Dripping SpringsJun 2, 2012
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Texas BBQ
Texas Fan
Silver K Cafe
| A beautiful and rather cool morning in Dripping Springs with seemingly less humidity! We all gathered in the kitchen for coffee, bagels fresh berries and yogurt. The kibbutzing picked up as if we never stopped last night! We decided to spend the day in the Hill Country. We first stopped at Terra Verde Vineyard and Olive Oil. We didn’t do any wine tasting but did taste some wonderful organic olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We then drove to Johnson City for lunch at the Silver K Café. I had a delicious half sandwich of chicken salad (with walnuts mmm) on wonderful home made wheat bread. Bob had meatloaf and LOTS of green beans. Bob, Phil and Patty were tolerant of my having an important conference call. We wondered through a very fun art gallery showing one artist’s (??) whimsical depiction of areas in the Hill Country. We then went to the Benini Study and Sculpture Ranch on Shiloh Road near Johnson City. There are many artist’s large scale works on the ranch but all of the work in the 14,000 square foot studio is Benini’s. My favorite were the geometric designs, with acrylic paint that seemed to glow as it was stretched over flat aluminum canvas. From every angle there seemed to be a different third dimension. Benini emigrated from Italy in 1977 to Hots Springs, AK but settled in the Hill Country. in 1999. In fact, Benini and his wife were visiting San Antonio during a Spurs playoff and could not stand all of the hoopla. They left and ended up in Johnson City buying the property from the LBJ estate. We learned from a sculptor who happened to be there that Benini was looking to move his works to either CA or Prescott AZ as he doesn’t believe his legacy will be maintained in TX. We also learned that his daughter owns the Graciano restaurant in Petaluma and he was their visiting! For dinner we went to a wonderful TX BBQ in Driftwood, Salt Lick. The protocol is to take a cooler of wine and beer (no charge unless you bring sodas!)) because there can be as much as an hour wait for a table. The dining area outside is under large trees with a young woman playing guitar. We were stunned to be able to get seating immediately inside an open air but covered area with yards of picnic tables. In front was the massive BBQ pit manned by 3-4 guys. We ordered the “all you can eat” for $19.95 per person. This included, brisket, sausage, ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, beans and bread. Was fabulous and the refills kept coming. Once we could eat no more, the last platter was boxed up and we sat outside listening to the young woman play until she closed. There was a huge TX size fan to keep us cool! Wonderful evening. Patti drove home and we took a mini tour of Dripping Springs High School which is like a college campus. A great day! |
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