The Pit Barbecue restaurant (thepitbbq.com), family-owned by Neal and Janie Tucker and son, is located in Georgetown, Texas. This small Texas town, home to Southwestern University, was founded in 1848 when settlers from southern states, such as North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, moved into this area and settled. . The Pit is well known for its moist beef brisket, homemade sausage and chopped beef sandwiches. The dining room is informal and take-out is available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in 2011.
A famous Texas Hill Country pit-style barbecue restaurant called Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (coopersbbq.com) can be found in a big red sprawling building in Llano, Texas, The restaurant's indoor and outdoor long-table seating all offer views and whiffs of the large central open pit. Here pit masters watch over smoking hams, whole barbecue chickens, slabs of pork ribs and beef brisket moping the meat with a peppery homemade barbecue sauce repeatedly during the cooking process. Once the desired cut of meat is plated onto a diner's red plastic tray, the diner proceeds to the side dish display to pick from hot and cold favorites, such as creamy coleslaw or spicy pinto beans. Cooper's is open every day but Thanksgiving and Christmas day in 2011 .
For convenient and tasty pit-style barbecue, diners can try Dickey's Barbecue Pit (dickeys.com) at one of its many franchised locations throughout Texas and the U.S. The original Dallas location opened in 1941 under the ownership of Travis Dickey and his sons, T.D. Junior and Roland. The sonscontinued to expand their father's legacy after his passing. Diners can enjoy barbecue beans and salty chips with their choice of barbecued or smoked meat cuts in a sandwich or as loose meat on a plate. A slice of pecan pie or a scoop of free ice cream can finish each meal. Dickey's is a popular venue to order holiday meats from such as smoked hams and barbecued turkeys. Diners can check online for a location and hours nearest to them.
Thurman Roberts and wife, Hisako, opened Salt Lick Bar-B-Que (saltlickbbq.com) in 1967 when the former military man was looking for work to keep him home every day with family in Driftwood, Texas. He and his two sons built a huge barbeque pit and Thurman manned it every weekend until all the barbecued meat was sold. That pit and the small screen porch built next to it for diners is still a part of the unique and successful hewn stone and weathered wood building complex that houses the Salt Lick today. Private events and weddings are held in the various building venues, such as Thurman's Mansion and The Cellars. Well-known for its juicy ribs and brisket, barbeque is served family-style to diners.
