to austin i go, recomendations?


 
J

jeff davidson

TVWBB Super Fan
I have to head to austin next week for work. Pretty excited about my first taste of authentic texas bbq. I am locked an loaded on lockhart for kreuz and smittys.

Any other suggestions?
 
Hands down the best Texas BBQ experience in Austin is southwest of the city in Driftwood, TX at Salt Lick BBQ. Don't be tricked into trying their other locations. This one is the authentic. I would venture to say its better than Smittys and Kreuz combined.
 
All kind of good places in the area, all with their adherents.

If you have time drive to Taylor a little north of Austin. Check out Meullers and especially Taylor Cafe, hands down, the funkiest place I have ever stepped foot in.

If you are not framiliar with Hot Guts aka Bohunk Sausage make sure you try it out when you come. Best sausage will be found at Luling Meat Market in Luling and the fore mentioned Taylor Cafe.
 
I'll second the original Salt Lick location in Driftwood. Everyone I know who has been there will highly recommend it to anyone.

Another location, though a little more 'commercial' is Stubbs BBQ near 6th street. They also have some pretty good live music at times.

Though not BBQ...I've heard you shouldn't miss Threadgills either.

Tons of good places for grub, brew, and music in the Austin area...just stay away from the tea-sipper university!
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All great suggestions. You can't go wrong with just about any Q joint in Lockhart. The Salt Lick is great. Where will you be staying? If downtown, you might try the Iron Works. It's been years since I've been there, but I recall they did a good job with brisket and ribs. Enjoy your stay!
 
Iron Works is near the convention center, and they do a great job with beef! Beef ribs, brisket, and sausage are all good. Pork is not as good as other places. It's a funky little shack too. Another great place to try is Iron Cactus on 6th - it's not BBQ, but they have an awesome tequila bar and good tex mex food. Enjoy your trip.
 
I'm partial to Rudy's, myself. I keep a running supply of Rudy's sause - I use it on my brisket and pork.

Jeff
 
Wow...everyone just keeps giving you great suggestions. I'll second Rudy's as a good joint, and their spicy bbq sauce is really nice.

Melissa, I ate at the Iron Cactus about a month ago. They had lots of premium tequilas, but was not very fond of their margaritas...the mix was WAY too sweet. Food however, was excellent and the location on Sixth is nice.
 
I think the Salt Lick does a great job. If you like a mustard sauce and I do, they have a good one. There are not many places I'd drive out of the way to eat restaurant Q but Driftwood, TX and Lexington, NC are two fo them.
 
I know all places have good days and bad days.Have heard people rave about Salt Lick. Coming from G-Town, it was a out of the way drive. Went on a Sun. afternoon, and had an hour/half wait to be seated. Knew they didn't sell beer, so we bougt a 6 pack. Only thing that made the wait tolerable, was the beer.

Specifaccly told our waitress that I wanted sauce on the side. Was brought brisket swimming in sauce. Sent it back and got brisket that tasted like it had never been near smoke. Zip smoke ring. During the lengthy wait, had peeked in a window, and saw a Oyler. Guess they forgot to put wood in it.

Anyway, they were having a busy day, other people I know have really loked it. Never been back. Too much of a drive. Too much of a wait..

Reason I posted, if you like a brew with your BBq, at least a couple of years ago, you had to bring your own.
 
There is another way to get the Salt Lick experience (well, two if you go to the 'city slicker' version of Salt Lick on Loop 360), and that's to grab it inside the airport, before you leave the secured section.

I agree with Mike, it's not a smoky brisket, and as others said, it's the mustard sauce that sets it apart.
 
To all the Rudy's lovers:

I too love Rudy's for quick and easy BBQ experience. I might be a bit biased though as I have a member of my family who is the GM of the Rudy's in Waco, TX. I think that of all the Rudy's I've been to, his is the best. Not all Rudy's same to serve the exact same quality of BBQ

I keep a case of Rudy's Sause on hand at all times. And if y'all don't know, Rudy's has the world best breakfast tacos in brisket, sausage, etc. They serve them until 10am.

On a side note: DO NOT eat at the Salt Lick BBQ in at Austin Bergstrom Airport. You will be disappointed. They try their best, but it's just not the same.
 
Granted it's all personal preference but with statements like, "(It's criminal that Memphis is recognized as the city of great ribs, because every rib I ate in Texas was vastly superior.)" one wonders how much Q-eating experience this guy has, especially since he's 'well-travelled'(!), and it's likely he doesn't Q himself.
 
Kevin,

I agree with you assessment. I posted the article more to reflect the way people around here feel about the local BBQ and the way locals will respond when he asks them where to eat.

I, myself, am very open to Q from other places. I don't like to make broad generalizations about where the best Q is to be found. I just like to find it...and eat it...and smoke it on the WSM, of course.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Melissa:
Iron Works is near the convention center, and they do a great job with beef! Beef ribs, brisket, and sausage are all good. Pork is not as good as other places. It's a funky little shack too. Another great place to try is Iron Cactus on 6th - it's not BBQ, but they have an awesome tequila bar and good tex mex food. Enjoy your trip. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I, too, will vouch for those Iron Works beef ribs. that's what you want to get there. the big beef ribs. They're outstanding. I go to Austin for work occasioinally and haven't ever had a schedule where I can explore. But at the very least, I get those beef ribs at Iron Works.

I've had people bring me some frozen Czech style smoked sauges for Kreuz which were outstanding. Hope to go there someday.

And whoever said the Salt Lick restaurant at the airport was not so good was correct. I mean, it's nice to be able to get a brisket sandwich before you get on the plane and all. But I gotta say, I've had better BBQ elsewhere and was disappointed given their stellar repuation. I do still hope to make it out to headquarters in Driftwood someday. I've heard it's quite fun and the BBQ is excellent.
 
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