Exploring the Tastes of the South From Fried Chicken to Smoked Brisket

Buckle up, friends, because we're hitting the road on a Southern food odyssey that's as rich in flavor as it is in culture! Starting in the historic heart of Vicksburg, Mississippi, we don't just feed our stomachs at Walnut Hills; we feast on tales of the town and its people. Each forkful of their mouth-watering fried chicken and purple hull peas is a bite of the South's soul, and trust us, their cakes and pepper sauce are the stuff of legends. Our journey doesn't stop there – we venture down to Louisiana, where the cuisine is as vibrant as the jazz that fills the air. At Al Basha, we're talking Greek-Lebanese fare that'll make your heart sing as loudly as the flavors dance on your tongue. Then, it's only fair we pay homage to the iconic Louisiana po'boy at Old Time Grocery, where local bread reigns supreme and is best enjoyed with a cold regional root beer.

Our adventure takes a smoky turn in Austin, Texas, the mecca of barbecue aficionados. Here, we'll share how we got caught up in the electric atmosphere of the city, from laid-back Zilker Park to the bustling avenues of South Congress. The real star of the show? The Salt Lick BBQ, where the brisket and ribs are a smoldering testament to Texas' barbecue prowess. We're not just about the meats, though; our visit to H Mart proves we're suckers for the rich tapestry of international flavors that Austin has to offer.

Now, if you're itching to get a behind-the-scenes peek at our food escapades, join our YouTube family where we've been whipping up some kitchen magic. From our biscuit-making debut to our daughter's social media savvy, we're serving up more than just audio – we're creating a community. So, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, grab a taco, and let's toast to the journey. I'm Dave, and I'm Jen, your guides on this delicious audio excursion – thanks for listening and don't forget to check out our support page if you're craving more!

Transcript

Dave: 0:10

Welcome to Sweet Tea and Tacos. I'm Dave.

Jen: 0:13

And I'm Jen.

Dave: 0:15

And we just got back from a road trip and of course we're living in Texas right now and we needed to get back to Mississippi for some stuff and, as usual with most of our vacations, I turn into food trips of some sort.

Jen: 0:33

Yeah, for sure. Like you usually say, either we're planning the whole trip around food or we're trying to figure out what we can do in between things. Finding things Like what we can eat in between stuff.

Dave: 0:48

What restaurants can we go to? Yeah, what can we do between meals? That's especially true of New Orleans, but mostly true of our vacations.

Jen: 0:57

Yeah, I mean one time we had a vacation up to New England and New York and all that.

Dave: 1:03

Yeah, we toured culinary schools.

Jen: 1:06

But we ate a lot of good food too.

Dave: 1:10

Let's talk about that. Trip some point yeah sure.

Jen: 1:14

So, when we usually travel back home, we take I-20.

Dave: 1:19

I call it the northern route.

Jen: 1:22

But it goes from where we live in west texas all the way to central mississippi 575 miles non-stop.

Dave: 1:32

It's quite a journey it is but uh, when we got to mississippi yeah, so cross the river, we got, we timed it right yes, that we could eat lunch at a place in Vicksburg that I've been to.

Jen: 1:45

Which is just right there. I mean you leave Louisiana, cross the river and you are in Vicksburg.

Dave: 1:52

Yeah, vicksburg, mississippi, on the west side of Mississippi, right there at the border, and a lot of great restaurants in Vicksburg, a lot of great history and things to do. Yes, of course, antebellum houses you have a Vicksburg, a lot of great history and things to do. Yes, um, of course you know antebellum houses.

Jen: 2:06

You have a vicksburg military, national military park, um, and some great restaurants now, uh, you've had a chance to eat some other ones there yes but um this we went to walnut hills which is a place where you've eaten multiple times and told us about it and it was definitely on our list for myself and our daughter, but it's in an older home and we stopped and got lunch, like Dave said, and we ordered one of their lunch plate choices.

Dave: 2:39

The meat. And three yes, well, and it was really meat. And two, that's a southern thing. Yeah, meat, and three is very very southern, which we really haven't had out here.

Jen: 2:48

You can't hardly get it, and I think we've talked about that before. But so, yeah, we definitely missed some really authentic southern food and it ticked the boxes for us yeah, it did so.

Dave: 3:01

Fried chicken one of the specials was fried chicken, of course. I think we all did the fried chicken.

Jen: 3:05

We did. And then my sides were purple whole peas and okra and tomatoes.

Dave: 3:12

Right, of course, they list the sides under vegetables.

Jen: 3:15

Right.

Dave: 3:15

And you know you got.

Jen: 3:17

There were some good ones. It was really hard to choose. Yeah, yeah, but like there was some, I what squash?

Dave: 3:26

and onions maybe and tons of okra and tomatoes.

Jen: 3:30

Just yeah, it was really hard to choose it was so you got dumplings and greens yeah, yeah, I don't know if they were colored or turn over yeah, and then our daughter got purple whole peas and dumplings and then, like they've said, we had cornbread. It's a little kind of these biscuits about the size of a silver dollar yeah, yeah, um, the food was excellent and it did come with a little bit of dessert which is like a cherry cobbler, yeah, and it was good, we tasted that. But then Walnut Hills is known also for their cakes, cakes, yeah, pies.

Dave: 4:09

And they have usually a lot of selection. And I mean, I was there working one time in Vicksburg and there was I don't know six or seven of us who went and ate lunch. I think everybody got a different kind of cake, a slice of cake.

Jen: 4:21

Yeah, of Slice of cake. Yeah, of course, we all shared.

Dave: 4:22

Yeah, but they are known for the cakes. Now you got pie.

Jen: 4:25

I did just because I'm a pie girl, so I got chocolate pie. It was great.

Dave: 4:29

Yeah.

Jen: 4:32

And I had the white chocolate cake.

Dave: 4:34

Imagine a wedding cake, except the frosting is like just white chocolate and it's thick. Yeah, our daughter got the hummingbird cake. Yeah, and we got the hummingbird cake.

Jen: 4:44

Yeah, and we all kind of shared yeah, although I might have been a little protective of my pie.

Dave: 4:52

Yeah, but no, I mean they need to have like a guard barrier that comes down there at the bridge and hand you a plate of fried chicken and greens and dumplings and say, okay, do you like this? I'd chicken and greens and dumplings. And say, okay, do you like this? Good, you can come in now. It was just so good. It was a great way to kind of get back. Oh, we're in Mississippi.

Jen: 5:08

We feel like we're at home. We felt so at home having that lunch. Man, that was just.

Dave: 5:14

And I love you know they had pepper sauce. Now, if you're not from the South, it's some peppers soaked in vinegar. Right that, some peppers soaked in vinegar. Right, you gotta sprinkle. A lot of times it's on greens, but they had their homemade pepper sauce and old whiskey bottles which I just appreciate it was homemade.

Dave: 5:31

You know it wasn't a store-bought, yeah so, but no, it was great. It's a great way to start. You know, coming back home feel like we're back in the south again, um, and of course, we were there for several days and then, on the way home, yeah, in in the central part of the state and on the way home, we decided to take the southern route, which is i-10, i-10, and go across, uh, south louisiana into the south part of texas which, um, y'all had never really been.

Dave: 6:00

It's some of those areas before well, we've been been to.

Jen: 6:03

San Antonio. But, anyway, that was it. So, yeah, we went to Baton Rouge. We didn't really stop but it was kind of a pit stop. For lunch we got takeout from a kind of Greek.

Dave: 6:18

Lebanese place which as many times as I've been to Baton Rouge a lot for work and I've never come across this place and it was really, really good.

Jen: 6:26

It was called Al Basha and they have, I guess, several locations. The one we stopped at was a little bit what east of Baton?

Dave: 6:34

Rouge, Baton Rouge right.

Jen: 6:36

But we just got some lunch plates and they were fantastic. Yours had what a beef kebab.

Dave: 6:43

It was beef kebab and it had a grist of grape leaf and a kibbe a little piece of kibbe. Oh, it was just Wow.

Jen: 6:52

Yeah, and then, uh, our daughter and I, we both, we got, I think, the same lunch plate, which was, um, it was like some gyro meat and some chicken shawarma meat and it came with a salad and pita and hummus.

Dave: 7:09

And the pita was super fresh, oh, and rice.

Jen: 7:11

That rice. Even just the rice was great oh my word. And we could have split it because it was so much food.

Dave: 7:18

This happened to us many times, you know.

Jen: 7:20

Yeah.

Dave: 7:21

There needs to be warnings on these Warning labels.

Jen: 7:25

Well, and I feel feel bad anytime.

Dave: 7:26

I have to waste food, especially when you're traveling like yeah yeah, uh, the puppy appreciated it.

Jen: 7:31

Oh yeah, she got to have some yummy gyro meat later so then we continue on.

Dave: 7:36

Uh, baton rouge traffic is not the best, so we got stuck in battery traffic a little bit but, we continued on and then you get to the atchafalaya basin area, which is really um, it's a swamp and it's the man. If you just picture in your mind what a south louisia swamp looks like, that's it yep, and it's this huge area and it was swamp hot that day man, but there's a visitor center. It's way more than just a rest area.

Jen: 8:03

Oh yeah, it was really nice. It looked like a kind of nice South Louisiana home. I think it had been designed by one of their architects, the really well-known A Hayes Town.

Dave: 8:15

Yeah very Characteristic architecture.

Jen: 8:18

Very, but it was a cool place. Dave ended up staying in the car with the dog, unfortunately.

Dave: 8:26

We went for a walk.

Jen: 8:28

We all did. But I'm going to tell you when our daughter and I went in there, that air conditioner was blowing like ice, it was so great. And then there were some little exhibits, you know, about kind of just life on the bayou different foods. They had a little animatronic show that the kids would love, with a raccoon, an alligator and a little turtle that talked. They had a movie you could watch. You know it was really well done, yeah, so definitely worth a stop there, definitely worth a stop.

Dave: 9:04

definitely worth a stop, not just for get out and make a nice stretch of legs.

Jen: 9:07

But, uh, very informative yeah, and learn, learn about that area, you know and so we continued on to lafayette um got into the hotel yep we stayed right across from the campus of the campus yeah, uh, university of louisiana lafayette yes, which, as mike davis informed us, they jokingly call it ooh-la-la, which I thought was funny, and we had po'boys on the schedule.

Dave: 9:35

That was our goal just some good po'boys. And so there's actually a well-known place there called Old Time Grocery Neat atmosphere, ambiance and just a nice selection of, you know, seafood po'boys but also other classic po'boys.

Jen: 9:50

Right, like roast beef and meatball and all kinds of things.

Dave: 9:54

But it's called a grocery because you can get chips, and drinks and I mean it's kind of separate. It's interesting.

Jen: 9:59

Yeah, like the side where you order has all the chips and drinks and then you go into this other little kind of area. But you know, it's kind of just you walk up and order and they bring you your food. But it was really, it was just an experience, you know, really nice experience and there was a lot of decor from the university and I don't know. It was just cool. We got y'all got a Barks Root Beer.

Dave: 10:25

Oh yeah, the Barks of the.

Jen: 10:26

Poble.

Dave: 10:31

That's bottled in Mississippi or it was invented in Mississippi, which we love. Yeah, I will say when you can find the Abita.

Jen: 10:36

Yeah, abita Root Beer is really good too.

Dave: 10:38

And I'll be honest. So there was a time when you could get it fresh. They would actually do it in kegs and you can get it out of a fountain and let me just tell you, like the best root beer you've ever had, yeah, and it completely because it was fresh. It wasn't bottled Right. I mean, even the bottle's good, but having it out of the like that, yeah, oh, yeah, it goes really well.

Jen: 11:04

Root beer goes with a seafood po' boy.

Dave: 11:06

It does I don't know why, but it does, so you got a shrimp. I got a half a shrimp and then our daughter got shrimp. I think you and I.

Jen: 11:12

Well, we split one.

Dave: 11:13

Yeah, y'all split and then I got a half of their special and our daughter and I split that just to sample that and that was like turkey ham and roast beef, but I had a little bit of gravy in there, which was really good.

Jen: 11:25

Yeah, the bread was especially good. Yeah, you know really soft, because some po' boy bread you bite into that thing and you just feel like I'm just eating bread and it's so like hard and crunchy and you know it kind of takes away from the experience. But this really was some nice bread.

Dave: 11:41

I won't eat a po' boy outside of Louisiana. Yeah, yeah, because of the bread to me. Yeah, I've only found the bread in louisiana. You know that you can have it. I don't know what it is. It's something about where they make it, how they make it, whatever, yeah, but um, really good, po boys. But I'll tell you, if I was a student there, I'd be at this place all the time, oh yeah specials, it's like seven dollars. I have a different one like monday through thursday for a whole po boy of different kinds yep man was a student.

Dave: 12:09

I didn't have much money. That would have gone a long way. Well, even these days, with the economy the way it is, that would be a deal, because a half po' boy is more than enough. He'd save the other half for the next day.

Jen: 12:19

Yeah.

Dave: 12:20

Man, what a deal.

Jen: 12:21

I know.

Dave: 12:22

So great if you have a chance to visit all the time. So then, uh, that was that night and then the next morning, uh, we got up, uh, and headed to new iberia. Louisiana was just a little bit south of lafayette, gorgeous drive beautiful, yeah, sugar cane rice fields. Beautiful uh live oak trees, old older homes and then that's where we did our interview With Mike Davis at Conrico, if you have a chance to listen to that episode.

Jen: 12:52

But lots of food things down there, a lot of other food producers, like Hot sauces and names you would recognize and just all kinds of things In that area.

Dave: 13:03

But it's a great foodie area Because then you also have what's called the Boudin Trail. Boudin is a specialty of that area and most of it's made there. Yeah, you can get it in new orleans, but I mean it's freshly made there.

Jen: 13:15

Yeah, that's a, it's very much, and hey tell, tell that so a funny funny boudin story.

Dave: 13:22

Um, so I work in sports, um stuff a lot, and so I was at the university of lafayette, louisiana, lafayette stadium one morning. We're trying to get in, several of us trying to get in the gate. They're going to security, and there was a young lady at the back of the line who, in a very thick cajun accent, was like y'all gotta hurry up, I gotta make the boudin. And to me it was just such a louisiana thing. They're having boudin at the stadium. Yeah, you know, and it was very serious. I mean, it was just such a Louisiana thing they're having boudin at the stadium.

Jen: 13:48

Yeah, you know, and it was very serious. I mean it was like we've got to get in because the boudin's got to get made, yeah.

Dave: 13:54

So we were all like, yep, she needs to get in. We all want boudin later, so let her go first. Yeah, but, yeah, and, but it's everywhere, but it's everywhere, it's everywhere.

Jen: 14:08

Like every billboard you pass is for boudin yeah. After the action flyer yeah.

Dave: 14:10

It's just billboard after billboard of stop here for boudin and meat markets. It's boudin and cracklins and it's just like yeah.

Jen: 14:17

And tell what it is.

Dave: 14:18

So it's a pork. Mainly it's a pork and rice sausage that's steamed, but they also smoke it. But there's also people doing there's chicken boudins, there's alliés boudins or shrimp boudins, but the the classic is a pork.

Jen: 14:38

Yeah and uh. Now, we didn't get any actual boudin while we're in lafayette, no, but we did get some, yeah, so our way out of town right, all right way out of town.

Dave: 14:42

We were, uh, headed west still and lake char, yeah, and it was kind of like time for lunch.

Jen: 14:48

We just with having the dog. We decided to get some to-go plates and so we got some fried boudin balls. We got pistoles which we had never tried before, and they're like kind of a bready roll that are stuffed, stuffed with, like crawfish ative, yeah, and shrimp ative. And then I got another shrimp po' boy, because that's just my all-time favorite, that's her.

Dave: 15:13

thing.

Jen: 15:14

And then our daughter got like a popcorn shrimp plate that came with fries and coleslaw. It was some good coleslaw. Mine came with that as well Fresh, freshly fried. But that was from a place called Steamboat Bills Steamboat.

Dave: 15:28

Bills Arizonaboat. Bills Air Loft.

Jen: 15:29

Yeah, and I think they have several locations, but that was excellent and our daughter got to try the boudin balls for the first time.

Dave: 15:37

Oh yeah, the boudin. So she got to have some boudin balls. So that's where they take it out of the casing and just fry it and that's a good way to sample it.

Jen: 15:44

Yeah, sampling, yeah, yeah so that was lunch.

Dave: 15:46

We kept driving, uh, and then we were. Our goal was to make austin that evening, but houston was about the halfway point, um, and so we stopped at a place I've been able to go to before, but it's a british grocery. Now it's way more than the grocery, but it bills itself as a grocery store the british isles grocery store in houston. Um, now, you and I we've both been we spent some time in london, uh, you spent more than me, and of course we have some scott, you have some scottish heritage, and so just need time to get to see some of those groceries, and we love specialty groceries oh yeah that's what we'd love to visit those and just see different things yeah, and this was in an area of houston called uh like the rice village or or just the village right there by rice university yeah, near rice university, but it was really neat shop.

Jen: 16:33

They had all kinds of uh, tea and just you know anything you can imagine scone mixes, um, and then you know like oh, I don't know stickers and just china all kinds of stuff looking around.

Dave: 16:49

They had a uh, I think there was actually a one-gallon tub of mincemeat. Oh, wow, yeah so that's a big British and it's kind of hard to find mincemeat to do a mincemeat pie. But I remember that I was like I don't think I can get that on an airplane, but maybe another time. I don't know how long it lasts, but whatever. Anyway, that was a neat side stop, break it out of the car. Yeah, so then we kept trucking on to Austin. That night.

Dave: 17:17

Yep, not too much further there from Houston, and the goal in Austin was to do some barbecues. Right, we were going to be in the Austin area for a day and a half, two days, and try to sample a good bit of barbecue.

Jen: 17:38

so the next day we got up um, and I've been to austin a couple times, briefly, uh, and then uh drove around and kind of did a driving tour of the area yeah, we started in kind of a the downtown right and, uh, we found this food hall and called the fairgrounds yeah, called fairgrounds and that was really cool.

Jen: 17:57

So you had seen, I guess, some kind of write-up previous trip right this, uh, particular restaurant at the fairgrounds called the austin rotisserie, and so they would do, you know, rotisserie chicken and but they had a lot of other things and it was kind of a french theme. Yes, because they serve the sandwiches on the baguette bread really good crunchy baguette bread. So we got three different sandwiches and split them. We got ham and cheese and a smoked salmon that had tomato and some arugula and some goat cheese, and then we got a rotisserie chicken that had some arugula and goat cheese and they were all just excellent I thought, yes, but the ham and cheese was yeah, far and away.

Dave: 18:42

Which for you not being a cheese person either I'm not.

Jen: 18:45

I I know it's weird y'all and we have this food podcast, but I'm not just like the world's biggest fan of cheese and I don't know what it is sometimes it's a texture thing for me, but anyway, um it was just really really good oh yeah, and that the swiss that was on there. It was like so thinly sliced it was perfect.

Dave: 19:05

Well done, well done, so highly recommend yes. So we continued driving around, kind of drove through the South Congress area.

Jen: 19:12

Saw the Capitol Saw the Capitol, which is you know, it's really well known. It's made out of like pink granite.

Dave: 19:20

And just got to see a lot. You know they have that green belt area on the river and it was really really pretty. A lot of people out went to the zilker park, drove through that, oh yeah I mean, everybody was out, like you know it was in their canoe or riding their bikes.

Jen: 19:36

They had their dogs. There was some kind of music fest. It's a very like outdoorsy city and everybody has their dog they take them everywhere, at restaurants or whatever you know.

Dave: 19:48

And we did drive by Interstellar Barbecue.

Jen: 19:50

Yeah, and there's a really long line.

Dave: 19:52

We thought, you know, let's drive around, you know, and that's why we ended up at the Austin Rotisserie. And then that evening we were coming back and of course, like I said earlier, we really like specialty grocery stores and came across um h mart, which is a chain right um, they have mostly in the east and west coast, but they're korean mostly, but they also have things kind of across the asian cuisine area huge oh yeah, massive yeah they have restaurants in there, but then they have the grocery side and, um, I'm still trying to get my walk pantry built, so we were able to pick up a couple of things for that.

Dave: 20:29

Yep, and our daughter, of course, enjoyed that. Oh yeah, loves that kind of thing.

Jen: 20:33

They had, you know things like oh my gosh, any kind of ramen you'd ever imagine? Yeah, but they had like Japanese Kit Kats. I mean you name it everything, just the sky's the limit.

Dave: 20:45

I mean, I think there were two rows of soy sauce. Mm-hmm, easily.

Jen: 20:49

Mm-hmm. So, yeah, that was cool. And then the next morning we were headed out, like you know, to head back to West Texas.

Dave: 20:59

Yeah, so we didn't get any barbecue that day, but we had decided. If there was going to be one place, we were going to have barbecue. Yeah, we decided it would be the salt the salt, with the original location in driftwood, texas right, which is just west of austin, and as austin grows, it's less and less west of austin right and more right.

Jen: 21:18

So we had the car all packed up, we were hit, you know, checked out of the hotel and drove straight to the Salt Lake. We were there right at 11 when it opened. And of course this was on a Monday morning, but there was no line and now with the dog, we did have to sit outside.

Dave: 21:36

But they were dog-friendly outside. Oh yeah, huge porch area. Yeah, now when I went, I went one other time, and probably eight years ago maybe of the time, and probably eight years ago maybe, and when I we, we went on a friday and we waited and it was covered up. I can imagine just I mean. But the original location is just very picturesque with the mesquite trees and just their stone building, the porches is beautiful Texas.

Jen: 22:04

Oh yeah.

Dave: 22:05

You know. So if you're going to go, you know that's the one to go to for sure, so we ordered, of course, a couple sample plates.

Jen: 22:13

Right, we had to get to-go plates because with the dog, and then you know we ate outside. If you had a service dog, I think they would let you eat inside, but we got to, so we did a brisket.

Dave: 22:24

If you had a service dog, I think they would let you eat inside, so we did a brisket Brisket plate.

Jen: 22:27

They gave us sliced brisket and burnt ends, and then we wanted ribs, which should have been half and half, I think, but they didn't have beef. They were out of beef, so they gave us all brisket.

Dave: 22:40

No, bison, bison, sorry yes.

Jen: 22:45

And the brisket was really really good.

Dave: 22:46

Oh, it was incredible yeah, um, you know, here's the thing with the brisket. I mean, texas is known for the brisket, and we've eaten in a couple other. I want to say we've eaten at three other, I would say, decent barbecue restaurants no, I mean, they were good, they were good, and one of them was even on the top 10. And I might get railed. Well, we're leaving Texas, so it's okay. The brisket wasn't my favorite, you know. I mean to me it was okay, but it wasn't like blow you away, yeah.

Jen: 23:22

Well, and I'll be honest, I mean even though, with being from Mississippi and pulled pork is such a thing, brisket is my choice, like anytime it's on a menu, that is my choice.

Dave: 23:35

And I think there's this trend right now where you know it's the super. How fatty can we make it Like? How much fat can we keep in the meat, even when they trim it and they want it, just so? How moist can we make it like? How much fat can we keep it? Yeah me, even when they trim it, they want it, just so. How moist can we make it? And a couple of times I've had it, I've been like man.

Dave: 23:51

This just doesn't taste like much of anything except fat except fat, and this was a great smoky, meaty taste it wasn't fatty.

Jen: 23:59

No, and see, you know me, I don't really like fatty meat, so that doesn't go go for me. No, and I mean it's not. These other ones were bad. No, this was a different level, it was a different. I don't really like fatty meat, so that doesn't go for me.

Dave: 24:06

No, and I mean, it's not that these other ones were bad. No, it's just that this was a different level.

Jen: 24:10

It was a different level, for sure, and I mean I had waited years to eat there, right, but it really met my expectations, you know.

Dave: 24:18

And the bison ribs were good. I'm still trying to get a beef rib, but no, and I mean like some of these other places, I mean I'll be honest, these two of these places their pork ribs were as good or better than most of the pork ribs I've had in memphis you know um it may be better, and you know the sausage is a big thing out here it is really good, um, but the brisket. That, to me, was what I was expecting tex, texas brisket to be like.

Jen: 24:45

Yeah, you know yeah. And then the sides were good. Yeah, the sides were really good. There were some baked beans which I think were kind of like ranch beans. They weren't real sweet. We're real used to them being sweet, growing up or being from Mississippi. And then there was some coleslaw that was kind of a vinegar base. It was just kind of light and refreshing.

Dave: 25:04

Yeah, very light and refreshing and then a potato salad that which was mustardy.

Jen: 25:08

Yes, I mean, it was yellow.

Dave: 25:10

Yeah.

Jen: 25:11

It was very mustardy which. I love mustard, so I really enjoyed that.

Dave: 25:15

It was a good overall experience.

Jen: 25:16

And then, yeah, it did come with the kind of traditional Texas little stuff.

Dave: 25:21

Red pickles and onions. Yeah, exactly Love that. Yeah, yeah so, and of course we had to get dessert. We have to try everything.

Jen: 25:28

That's right, that's right, so you got.

Dave: 25:32

The half and half cobbler which is peach and blackberry and a little ice cream on there.

Jen: 25:36

Yeah, and then our daughter and I got put compay. She got just the regular one and I got the one that had the chocolate chips.

Dave: 25:53

And got just the regular one and I got the one that had the chocolate chips, and they were both really good. Yeah, excellent, everything's really good. Yeah, um, so then we can continue on. Uh, and we headed out of there through, we were headed home, but, uh, we wanted to drive through an area called dripping springs and then, uh, kind of continued on into fredericksburg, texas right and that's, uh, very much the texas hill country yeah, that is to me the epitome of that hill country.

Dave: 26:10

Look what you're expecting when you you see that. But what I wasn't expecting. And I had heard about some texas wine not what I was expecting, like we weren't going to any wine tours or anything. But we're driving between Dripping Springs and Fredericksburg and they're everywhere.

Jen: 26:28

Yeah, I mean, it was just winery after winery after winery and they were not like kind of low-end things. No, this is like Napa Valley, like really bougie and nice.

Dave: 26:40

I was kind of shocked at how big it was. I was wondering how big a lot of these, these wineries were, yeah, and I mean some of them look straight out of napa valley or italy or yeah, well, and a lot of them had tasting rooms I wish we had been able to stop and do that but evidently so.

Dave: 26:57

This area right up around dripping springs, fredericksburg. It's one of what they call an american viticultural area. It's the third largest in the country. There are over 60 wineries just in that area. Texas is now the fifth largest state of producing wine in the United States.

Jen: 27:17

It's a huge area.

Dave: 27:19

We were just shocked. I was expecting something more like you'd see maybe while you're up in North Carolina. It's a small little house inside the road with jams and jellies and stuff. You know Muskin Island, but not what I was expecting at all.

Jen: 27:36

Yeah, well, I mean, you do see the Texas wines in the grocery store.

Dave: 27:40

So you know they've got to have a little bit bigger operation. But I didn't know what I was expecting. But anyway, and then moved on to Fredericksburg. Yeah, it's a very historic area.

Jen: 27:51

It was settled by German settlers, and that could be why there's such a wine culture or history. I think it was a similar climate.

Dave: 28:03

But anyway we stopped, got some coffee, but then there was some really historic church we stopped at and looked in right, saint mary's.

Jen: 28:09

It was a catholic church. There was also a really historic lutheran church that we didn't get to go to, but that saint mary's is beautiful. It was, uh, built in what? 1840s yeah, 1840s and then the newer one which is right next door, was like 1906 and it was, I mean, I'm telling you I've been to europe, I've done the whole western european, you know, kind of whirlwind tour and that was as beautiful as any church that we ever went in um, it's fantastic and there's a kind of a settlers pioneer museum there.

Dave: 28:44

there's also a fort there, just outside of Fredericksburg that was where settlers passed through there, so it's a lot of cool things to do. I wish we had more time.

Jen: 28:54

I agree. I mean it's definitely a return trip on our list of things to do and we really didn't even get to explore, kind of like, the culinary side of things.

Dave: 29:03

No, not at all. Yeah, so it was a fun trip. So it was a fun trip.

Jen: 29:07

It definitely was a fun trip.

Dave: 29:11

We had our grocery hauls from British Isles and H-Mart and the stuff from Conrico, that Mike had given us. So, we had some groceries there ready to go, but yeah so hopefully some ideas that we can make some future trips out of. Anyway, that is our summer food trip this year.

Jen: 29:31

Yeah, well, thanks for listening. And just to sort of mention, we have started trying to produce some content for our YouTube page.

Dave: 29:41

We've started some YouTube videos. Got a biscuit video up, got our first one up, yep.

Jen: 29:45

So check that out please. And then also, we've just recently done a support tab, Yep.

Dave: 29:52

So if you want to help us out there, tell us about that. You know, support us trying to produce more content. You'll find it on the webpage. You should find it on the podcast links and, of course, tell your friends and share the podcast.

Jen: 30:11

And we just want to grow it.

Dave: 30:11

So something we've enjoyed doing and we hope to do more of them absolutely and again, we're on facebook, we're on instagram, so uh, yes, our daughter's a social media manager yeah, like and subscribe and all the things, all the things yeah, so for this week on sweet tea and tacos, I'm dave and I'm jen thanks for listening.