What People Eat

Bastrop County is in the middle of the Central Texas barbecue belt and in the middle of a food-and-drink scene that is more interesting than the population would suggest. The county has good barbecue, two of the most historic sausage smokehouses in Texas, real Tex-Mex, a respectable downtown coffee scene, a brewery, a distillery, several wineries, river-view patios, fine dining, and a food-truck cluster. What it does not have is a glut of national chains. Most of what is worth eating in Bastrop County is locally owned.

Barbecue

Central Texas barbecue is post oak and pecan over time. Bastrop County is mostly post oak country, with some pecan in the river bottomlands. The classic plate — brisket, sausage, ribs, with white bread, pickles, onions, and sauce on the side — is taken seriously here. So is the practice of selling out by mid-afternoon on weekends. Show up early.

The county has multiple working smokehouses. Some are open daily; some are weekend-only; one or two operate out of converted storefronts that look closed from the outside if you do not know what you are looking at. The visitor center on Bastrop's Main Street will give you current names and hours; this almanac stays at the category level because barbecue places open and close, change pitmasters, and shift hours often enough that any specific list goes stale.

Sausage

Elgin has been the legal "Sausage Capital of Texas" since 1995 and has been making sausage for considerably longer than that. The two long-running smokehouses downtown — both 19th-century operations — ship sausage across the country and serve plates to walk-in customers six days a week. The classic order is a hot link with white bread and a slice of cheese, eaten standing up. The county has other sausage operations — Bastrop has at least one, Smithville has a good one — but Elgin is where the tradition is.

Tex-Mex

Old-school Tex-Mex, the kind with enchilada plates and breakfast tacos, is everywhere in Bastrop County and almost universally good. The classic Bastrop plate is cheese enchiladas with chili gravy, refried beans, Spanish rice, served on a hot plate. Several family-run places in Bastrop, Cedar Creek, and Elgin have been making this plate the same way for decades. Breakfast tacos are a separate art form, taken seriously, and most of the county's coffee shops sell them too.

Fine Dining

A handful of restaurants in the county do tablecloth-level dinners — steak, seafood, Texas-modern. Reservations are recommended on weekends, especially during festival weekends and around the resort's high seasons. The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines has multiple restaurants, including a steakhouse that takes reservations from non-guests; the resort restaurants are more expensive than equivalent restaurants in town and are useful for special occasions and out-of-town visitors who want something polished.

The River-View Patios

Several restaurants in downtown Bastrop look out over the Colorado. Best in spring and fall; summer evenings work if there is a breeze. The view at golden hour from a downtown patio is a real Bastrop County experience. Smithville has a smaller version of this along its riverfront.

Coffee, Bakeries, Brunch

Bastrop has two solid independent coffee roasters and a downtown bakery, all open early on weekends. Several Main Street spots do mimosa-and-migas brunches that fill up by 11. Smithville has a smaller but real coffee scene anchored by an antique-shop-coffee-shop hybrid that genuinely works. Elgin's coffee scene is younger and more recent.

Beer, Wine, Spirits

The county has a craft brewery downtown in Bastrop, a working distillery, and a small but growing wine scene with several tasting rooms in the country — mostly hybrids of Texas grapes and traditional varietals. The brewery anchors the downtown Bastrop nightlife in a way that did not exist 15 years ago.

Food Trucks and Markets

A small but loyal food-truck scene clusters near the brewery and along Highway 71's new development. The Bastrop and Elgin farmers markets run weekend hours in season. Smithville has a smaller mid-week market. The county's grocery stores include HEB in Bastrop and Elgin and a Walmart Supercenter, with smaller-town grocery in Smithville and McDade.