Hey friends! I've finally (finally!) finished up my travel blogs from our trip to Austin. We went looking for Texas barbecue and oh boy — did we find it! I am sure there are plenty of barbecue hotspots around the U.S. and indeed, around the world. But let me tell you this: Austin is tops in my book.
I eat a lot of barbecue. I like to think I know how to find a good spot and I know how to tell if they're making a quality product. And in my experience, if you live in a place like Louisville, a place that's only sort of known for barbecue, a lot of what you're eating is just ok. Especially when compared to Texas.
There's a line of thinking that says of course restaurants that make barbecue for the masses can't compete to what you can make in your own backyard when you have the time and energy to just focus on making one perfect slab of bbq. Most of the places we tried in Austin just simply defy that logic. There are places we went to that I know I could try every slice of brisket, every day for several weeks in a row and they still would taste just as good as the first.
It baffles the mind. All this to say Texas barbecue is just built different.
In thinking of how I want to wrap up our trip to Austin, I thought of doing a comprehensive travel list of things you should do and see if you go there. The truth is we just didn't get to do enough to make that kind of list. We didn't even go to enough barbecue places to really say that this is a comprehensive list for that!
Still, we went for barbecue. We found it, in spades. And so I can think of no better way to sum up our trip than to make a top five list of best barbecue places in Austin.
I want to preface this by saying this is by no means a comprehensive list. There's no way we could try all the barbecue restaurants in the five days we were there. I think if you tried one barbecue joint a day for a month, you still may have only scratched the surface on what Austin has to offer.
However, through watching way too many videos on best barbecue restaurants in Austin, by spending so much time getting to know (at least from afar) some of the best barbecuers in the area and by trying their recipes and techniques at home, and tasting their delicious results, I like to think we got a pretty good sample for some of the best.
With that being said, and without further ado, here are what I consider the Top 5 best barbecue joints in Austin:
5. Black's Barbecue
Black's Barbecue was a convenient, friendly and unassuming little neighborhood barbecue joint. Based in Lockhart, they don't prepare the meat in house, but cook it at headquarters and bring it in every day. On the plus side, this means you're not gagging on barbecue smoke when you walk in.
The food is delicious. Tender, flavorful and filling. You wouldn't really know that they don't cook it on site as it tastes like it's freshly prepared.
The beef ribs were everything I imagined they would be and more. The pulled pork was right up my alley, with a nice peppery flavor. And the sausage was tops (second best we had in my book).
This is a place I could imagine going pretty regularly. You don't have to wait in a long line, at least when we were there at lunch time. Since the food is prepared offsite, your food is pretty much ready shortly after you order it. To top it off, the staff was friendly and answered any questions.
Black's is No. 5 on my list because it's exactly what you'd expect for Texas barbecue. You can pay more or wait longer for excellent barbecue in Austin. But why go to all the effort when you can get perfectly good barbecue at Black's? I don't mean to undersell it — it's still quite good!
4. LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue
I knew of LeRoy and Lewis because the guy on YouTube who taught me almost everything I know about Texas barbecue, Chud, worked and honed a lot of his BBQ IQ there. So I had high expectations for what they had to offer!
LeRoy and Lewis, which describes itself as "new school BBQ," had some of the more unique and complex flavors of my barbecue pilgrimage. The refried beans — which I'm generally not a huge fan of — were the exact kind of flavors I look for in almost anything. Savory, well cooked, with just a little kick of heat at the end. Just incredible.
The barbacoa just melted in your mouth. Perfectly tender and delicious. Adding the queso fresco and a drizzle of their jalapeno salsa just puts it over the top.
The only reason it isn't much higher on my list is because we just didn't get to sample enough of their menu. In Texas barbecue, when they sell out of something, they're out until the next day. Sadly, I had no idea just how few menu items they'd have left when we got there by dinner time — which is probably a good sign!
This is not a knock on them at all. If I could do it again, I'd get there much earlier so I could sample more of their offerings. They are especially known for their beef cheeks. And I'm sure their brisket is phenomenal (only served Saturdays and Sundays, we went on a week day). So they get an asterisk for their ranking. Incredible food, I just didn't get to try enough of it!
If you want to try something a little out of the ordinary, like say cauliflower burnt ends, this is your place. In my opinion, they do top-notch, well-cooked barbecue, and then they compliment it well with their unique adaptations and flavors.
3. Salt Lick BBQ
Situated out in the Hill Country of Driftwood, Texas, Salt Lick BBQ is your one-stop shop for old school, wagon train Texas barbecue. This place has got it all, including a giant, traditional pit where meat is just dripping over an open fire. This is where you go if you want it all — the sights, the sounds, the smells and, of course, the delicious tastes of barbecue done right.
As strange as it is to say it, I was a little wore out on brisket for this stop. If I could go back, I'd make sure to try it. Everything else we had says it's probably some of the best in Central Texas.
For our meal, we feasted on pulled pork, spare ribs and sausage. Every bite of it was delectable. The ribs were just the right amount of tenderness and give you a clean bite every time. The sausage — a common theme — was scrumptious. And the pulled pork was the straight up, sweet and savory pulled pork that you'd expect from the Texas Hill Country.
My only knock — if it could even be called a knock — is you don't get to choose your sides. (What's America without choice?) You always get a dinner roll, coleslaw and beans. I say this is not really a knock because they are tasty to boot. Not being a coleslaw guy myself, theirs was crisp and refreshing, made with vinegar instead of mayonnaise. These are also the most traditional of traditional barbecue sides, so I can't really ding them for that.
If you really want to step into another time, and get a real old school Texas barbecue experience, ride on down to Driftwood and get you some Salt Lick BBQ.
2. Valentinas Tex Mex BBQ
In Texas, Tex and Mex are nearly synonymous, seeing as how Mexican culture has been there well before Anglos ever stepped foot in what would become the Lone Star State. They've been bumping elbows, and swapping barbecue techniques, from the beginning. Valentinas Tex Mex BBQ exemplifies some of the best of that Tex Mex infusion.
Just a short drive south of Austin past the little two-stop town of Manchaca, Valentinas is epitomizes the roadside barbecue stand. Owner Miguel Vidal started Valentinas (named after his daughter) to embody the best of what he calls Tejano/Chicano cooking.
And boy, does he do it well. We went looking for breakfast tacos. What we found was the second-best brisket we had on the whole trip — and that's saying a lot! If I were to do brisket any other way, I'd want to do it like Valentinas. It's got a great spiciness to it, with a kick of pepper that makes the brisket dance on your tongue.
As far as bark, this is probably the best we had for the kind of bark I look for. It was just the right amount of crunch to compliment the buttery, melt-in-your mouth tenderness of the beef.
The brisket tacos are topped with sea salt lime guacamole and their signature tomato serrano salsa. For the record, this is where my addiction to beef tacos with guacamole started. My mouth waters just thinking about it now.
You can tell the flour tortillas are made fresh and make a perfect napkin for all that dripping, fatty barbecue.
To get one of the best bites of brisket in Austin, as well as a perfect blend of Tex Mex infusion, you gotta try Valentinas!
1. Franklin Barbecue
What can I say? We went looking for the best barbecue experience in Austin and we found it. The gold standard: Franklin Barbecue.
I won't rehash my whole experience at Franklin as I've already waxed on poetically about it in a post for my BBQ pilgrimage. Suffice it to say, it is everything you could want in a bite of barbecue and more.
This was far and away the best brisket I've ever had. Rightly so — if you're going to do Texas barbecue, you've gotta nail your brisket first.
I have three big takeaways that make this my favorite barbecue stop in Austin:
1. Every bite of barbecue is delicious
I think the most mind-blowing part of Franklin is the sheer amount of barbecue they crank out each day. They cook and serve over 100 briskets a day, not to mention who knows what else for the other meats. I'm sure I could eat there every single day and it would taste just as good every time. (Ok at some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in but you know what I mean!)
Every meat was cooked to perfection, with optimal tenderness and flavor.
Another sign this is a killer restaurant is that Aaron Franklin is not heavily involved in day-to-day operations, at least as far as I could tell. He's created a system where everyone who works there is committed to the same level of excellence that he is. Every pitmaster knows how to cook just as well as Franklin does. That's a mark of a great chef, when you can pass on that commitment for perfection to others.
2. Not just barbecue, EVERYTHING is delicious!
My best tip for visiting Franklin: get the Ruby's Dang Pie! You will not be disappointed. It may be one of the best pies, and maybe desserts, I've ever tasted.
When you're in Austin, it's a mark of many a good barbecue restaurant to not only wow you with the meats, but pair it with great sides too. I'm simply blown away at how well they make EVERYTHING they serve at Franklin, including sides and desserts.
3. The experience
Not everyone will want to gather outside, 3-4 hours before the restaurant opens and sit in only semi-comfortable camp chairs, waiting in a crowd to get a tasted of smoked meat. But when you're there, and you're surrounded by the people who are that committed, you're in very good company.
I'm sure it can get unruly at times. When we were there, however, everyone was just incredibly pleasant. I shared in my post about Franklin how we made a friend along the way and even ended up sharing lunch with him. (James, if you are reading, hope you are well!) That's the kind of thing that makes going to Franklin not just about getting lunch, but a special, shared experience among food lovers.
It's not just the people you're waiting in line with, either. Every server, cashier, pitmaster, manager, whatever, has a shining commitment to superb hospitality. Every person, from the manager who personally took my drink order and served it to me, to the woman who sliced my brisket, showed kindness and friendliness. They all treated us as though they had invited us over to their home for lunch and wanted to make sure we were taken care of.
You'd think with the amount of people and product they have to turn out, that wouldn't be the case. It is, though. It all adds another layer that makes waiting hours for lunch that much more worth it.
I said I wouldn't wax on, but here I am again!
If you are going, know that you will have to wait in line and it will take hours. But it will be oh-so-worth-it. I'm sure in peak season, you have to get in line at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. We went in February and were just fine showing up a little before 8 a.m.
Also you need to know they only serve lunch beginning at 11 a.m. and they serve until they run out. I think at 1:30 p.m. or so, they were still serving the day we were there.
I could see how this isn't for everyone. I could even see how if you lived in Austin, you would tire of this kind of wait for good barbecue, and would look for other options that were maybe close to as good with less craziness.
For my money, this is as good as it gets. It makes for a one-of-a-kind, amazing experience with some of the best barbecue in the U.S.
Conclusion
So there you have it! I wanted to find a way to conclude the series on my BBQ Pilgrimage that began those many months ago in February, and I've finally done it.
I will note that we had only a small sample of barbecue places. There's only so many places you can fit in on a five-day trip. And at some point, you do have to eat your vegetables. Thanks to recommendations from outlets like Texas Monthly, Eater and others, I think we were able to hit up the best of the best, though, so I stand by my Top 5 list!
At least until we make our next trip to Austin :) Be well, friends, and thanks for reading.
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