On the Road

Sink your teeth into legendary barbecue in film-famous Taylor

The quintessential small Texas town of Taylor doesn’t just have stunning sunsets, fields of cotton, a historic downtown with local shops, and even some horseback-riding cowboys in the mix — it has also been the site for scenes from a whole host of movies and shows, including Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Rookie, Varsity Blues, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, among others.

But you should also know that Taylor has another bold claim to fame: its world-famous barbecue.

Located just about 30-ish minutes outside of Austin, the town is in the heart of the Texas Barbecue Trail and boasts two champions of their craft.

Louie Mueller Barbecue is a family-owned, legendary Texas icon, originally established by Louie Mueller in 1949. They've served guests from around the world with all the staples, including thick slabs of salt-and-pepper crusted brisket, sausage, ribs, pork, steaks, turkey, and chicken. At this “Cathedral of Smoke,” all meats are slow-cooked for hours in age-old pits using post oak wood. The place has shown up on Food Network, the Travel Channel, and in several documentaries.

Sure, Davis Barbeque serves up tender brisket with a crunchy bark and ribs that fall off the bone. But it is owner and pitmaster James Davis Jr.’s secret "Come Back Juice" barbecue sauce that’s the game-changer here.

In addition to these hot spots in the “barbecue belt,” Taylor also has a range of local eateries with world-class flavors from Poland, Peru, Latin America, Czechoslovakia, Asia, and beyond.

Plowman's Kitchen, located inside of the historic Old Taylor High School, is known especially for its massive Breakfast Board: eight silver dollar pancakes, eight French toast triangles, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, French toast glaze, butter, whipped cream, and syrup.

If you feel the need to work off some of these calories, set out on the city's architectural walking tour. It passes by more than 25 buildings, including the Renaissance Revival-style post office and St. Marys Church, the site of the oldest Catholic school in Williamson County (it opened in 1896).

On Saturdays, you can tour the Moody Museum, which dates back to 1887 and is the former home of Texas governor Dan Moody, who served two terms from 1927-1931 and is best known for reducing the KKK presence in Texas.

There are a variety of parks where you can pause and connect with nature, as well as the new skatepark, Pierce Park. Or if shopping if your cardio, drop into any of the more than 20 unique stores in the downtown shopping district.

Be sure to check the community's event calendar before your trip, to make sure you're not missing annual celebrations like the Taylor Rodeo, Christmas Parade, Main Street Car Show, and numerous barbecue cook-offs throughout the year.

Learn more about this small town with big flavors at Taylor Made Texas.

Taylor is smack in the middle of the "barbecue belt."

Photo courtesy of Taylor Made Texas

Taylor is smack in the middle of the "barbecue belt."

texas vacation promoted barbecue

Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: The underestimated historic and culturally rich 'hood

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Kay Wood

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Bishop Arts is a huge attraction, but Realtor Kay Wood wants people to know that Oak Cliff is a lot more than just Bishop Arts.

"Oak Cliff has a really rich and complex history," the Briggs Freeman agent says. "I think it's one of the most underestimated neighborhoods in Dallas."

Wood has lived in Oak Cliff with her high school sweetheart-husband since 2008, but she's been helping people buy and sell homes there for the past 15 years, currently with her business partner Brian Davis.

"The neighborhoods here are close to everything but still relatively affordable compared to other areas of DFW," she says. "I love all the historic homes with their architectural interest and variety, the strong sense of community engagement, and how there's so much to explore. Whether you're looking for the best new restaurant, the most authentic taco, film festivals, the zoo, the best public high school in Texas, parks, nature preserves — I could go on all day!"

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in "the Cliff." Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
The list is long: Nova ("you have to get the hummus," Wood says), Encina (pro tip: don't skip the blue cornbread), Cibo Divino for pizza and wine on the patio, coffee from Peaberry ("my husband swears their Vietnamese coffee is the best in town"), oysters at Boulevardier, the Perfect Picnic at Eno's Pizza Tavern, tio's elotes next to El Si Hay, the pistachio ice cream at Joy Macarons, and the spicy lobster ramen at Ten Ramen.

Wood advises picking up a great bottle of wine from Neighborhood Cellars and some steaks from Cooper's Meat Market. And, of course, there are tons of taco options in the neighborhood: "We can't get enough of Maskaras, Trompo, and Taco y Vino," she says.

Where to play
Marvel at the best skyline views in town while playing a round at Stevens Park Golf Course, take a walk through Twelve Hills Nature Preserve, bike along the Trinity River, or play disc golf at Founders Park.

The Kessler Theater is "such a great and intimate venue" for concerts, while the Texas Theater adds a touch of history to movie-watching. Escape to The Wild Detectives for books, music, and poetry, or head to the Dallas Zoo for a wild day out — "our whole family loves to feed the giraffes," Wood says.

What to see
Oak Cliff is home to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial at Kiest Park and the La Reunion Monument at Stevens Park Golf Course that honors some of Dallas' earliest settlers.

On Jefferson Boulevard, you can pop into the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for regular art shows, and "my daughters love to walk down the street and look at all the quinceañera dresses in the shop windows," she says.

Where to live
A few years ago, Wood helped her buyers purchase 626 Rainbow Dr., a rare, two-acre midcentury modern estate that's wrapped on three sides by a babbling creek.

"When you're there, it's really hard to believe you're less than four miles from downtown Dallas," she says. The buyers hired local architect Eddie Maestri to update some aspects of the house while carefully preserving its midcentury style. There was an original barn that had been previously converted to a studio, but the buyers reinvented it as a guest house and added a pool and outdoor kitchen.

"It's hard to say what a 'typical' Oak Cliff house would be, because we have some of the very best examples of almost every architectural style in town," Wood says.

"In Winnetka Heights, you'll find Craftsman architecture (four squares, bungalows, Sears catalog, etc). Kessler Park has Tudors and Colonials and Texas eclectics from notable local architects like Charles Dilbeck and David R Williams. Stevens Park has all of these, as well as Spanish Revival and Dutch colonials. Wynnewood, North Kiestwood, and Wynnewood Hills have some of the best midcentury moderns in Dallas, as well as wonderful ranches. East Kessler has cutting-edge contemporaries that take advantage of the rare-to-DFW hilly terrain. You could teach a pretty comprehensive architectural history of Dallas without ever leaving Oak Cliff."

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Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.