On South Congress, just south of 290, there’s an unassuming food truck park – St. Elmo Marketplace. There are several food trucks in the area, including Picnik, Beruit, and The Celia Jacobs Cheesecake Experience. I was invited to try out Louie’s BBQ, which, as far as I’m concerned, is the cornerstone of the park.
Louie brought out a spread of food for us to sample. We sat on his brightly colored, blue tables (which match the “Louie’s” branding on his trailer – wonderful touch!), under the shade of a huge tree, and enjoyed the afternoon. If it weren’t for the shady spot, I don’t think we could have enjoyed our time as much as we did. While we ate, I could clearly see my car parked just a few yards away, under its own nice tree. When it comes to food trucks, things like that matter. Is there parking? Are there tables? This is Texas – is there shade? Louie’s BBQ has all three.
Louie’s is classic, no-nonsense BBQ. Nothing over the top. It’s exactly what you want when you’re craving BBQ and it’s done right. The menu consists of brisket, sausage, turkey, pulled pork, and pork ribs. You can get your meat sliced, in tacos, sandwiches, or on baked potatoes. Sides include mac and cheese, beans (which have chunks of brisket in them – these beans are not to be overlooked), coleslaw, potato salad, and street corn. My favorite side was the street corn. It’s less sweet and more tangy than others I’ve tried and that’s right up my alley.
Next time I visit, I’m getting one of his baked potatoes. There are several kinds – loaded, sweet, and “The Sleeper.” The loaded baked potato comes with your choice of meat and all the usual potato toppings. The sweet potato comes with butter, cinnamon, and marshmallows. You can also add meat to your sweet potato. Louie suggested the pulled pork because it’s already a kind of sweet meat. Then there’s “The Sleeper.” The Sleeper is a 3-pound potato (at least) topped with mac and cheese, your choice of meat, sour cream, their jalapeno green sauce, and cheese. Amazing.
When you’re craving good, classic BBQ, hit up Louie’s trailer (4329 S Congress Ave, closed Sunday and Monday). As another patron said, digging into her loaded baked potato, “The meat’s so good, it doesn’t even need sauce.”
