Janice I never thought I’d be the kind of person who wakes up at the crack of dawn to stand in line for BBQ—but here I am at Snow’s BBQ. Located just an hour east of Austin in the small town of Lexington, Texas (population: 1,300), Snow’s has been serving up legendary barbecue for over 20 years. It was named the No. 1 BBQ joint in Texas by Texas Monthly in 2008 and has remained a fixture on their Top 50 list ever since. The spot gained international fame in 2018 when it was featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table: BBQ.
We woke up at 5:30 a.m.—well, after hitting snooze a couple of times—and hit the road with caffeinated drinks in hand. The drive was just 30 miles from our place, peaceful and quiet, with the sun rising over the horizon and hardly any cars on the highway. We got there around 7 and saw a line of lawn chairs wrapped around the building. The first person was posted right at the front door, and the line stretched all the way back to the BBQ pit. We brought a portable chair to share, but luckily they had extras for anyone who needed one. This isn’t something we usually do, but we made an exception—because we had to find out if the hype was real.
Around 7:30, Kerry came out and asked the crowd where the numbers left off. At first, I was confused—I thought maybe we needed a number to get served and we had somehow missed it. For a second, I panicked, thinking we weren’t going to get any BBQ. But turns out, it was just for a raffle done on the honor system. Big relief. When we called out our spot in line, we were numbers 124 and 125.
Just before they opened, everyone stood for the national anthem—and then the raffle started. “#125!” Kerry shouted. I raised my hand, completely stunned. “Would you like a hat, a shirt, or 10% off?” he asked. “A shirt, please,” I replied, still kind of in shock. After the raffle, people started returning their borrowed lawn chairs to the back, and that’s when I knew—it was finally time.
It took another two hours before we finally made it to the door—the one covered in stickers. Our appetites were definitely kicking in, but we weren’t hangry yet, thanks to the avocado toast we’d had before heading out. Just before walking in, we signed the guestbook for Ms. Tootsie to see. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there that day—she had another engagement in Giddings, TX. Still, I hope she gets a chance to see just how many fans came out to support her, from both near and far: Manchester, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Orange County, New York, and more.
This was a first for us: BBQ for breakfast (or brunch?), and we were pumped.
“What do you want to order?” Zach asked.
“Everything!” I said. “Snow’s is only open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until they sell out—we have to try it all!”
So we did. Well, almost—we got everything except the turkey breast.
We said we’d order everything—and we did just that! We got the original sausage, jalapeño sausage, brisket, pork steak, half a chicken, pork ribs, and banana pudding for dessert. Every bite was smoky, tender, and juicy. The brisket, though—wow. The moment I took a bite, I was in heaven. It melted in my mouth like butter and had this deep, rich umami flavor. This wasn’t just good BBQ—it was next level. Snow’s has officially raised the bar for me.
We ended up sharing a table with a few guys on a BBQ road trip from Austin. They told us about all the spots they’d hit so far and said Snow’s had just made it into their top favorites. Like us, they first heard about it from Netflix.
I’m so grateful—not just for the amazing food, but for the incredible Southern hospitality that Snow’s is known for. This was truly an experience I’ll never forget. Huge thanks to Netflix for sharing Snow’s story with the world—if it weren’t for Chef’s Table: BBQ, we might have never known about this gem.
