Best BBQ in Austin? (San Antonio, Mesquite: casino, legal, bill)

[TexasVines]

lets get a few things straight...

1. Rudys is good BBQ......but it is chain store BBQ PERIOD THE END...I eat there...I like it.....but it is far from the best Austin has to offer

2. Salt Lick BLOWS....period.....it is not really even as good as Rudys.....fantastic location......their BBQ is just meat and a peach based sauce.....meat is good.....but good meat is not great BBQ

3. Iron Works = Salt Lick in town

4. County Line should not even be in the discussion......again good food....not great BBQ

5. some of the out of town places mentioned are really good.....but not near in Austin

6. Smoke Logan's was the best BBQ in Austin period across the board bar none

there was one on 28th I believe and my fav was the one on Research where he had all you can eat......all you could eat of the best BBQ ever and amazing sides with a great selection

not sure if they are still around, but that was GREAT BBQ

most of the others listed are the Matts El Rancho of BBQ of the Sunset Grill of BBQ....tourist traps that SUCK! or "locations"

[woodinvilleguy]

Man people have a lot of passion towards bbq. I'll stick to making my own and not inviting you guys so I'm not criticized.

I know many people that love Rudy's and Salt Lick BBQ. I like Salt Lick and Rudy's, that is my opinion.

[love roses]

I just usually stick to my neck of the woods and have Louie Meuller's. The Taylor Cafe makes a really good brisket sandwich. My daughter had the chicken there and it was really good too. I think I need to make a trek down to Luling though

[paul6835]

I really want to hate Rudy's because its a chain, but the extra moist brisket is just plain good. Not as smoky as I like, but its moist and tender which is not easy to do with brisket. I really like their sauce and corn too. The rest of their stuff is pretty average.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by atxcio

You know, I typically have put down Rudy's in the past (and I've had it tons of time -- people seem to always want to cater/bring to work events)... but this past week, I had some of the best brisket I've ever had anywhere -- and it was from Rudy's. It was the extra moist, and they threw in a few "burnt ends". Really changed my perception of Rudy's. Since the time you go to a BBQ joint seems to matter, I should point out that I went during the tail end of the lunch rush on a Thursday (around 1pm). This was the location on South 360 near Walsh Tarleton.

I'm also a big fan of Iron Works downtown.

I need to try out Franklin's. I understand the location is on the east side of I-35 at around 34th street.

The trick with rudys is you must get the extra moist, it must glisten and it must not be "tight". Meaning the meat easy stretches with gaps forming within the meat to make a grid. I would say 4/5 times it is good and 1/5 times we ask them to give us a different cut.

Rudy's extra moist is extremely consistent and fantastic. Their sausage is fine. Everything else (and I mean everything, chicken, turkey, lean, prime rib, ribs) is dry.

[CptnRn]

I was passing through Llano today close to lunch time so stopped in and tried out Cooper's. The beef ribs were huge and delicious, but darned expensive. 4 beef ribs, a 7" piece of sausage, two small dishes of potato salad, with beans and 1 beer came to $38+. But it was too much food for lunch ,we could have gotten by with 1 rib a piece.

The sausage was average, the potato salad was the worst we have ever had, but they guy across the table from us loved it. The beans were good, and the dining experience was unusual but fun. I wish I had room to try some brisket. Or those think pork chops.

I'd go back again just for the beef ribs.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by paul6835

I really want to hate Rudy's because its a chain, but the extra moist brisket is just plain good.

I just don't get this mentality. So if someone is successful in the restaurant business, they should limit their business opportunities just to prevent getting the "chain" label? Isn't placing Rudy's and McDonalds (hey, they're both "chains" right) completely missing the point? Either the product is good or it's not. Crappy BBQ from a ma and pa is still crappy BBQ. Great BBQ from a chain is still great BBQ.

[UTHORNS96]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

I just don't get this mentality. So if someone is successful in the restaurant business, they should limit their business opportunities just to prevent getting the "chain" label? Isn't placing Rudy's and McDonalds (hey, they're both "chains" right) completely missing the point? Either the product is good or it's not. Crappy BBQ from a ma and pa is still crappy BBQ. Great BBQ from a chain is still great BBQ.

The reason for that mentality is that chains usually exchange food quality for mass production. There are VERY few chains that I feel have great quality food. Chick-Fil-A, Whataburger, and The Original Pancake House are three of them.

[LOVES YORKIES]

Chick-Fil-A in Georgetown is very good and they are busy all the time.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

The reason for that mentality is that chains usually exchange food quality for mass production. There are VERY few chains that I feel have great quality food. Chick-Fil-A, Whataburger, and The Original Pancake House are three of them.

Exactly, once a chain gets so large that food is parcooked at a central facility that's the point I refuse to go there. I'm pretty good at reheating food at home. No need to pay a restaurant to do it.

There's a reason Chili's, TGIF, Olive Garden, etc. have so much sodium in their food...it's a preservative for transport.

Of the barbeque joints, Bill Miller is one of these. the food is cooked at their facility in downtown San Antonio. When I worked down there, you could smell the putrid BM smell from miles away.

I think Rudy's smokes everything at each restaurant though. The problem with it is that it's just blah. Nothing bad or exceptional about it. It's serviceable. Part of the joy of BBQ is knowing that some dude sweated over that beef for 12+ hours and nailed it that day. Sure, you're gonna hit some bad days and if you miss the prime window of 11am-1pm, then it won't be as good the rest of the day but that's part of the experience. The fact that Rudy's is super consistent at every location kinda creeps me out a bit. If you love the fact that Chili's tastes like Chili's in Austin, New York, Sao Paulo and Beijing then you will love Rudy's.