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| Franklin Barbecue Brisket |
In
mid-December, we spent 5 days in Austin – the BBQ capital of Texas. We hadn’t
planned to visit Austin this year but due to a change in our originally
scheduled trip to South Africa, we (OK, I) needed a get out of town NOW option.
Austin, being one of the four BBQ capitals in the US, was always on our list,
and last month it moved up to the top.
Where
to begin? It’s easy to get overwhelmed with BBQ choices in Austin so pre-trip
research is essential. Of course, Franklin
Barbecue was a must even though it required logistics worthy of a military campaign (more on that later!). Barbecue, as you might know, is very
subjective (dry rub, sauce/no sauce, pork, beef, brisket, ribs, etc) and you
can get dizzy trying to figure out how to get to the top places in a finite
amount of time. That’s where logistics come in, but as they say, the best laid
plans of mice and men…
Franklin
opens at 11am every day but Monday. Lines start forming about 8am. They are
usually sold out of brisket by 2pm. Our plane was due to arrive in Austin at
12:30. The plan: get the bags, pick up the rental car, shoot over to Franklin
(only a few miles from AUS), be eating brisket by 1:30. Ambitious? Yes. Crazy?
Maybe. Do-able? Not. Thanks to United Airlines keeping us on the ground in
Newark for a “non-safety” maintenance issue well past our departure time. We
landed in Austin at 1:00, high-tailed it over to Franklin by 2pm, only to see
the “sold out” sign on the door (imagine our very sad, hungry faces). There
were still a few people on line inside so we went on in. The very nice hostess
explained that we were welcome to stay and order some of the other menu items,
but there was no brisket left. We didn’t come all the way from New Jersey and
rush like crazy people from the airport to not get Aaron Franklin’s legendary
brisket!
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| Micklethwait 3-Meat Plate |
Now
what? We were starving for barbecue! On to what most barbecue critics and food
writers consider to be right up there with Franklin: Micklethwait Craft Meats, conveniently located
one mile away. In a parking lot, sits a trailer where you order, another
trailer where the smoking magic happens, and a few picnic tables scattered under
trees. Besides his brisket and beef ribs, Tom Micklethwait is known for handmade
specialty sausage. We settled into a 3-meat plate and ooh’d and aah’d our way
to smoky bliss. I gnawed the rib right down to the bone, while my husband went
to town on the juicy brisket (of course, I helped), and we saved the sausage
for last, which that day was lamb
chipotle – the flavor, the texture - wow! They make everything from scratch
and it shows. The cole slaw, pickles, the above average white bread that comes
with your plate, the creamy potato salad, and (BOOM!) the jalapeno-cheese grits! You know a shop that places so much emphasis
on quality ingredients and house made everything, is going to make their own
desserts, and I so wanted to try the buttermilk
pie they are famous for, but I was at capacity. Next time!
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| East Side King Pork Belly Buns |
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| East Side King Thai Chicken |
Friday
lunch saw us searching out one of Paul Qui’s Asian fusion spots. Mr Qui was one
of F&W Best New Chefs of 2014 so I was keen to try something from his
burgeoning empire. Besides Qui, his fine dining restaurant, he has a fleet of
food trucks in Austin, and a brick and mortar location called East Side King. Thanks to GPS &
Austin’s easily navigable roads, we soon found ourselves at the South Lamar
restaurant. We ordered at the counter, found a table, and waited for our food
to arrive. First up, Poor Qui’s Buns
(roasted pork belly in a steamed bun with hoisin, cucumber kimchi, and green
onion) – whoa, stop the presses! Salty, porky goodness wrapped up in a delicate
bun – one was definitely not going to be enough! But before we ran back up to
the counter, we dove into the Thai
Chicken Kara-age (deep-fried chicken thigh, sweet and spicy sauce, basil,
cilantro, mint, onion, jalapeno) – oh yeah!! And because we figured we should
have some veggies on this meat-centric trip, we ordered the Brussels Sprout Salad (fried Brussels
sprouts, sweet/spicy sauce, shredded cabbage, basil, cilantro, mint, onion,
jalapeno). East Side King is casual and funky – perfect for lunch.
We
met some terrific new friends for dinner at Blackbird and Henry, a restaurant
on Guadalupe Street. Run by chef-owner, Mark Schmidt, this restaurant was a
hit. I started with the delicious Candied
Pumpkin appetizer (diced pumpkin, speck, Maytag blue, and toasted pumpkin
seed oil). I had read that one of the highlights of the menu was their
rotisserie items (cider-cured pork loin, buttermilk brined chicken, or leg of
Texas lamb) so I had to go with one
of those. I never order chicken because nine out of ten times, it is white meat
and dry, dry, dry. But something told me go with the chicken here and was I
ever glad I did. Moist, flavorful, with super crispy skin, and served with
seasonal vegetables covered in those glorious rotisserie drippings… My dining
companions all loved their dinners, too. For dessert, Frozen Pistachio Parfait (with burnt honey caramel) – outstanding!
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| Blackbird & Henry Pistachio Parfait |
We
took a road trip Saturday to Texas Hill Country, but not before a fabulous brunch
at the Hotel Ella, a lovely boutique
hotel in a building dating back to 1846. Situated near the University of Texas
campus, the hotel opened its doors after extensive renovations in 2013. Brunch
is served Saturday and Sunday in Goodall’s
Kitchen and Bar. I really wanted the Lady
Bird cocktail (cream, rum, amaretto, orange juice – good morning!), but
since we had a drive ahead of us, I had to pass. Barry, who was conveniently not
driving, loved the excellent Bloody Mary made with Dripping Springs vodka. What did we have for brunch? More like,
what didn’t we have! People, they
offered warm cinnamon-sugar doughnut
holes served with soft salted butter and raspberry jam (would I ever pass
those up – nevah)! After scarfing every last baby doughnut, I actually had the
nerve to order a main dish – Goodall’s take on a breakfast sandwich. Incredible
sourdough toast with fried eggs, ham, and Gruyere cheese. I might just have to
stay here on our next trip so I’m closer to those doughnuts. After a few cups
of good coffee, off we went to hill country!
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| Hotel Ella Doughnuts |
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| Hotel Ella Breakfast Sandwich |
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| Goodall's Kitchen |
About
an hour outside Austin our first stop was the LBJ Ranch. Run by the National
Park Service, this was a fascinating look into Lyndon Baines Johnson’s
childhood, his presidency, and his life after he left office. While the entire
property spans 2,600 acres, the NPS manages the 600 acres that encompass the
national park (the Johnson family still owns the remaining land, a working
ranch). On the tour of the “Texas White House,” I got chills when the NPS
Ranger detailed the day President Kennedy was killed and the Secret Service
told Vice President and Mrs Johnson (and their staff) that they were now
standing in the home of the President of the United States.
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| Texas White House |
After
our history lesson, we drove onto Fredericksburg,
a little town settled by German immigrants in 1846. I was expecting quaint
old-timey shops (think bakeries, butchers, watchmakers, etc), but obviously
Fredericksburg has been discovered. Now, granted we visited on a Saturday a few
weeks before Christmas, but this town was mobbed! We slowly creeped behind a
line of cars down the main street, and drove around a few times before finding
a parking space. The sidewalks were jammed with shoppers so we quickly found
the Lincoln Street Wine Market, where we
settled in comfortably on their outdoor patio with a glass of wine and spent
the next hour or so relaxing and listening to a great guitarist/singer.
On
the way back to Austin, we decided to sample more barbecue. Many, many
publications have written about Salt Lick
BBQ in Driftwood. Let me just say, this was like a BBQ Disneyland (and not in a good way). Big parties toting coolers
of their beverage of choice (Salt Lick is BYO) wait patiently for their beepers
to go off so they can be summoned to the trough of BBQ slop. I can’t tell you
how disappointed we were in this place (the food was practically unrecognizable).
Maybe Salt Lick once served decent Texas BBQ but those days are long gone. We took
a few bites and ran to the car.
Sunday,
our last day in Austin. Our last chance to get to Franklin. I was not leaving
Austin without Franklin’s brisket. Period.
When
we were shut out on Day 1, we noticed a pile of folding chairs stacked near the
entrance so we were hoping we could snag two of those when we arrived at 7:45am (remember, dear
reader, they open at 11am). We were in luck! While I parked the car, Barry
grabbed two chairs and got on line (yeah, there were already people on line –
at 7:45!). Obviously the 25 barbecue pilgrims ahead of us were way more
prepared. They were playing board and card games, reading the paper, making
mimosas, and cracking open beers. But we passed the time talking to the nice
folks in front and behind us – a nurse in town for work, an Army guy visiting
his girlfriend. As we sat, the line kept growing.
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| The line at Franklin |
A
nice young woman comes out about 10am to get an idea of what you’ll be ordering
so they can plan appropriately. And then, it’s here, 11am! The doors open and
the line starts to snake in. The excitement is palpable as you breathe in the
smoky air. As we approached the counter, I didn’t see Aaron Franklin slicing up
the brisket (as many articles had recounted), and I thought “uh oh, I hope it’s
just as good if he’s not here.” The nice man doing the slicing gave us a small
morsel of brisket to sample & I knew everything was going to be ok.
Franklin
Barbecue makes ribs, pulled pork, turkey, and sausage, in addition to THE
brisket. And I’m sure those things are all very good. But we were not wasting
our time or appetite on them. No sir, we came for brisket and brisket is what
we shall have!
As
we started to order, my husband tapped my shoulder to point Aaron Franklin
coming out of the kitchen. As I had tweeted to him (@franklinbbq) earlier in
the week, I ran over to introduce myself and he couldn’t have been nicer.
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| Pinto beans at Franklin |
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| Look at that bark! |
The
brisket was otherworldly. I know that’s pretty gushy, but it’s true. Everything
about this brisket was perfect – the bark (crust), the flavor, the texture, the
salt. We gorged ourselves on a pound of brisket, some delish cole slaw, and
fabulously creamy pinto beans with shards of that brisket mixed in. Unbelievable.
We
rolled ourselves outta there & over to a 90-minute Austin city tour
(probably not the best idea after that meal), where we saw all kinds of great
stuff that we definitely need to do next time!
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| Austin skyline |
We
had dinner reservations that evening at LaCondesa
(one of Austin’s best Mexican restaurants) but I was in a meat coma and could
not eat one more thing (really).
So
when we returned home and recounted our story of waiting in line three hours
for barbecue, everybody had the same response, “are you crazy, was it worth
it?” And I had the same answer for all of them, “definitely, would do it again
in a minute!”
If
you fashion yourself a barbecue lover, you must go to Austin. Don’t wait, leave now.
We
have now been to three of the BBQ capitals in the US (the other two being Memphis
and North Carolina). Kansas City, you’re next.
Of course, you'll need a sweet to wrap up your weeknight meal, so how about Joy the Baker's Molasses Ginger and Dark Chocolate Cookies? I made these over the Christmas holiday and they were devoured so quickly that I had to make them again just last week. Warning: the heady aroma of cardamom, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon may just make you swoon with anticipation. 
