Hello, intrepid reader and welcome back to the final day of our BBQ pilgrimage to Austin, Texas, the barbecue capital of the world.
If you've been following along, you know that this trip actually happened some months ago. I am just now getting back to finishing my trip blog series because, well, life happens. I'm still going to keep the same present tense writing style just for the sake of making a coherent series. But just know, we have NOT been stuck in Austin for four months and this trip is long over. Though we would love to go back, for sure.
Suffice it to say, at this point in the trip we are pretty wiped out! We really want to round out the trip well though, because it has been such a full trip and a tasty one as well! This is to say, if you couldn't tell from the last post, our pace has significantly slowed down as the trip has gone on.
On today's adventures, we finally get some breakfast tacos and we visit a BBQ place that I had reservations about, but get pleasantly surprised!
Day 5
Itinerary
Magnolia Cafe
Since we first drove in to Austin, we've been looking for an opportunity to get some amazing breakfast tacos. This is one of those places where it seems like you could pull into any roadside taco stand and get some delicious grub.
Now on Day 3, we did go to Valentina's, which are probably some of the best tacos around. And it's true that we even got one breakfast taco! But we've still been on the lookout for some good ol' fashioned, eggs, cheese, protein, breakfast tacos. So that's what leads us to Magnolia Cafe.
The Magnolia Cafe has that iconic diner look and feel to it. The restaurant is located in the South Congress area — which seems to be a very high-traffic area for tourists. Congress Avenue begins at the state capitol, knifes straight through downtown. Then as you cross the river and head about ten minutes south, it opens up into an area filled with restaurants, high-end shopping, art galleries and plenty of places to buy souvenirs.
If you're going to Magnolia Cafe, there's probably going to be a wait. Lucky for you, there's plenty to walk around and see while you wait.
Magnolia has plenty of options for breakfast lovers — omelettes, french toast and even some intriguing entrees called "Landscape." We, however, came in search of breakfast tacos and we found some great breakfast tacos!
Allyson ordered the Flacos Taco, which has scrambled eggs, cheese, avocado and bacon on your choice of flour or corn tortilla. I, on the other hand, like a little kick. So the Three Alarm Taco jumps right out at me. It has scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheddar and pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapeno and a homemade chipotle sauce.
These definitely hit the spot. Great flavors, fluffy eggs and tasty tortillas. All you could ask for in a breakfast taco. The pickling mellows out the jalapenos quite a bit, but the chipotle sauce is enough to kick it back up a notch!
We also ordered the chips and queso. For our money, we could take or leave the queso. It was fine, but nothing mind-blowing.
Magnolia's is definitely worth a trip if you're visiting the South Congress area. And chances are, if you're vacationing in Austin, you will be.
I don't think it quite succeeded in giving up that authentic, roadside, Tex-Mex breakfast street taco. But I think in order to do that, we would have to either do quite a bit more research OR live on the edge and just try whatever roadside taco stand we came across. Like I said, this seems like the kind of place you can do that.
Black's Barbecue
In a trip filled with barbecue, there is just one last thing that could top of my BBQ pilgrimage. After all, so much of the barbecue we've eaten — the pulled pork, the ribs, even the brisket — you can get at many a barbecue joint around the country. But there's very few places where you can get this final, decadent and unique signature Texas bbq dish. I'm talking, of course, about beef ribs!!
If you remember on Day 1, I did have some beef ribs at Ironworks but those were beef back ribs. Tiny little beef ribs about the same size as a spare rib. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talk about the big honking beef ribs, also known as "dino ribs" for their Flinstonian-sized proportions.
Many a good Texas barbecue joint carry these bad bois. Only problem is they are usually a special item. Lots of places sell them on Saturdays or Sundays, days when they're sure to have lots of business. Luckily, there's one place just crazy enough to carry them every day — and that's Black's Barbecue.
Before we get to the meats, a little backstory as to why I wasn't so sure about heading to Black's. On my first trip to an authentic Texas barbecue restaurant, I went to a place called Terry Black's in Dallas. You know I like a good, heavily peppered barbecue seasoning. When I had Terry Black's, I took my first bite and almost had a heart attack. There was sooo much salt!
I usually do a 2-3 part pepper to 1 part salt ratio for my rubs. When I spoke with the pitmaster, he said they do 4 parts salt to 1 part pepper in theirs!! Even more unsettling, when I asked if that was normal for Texas barbecue, he said yes!
The reason this experience is important is because somewhere along the way, I heard (can't verify if it's true but it was a Texan who told me) that there's Terry Black's and then there's Black's Barbecue. Originally, it was a family business but something happened and one went off and started their own restaurant.
All this is to say, I did want to try Black's to see what the difference was. I was a little hesitant because of my near-instant cardiac event from the salty beef at Terry Black's, but seeing as how this is the only spot in town that has beef ribs on a weekday (it's Friday btw), we've got to give it a shot!
Also, now you might understand why they made sure they were called "The Original Black's Barbecue." I'll let someone else figure out who was first though.
One thing to know about Black's in Austin is that none of the meat is prepared on site. Their smokers are at their HQ in Lockhart, Texas, a little over an hour south of Austin. So they smoke the meat and bring it in every day to serve here.
As a bbq chef, this isn't worrisome in the least bit. When you barbecue meat properly, it's going to take at least an hour to come down in temperature. Any pitmaster worth his salt is going to let meat rest for at least an hour so it can resorb the juices back to its center, as well as become just a little more tender.
So if their HQ is in Lockhart, it's not a bad way to go to open up a shop in Austin. You're just not going to get the full experience with the smokey pits and food preparation.
The good thing about this is that all the meat is cooked and ready to serve! This might be one of the quickest spots we eat at all trip. We order sausage, pulled pork and, of course, the mighty, might beef rib!
Oh, and mac-n-cheese to be healthy!
The pulled pork had a very peppery taste, which I'm a big fan of. We have had a string of good luck with sausages. My notes say "2nd best sausage" which is saying something because we have had a lot of them!
As to the main event — it was everything I could've asked for and more. It was perfectly seasoned, not too salty at all. It was excellently cooked and had a nice pull away from the bone. It also had a nice, crunchy bark coating a juicy and tender inside.
If you want to know what eating one of these big bois is like, it's basically brisket on a stick. Juicy, savory, beefy and tender in all the right ways. So if you like brisket, you're going to love these. Plus, you get the experience of eating like a caveman!
For a straight up, local barbecue joint that you don't have to work near as hard to get your hands on like we've had to for some places on this trip, Black's is pretty great. It's quick, convenient and delicious!
We wrap up our final day in Austin, catching up on some of the sights we didn't get to see and some we wanted to re-visit. At the end of the day, we head back probably one of our favorite stops, the Congress Avenue Bridge. We wanted to see the bats take flight one more time, but alas, it's too cold tonight. So we settle for a casual walk and photo taking.
You certainly can't beat this for a last night view to remember Austin by.
Conclusion
That wraps up Day 5 and our final day of our BBQ pilgrimage to Austin. Looking back through my memories, notes and pictures, it's incredible how much we've been able to see and do. And how much barbecue we fit in our bellies!
We came to Austin, looking for great barbecue and we found it. They really do barbecue differently out in Texas. I look forward to traveling to other bbq hot spots around the country but I really think this place will be hard to beat!
Next up, I'm going to round things out with an ultimate guide to Austin barbecue. Stay tuned!
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