Denise, Gregg, Becky, and Gary Meyer Credit: Photo By John Anderson

The Meyers

Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse

In Elgin, 188 E. Hwy. 290, 281-3331 Sunday-Thursday, 10am-7pm; Friday & Saturday, 10am-8pm

The Meyer family has been making sausage for the groceries of Texas since 1949. Whether you order the original flavor beef sausage or our fave, the pork and garlic sausage, you’ll get a taste of old German Central Texas. Around the turn of the century, German immigrant Henry Meyer taught his son, R.G. Meyer, the family recipe, which R.G. made in a little smokehouse and gave to friends. Everyone told him he should sell it, so he did. After R.G.’s death, his son Buddy developed the brand into the bestselling sausage in Texas. When he died in 1989, the fourth-generation Meyers — Gregg and Gary — took over. By 1998, they decided it was time for a restaurant.

Besides their famous sausages, they added pork ribs, turkey breast, and fried pies. They developed a system where the meats are placed in a vacuum container with the spices. As the air is sucked from the container, the spices infuse the meat to give it extra oomph. Much loved by the regulars is the juicy turkey ($3.99 per half pound) and the smoked pork ribs ($7.19 per pound). But for a real taste of what Meyer’s is all about, stick with simplicity — go for the pork garlic sausage wrap (99 cents), a tasty sausage enveloped in a piece of sticky white bread dabbed with their barbecue sauce. Make sure you have a paper towel nearby to wipe the juices off your smiling face.

This article appears in November 9 • 2001.

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Wes Marshall is the author of What's a Wine Lover To Do? (Artisan) and The Wine Roads of Texas (Maverick), as well as the Executive Producer of the PBS television series of the same name. Wes has written for The Austin Chronicle since 1999, covering wine, cocktails, food, and travel.