As you hop back aboard the Flickchart Texas BBQ Road Trip, we’re once again in central Texas, just across the highway from the Hill Country in a series of small towns steeped in Texas traditions and history.

Stop #23: Luling, City Market

Located along the San Marcos River, the little town of Luling is estimated at just below 6000 people. Surprisingly, it is not named after a Texan surveyor, but instead a New York banker who provided financing for the railroads and land that would bring the town into being. It was founded in 1874 as a center for cattle drivers on the Chisholm Trail and as a railroad town. It became known as the “toughest town in Texas” due to the local cowboys’ open flaunting of the law. Luling’s point of importance was short in history, quieting down after the great cattle drives ended in the late 1880s.

While it switched to a cotton-based economy, Jewish immigrants came to the area, increasing its growth. Luling later became part of the first Texas oil rush in 1922 when Edgar B. Davis discovered oil. The 1930s and 1940s saw big changes as oil boomed and the railroad died. Eventually the oil boom came to an end as well, and Luling has hung around as a small town ever since.

Modern-day Luling is full of decorative pumpjacks, a distinct feature of the town that can be found all over. Another event of note is the Watermelon Thump, a huge celebration that brings people from all over the area into Luling for a parade and popular watermelon seed-spitting contest.

The local BBQ spot on this list is City Market, which opened back in 1958 and has been run by its current pit-master Joe Capello, Sr. since 1970. Positioned on a humble street corner, the place has a famed smoke room tucked in the back corner that any BBQ lover would love to visit. Like many of the local meat market-style places in central Texas, this is a place of local tradition and flair. Despite a classic background, they aren’t afraid to have modern offerings, with a bevy of different meats to choose from.

I chose to partake in my usual trio of sliced brisket, sausage, and pork ribs. Getting brisket at this spot wasn’t guaranteed, and I was lucky to get some after they initially thought they had run out. It was a delicious offering, moist and flavorful with unique, sweeter flavor to complement the pink smoke ring. There was less bark to speak of on this slice, but that didn’t really hold it back. The sausage was also smoked well, though it was a little crumbly and not quite as flavorful as the sausages at the last few places on the road trip. The pork ribs matched up with most others, seasoned well with fatty bites throughout.

I award the brisket 4.5 slices out of 5, the pork ribs 4 oinks out of 5, and the sausage 4 links out of 5. I award City Market 4.5 smokers out of 5!

The Film: Planet Terror

Like several of the films in the project, no explicit small town is ever named in the film Planet Terror, but it is set in rural Texas and was filmed near Luling. Part of a double feature Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez made to emulate grindhouse films, Planet Terror is set in Rodriguez’s native central Texas and represents the culture of the people during a zombie attack. A fun horror flick, Planet Terror is no earth-shattering work, but it embraces its grindhouse aesthetic well.

It emulates grimy old film stock with scratchy grain and occasional “blemishes,” and there is even a moment in the film when a reel is supposedly lost. This is all done through digital trickery, which can be a bit tacky, but it’s a loving embrace of the past. The whole film pays homage, and there’s cheesy, silly humor throughout that Rodriguez wields well. It edges on the brink of being a little too winking at the audience, but it’s just clever enough to work.

Josh Brolin embraces his gruff and rough doctor character with that great Brolin charisma. Bruce Willis does great in a similar tough-guy role. Rose McGowan and Freddy Rodriguez are good as well. You just have to admire a film with a quick pistol-wielding badass, giant pus zombies, and an amputated leg being replaced by a machine gun. Over-the-top gore makes it a fun ride all around.

While no masterpiece, Planet Terror highlights a certain aspect of Texan filmmaking, and it’s one of Robert Rodriguez’s more coherent flicks. For a film aiming to be what Planet Terror is, it succeeds on all fronts.

Does anyone eat barbecue in the film?

Yes! One of the characters is a BBQ store owner, in fact, and determined to show he makes the best BBQ in Texas. A knowing touch from Rodriguez!

The Rankings

Texas Film Chart

1. The Last Picture Show
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Rushmore
4. A Ghost Story
5. Boyhood
6. The Right Stuff
7. Lone Star
8. Chef
9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
10. Tender Mercies
11. Dazed and Confused
12. Dallas Buyer’s Club
13. JFK
14. The Sugarland Express
15. Planet Terror
16. Frank
17. Whip It
18. Natural Selection
19. This is Where We Live
20. The Alamo
21. Outlaw Blues
22. Selena
23. Nadine

Texas BBQ Chart

1. Franklin Barbecue
2. Pinkerton’s Barbecue
3. Terry Black’s Barbecue
4. Pecan Lodge
5. Stiles Switch BBQ
6. Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
7. Hutchins Barbeque
8. 2M Smokehouse
9. Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que
10. Hays Co. Bar-B-Que
11. Smolik’s Smokehouse
12. Lockhart Smokehouse
13. Heim Barbecue
14. Gatlin’s BBQ
15. City Market
16. Baker Boys BBQ
17. Kreuz Meat Market
18. Micklethwait Craft Meats
19. Payne’s Bar-B-Q Shak
20. The Pit Room
21. Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
22. The Smoking Oak
23. Harris Bar-B-Que

Join us again next time for more delicious smoked meats and fantastic Lone Star cinema!