the salt lick

We took a short drive about 30 minutes southwest of Austin to Driftwood, Texas to the Salt Lick. We had several friends suggest this restaurant and I had also seen it on Top Chef last spring...so it was definitely on our Texas Bucket List. We arrived a little before 5pm and we could not believe the number of cars. It was wild. We stood in line with about 20 people in front of us just to put our name on the list for the hour wait at that time. 

We are at the end of the line you see to the left under the BYOB sign.

But there is plenty to see and do while you wait. They have a wine tasting room, live music and a Kid's Ranch with playground equipment and a sandbox.

We ended up not waiting very long at all and got a great table on the glassed-in porch.

Here is where the magic happens.

A little bit of history on the Salt Lick:

In 1956, Scott’s mother and father moved with their two young sons to Driftwood. But his father had to travel constantly across the state working for a bridge construction company. Thurman dreamed of spending every day where his family had put down generations of roots.

One day he and Hisako took out a yellow legal pad and wrote down 54 things the family could do and stay in Driftwood. The idea for the Salt Lick was 14th on the list. At first, they irrigated a field and truck farmed, selling produce to local grocery stores. They also made candies, raised pecan trees and had a shelling business.

But in 1967, Thurman, who was known for his delicious barbeque at family reunions, decided he would cook meat for paying customers. Thurman and his two sons built a huge barbeque pit. Thurman would go to the pit on Thursday night and start cooking. He stayed for the weekend, sleeping on a cot, until all the meat sold. He kept coming home earlier and earlier. After a few months, the boys and Thurman built a little screen porch around the pit. The Salt Lick has grown from there. The Roberts family now serves mouthwatering barbeque to thousands of folks each week.

This was David's plate:

Owen loved the sausage! I don't know how many pieces he ended up eating, but the boy was a big fan.

And we couldn't say no to dessert. The blackberry cobbler was phenomenal,

as Owen is clearly demonstrating. 

By the time we left, more people had congregated. It is definitely a Texas-must-do. Great food and great experience!