they have expanded their wares.  In the back they have several long benches and a stage for live music.  I think they also have a small menu of nibbles to enjoy with your wine.

The verdict:  This is a place I really dig.  You get to try a bunch of wines that you might not usually try, kick back on some benches and listen to live music.  The crowd is definitely older folks.  I really like the decor, it is simple and reminds me of drinking in a wine cellar in Germany.


Edible Tyler Roses:  4 out of 5; great place to relax and have a glass of wine.