The Texas Hill Country and Central Texas guidebooks by Richard Zelade have been updated, expanded, and reissued. The series began in 1987 through Texas Monthly and has developed a faithful following over the years.
In the storytelling tradition of J. Frank Dobie, Zelade doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story as he points day trippers in the direction of traditional Texas locales off the beaten path. It is this combination of history and the current occupants that brings the back roads alive.
The two books are companion pieces. Hill Country covers west of Austin from Llano south to Bandera, while Central Texas focuses on the area east of Austin from Georgetown south to New Braunfels. In both of the regions, the settlers left behind a trail of stories about gunfights, American Indian depredations, and a lynching as late as 1935.
The early Texans also left a long tradition of delicious food – the most notable being barbecue. Zelade says that Texas barbecue evolved over time like a slow-cooked brisket. The tradition of Texas barbecue began with community/church picnics or political rallies where a lot of people gathered and could eat a whole cow or pig. The oldest of these public gatherings in Texas occurs on the Fourth of July in Round Top, where the annual celebration has been running since 1826.
As towns began to grow along the railroad tracks, Saturdays became market day and the city meat markets added smoked meats as a sideline to their grocery business. Eventually the sideline became the main business, and that’s where barbecue joints like Luling City Market and Giddings City Meat Market acquired their names. Even Kreuz Market and Smitty’s Market in Lockhart began as grocery stores. The two books list more than 25 barbecue joints in the area.
Of course, not all of the food is barbecue. The books also list Po Po Family Restaurant, Rabke’s Table Ready Meats, Kloesel’s Steakhouse & Bar, and other traditional eateries. The pages are full of characters like John Wesley Hardin and Johnny Ringo, as well as swimming holes, dinosaur tracks, and unusual architecture. No other guidebooks capture the essence of the regional experience better.
The books originated in the early 1980s from a series of bicycle rides that Zelade and his friends took through the small towns around Austin. The updated versions can be used as general tour guides or to find hidden gems among the hills and fields. Along the way, you’ll be entertained by a few stories, and you just might learn a little about Texas that isn’t in the history books.
On Thursday, July 7, at 7pm, Richard Zelade will be at BookPeople (603 N. Lamar) signing copies of the books, telling stories, and sharing barbecue. When you see him, ask about the first barbecue-only restaurant. But that’s another book.
1,041st in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in July 1 • 2011.
