Bear with me here — this is my attempt at "travel blogging." All this week I am on a BBQ pilgrimage to what some consider to be the barbecue capital of the U.S. — Austin, Texas.
(Editor's note: I am actually publishing this on a week delay, as I have been told it is ill-advised to advertise when you are traveling all over the internet but I will be documenting it as if it is happening right now. So, hello from the past and I hope that isn't too confusing!)
Yes, this land of rugged individualism, where Americans in some ways invaded Mexican territory, took it for themselves and, taking advantage of the free ranging cattle just roaming around the countryside, created their own unique style of barbecued meat. And, in particular, in Austin, which marks the boundary between the big cities and fertile lands of central Texas with the wild hill country of west Texas.
In this blog series, I want to capture my adventure to Austin — the places I eat, the sights I see and the experiences that, hopefully, make it a memorable journey. In addition, as the subtitle suggests, I'd like this to be a helpful guide if you, like me, want to go visit Austin and taste the most delicious barbecue and make the most of your trip. (Second editor's note: there are some regional differences in the variations of BBQ, bar-b-q, barbecue, barbeque, etc. For my purposes, I don't know them well enough and I'm just going to reach for whatever is easiest to type at the moment.)
Joining me on this journey is my always-ready-for-an-adventure girlfriend Allyson. We're taking our trusty cameras, a notebook and our bellies on a quest to find the best foods to eat and sights to see.
So, without further ado, here's our adventure in Austin!
Day 1
Itinerary
First stop: Iron Works Barbecue
I found Iron Works Barbecue on a video from Eater on top bbq places to go in Austin that you don't have to wait in line for. Also, I was talking with my brother and he said he had been there on a trip to Austin. After seeing some of the more popular bbq places with lines wrapped around the block, I wanted to definitely include some of those in this pilgrimage.
Started in 1978 by Charlotte Finch, she wanted to create a quaint and family-oriented barbecue place. When the red tin building was first erected, there wasn't much to speak of around it and, presumably, it was on the very edges of downtown.
Now, downtown Austin is booming, so much so that they built a gigantic convention center around Iron Works. So, too, has the popularity of the restaurant after it became a go-to for people like Jay Leno and Rachel Ray. Governors Rick Perry and Gregg Abbott have eaten there, along with Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, and once presidential hopeful John Kerry.
Being just a 15-minute walk from our Air BnB, I knew this should be our first place to dip our toes into the wonderful world of Texas barbecue.
Let me start by saying that if you're going to go to Austin, know that it is "walkable" but it is not "walker-friendly." The area of the city where we are staying is great if you are walking within a 4-5 block radius in the neighborhood, but crossing over into downtown proved somewhat perilous and, more than that, congested and without good crosswalks.
When we first stepped into Iron Works, it was just as the owner intended — a quaint little joint, from another time with a very homey feel. Now, it's a great place to grab some grub on the quick.
At Iron Works, they have all the staples – brisket, sausage, ribs, turkey, pulled pork. Having already scouted out the menu, we knew the sampler would be the best option to try a bit of everything. For about $19, you get some brisket, their famous IWB sausage and a beef rib. We added mac-n-cheese and corn on the cob for sides.
Let me start with the good. First it was quick to order and get served. We walked up to the window and ordered and in about two minutes they had cut up our order and sides and handed it to us to pay out.
Second, the sausage was excellent. Plump, juicy, burst-in-your-mouth flavor. It was the best part of the meal, hands-down.
Third, the sauce. You will hear me say the best barbecue doesn't need any sauce. But sauce is always a nice little addition. In this case, I wouldn't say the meat needed sauce. I will say that it was indeed a nicely balanced sauce with good flavor.
Finally, the mac-n-cheese was just great. Honestly, I am only here for the meat. But if there are sauce, sides or desserts that are good as well, that's just icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned.
Now, for the ok-to-not-so-great parts of the meal. I do have to preface by saying as an amateur bbq chef, I have slightly higher standards than most for bbq. That being said, the beef was not as good as I'd hoped. Especially the sliced brisket. It appeared to be cooked well, had a nice bark, fat content and seasoning. But the finished product was chewy to me. To me, that means it is a little overdone, not at peak tenderness. Could be many reasons — they're cooking in bulk and they have to keep briskets in warmers so maybe it got a little chewy. For reasons you'll see later though, I know that this does not have to be the case.
I was VERY excited for the beef rib. They are some variations for what kind of beef ribs you can get, but often this is basically just a giant hunk of delicious brisket meat attached to a bone. Their beef rib (I believe it was a beef back rib, so less of what I've described) was deliciously flavored and sauced, but also a little chewy/overdone. As we got further in, there were parts with more fat content, making it a lot more tender. But suffice it to say, I had a little higher hopes than what I was dished up.
This is definitely a great little joint to grab some bbq and have lunch with friends. I think you should definitely come and check it out for yourself, but, having been so highly touted in the Austin BBQ scene, I don't know if it lives up to the hype. Again, that's just me! And for historic and cultural purposes, it is probably worth a visit just for that alone.
Second stop: LBJ Presidential Library
One other thing you need to know about me on this trip: I am a history nerd. I don't care to say it at all. I went to the James A. Garfield house last year. You know who James A. Garfield is? Probably not. He's one of the shortest serving presidents in history, serving for six months because he was assassinated in 1881. So yea, that kind of dork.
In preparation for this trip, I over-ambitiously started a biography series on LBJ (it's in four volumes, some of which are over 1,000 pages). I didn't get very far. But I have come to think that to learn LBJ's story is to learn quite a bit of Texas history, and the history of the 20th century.
As soon as he was elected president, LBJ began the process of building his presidential library. A very plain looking, travertine square building, the 10-story structure looms over the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, where his wife Lady Bird earned two degrees. Lady Bird kept an office on the 10th floor, which has one of the best views of the Austin skyline.
A greeter at the library told us, "They say Austin is weird, well this building is weird because you have just entered on the 3rd floor," even though it was, for all purposes, the ground floor.
On the 3rd floor you'll find a timeline of LBJ's life and a parallel timeline of major events of the 20th century. This is where you'll really get a sense of how much history his life actually covered. As a senator, he was elected the youngest Senate Minority Leader in history at 46. As Senate Majority Leader, he shepherded the passage of the first Civil Rights Bill. And then as President, serving just one term, LBJ grappled with the Vietnam War, the space race, anti-war protests and civil unrest over racial segregation.
The 4th floor is the Legacy floor, where you will see highlighted the major accomplishments of his presidency, which include the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, the creation of Head Start, and numerous others. The floor concludes with LBJ's farewell, as he was one of the few, maybe only president to intentionally choose not to seek a second term.
Ensconced in floors 4 through 9 are Johnson's presidential records — over 45 million pages of documents from his term. They are kept in red boxes on shelves, and they are only for research purposes.
Finally, on the 10th floor is Lady Bird's office, preserved, I assume, as it was when she would work there with a sensational view of the UT campus and the city of Austin. There is also a 7/8 replica of the Oval Office, replicating it as it was when LBJ occupied the office.
If you are a fan of presidential history, this is definitely a good stop. This being my first presidential library visit, I expected a little bit more inside view of their work as president — actually being able to see some of their papers of interest or even copies of speeches. There are letters scattered throughout and some recordings of LBJ's phone calls. But all of the good stuff is locked up in those 5 intervening floors, only for research purposes.
LBJ being the secretive person that he was, I'm sure he'd have it no other way.
If you're going, also just know they paint a very rosy picture of LBJ that is probably less than half his true self. I was impressed by how much he was able to accomplish in just one term, but I also know that underneath those accomplishments was someone who wielded power as strongly as he could.
Final Stop: The OG Chuy's
When I found out the original Chuy's was in Austin, I jumped at the chance to go. I do not generally recommend chain restaurants when people ask, but Chuy's is one that breaks that rule. It is so delicious. And to be able to go to the original? Before it was the big national chain? Sign me up.
It's hard to miss the giant, multi-colored florescent sign as you drive up. But other than that, Chuy's is pretty unassuming and nowhere near the gigantic dining rooms of their chain restaurant counterpart. I'd be surprised if there were more than 25 tables in the place. It just felt like a local Tex Mex spot.
Luckily, the demand seems that of a local Tex Mex spot. Granted, we're here on a Monday and while the parking lot was full, we were able to be seated immediately with no real crowd inside.
If you've been in any Chuy's in America, the decor feels instantly familiar — bright, eclectic, funky. But as the OG, this stuff is the real deal. The chairs were a random collection of colors and styles. The seat cushions were banged up and well-used. The wall hangings were a random assortment of posters and found knick-knacks. The chain restaurant is designed to look this way, but the OG actually feels the way of a Tex Mex joint with collected furniture and decorations.
The menu is paired down quite a bit from the national chain version. You can get enchiladas, burritos, fajitas and a few other dishes. But don't worry, they still have their signature jalapeño ranch dip!
For this meal, I went with a steak burrito with cheese, topped with hatch green chili sauce. While the steak was a little crispy, the flavors were delicious, especially the hatch chilis. And don't even get me started on the jalapeño sauce. I think they should serve it on every dish!
Conclusion
And that was Day 1 of our BBQ pilgrimage. With travel beginning at 4 a.m., it was probably the longest and fullest day of the trip but I wanted to be sure to hit the ground running.
So far, Austin is an incredible city, It's big and broad but also small and neighborly. Each block is just chock full of fun little surprises, from coffee shops to Tex Mex, art studios to breweries. And the weather in February can't be beat!
I don't know how much of a teaser these things need but tomorrow I make my most important stop: The Holy Land of Texas BBQ. See you then!
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