Best Barbecue Restaurant: Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q
5/28/2009
By Hector Saldaña - Express-News
Readers' Choice winner
LEON SPRINGS — Twenty years ago, the Boerne Stage Road exit was a rather lonely, lovely country exercise.
These days, the original Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q, 24152 W. I-10, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, is the crossroads and bellwether of good eats and demographic trends in Leon Springs.
But tradition trumps change out here.
"Yes, we're a high-growth area," said marketing director Shannon Walsh. "But Rudy's is kind of like going back in time . . . it's comforting."
Nothing says Texas like pit barbecue, and Rudy's is Texas through and through, though there are now more than 25 locations in Texas and two bordering states.
The delicious slow-smoked meats come wrapped in butcher paper; the beer is iced in metal tubs. And the homemade peppered sauce pulls it all together, so much so that Rudy's won Readers' Choice Awards as best barbecue restaurant and best place to get ribs, as well as bronze for best outdoor dining and best place to take out-of-town guests.
Granted, the rustic look is as likely to pull in first-time customers. But it's original pit-master Doc Holiday's sauce that keeps 'em coming back.
Visitors go through the serving line quickly as various combinations are served up lickety-split fresh from the pit. Family-style seating completes the experience.
Online: www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/contests_promotions/readers_choice/Rudys_Country_Store_and_Bar-B-Q.html
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