Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue [Paperback]

John DeMers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

The product of a 14,000-mile road trip and 111 different meals, this delicious guidebook to Texas barbecue is just the thing for any aficionado with a little gas money and a large appetite. The restaurants profiled range from very plain (a shack with an ordering window) to fancy, from Port Arthur to Abilene, McAllen to Texarkana, and Austin to El Paso. Expressing an absolute reverence for Texas barbecue, this guide celebrates the work and time required to produce meat that is perfectly smoky, tender, and juicy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a gut-busting tour of seemingly every mom-and-pop barbecue joint in the state of Texas, veteran author DeMers (The Food of New Orleans) has produced a definitive state guide to independent 'cuers, divided by region (east, north, central, etc.). Since it's Texas, beef brisket features prominently, though methods of preparation (dry rub, choice of wood, time on the smoker, etc.) vary intriguingly. Choice menu items and contact information are provided, but DeMer's focus is on the characters who make it happen: Eric Hilliard and the Hackleman brothers of Smokey Joe's in Nash believe the Lord Himself wanted them to enter the business; trained chef Wayne Anderson ditched 30 years of country-wide kitchen work for a battered baseball hat and a barbecue pit in Marble Falls; and WWII veteran Vencil Mares, proprietor of the Taylor Café for over 50 years, who has trained no successor to keep Texans in his brisket, named one of the 20 best dishes in America by USA Today. A handful of recipes round out this thorough travel guide; readers on the trail of Texas culinary gold should find it as indispensable as a map. Color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A handful of recipes round out this thorough travel guide; readers on the trail of Texas culinary gold should find it as indispensable as a map."  —Publishers Weekly

"Takes readers table-and pit-side to restaurants around the state.The paperback easily fits into the glove compartment for handy road reference."  —Southern Living Magazine

"You will find plenty of mouthwatering suggestions in the 250 pages of this book."  —Abilene Reporter News

"A new book on Texas barbecue serves up a heaping platter of Tarrant County dining spots. North Texas is well-represented."  —Fort Worth Star Telegram

"Part bible, part guidebook, part cookbook."  —Austin Chronicle

"[The author] takes more of a storyteller's role . . . sketching slices of life to savor rather than adopting the role of standard reviewer."  —Texarkana Gazette

"An excellent guide for your own rib-fueled road trip . . . just spread out a map and connect the dots."  —Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine

"A must-have book for lovers of serious 'que. Wherever you might find yourself in the Lone Star State, with John’s book, you can find the best barbecue the region has to offer."  —TheTexasFoodandWineGourmet.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Bright Sky Press (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933979224
• ISBN-13: 978-1933979229
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excerpted from my January 2009 review column in The National Barbecue News, April 23, 2009

By 

Doug Mosley (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue (Paperback)

"Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue" by John DeMers ($19.95, Bright Sky Press, 240 pp.) is stunning in the amount of detail it packs into its pages. I've no doubt that this book may have been decades in the making. DeMers coverage of Texas barbecue is as complete as anything I've ever seen, including his take on 119 different barbecue restaurants, shacks, dives and joints. This book also boasts strong photography with over 150 full-color photos. This one is also a bit light in the recipes, but as with the former that's OK. There's plenty of outstanding content here to make this book a winner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps Me Enjoy Texas Barbecue Even More, January 11, 2010

By 

Esteban Ess (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue (Paperback)

I am enjoying "Follow The Smoke" as I live in Texas and we go to the very places that John DeMers covers in his book. It is fun to review the book while in the parking lot of the barbecue place before we enter. Helps us decide what to order and provides a sense of the history, barbecue art and philosophy of the owner and preferred choice of meats and cuts. I only regret that the history of Rudy's Barbecue was not covered in this book. While it is a chain, the meats are high quality, the service is fun and the cooking is just great. It is a fine place to take visitors and less expensive than many other places. I also do not agree with the ratings provided the County Line. Two years ago, the service and poor food quality at the County Line in NW San Antonio drove me away very unhappy and I have not returned since. So, take the book with a grain of salt. Barbecue is not an exact science. Changes in personnel can have a big effect on the food. The author provided me with more things to consider when evaluating a barbecue place.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smell The Smoke, October 15, 2008

By 

Slag "ROBERT" (TX.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue (Paperback)

Follow the Smoke: 14,783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue
Being a native Texan and living in Tx all my life I have found this book to be a trasure for a true barbecue lover. Now you don't have to be a Texan to enjoy this wonderful book. If you have ever ventured down to Tx and experience some Texas barbecue then you will also get a kick out of this book.