Lexington: Snow’s BBQ


Snow's pitmaster, Tootsie Tomanetz

Snow's pitmaster, Tootsie Tomanetz.
LeAnn Mueller

The best barbecue in Texas is currently being served at Snow’s BBQ, in Lexington, a small restaurant open only on Saturdays and only from eight in the morning until whenever the meat runs out, usually around noon. Snow’s is remarkable not only for the quality of its meat but for the unlikeliness of its story. No one on staff had heard of it until we received a reader tip following our 2003 barbecue issue. To stumble upon a place this good and this unknown is every pit hound’s dream, and so we feel compelled to offer, as evidence in favor of our judgment, our story of discovery. It begins with a staff writer’s asking her husband for a favor . . .

Katy Vine: With so much ground to cover, we are on occasion forced to deputize our spouses. This year my designated barbecue bailiwick in Central Texas was chock-full of well-known, top-quality pits. To save time, I sent my husband, George, to check out a few of the unknown places, after giving him the proper training, of course.

When George reached Snow’s, at around twelve-thirty, the only remaining meats were two ribs and an entire brisket. The owner made him a deal for all of it, then brought him out a few slices of brisket. George had never tasted barbecue this good. He returned home, placed the brisket on the counter, peeled back the foil, and told me to try some. What I tasted was as heavenly a piece of meat as I’d ever encountered. I immediately called our food editor, Patricia Sharpe, and told her we had found the best brisket in the state.

Patricia Sharpe: I was at a very loud party and having a great time, but Katy and George were so excited, I ran out the door and drove straight to their house. The brisket was sitting on their kitchen counter like a gold bar from Fort Knox. I put a bite in my mouth and closed my eyes. Good God almighty! Even six hours off the pit, it was perfect. Smoke permeated every morsel; the texture was pure velvet. On a scale of one to five, it was a seven—no, a ten!



The brisket was outlandishly good. But was it merely a happy accident? To find out, we sent veteran reporter S. C. Gwynne, whose appetite for good barbecue is surpassed only by his desire for the truth.

S. C. Gwynne: Anybody who knows barbecue knows that on a given day any idiot can get lucky. So I was dispatched to Snow’s to find out if this little pissant wood-frame building with four hours’ worth of business per week could reliably produce.

My wife and I arrived around ten, ordered everything on the menu, sat down, and tucked into a steaming mound of meat. Our verdict was not long in coming. The experience was otherworldly. The brisket was astonishingly tender, but it was actually topped by the pork steak. This was the best barbecue we had ever had. And the chicken, flavored with a mop sauce, was fall-apart delicious.

So who was the genius behind this fantastic meat? The answer added yet another layer of improbability. It turns out that the pitmaster is a petite, energetic 73-year-old woman named Tootsie Tomanetz who works during the week as a custodian in the Giddings school district. I visited with her while she tended her fires and meats, and it quickly became obvious that Snow’s was no mistake. Tootsie knows meat. She’s been smoking since 1967, when she ran the pits at City Meat Market, in Giddings. She and her husband, White, owned a combination meat market, butcher shop, and barbecue joint in Lexington for twenty years. When Snow’s opened five years ago, she helped owner Kerry Bexley design the pits. Every Saturday she arrives at three a.m. and builds the fires. She starts the meat smoking at four and wraps the brisket in butcher paper around six or seven. When I asked her why Snow’s wasn’t open more than one day a week, she said matter-of-factly: “There’s no market for it.”

The story only got better from there. Gwynne learned that Bexley’s initial motive in opening the restaurant was to give his teenage daughters a place to get work experience, something Bexley (whose childhood nickname was Snowman) takes seriously. Prior to his current job as a control room operator at a local power plant, he was a long-haul trucker, a field officer in the prison system, and for fifteen years, a rodeo clown. He also ran his own rodeo, the Rockin’ B Rodeo, for more than a decade.

We were nearly ready to anoint Bexley’s joint as the best in the state. All that remained was to send the Double-Checker, Paul Burka.

Paul Burka: I timed my arrival for one p.m. to see if Snow’s could pass the late-crowd test, but when I got there, the restaurant was closed. Sold out! Empty! Locked! I turned around and headed for Taylor to double-check Louie Mueller’s. The next week I made it to Snow’s before noon, but even as I was contemplating my choices, I heard Bexley telling a customer that the brisket was already gone—too late again. “Texas Monthly has been here the last two weekends,” he added.

“I’m the third,” I said. I ordered pork ribs, chicken, and pork butt. The pork ribs were fantastic. The chicken was perfectly done. The pork butt was tender and yielding. By the time I had finished, Bexley and I were alone. He called me to the counter. “I didn’t want to say anything while other people were here,” he said, “but my daughter is coming in today and I’ve put up some brisket for her. Would you like some?”

Never have I felt such an outpouring of gratitude for my fellow man. He reached into his private stash and put a single slice upon my plate. I took a bite . . . our quest for the best barbecue in Texas was over.

Rating: 5

Primary heat source: Wood.
516 Main, 979-542-8189 (for preordering on weekdays, always a wise move), 979-773-4640 (on Saturdays). Open Sat 8-noon-ish. Closed Sun-Fri. [Map] snowsbbq.com

If you haven't cancelled ....yet.

Check out episode 1



If you enjoy podcasts from the scribe of smoke

Our Barbecue Podcast Debut: The Story of Tootsie and Snow’s BBQ

quote:

On the inaugural episode of Fire & Smoke,the Texas Monthly barbecue podcast, barbecue editor and host Daniel Vaughn explores one of the most beloved figures in Texas barbecue, the celebrated pitmaster at Snow’s, Tootsie Tomanetz.

Norma Frances “Tootsie” Tomanetz may be the most unassuming star in the barbecue universe. Earlier this year, when she was named a semifinalist for a coveted James Beard Award in the best chef category for the Southwest region, she reacted the way she always does when people shower her with acclaim: she said thank you, shrugged, and got back to work. That is, she got back to her day job as a maintenance worker with the Giddings school system. The barbecue she does on the side. “I’m the old country girl,” she told Vaughn for an article he wrote about her in 2016, “and I like the low profile.”

But there’s no denying her ability in the pits, or, as this episode reveals, the respect she has among barbecue snobs. Last year we named Snow’s (for the second time) the top barbecue joint in Texas, and the remarkable story of the 82-year-old pitmaster behind its success never gets old.

Only a couple hours away from me.
May have to look into an early start ride on the bike & make it a lunch stop.

You can go from their to the original Mueller's for a giant beef rib!

I wish it was close to me, for I would surely be there.........likely many times!!

Wish I heard about this place when I still lived in TX. Never even heard of the town before and I lived an hour and a half away.

Have been to several great que places when I was there: Salt Lick in Driftwood; City Market in Luling; Corkscrew in Spring; Southside Market in Elgin. Would have liked to have gone to Kreuz in Lockhart and any of the great places in Austin (Stiles, Franklin's, Mickelthwait, Black's)...

So much meat, so little time...

I'm about 30 miles south in La Grange, and I can attest to the meat! I've never had it in house, but this story changes things...gonna get me some next weekend! If anyone road trips there, shoot me an email and I'll meet ya!

Nobody does brisket like Texas.
Is it the local beef, the wood, pit type, sauce or what? Just wonderful.

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Originally posted by Archie Teuthis:
Nobody does brisket like Texas.
Is it the local beef, the wood, pit type, sauce or what? Just wonderful.

You’re doing it wrong if it needs sauce

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Only a couple hours away from me.
May have to look into an early start ride on the bike & make it a lunch stop.

You don't go there for lunch.

They only serve on Sat.
Open at 8am, and sold-out by noon.
Plan to get there early to get in line, don't forget to bring a lawn chair, some coffee and a newspaper.

Snow's was great until Texas Monthly published this story, then all the yuppies in Austin who were tired of camping out in line at Franklin's started driving over to Lexington.

Then you had to get there really early to get in line, otherwise you were going to be out of luck. The line at Snow's used to be maybe 15-20 minutes and you could see the door.

The bbq is still as great as it ever was but the long long lines of all the Austin people make it difficult.

Tejas Chocolate in Tomball was ranked #7 by Texas Monthly a couple years ago. It and Corkscrew In Spring make a great N Houston BBQ crawl.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyAgShooter:
Snow's was great until Texas Monthly published this story, then all the yuppies in Austin who were tired of camping out in line at Franklin's started driving over to Lexington.

Then you had to get there really early to get in line, otherwise you were going to be out of luck. The line at Snow's used to be maybe 15-20 minutes and you could see the door.

The bbq is still as great as it ever was but the long long lines of all the Austin people make it difficult.

BBQ World Champion Harry Soo recently said on his YouTube channel that he is 0 for 3 on Snow's. Visiting from California, waiting in line, and going away hungry would suck once let alone 3 times.

Have the Austin people ruined Stiles Switch yet? I went a couple years back after seeing 4+ hour lines at other BBQ places (eg. Franklin's) and had awesome BBQ with a 10 minute wait.

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
Tejas Chocolate in Tomball was ranked #7 by Texas Monthly a couple years ago. It and Corkscrew In Spring make a great N Houston BBQ crawl.

I haven't been to Tejas in about 9 months but it was a long line on a Saturday.

I live closer to Corkscrew. Texas Monthly really screwed over us North Houstonians by letting the masses in on Corkscrew. Corkscrew has gotten to the point that even Friday lunch is a 45 minute wait in line and then another 15 minutes for the food. They used to be open Tues to Sat but now are only open Wed thru Sat so I think it's made the line worse. I only go on Saturdays when it's "cold" out because I can still handle the "cold" (grew up in Upper Midwest, lived in Alaska 5 years, and Canada 2 years) unlike most Houstonians.

Never heard of them, but it is one hour away from me so I will check them out when I can. I LOVE BBQ!

There is a lot of good brisket in Texas & I would recommend trying them all.

quote:

Have the Austin people ruined Stiles Switch yet?

I'm not familiar with that one, I'll put it on my list. I try to avoid Austin. I did a drive by of Tejas Chocolate in Tomball but didn't feel like joining the herd milling about at that particular time. Maybe some other time.

Truth BBQ in Brenham was supposed to the latest bbq hot spot. I tried their Houston location after it opened and left unimpressed.

Tootsie’s secret rub recipe is simply salt and pepper, it blows my mind. I’ve eaten there once for a trip I took for work and it’s incredible and hard to believe salt and pepper it all it gets.

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Originally posted by lunchbox:
Tootsie’s secret rub recipe is simply salt and pepper, it blows my mind.

It's not just Tootsie... "real" Texas BBQ is generally just salt, pepper, and smoke.

It doesn't need any fancy rubs or sauce. The meat should stand on its own.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:BBQ World Champion Harry Soo recently said on his YouTube channel that he is 0 for 3 on Snow's. Visiting from California, waiting in line, and going away hungry would suck once let alone 3 times.

Have the Austin people ruined Stiles Switch yet? I went a couple years back after seeing 4+ hour lines at other BBQ places (eg. Franklin's) and had awesome BBQ with a 10 minute wait.

Its one thing to lament when it was easy to pull-up to a known barbecue spot and not have to wait in line. It's another thing altogether to gripe about the state of popularity that Texas barbecue has become while overlooking/forgetting that those pit masters are finally seeing some financial security for their years of hard work and crazy hours. No more 2:30 post-lunch crowd, with 30lbs of meat sitting there because not enough customers, those days are long gone. There's no complaining from the shop owners and pit masters; if anything they're straining about meat and wood suppliers.

I have no problems waiting in-line for good barbecue. I've stood in line many times and come up empty, its part of the deal; middle of the week helps avoid the masses and the idiots who fill their coolers with briskets. When I went to Snow's, the guys in front of us were from Kansas City, and the couple behind us traveled from Japan. If you want it bad enough, you'll get up early for it. Fortunately, there's no shortage of good barbecue around Texas, great barbecue is in short supply but, go to most towns or, counties and there's a hot spot for that region.

I recently went to Corkscrew, Spring, TX for a mid-week lunch, very solid, line got big after 12:30, made it real easy with family in the area. Tejas Chocolate I've heard/read good things, need to get out there, heard there's a diner there has an exceptional CFS. I have family in Brenham and Truth is very good, well worth it's ranking. Went to Killen's in Pearland after a funeral, they were also quite good, wouldn't say top-20 but, they fed the family and everyone was happy.