A Quest For Brisket, by Sarah Picken
Recently, my friend Monica, from back home in Chicago flew into Texas and we embarked on a 1,700 mile road trip through West Texas visiting Big Bend, Marfa, and Balmorhea Springs among other places. While I was excited to show her the beauty that is West Texas, I was also thrilled to introduce her to Texas food staples. I couldn’t wait until the tail end of our trip when we would be able to indulge in some of my favorite Tex-Mex and barbecue joints in the Central Texas area.
To be honest, I had intended to take Monica to one of the famous barbecue places in Austin, the proclaimed capital of Texas barbecue. On our second-to-last day of the trip, we drove around Austin all night looking for barbecue. One place was closed, another had no parking, and the last one was flooded with crowds because of a famous musician performing next door. Around eight o’clock, we decided to give up. A little disappointed, we headed back to Waco that night, sad we could not indulge in some brisket. However, it then occurred to me that Waco indeed had just as delicious barbecue, although a little underrated. I sent out a bat signal to my foodie contacts in Waco, asking what was the best barbecue in our town. I heard many suggestions, but I decided to try out one place I have not been to before: Tony DeMaria’s.
When I looked up the operating hours of Tony DeMaria’s that night after I was advised to arrive early, I was a little shocked that a barbecue joint would open at nine in the morning. Who is eating a brisket sandwich at 9 a.m.?! But I surmised that the barbecue must be so good, Wacoans could not even wait until lunchtime to get it!
Monica and I arrived promptly at 11, just as a line was starting to form. We both ordered a brisket plate and sat down at one of the long picnic tables. A woman immediately came by our table and dropped off two bowls of gravy. Monica and I barely talked as we dug into our brisket sandwiches, potato salad, slaw, and beans, only coming up for air to comment on how delicious the food was. The restaurant soon filled up as we were finishing our last bits of food. As we left, I was glad that I chose Waco to be the place Monica was introduced to Texas barbecue. Our experience was simple, friendly, cheap, and delicious, everything that I have come to love about eating in Waco.
