Texas > Austin: Franklin BBQ


 

Paul K

TVWBB Guru
Ate at the 'new' Franklin location today. As you can see on their website they were serving out of a trailer right off I-35 in Austin.

I had the brisket and pulled pork plate. The PP was moist and tasty. Would have liked more bark on mine but...On the table were 3 house sauces. A standard red Carolina style sauce, a vinegar sauce with crushed black pepper and a sweet sauce with molasses and coffee. The Carolina worked well with the PP. The brisket was the star of the show. According to Aaron Franklin, owner and chef, all he uses is salt and pepper. His brisket was very moist with perhaps the best bark I've ever tasted. He exclusively uses local oak for smoking. Overall a fantastic brisket. It was superior to the brisket at the Salt Lick, better than any I've had in Lockhart (Blacks, Kreuz, Smitty's, Chisholm Trail). The other standard meats available are BB ribs, sausage, turkey and chopped beef. I hear the ribs are outstanding as they frequently sell out. His sign out front reads "Open 11:00 AM - sold out". And he sells out of brisket and ribs frequently.

We had a 45 min wait to get into the door but then got up to the counter and were served by Aaron and seated right away. All orders go onto butcher paper with options for standard sides: slaw, potato salad or beans. The volume of meat served was so much I really didn't even eat much of my slaw and pot salad. I've never seen that much food served on a single plate in a restaurant. After our meal, the line was gone so I talked with Aaron a bit. I pointed out the size of the plates and he said 'that's part of who we are'. He's a very pleasant guy who likes to talk Q. If you have the opportunity and time; swing by there.

Paul
 
Thanks for taking the time to post this.

When someone asked here about BBQ in Austin a while back, I recommended Franklin's based on my son's experiences. I still haven't been there. But it is way up on my list.

Now it's way upper.
 
I visited Franklin Barbecue on March 13 while in Austin at SXSW Interactive. Got in line at 9:10am for the 11:00am opening.

Bon Appetit magazine says Aaron Franklin is making the best barbecue in Texas right now and perhaps in America. The Daily Meal on Shine from Yahoo! says Franklin Barbecue is #15 on the list of the 20 Best Restaurants in America. Not barbecue restaurants...ALL RESTAURANTS. So when in Austin, you have to go to Franklin Barbecue.

Bon Appetit: The Best BBQ Restaurant in America
The Daily Meal/Shine on Yahoo!: 20 Best Restaurants in America

What I didn't expect was Anthony Bourdain of "No Reservations" on The Travel Channel showing up to tape a segment for his show.

You can see my photos and description of the whole thing here:

Facebook photo album of Franklin Barbecue & Anthony Bourdain

Regards,
Chris
 
I live near Austin and the buzz about Franklin's has been pretty incredible for the past couple of years. I tried to go one Saturday morning. I got there at 9:30 for their 11:00 opening and was told I would not get served until 1:00 "if there is any barbecue left". I chose not to wait that long for a "possibility of getting barbecue". I went to JMuellers which is not that far away. John serves great barbecue. Aaron used to work for him.

I have wondered - there are probably at least a 1000 of barbecue restaurants in Texas. People have been barbecuing for over a 100 years here, how is that one guy can figure out how to do brisket better than anyone else. I mean, really, it is just meat and smoke.

Anyway, I got to try Franklin's for the first time last weekend. I had ordered a whole brisket in advance which allows you to be able to pick it up at a specific time without having to wait in the line. I took it home, unwrapped it from its butcher paper cover and sliced the best brisket I have ever tasted in my 65+ years. The flat is so moist. You hold it up by the middle and after a few seconds, it broke in two. The point literally melts in your mouth. Neither needs the sauce, but it came with his Texas Style and an Espresso Sauce. I had about 15 people over and the vote on the sauces was about split. Both are very good.

Will I ever wait in line for 3 hours for Franklins? Probably not, but I will definitely order ahead again.
 
I live near Austin and the buzz about Franklin's has been pretty incredible for the past couple of years. I tried to go one Saturday morning. I got there at 9:30 for their 11:00 opening and was told I would not get served until 1:00 "if there is any barbecue left". I chose not to wait that long for a "possibility of getting barbecue". I went to JMuellers which is not that far away. John serves great barbecue. Aaron used to work for him.

I have wondered - there are probably at least a 1000 of barbecue restaurants in Texas. People have been barbecuing for over a 100 years here, how is that one guy can figure out how to do brisket better than anyone else. I mean, really, it is just meat and smoke.

Anyway, I got to try Franklin's for the first time last weekend. I had ordered a whole brisket in advance which allows you to be able to pick it up at a specific time without having to wait in the line. I took it home, unwrapped it from its butcher paper cover and sliced the best brisket I have ever tasted in my 65+ years. The flat is so moist. You hold it up by the middle and after a few seconds, it broke in two. The point literally melts in your mouth. Neither needs the sauce, but it came with his Texas Style and an Espresso Sauce. I had about 15 people over and the vote on the sauces was about split. Both are very good.

Will I ever wait in line for 3 hours for Franklins? Probably not, but I will definitely order ahead again.

Awesome :)
One of the keys to his success is the quality of his briskets. This is the key to the big, beefy flavor that his briskets have. That and that he wraps them and they steep in their own juices for x amount of time. I do my comp briskets this way for these reasons, and they turn out beautifully.

Aaron really is a class act, and a great guy.
 
I made the pilgrimage to Franklins last Friday 1/8. 1/8 is Elvis and my birthday! I live in North Dallas and decided to play hooky from work and go eat the most talked about BBQ in the world. I left Dallas at 3am. Stopped in Waco to pick up my cousin and was standing in line at Franklins at 6:30am CST. Drive was quick and restaurant is only a block from I35. We had a group of 3 and we were the second group in line at 6:30. A husband wife group was holding down the first spot. The wait went surprisingly fast. They let you use the restrooms inside and have porta potties in the back. I went inside to use the facilities and met Mr. Franklin himself around 7am. If you have ever watched his PBS shows or seen him on youtube etc you know he has a quirky personality. He had the exact same personality and was super friendly. Seems like a really nice dude. Around 8am the had an employee walk through the line taking estimates for meat orders. They want to make sure they know when to cut off the line so no one waits in line for nothing. They had an employee walking through the line selling beer. I indulged in a few adult beverages. The line is BYOB (we messed that up) and everyone brought folding chairs. It was basically like a mini tail gate party. Behind the restaurant they had a coffee truck you could buy coffee. Once they opened up we were second in line and got our food quickly. They only have one cutting station and that would be where the line got long. We were fast and got in and out but if you were 100+ back in line that would take a long time! My cousin and I ordered together. We got

1lb of fatty brisket
1.5 lb of lean brisket
1 lb of ribs
1/2 lb pulled pork
1/2 lb of sausage
All meat. No sides.

Brisket was the best I have ever had. fatty brisket was seriously amazing. Also the pork spare ribs were the best I have ever had. I am not a huge rib guy but they did a heavy black pepper rub and they were magical. I say I am not a rib guy but I obviously have not had them cooked right! PP and sausage was good.

Was the 6 hour drive 4.5 hour wait in line worth it? YES.

The brisket is the real deal. I can easily say best I have ever had.
 
The line is BYOB (we messed that up) and everyone brought folding chairs.
My wife and I visited Franklin BBQ as part of a Central Texas BBQ Crawl in October 2015. Read about our experience and see photos here:


When we visited, there were people in line with orange juice and champagne making mimosas. Talk about high class BBQ!

Also, Franklin had a stash of free folding chairs under the staircase. If you get there early enough, no need to bring your own chair!

I agree, it's a great atmosphere, great camaraderie with people in line, and the time flies quickly.

IMG_2183.JPG
 
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When we visited, there were people in line with orange juice and champagne making mimosas. Talk about high class BBQ!

Also, Franklin had a stash of free folding chairs under the staircase. If you get there early enough, no need to bring your own chair!

I agree, it's a great atmosphere, great camaraderie with people in line, and the time flies quickly.

We brought folding chairs but next time we will have to pack a cooler! :cool:
 
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We brought folding chairs but next time we will have to pack a cooler! :cool:

My wife and I went a few years back. I wish I'd gotten to meet Franklin! We got there around 7:30 on a Saturday and got in pretty quickly after it opened, maybe around 11:30. The cutting board is definitely a bottleneck. I agree the ribs were amazing. The brisket of course was phenomenal. They had the beef ribs that day and we got one and it was absolutely one of the best things I've ever eaten. The atmosphere was great for the most part but we got inline behind a seemingly quiet guy on his laptop holding a spot for about 6 dude-bro friends. That wouldn't have been bad, but they showed up STILL drinking from the night before, we're talking public intoxication hammered. My wife and I are 40 and those days are behind us. There was a time I'd have been right there with them.

Other than that, it was fine. That's not at all the fault of the joint. Everyone was super, super nice.
 
Was driving through Austin today and went by Franklins around noon, nobody holding the "last man standing" sign so I parked and got in line. A few minutes later a lady came out and said the wait was about 90mins and there would probably only be sausage left, maybe a chopped beef sandwich. She said the line started at 6am...on a Wednesday.
 

 

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