So I didn’t get to eat it this week, but the best beef rib I’ve ever eaten was a few months ago at a joint affectionately known as the “cathedral of smoke”, Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor. There are so many reasons why Louie Mueller is ranked number 5 in the newly-released Texas Monthly BBQ list. The beef rib is just one of them, and plenty of reason alone to visit them.

Just walking in the doors you can feel and see the history here. It is reasonably well-established the most of the great pitmasters of Texas barbecue have some ties/association/history with the Mueller family and this place. It was awesome just being there – from the smells to the sights. The walls are covered in decades of smoke residue. One wall is covered in old and new business cards. And an extra-cool thing was a poster on the wall of Stevie Ray Vaughn and his brother Jimmy, advertising their album “Family Style” – the photo was taken against the exact wall where it hangs. Pretty cool!