I went on a Texas BBQ crawl with a couple of friends. 14 different joints in 10 days.
I went on a Texas BBQ crawl with a couple of friends. 14 different joints in 10 days.
by jonpacker
17 Comments
jonpacker
Here was our itinerary, plus arrival and queue sizes.
Friday: Goldees (9:30am arrival, 20-30 in queue) Saturday: travel day + goldees leftovers (we ordered way too much) Sunday: Micklethwait (10am arrival, 0 in queue, 10-15 at opening) Monday: Leroy & Lewis (10am arrival, 1 in queue, 30+ at opening) Tuesday: Franklin (9am arrival, 15-20 in queue) Wedneday: Bar A BBQ (10:40am arrival, 5 in queue), Corkscrew (1pm arrival, 50+ in queue) Thursday: KG BBQ (10am arrival, 0 in queue), Burnt Bean (1pm arrival, 10-15 in queue) Friday: Interstellar (10:30am arrival, 50+ in queue) Saturday: Snow’s (6am arrival, 160 in queue) Sunday: Barb’s B Q (10am arrival, 0 in queue), Smitty’s (10am, no queue), Kreuz (1pm, no queue) and Stiles Switch (6:30pm, ~20 in queue, not sold out of anything) Monday: Leroy & Lewis again. 10am, no queue.
My personal top 3 overall:
1. Leroy & Lewis 2. Bar A BBQ 3. Burnt Bean
But that’s just based on overall experience, and it’s really better to break it down further based on what you’re looking for:
Best brisket: Franklin. It really is that good. Barbs a close second. Bar A BBQ after that. Best sides: Burnt Bean’s Mac & Cheese and cheesy tater casserole, Bar A BBQ’s brisket dirty rice, Stiles Switch’s Brussels sprouts, Leroy & Lewis’s coleslaw. Corkscrew had the best beans. Best ribs: KG BBQ Best sausage: Stiles Switch Best pulled pork: Franklin Best turkey: Goldees. Best non-traditional: Beef cheek at Leroy & Lewis is unmissable, smoked duck leg at Interstellar and smoked chicken thigh in mole at Barbs. Best bite of the trip: First bite of flatiron at Leroy & Lewis.
Dishonourable mentions:
– Snow’s. Longest queue by far, unnecessary 8am opening which makes the whole day brutal, and all for… not the best food. It’s a fun experience, but to me it seems like now Tootsie isn’t cooking anymore the quality must have fallen off a cliff. I don’t know how else to explain that TM once rated them #1 in Texas. I mean I think we had better brisket at Buc-ees.
– Places that have introduced a 1/2lb per meat minimum (KG and Burnt Bean). Can someone explain what the deal with this is? It seems to me like a lose-lose situation – we ended up ordering less food from these places because of it, tasting fewer things than we would have liked, and throwing more out. Other places get an honorable mention for specifically emphasising that you can order by the slice (Interstellar and Franklin).
If you only have one day in Austin and don’t want to stand in a queue: Stiles Switch. This place was recommended by two independent locals so we decided to check it out, and it was top tier. Maybe the most impressive thing is that they weren’t sold out of anything at dinner service. We ordered at similar tray that we ordered everywhere else, but we did it at 6:30pm.
standardtissue
How are you feeling after eating all that meat in such a short time lol. My body can’t handle that anymore.
StoneColdPieFiller
What was overall price? Just interested in what it costs to eat bbq for ten days.
siriboss
Amazing! Really hit some fantastic spots
hossboss-sauceboss
Sweet bbq drenched baby Jesus!
Prudent-Virus-8847
So this is how the 1% gets to live. JK sounds like the trip of a lifetime.
Bobcat2013
Looks like a great trip! Very jealous. I’ve only been to interstellar and Snows from your list and I completely agree about snows…. very overrated.
Probot6767
What was the rate on your loan to finance this?
Ok-Airport-7316
Thanks, I am going on a similar trip in a few weeks and your insights helped me.
Count-Bulky
Do you guys have any money left?
whatfingwhat
That’s a heck of a run. Congrats and thanks for the report.
One_keeper
No truth bbq!?
stillish
You guys should have done blood work before and after, woulda been fun to see the results.
DogLuvuh1961
I’ll keep the front porch light on for ya. -your cardiologist
DropTopEWop
Hell yea. For science.
Popular_Course3885
Bar-A-BBQ was one of the best BBQ experiences I’ve ever had. Everything there is absolutely top notch. Glad to see them get a mention.
ItAintMe_2023
The two places that have the lamb ribs would be my first choices!!
17 Comments
Here was our itinerary, plus arrival and queue sizes.
Friday: Goldees (9:30am arrival, 20-30 in queue)
Saturday: travel day + goldees leftovers (we ordered way too much)
Sunday: Micklethwait (10am arrival, 0 in queue, 10-15 at opening)
Monday: Leroy & Lewis (10am arrival, 1 in queue, 30+ at opening)
Tuesday: Franklin (9am arrival, 15-20 in queue)
Wedneday: Bar A BBQ (10:40am arrival, 5 in queue), Corkscrew (1pm arrival, 50+ in queue)
Thursday: KG BBQ (10am arrival, 0 in queue), Burnt Bean (1pm arrival, 10-15 in queue)
Friday: Interstellar (10:30am arrival, 50+ in queue)
Saturday: Snow’s (6am arrival, 160 in queue)
Sunday: Barb’s B Q (10am arrival, 0 in queue), Smitty’s (10am, no queue), Kreuz (1pm, no queue) and Stiles Switch (6:30pm, ~20 in queue, not sold out of anything)
Monday: Leroy & Lewis again. 10am, no queue.
My personal top 3 overall:
1. Leroy & Lewis
2. Bar A BBQ
3. Burnt Bean
But that’s just based on overall experience, and it’s really better to break it down further based on what you’re looking for:
Best brisket: Franklin. It really is that good. Barbs a close second. Bar A BBQ after that.
Best sides: Burnt Bean’s Mac & Cheese and cheesy tater casserole, Bar A BBQ’s brisket dirty rice, Stiles Switch’s Brussels sprouts, Leroy & Lewis’s coleslaw. Corkscrew had the best beans.
Best ribs: KG BBQ
Best sausage: Stiles Switch
Best pulled pork: Franklin
Best turkey: Goldees.
Best non-traditional: Beef cheek at Leroy & Lewis is unmissable, smoked duck leg at Interstellar and smoked chicken thigh in mole at Barbs.
Best bite of the trip: First bite of flatiron at Leroy & Lewis.
Dishonourable mentions:
– Snow’s. Longest queue by far, unnecessary 8am opening which makes the whole day brutal, and all for… not the best food. It’s a fun experience, but to me it seems like now Tootsie isn’t cooking anymore the quality must have fallen off a cliff. I don’t know how else to explain that TM once rated them #1 in Texas. I mean I think we had better brisket at Buc-ees.
– Places that have introduced a 1/2lb per meat minimum (KG and Burnt Bean). Can someone explain what the deal with this is? It seems to me like a lose-lose situation – we ended up ordering less food from these places because of it, tasting fewer things than we would have liked, and throwing more out. Other places get an honorable mention for specifically emphasising that you can order by the slice (Interstellar and Franklin).
If you only have one day in Austin and don’t want to stand in a queue: Stiles Switch. This place was recommended by two independent locals so we decided to check it out, and it was top tier. Maybe the most impressive thing is that they weren’t sold out of anything at dinner service. We ordered at similar tray that we ordered everywhere else, but we did it at 6:30pm.
How are you feeling after eating all that meat in such a short time lol. My body can’t handle that anymore.
What was overall price? Just interested in what it costs to eat bbq for ten days.
Amazing! Really hit some fantastic spots
Sweet bbq drenched baby Jesus!
So this is how the 1% gets to live. JK sounds like the trip of a lifetime.
Looks like a great trip! Very jealous. I’ve only been to interstellar and Snows from your list and I completely agree about snows…. very overrated.
What was the rate on your loan to finance this?
Thanks, I am going on a similar trip in a few weeks and your insights helped me.
Do you guys have any money left?
That’s a heck of a run. Congrats and thanks for the report.
No truth bbq!?
You guys should have done blood work before and after, woulda been fun to see the results.
I’ll keep the front porch light on for ya.
-your cardiologist
Hell yea. For science.
Bar-A-BBQ was one of the best BBQ experiences I’ve ever had. Everything there is absolutely top notch. Glad to see them get a mention.
The two places that have the lamb ribs would be my first choices!!