City Market (Schulenburg, TX)

This review is way overdue. I'm a Schulenburg native, so I've eaten City Market barbecue more times than I can count. That being said, this was the first time I've had their awesome smoked meats since starting my blog.

I tried to check in on Yelp from the parking lot, but for some reason Yelp told me I was 5.4 miles away and was thus out of range for a check-in. Hmm...oh well. All of their barbecue offerings are delicious, so I usually have a hard time deciding on just one thing. We got our to-go order in bulk, which ended up being sausage, pork ribs, pork butt, and potato salad.

Their potato salad isn't really what I would consider a mustard-based potato salad. The pepper and other assorted spices give it a great taste. There's also a nice crunch from the veggies, and what appeared to be pimentos.

The sausage was tasty as always, but a little too finely ground for my liking. There was plenty of seasoning to go around, and a great snap on the casings. Their meats are usually loaded up with smoke, but for some reason the sausage was a little lacking in this department today.

As for the pork butt, it was spectacular. There was a thick heap of black pepper crusting the pork, which gives off a decent amount of heat as well as flavor. Unlike the sausage, the pork had a nice amount of smoke, as well as a visible smoke ring. The accompanying sauce is pretty tasty, but you really don't need it with the pork butt, since it's tender and juicy as is.

I thought I had eaten enough, but at the last minute I decided to have a pork rib for dessert.

Much like the pork butt, their ribs are caked with coarse black pepper, which gives off a ton of flavor. The rib meat was very tender, but also had enough staying power not to fall completely off the bone. Perfect. The ribs are certainly tasty, just make sure you have a toothpick handy afterward to rid yourself of the pepper.

Owner and head pitmaster Roy Smrkovsky has a great personality, and serves up a healthy dose of local color alongside his delicious smoked meats. Roy also sells guns (although not in-store), just in case you'd rather provide your own meat, which they're also happy to process for you.

If you find yourself in Schulenburg for some reason, make sure to stop by City Market. It's worth it.

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City Market
109 Kessler Ave
Schulenburg, TX 78956
(979) 743-3440
http://www.citymarketsch.com