We had heard great reviews about Cooper’s Barbeque being the best barbeque in Texas or even best BBQ in America! We had also read that it was ex- president Bush’s favorite barbeque restaurant too! All this piqued our interest to check it out. Hence we decided to drive one weekend afternoon to Llano for a special barbeque lunch.
If you love good food, the drive to Llano is worth the trip. Our trip involved eating a good barbeque lunch at Coopers; digesting this high protein lunch by climbing the Enchanted Rock, and driving to the beautiful and quaint town of Fredericksburg, enjoying a stroll in their downtown shops, and tasting and picking out some Rustlin Robs sauces and salsas, eating light dinner and Ice cream in one of the local restaurants and drive back home to Austin. It was a perfect planned day.
When we drove to Llano and reached Cooper’s we saw many old style pits smoking with a faint barbeque aroma circulating the air and a long line in front of the restaurant. The pits were humongous sized and the main pit near the entrance which was open had all kinds of meat stacked in it. This place was obviously very popular, not only were there many locals, there were many who had travelled from far to eat here snapping pictures in front of this tourist attraction!
Even before entering the restaurant, the people were waiting in line to pick the meat of their choice! This concept of picking from the pit was new and interesting to us. While we were still deciding on our choices, a local Texan cowboy standing in our line also suggested us menu options available in the restaurant.
When it was our turn, we chose beef brisket, beef ribs and lamb chops as our meat choices. The barbeque pit server heaped our meat choices in a tray, which we took inside the restaurant. Inside again we lined up to get our meat selection sliced. They sliced our meat and individually wrap it in parchment /butter paper and organized it in an aluminum tray. After which we also picked some corn and drink choices before we lined up to pay.
The restaurant is lined up with tables and we seated ourselves in an empty table. Each table is stacked with loafs of bread and bottles of jalapenos to eat along with the barbeque. There was also a station to self serve beans, but we skipped the beans since its recipe had pork, which we don’t eat.
The beef ribs were amazingly delectable which we totally enjoyed. The brisket was moist and delicious which our kids loved, and lamb chops rarely served in most barbeque restaurants was excellent too. This barbeque was surely special and was worth the long drive.
We had ordered way more than our requirements, but it was made very convenient to box the rest and bring it home. The ambience and atmosphere of the place is very Texan and friendly. People sit beside each other in the long picnic style tables and eat and enjoy their meat and leave satisfied. The walls show off their hunting trophies – deer antlers and cheetahs creating the Texan country ambience!
If you want a true Texas experience and taste the best of barbeques, Cooper’s old time pit barbeque is surely a place to visit.
Cuisine: Barbeque
Price Range: Above Average
Rating: ****
Website: http://www.coopersbbqllano.com
Dishes Reviewed
- Beef Brisket
- Beef Ribs
- Lamb Chops
