shnmclr
Knows what a fatty is.
My Brother-in-Law and I got to spend 5 days in and around Austin, Tx. We visited 8 spots over the 5 days. I thought I would share some photos and my thoughts on the food.
Day 1 we got into town in the afternoon and made our way to Stiles Switch in Austin for dinner. The pitmaster spent a few years working at Louie Mueller in Taylor, Tx. so he knows his stuff. The Smoke ring on the Brisket Speaks for itself, crazy! I had the lean brisket, smoked turkey, and the Stiles Spicy Sausage. The sides were pinto beans and a Lemon Vinagrette Slaw that was different, but very good.
Day 2 we made our way over Franklin BBQ. This place is the "it" spot in Austin and most of the state these days and there is a reason. It is far and away the best BBQ I have ever eaten. Generally when I eat someone elses BBQ I think, I could probably replicate this. This is the first time in my 20 years of eating BBQ that I was left speechless. We got there at 7:30 and were 10th in line. By 10am (an hour before they open) the line stretched out the parkng lot and up the street behind the restaurant. It is an experience that should not be missed. Everything was fantastic, but if I had to pick the weakest thing, it would be the sausage. But by no means was it bad in anyway, it's just everything else was so much better. As a bonus we got to meet Aaron and take a picture with him.
Day 3 we got up early and headed to Lexington, Tx. for Snows BBQ. They start serving at 8am until they sell out. We had Brisket, Sausage, Spare Ribs and I would rank them neck and neck with Franklins from a quality standpoint, but they taste nothing like Franklins. You can tell the pitmaster Miss Tootsie (who is an 80 year old woman that's been BBQ'ing for close to 50 years) knows her stuff. It was apparent the only thing they were doing was Salt and Pepper and Post Oak for the smoke. Snows is definitely not to be missed! We then made a trek over to Taylor, Tx. to visit Louie Mueller and get the beef ribs. We each ordered one beef rib and when they we quickly realized we were done for. These ribs were 1.25 lbs each, HUGE! We also ordered a pound of moist brisket and two sausage links. The crust on the ribs was crazy and they tasted awesome. The sausage was in the top three of the best we had.
Day 4 we made our way to La Barbecue in Austin. We got in line about 9:30am and there were 25 or so people ahead of us. They serve free Lone Star beer while you wait, which was nice. We ordered moist Brisket, spare ribs, Pulled Pork, and Sausage links. Everything was well cooked and moist, but I found when eating the brisket that each bite had a different flavor. A bite with the bark tasted one way while meat from the middle tasted completely different. The sausage was a chorizo style sausage, which was different from anything we had had to this point, but it was tasty. The ribs were sauced and I wasn't expecting that, they tasted just fine. Then we got to the pulled pork and it was the weakest meat we had up to this point. It was moist and looked great, but there was absolutely no flavor of any kind to it. I know it's Texas and it's beef country but if you are going to have something on the menu, best to make sure it's got some taste.
Day 5 we stumbled upon a surprise and one of the best pieces of brisket we ate on the trip. Valentinas is a food truck in south Austin and is run by a guy named Miguel. I happened upon a short video with Aaron Franklin talking about Valentinas and so we stopped in for a breakfast Brisket taco. He cooks over mesquite wood, which usually has a strong taste, but I would put his brisket behind only Franklin and Snows as far as quality and taste. We ordered the "Real Deal Holyfield" breakfast taco which had Egg, Brisket, Refried Beans, and a tomatillo salsa on a from scratch made flour tortilla. One of the best things I ate all week. We then made our way to Lockhart, Tx. for Smitty's and Kruez. Both are the oldest running BBQ places in the state, but unfortunately they were both the worst BBQ we at all week. The sausage at Smitty's tasted good, but the casing was loose and it was like trying to bite through plastic. Kruez was the biggest disappointment. We got brisket, Shoulder Clod, spare ribs and Sausage. The Clod tasted like pot roast that was cooked in a crock pot and the ribs were dry as a bone and had char on the bottom. The moist brisket had big hunks of unrendered fat in it. The only redeeming thing was the jalapeno cheddar sausage, which was very good.
I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed the trip. I'm thinking Kansas City may be the next destination when we do this again.
Day 1 we got into town in the afternoon and made our way to Stiles Switch in Austin for dinner. The pitmaster spent a few years working at Louie Mueller in Taylor, Tx. so he knows his stuff. The Smoke ring on the Brisket Speaks for itself, crazy! I had the lean brisket, smoked turkey, and the Stiles Spicy Sausage. The sides were pinto beans and a Lemon Vinagrette Slaw that was different, but very good.
Day 2 we made our way over Franklin BBQ. This place is the "it" spot in Austin and most of the state these days and there is a reason. It is far and away the best BBQ I have ever eaten. Generally when I eat someone elses BBQ I think, I could probably replicate this. This is the first time in my 20 years of eating BBQ that I was left speechless. We got there at 7:30 and were 10th in line. By 10am (an hour before they open) the line stretched out the parkng lot and up the street behind the restaurant. It is an experience that should not be missed. Everything was fantastic, but if I had to pick the weakest thing, it would be the sausage. But by no means was it bad in anyway, it's just everything else was so much better. As a bonus we got to meet Aaron and take a picture with him.
Day 3 we got up early and headed to Lexington, Tx. for Snows BBQ. They start serving at 8am until they sell out. We had Brisket, Sausage, Spare Ribs and I would rank them neck and neck with Franklins from a quality standpoint, but they taste nothing like Franklins. You can tell the pitmaster Miss Tootsie (who is an 80 year old woman that's been BBQ'ing for close to 50 years) knows her stuff. It was apparent the only thing they were doing was Salt and Pepper and Post Oak for the smoke. Snows is definitely not to be missed! We then made a trek over to Taylor, Tx. to visit Louie Mueller and get the beef ribs. We each ordered one beef rib and when they we quickly realized we were done for. These ribs were 1.25 lbs each, HUGE! We also ordered a pound of moist brisket and two sausage links. The crust on the ribs was crazy and they tasted awesome. The sausage was in the top three of the best we had.
Day 4 we made our way to La Barbecue in Austin. We got in line about 9:30am and there were 25 or so people ahead of us. They serve free Lone Star beer while you wait, which was nice. We ordered moist Brisket, spare ribs, Pulled Pork, and Sausage links. Everything was well cooked and moist, but I found when eating the brisket that each bite had a different flavor. A bite with the bark tasted one way while meat from the middle tasted completely different. The sausage was a chorizo style sausage, which was different from anything we had had to this point, but it was tasty. The ribs were sauced and I wasn't expecting that, they tasted just fine. Then we got to the pulled pork and it was the weakest meat we had up to this point. It was moist and looked great, but there was absolutely no flavor of any kind to it. I know it's Texas and it's beef country but if you are going to have something on the menu, best to make sure it's got some taste.
Day 5 we stumbled upon a surprise and one of the best pieces of brisket we ate on the trip. Valentinas is a food truck in south Austin and is run by a guy named Miguel. I happened upon a short video with Aaron Franklin talking about Valentinas and so we stopped in for a breakfast Brisket taco. He cooks over mesquite wood, which usually has a strong taste, but I would put his brisket behind only Franklin and Snows as far as quality and taste. We ordered the "Real Deal Holyfield" breakfast taco which had Egg, Brisket, Refried Beans, and a tomatillo salsa on a from scratch made flour tortilla. One of the best things I ate all week. We then made our way to Lockhart, Tx. for Smitty's and Kruez. Both are the oldest running BBQ places in the state, but unfortunately they were both the worst BBQ we at all week. The sausage at Smitty's tasted good, but the casing was loose and it was like trying to bite through plastic. Kruez was the biggest disappointment. We got brisket, Shoulder Clod, spare ribs and Sausage. The Clod tasted like pot roast that was cooked in a crock pot and the ribs were dry as a bone and had char on the bottom. The moist brisket had big hunks of unrendered fat in it. The only redeeming thing was the jalapeno cheddar sausage, which was very good.
I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed the trip. I'm thinking Kansas City may be the next destination when we do this again.
