My Austin TX BBQ tour during Thanksgiving! Interstellar>Lerory & Lewis>Kemuri Tatsu -ya>Franklin>KG

What an epic week of food!!!! It's so hard to pick a fav cause they all were good in their own way. Franklins BBQ lives up to the hype and then some for sure!!! Was 3rd in line showing at 7:00am, got to meet Aaron and he signed my older copy of his cookbook! Def best brisket hands down and it's not even close. Loved his espresso sauce! Never tried making it at home and he told me all the secrets and tips he's learned while we chatted

KG was my last stop but might be my overall favorite of the trip tho and one I'm most excited to revisit! That smoked lamb chop with some chimi might be my favorite bite of the trip and the pomegranate glazed pork ribs were perfection. Loved loved loved the Mediterranean rice too. Sad I didn't have room for the lamb belly ribs or the Mac and cheese, I gotta try everything it's just so good.

Interstellar was my first stop and I ordered a ton LOL cause I had to try everything LOL it was also for leftovers when everyone was closed on Thanksgiving. Not a single bad bite, loved their mustard sauce and the pulled lamb was a revelation, the pork belly too! That citrus brine on their turkey was magical, I gotta up my brine game. They def had the best pickle game, and those smoked scallop potatoes should be how everyone makes them from now on LOL. Chatted with on of the guys tending the pits and he said KG worked at interstellar for 6 months, you could def see the influence in the quality between the 2.

So many more things I wanted to try and Lerory and Lewis. That beef cheek was out standing!!! But to be honest, mine might be better LOL I kinda think there's were too fall apart and the confit felt unnecessary. That collagen makes it extra fatty already, mine get finished in a boat Guinness extra stout and I used a bit more salt. Def gotta go back and try that hop sausage, totally forgot to get any links or chori papas. The attention to details at the carving station were impressive and I could see why they got a star. The cauliflower burnt ends and carrots were very yummy and I bet a lot of vegetarians love em for it but were only warm almost cold. It makes total sense tho, if you held them any hotter they'd turn to mush. Instead they still had that perfect bite to em. Gotta get back there.

Loved the vibe at Kemuri! That also might be the best cornbread I've ever eaten LOL also lots of things I'd go back and try but that brisket was pretty standard. Miso is just too subtle of a flavor to stand up against smoke.

Had a blast all week, sad I missed out on visiting Snows Saturday morning, Holiday hours at franklins on Friday meant I had to shift my plans around a little and didn't want to camp out early same day I check out of my hotel. Also didn't have time for LA BBQ, next time for sure. I had a friend recommend Terry blacks but anytime I brought them up with a local they said skip it lol. It sounds good and convient just nowhere near the same league cause they'll sell reheats and it's a turn and burn kinda spot.

I just want to shout out the Dinosaur Bbq chain in New York state. I worked there for a time and on a good night, the brisket can be as good as most in Texas (not franklins food) but def better than Kemuri maybe on par with Lerory and Lewis. But yeah, totally different set up with table service and not the attention to detail at the carving station due to the volume. But when I worked pits or the carving station and got to sample the best bites myself I can say with confidence we got something special in New York even if the bbq world tends to ignore our state in general. I just love the mop sauce they use, and I still love their pulled pork the most. I started smoking pork shoulder when I was 16 after my grandpa gifted me a barrel smoker and uncle gave me the dinosaur bbq cookbook, so I'm a little biased using their recipe nearly 20 years now lol was kinda surreal working there after it was an important place to celebrate birthdays etc.