Riverside Market, Boerne, Texas

Taking the advice of the friendly diner at Rudy’s, Nancee and I headed out the following day for Boerne, Texas in search of the Riverside Market. When we first entered Boerne I took a wrong turn and we found ourselves in a residential area. After correcting my mistake, we back-tracked then turned right to proceed down another thoroughfare, and after a few minutes we found ourselves crossing a bridge with the Riverside Market directly in front of us.

The Riverside Market is an old Shell station that still serves as a convenience store, just without any gasoline services. The BBQ counter is located in the back corner and was manned by three gentlemen of varying ages. Initially, I wanted to order a plate, but realized that beyond cole slaw, I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything else but brisket. I changed my order from a plate to cole slaw, a half-pound of marbled brisket and white bread which seemed to confuse the gentleman behind the counter. Maybe I spoke to quickly in my haste to sample their fare. After a few moments I was finally able to communicate my order. Nancee ordered sausage. After a short wait our meal arrived, but they gave me potato salad instead of cole slaw. I decided not to confuse anyone else and just let it be. Nancee searched for sweet tea and found they did not serve it, so we settled for fountain drinks. 

How does one describe “Wow!” The brisket was a little chewy, but still phenomenal. The slight smoky smell danced around my nostrils and the taste was sublime. To push it over the top Riverside’s sauce was beyond belief. Nancee loved it. We both found ourselves wearing out the bread to sop up the remaining sauce, which I had requested as a side due to my sauce reservations after eating at the County Line. It was a good choice, because the brisket was excellent both with and without the sauce. 

After finishing our meal I went to the counter to give our compliments and the oldest gentleman asked, “Where are you from?” I told him, “Georgia”, and explained that we were here due to our experience at Rudy’s the previous day, which illicited a smile. Another gentleman, a customer, and his wife were standing at the counter. He said, “Georgia…I’m from California and when I come to Texas I always eat here.” Which illicited more smiles. If that is not an endorsement then I do not know what is. I thanked the gentleman. I went to the washroom to wash my hands and coming out I happened upon one of the gentlemen from behind the counter. I asked him if they sold their sauce, which he unfortuantely replied that they did not sell it. It was only available at the Market. “If you want some to go…” I shook my head and told him that we didn’t have any means to keep it fresh. He smiled and said, “I guess you’ll just have to come back.” I told him that we would.

And we will. Nancee and I both agreed that we would most definitely eat at the Riverside Market again and Nancee expressed interest in wanting to explore Boerne more, which I thought was/is a splendid idea. Boerne was clean and the people there obviously took a lot of pride in their little town. The roads we drove were lined with cute shops and boutiques.

So, if you can make it to Boerne do yourself a favor and visit the Riverside Market. It is well worth the trip. The old sign out front had “jerky” on it, and I searched for it, but couldn’t find any. I should have asked, but felt weird after the mix-up with my order. I suppose I felt that I didn’t want to bother them, which in hindsight was silly since the small staff there was friendly.   

Almost forgot, the Riverside Market does not have a website, in case you were wondering.

[NEXT UP: THE BASTION OF ALL BASTIONS--KREUZ MARKET...]

~ by scrivenerstomb on July 25, 2008.