Austin Lunch

In Austin for a few days. Completely unexpectedly free for lunch today. With little notice, mapped out close walkable BBQ options. Micklethwait fit the bill, and I realized Franklin is on the way.

I ate at Micklethwait once before. It was AMAZING. Never had Franklin.

By about 12:30, the line at Franklin was just maybe 10-15 people out the door. I stood in line for about 5 minutes, at which point someone came out saying they were sold out of a bunch of stuff, and it was about an hour wait from where we were.

So, I walked a few blocks down to Micklethwait. Got the 3 meat plate with Brisket, Pork Ribs, and Jalapeno Cheddar sausage. Also got the Jalapeno cheese grits and potato salad.

The meal was.....amazing. As expected. Couple pics below. Will prob head to Stiles Switch tomorrow.

Stiles Switch dinner last night. Bigger portions. Also amazing. The sausage was spicy. Great sauces on the side. Peppery crust of brisket was absurdly good.

Czarbecue said:

God damn the super size pics look amazing!

Click to expand...

Look at that cheddar ooze! The glistening brisket! It was farkin great!!

That's their corn casserole. It was really good, and a nice complement to the meat.

I ordered basically the same thing at both places with the exception being Micklethwait has jalapeno grits and Stiles has corn casserole. They both were a nice complement to the meat and potato salad. I liked the texture/mouthfeel of the corn casserole better. The jalapeno grits had a little more bite. Both very good.

It is hard to pick an overall winner. These are two world class spots. The sausage I had at Switch was better than the one I had the day before at Micklethwait. Both briskets were great, but Stiles hooked me up with that strip of bark, which was amazing. Ribs were similar, maybe a little better at Micklethwait.

Micklethwait is outdoor picnic table dining. Stiles has tables indoors and sells beer.

This will make me sound like a maniac, but I couldn't focus enough on the Stiles meal this time since some other dude by himself started a conversation. We are both in IT, and he talked my ear off with "shop" questions. I like meeting new folks, and he seemed nice, so I obliged. But I kept thinking "dude, let's talk f'ing brisket!!!"

Portions were bigger at Stiles, though the ones at Micklethwait were fine, too.

For me, so far, it's these two, La Barbecue, and Louie Mueller as my top 4. I will probably try Freedmen's and Black's again next. Tried them before but hit them at off times. Freedmen's was late night during SXSW, and they were out of almost everything but chopped brisket. Similar with Black's - only chopped brisket and lots of other stuff out. Will be back in Austin in a couple weeks, I think, and will try them then. Maybe give time for my cholesterol to come back down, too

Oh, the bread, onions, and pickles are better at Micklethwait. That is a nice little detail. I think they make their own bread, and they serve vibrant green pickles and red onions vs. the plain white bread and soggy pickles and onions most other places serve. The normal fare is fine, but it's a nice little upgrade at Micklethwait.

Just had more Stiles Switch. Their Switch Spicy Sausage, brisket, and pork ribs. Today, the pork ribs stole the show. Good Lord, they were outstanding. Smokier and spicier than last time. The Switch Spicy Sausage was amazing, too. Brisket was great....just honestly I think the other meats outshined it. Potato salad is probably my favorite ever. Cucumber and tomato salad gave me at least one non-lethal part of the meal. Very tasty complement.

Was eating the brisket and sausage naked at first then a few pieces dunked in the thin bbq sauce on the side with pickle and/or onion. Nice IPA to wash it all down.

Had like 12,500 steps so far today, so hopefully that at least partly cancels out my gluttonous yet glorious meal. Can post a few big pics soon

I think Switch is now officially my favorite restaurant on planet Earth. I love that place.

Freedmen's last night. Got the Texas Trinity plate. Servings were smaller than Stiles Switch, which is good or bad, depending on your perspective.

One big meaty pork spare. It was a beautiful thing. Texture was perfect. Maybe a notch down from Stiles Switch a few days ago. But barely, barely. Maybe equal. It was wonderful.

Brisket was just a small slice. Very tasty, especially the bark.

Sausage was very, very nice. Complemented well by the sauce, pickles, onions, and jalapenos (nice addition).

The sauce was delicious. And the bread was way better than the commercial white bread many places serve.

Simply a fantastic meal. Again, if I'm laddering, maybe it's Stiles Switch, Mickelthwait, Louie Mueller, La Barbercue, Freedmen's. But that's not really fair. I've had Switch 3x, Micklethwait twice. Louie Mueller I've had once in the store and a couple times at events. La B just once. Freedmen's now twice, but first time was compromised experience.

The ones I've listed above are all fantastic. I guess that's my meta point.