XL

Snow's BBQ in Lexington

For one day a week, Snow's aims to earn the crown of Texas' top barbecue

By Matthew Odam
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, December 18, 2008

Sometimes a secret is just too juicy to be kept.

After five years of serving barbecue mostly to locals in the small Texas town of Lexington, Snow's BBQ - thanks to laurels bestowed earlier this year by Texas Monthly and, subsequently, The New Yorker - went from little-known gem to regional star to the Mecca of Meat in the blink of an eye.

Snow's, which sells meat for only a few hours each Saturday, was soon being flooded with visitors from around the globe (80 percent to 90 percent of their business is now out-of-towners), and their weekly orders skyrocketed from 300 pounds to 1,000 pounds. The restaurant's charming backstory and odd operating schedule seemed to add heavily to the mystique.

Of course, with great honor comes great responsibility. And gushing praise and sudden stardom wrapped in a precious narrative can be a double-edged sword. (Just ask "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody.)

Everyone loves taking shots at the king, and everyone's an expert. So, with a bit of skepticism and a huge appetite for barbecue, a dozen or so friends and I headed over to Snow's to find out what all the fuss was about and see if the meat could live up to its growing mythology.

Situated between Austin and College Station, Lexington is home to about 1,000 people. It's a one-stoplight, blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of place where kids play in the streets and everyone admittedly knows everyone.

Sitting on Main Street across from an old peanut warehouse and down the road from a cattle auction site, Snow's BBQ opened in March 2003 and resides in what was once the farm and ranch store of owner Kerry Bexley. The place has a few tables inside with a covered area of picnic benches outside by the barbecue pits.

Working those pits is local (and now international) celebrity Tootsie Tomanetz. Ms. Tootsie, as she is known to locals and visitors alike, has been in the meat business for 40 years, and made a name for herself running a popular meat market in town from 1976-1996 with her husband.

When Bexley, who works at the lignite mine outside town, decided he wanted to open a barbecue joint, he knew there was only one partner to ask to join him.

Between his people and management skills (he is a former amateur rodeo clown and ran a rodeo for a dozen years) and Tomanetz's seemingly unmatched touch as a pit boss, Bexley figured they could be a formidable team.

With a restaurant that is open only on Saturday mornings from 8 until they sell out, usually around 11 a.m. or noon, that hard work comes very early on weekend morning, after both Bexley and Tomanetz, who is a custodian for the Giddings Independent School District, have worked all week at their day jobs.

The briskets are thrown over the coals between midnight and 1 a.m., then Tomanetz comes in at 2 a.m. and throws on the chicken, pork and ribs. The briskets smoke eight to 10 hours, the other meats smoke six to 10 hours, all over oak coals.

After the smoke and Tomanetz have done their work, it's showtime.

Though barbecue might not seem like a breakfast food, it is fast becoming so in Central Texas. Those who cannot make the meat pilgrimage at such an early hour and wish to reserve meat for a slightly later arrival can plead the merits of their case by calling Bexley at 979-542-8189. And as a sign that Snow's is adapting to its newfound fame, this month Bexley began an online shipping operation (www.snowsbbq.com) for those who live too far afield or are not prone to driving long distances for an early meal.

But one taste of the finest brisket in the land is a reward great enough for an unusually early wake-up call. The meat simply melts in your mouth like red velvet cake. The most impressive part of the brisket might have been that each cut of our entire brisket was cooked as perfectly as the next, a mind-bending consistency that put the rest of the meats to shame. Those who prefer a crusty, caramelized edge to their brisket might prefer a rub different than that used by Snow's, but nobody can argue with beef that crumbles at the touch.

The sausage was loosely packed and flavorful, though no more impressive than that of Smitty's Market or Kreuz Market in Lockhart, while the ribs were a little dry. The most curious piece of meat was a pork shoulder that looked like a pork loin. It was juicy and tender but lacked the flavor of some better pork I've had in some other joints.

The meat came with traditional sides of slaw and potato salad, both of which were fresh and tasty, as well as the standard pickles, onions and white bread. But who needs sides when the star of the show is so sublime?

Beyond the food, however, it is the plain-spoken, unpretentious nature of Bexley and Tomanetz and the family atmosphere they have cultivated that makes a trip to Snow's worth your while.

Snow's - named after Bexley's childhood nickname, Snowman - has handled well the explosion of interest and the pressure that comes with it. "There is always the stress level of (meeting expectations)," Bexley said. "I'm very concerned to try to fulfill the honors we received."

Though it might be hard to officially crown any one barbecue spot as the best in the state - a task akin to a parent picking his favorite child - a tireless commitment to quality and a welcoming and unique atmosphere has earned Snow's barbecue a spot among the state's elite smoked eats.

modam@statesman.com; 912-5986