First visit to Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood

Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood had been on the "must visit" list for a while. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

The timing could have been better for my first visit to Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood. I was following a hungry Easter crowd, arriving at 2 p.m. and there wasn't a lot of meat left in the large black warming pit that greets you as you walk in the front door.

This joint has been on the Posse's "must visit" list for a while, but unfortunately Spicewood is a little off the beaten path. They've been named a Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ joint twice, in 2003 and 2008, despite only opening for business in 1999. Not to mention that I've never heard a negative comment about Opie's.

And that's rare in the highly emotional and opinionated world of Texas barbecue.

Here's your chance to buy another piece of Texas BBQ history

The original brick smoker at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, built in 1959. (Photo © Philip Lamb)

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about a chance to buy a piece of Texas BBQ history - the original catering smoker rig at Snow's BBQ in Lexington. Here's a slightly less expensive opportunity to buy another item representing the best in Texas BBQ.

You may have heard about the fire that recently destroyed the original brick pit at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor. The pit, which was built in 1959, was a total loss after back-to-back pit fires over the weekend of Feb. 23. Pitmaster and owner Wayne Mueller has decided to turn the disaster into a positive thing by offering the original bricks and lid squares for sale to help fund the rebuilding of a new pit.