Tonight I had the awesome experience of eating at the Country Tavern; one of the top three barbeque eateries in eastern Texas for more than 60 years. We drove about 30 minutes east of Tyler, passing the famous County Road 233 of Miranda Lambert fame ("County Road 233, under my feet...." -lyric from her song "Gunpowder and Lead") and the Apache, a drive-in XXX movie lot (I had NO idea these existed), to Kilgore, Texas. There in a few corrugated metal buildings, was the Country Tavern. For those of you who watch HBO's True Blood, the interior was basically how I always imagined Merlotte's to look.

We quickly found out that there were no menus, and that you basically couldn't go wrong with whatever you ordered. We had ice cold Shiner Bocks (a Texas-brewed beer that EVERYONE should drink) while our mouths watered waiting for our barbequed confections. I had brisket, ribs, cole slaw, and beans and it was EPIC. I wondered why my napkin contained but a fork and spoon, and I quickly found out that a knife wasn't necessary; the meat was so tender that it literally fell apart. I ate until I was physically unable to eat any more, then I had a bite of their heavenly peach cobbler. I definitely understand why the Country Tavern is a Texas icon, and I would absolutely encourage anybody and everybody to make a trip out to eat there if they want a life-changing barbeque experience!