Cyclone Corral

Yesterday, Dan and I met up with fourteen of his former colleagues and their families and we traveled 45 minutes outside of Waco to go to Cyclone, Texas. Never heard of it? Well, neither had I before last night...and we passed about eight other towns that I'd never heard of either on our way to get there. But we ended up at a destination that is one of the best-kept secrets by all the Central Texas locals... Cyclone Corral!

In Texas, the way to tell if a restaurant is any good is to pay attention to the parking lot. Unpaved? Good sign. Full of trucks as far as the eye can see, with maybe a few motorcycles thrown in? Yep, you're probably at a good place for some authentic Texas barbecue.

Cyclone Corral is a BBQ "restaurant." I use the term loosely because it's not what you might think of as a normal restaurant. It's only open Thursday through Saturday, and only for six months out of the year. It's all open air, so although there is a roof you're still basically outside. There are plenty of big tables, so even if you go with a group of 16, like we did, you still sit together.

And the food... The food is all served all-you-can-eat family style...for $12 a person! What this means is they brought plate after plate of ribs, brisket, and sausage, and bowl after bowl of potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and corn on the cob. It was just amazing. I rarely eat red meat, maybe once every couple of months, but I loved this dinner!
We had a lot of fun spending time with the Rapoport crew, enjoying the summer weather, and eating good food. And of course, enjoying the decorations...