Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q

Mack "Doc" Holiday started this outfit in 1989, and it's grown into a small chain that knows what it does: wood-fired meat, cooked proper. This New Braunfels location opens at seven in the morning and stays open until nine at night most days — later on weekends. Oak is the fuel. The style is straightforward barbecue, no fuss.

It's a country store and a barbecue joint in one, which means you get the full picture: a place built on doing one thing and doing it without apology. Open the doors early, close them late, feed people who show up hungry.