Central Texan Barbecue
Any motorcycle ride down the California coast wouldn't be complete without a lunch (or dinner) stop at the Central Texan Barbecue in Castroville. In fact, even if you're driving you should stop.
I have been going to the Central Texan for years and it never fails to disappoint...
...the restaurant itself is a huge, square building straight out of the 1950's. Inside, it's a paean to all things Texas right down to the light covering of sawdust on the floor.
Central Texan's owner Don, smokes a whole variety of meat including turkey and you can get single plates of meat or combinations limited only by your pocketbook. I have had all of CT's meat at one time or another and all are consistently good. Smoky, but still succulent, the meat needs no sauce at all (see below). Pork shoulder (pork butt), brisket and turkey are my favorites with their pork ribs and chicken following a close second. It really doesn't matter which one you choose...barbecue satisfaction is waiting for you. Oh and of course they do sandwiches as well. (Click here for CT's menu)
As for the rest of the food, it's a Texas-style barbecue joint through and through. You get bread. pickles, a few slices of white onion, which are standards for Texas-style. They also have beans (cooked with bacon) and a passable potato salad. Rather than give you little containers of salad, CT has a salad bar with potato salad, coleslaw and green salad. The salads are really just filler as they aren't anything special but they'll provide some sweet relief amid the smoke.
Sauce-wise, the meats don't need it but each table has a squeeze bottle of some generic sauce (CT doesn't make their own as far as I can tell) and bottles of Crystal and Tapatio hot sauces. The generic sauce adds little to the smoky meats except some added moisture.
But then again, you're really going here for the smoked meats...everything else is just window dressing. The meat at the Central Texan is worth the trek. In fact, you just may want to also get some to go for later on...