THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: March 30, 2014

You run into some tough decisions when you go out of town for a few days.

Especially when you've been gearing up for an all-you-can-eat outing at a roadside joint in Texas - the Salt Lick, in Driftwood - for several weeks.

You know the main course is coming - massive plates of ribs, brisket and sausage for your party of 15 to dive into (yes, this NCAA idea has gotten quite popular over the years).

But first, servers bring out bowls of beans and cole slaw, as well as bread, and perhaps some other filler items, in a veiled attempt at providing a "balanced" meal.

Etiquette suggests you should try a little of everything, and you notice those to your left and right spooning portions - albeit small ones - of beans and slaw onto their compartmentalized plates.

You do the same, and even take a bite or two, to give the impression you're doing the right thing.

But who are we kidding? Bring on the meat!

EVENTUALLY THE star of the show arrives, and fortunately, there's plenty of plates to share, so the pushing and shoving is kept to a minimum.

Realistically, the dozen-plus of us probably attacked the all-you-can-eat meat with much more fervor than, say, Creighton attacked Baylor's zone defense three nights later, just down the road in San Antonio, in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

And with much better results.

Much like North Carolina's defense didn't have a chance trying to stop Iowa State's cutting to the basket and its 3-pointers on that same day, in that same Arena, plate after plate of meat met a similar carved-up fate.

When the carnage was complete, the plates looked ravaged - much like Nebraska, after hoisting up brick after brick in the first half of a loss to Baylor in the first second-round game in San Antonio the next day; much like Louisiana-Lafayette, which gave Creighton more of a battle than most expected before succumbing in the next game; much like Providence, after losing a heartbreaker to North Carolina in the first game of the evening session; much like North Carolina Central, after being devoured by Iowa State in the long day's finale.

And that was just one meal.

Earlier in the day, there was breakfast at a place in Austin that our Director of Food (we'll call him "Jim"; you may have read about him before) had also observed while watching TV - Juan in a Million. Good eats, an owner who gives you a hearty handshake on your way out, and as many tortillas as you need to make like you were at home - their home.

BUT THAT'S what you do on these trips. You sample the local fare. You check out the local sights - the Alamo, the Riverwalk, the state capital, the University of Texas football stadium. Every exit, every strip mall along the freeway - and these freeways are actually driveable, like around here, not like playing bumper cars like you do on the freeways of the bigger cities - offers the same box stores and same eateries you can find around here.

But that's no fun.

That would be like driving all over the area at the end of a long day, trying to find somewhere "Roman" (i.e., not a place you would find near where you live) to eat, and ending up chowing down at a McDonald's.

Who would do that?

You also wander up the hill and around the corner from where you're staying to check out the gift shops in a funky little town called Gruene, Texas. Of course, it's pronounced "Green." Of course. Not quite like the deep South, where one-syllable words are pronounced as two-syllable words.

"Waddle ya high-ave?" is how they begin taking your order at The Varsity hamburger joint.

Translation: "What'll you have?"

ANYWAY, YOU always wonder, from the lore, what a state will be like before you visit it. Georgia does indeed have bright red Georgia clay, which finds you reaching for your "Best of Lobo" CD when you return home. But other than that, it looks just like here - except for the extra few million people, and the traffic, and the humidity.

For some reason I thought Texas might have more of a cactus-y, Arizona/New Mexico look to it. But it - at least what we saw between San Antonio and Austin - looked like pretty much everywhere else - though I noticed they used sod, rather than hydroseed, to cover the dirt around some on-ramps. And they're big on frontage roads near freeways.

One thing you notice at the games that you miss on TV - with nearly everybody carrying a camera phone, celebrities are constantly badgered for pictures.

In San Antonio, David Robinson, the hall-of-famer and former Spur, sat in the crowd for most of Thursday's four games. That is, when he wasn't summoned by nearby fans for a moment of his time, accepting smooches from grandmas, and posing for photos - each done with equal grace and class.

Ditto Craig Sager - he of the wild-looking sports coats - who inbetween standups was stopped every few feet to pose with fans for photos, often holding out his microphone to "interview" them. Nice touch.

Texas is proud of its five-sided star - it's everywhere, especially around the state capital. It's almost as prevalent at jalapenos, which they like to push with their food, even trying to sneak it on top of popcorn.

OK, that may be "Roman," but ... Yuck!

I don't think the ribs, or the brisket, or the sausage would have liked that very much.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.