Austin (and Central TX) BBQ joints (Mesquite, Cedar Park: movers, eat, pool)

[EzPeterson]

Crazy! No way I would put Stubbs in there!

Love all the debate, which is what makes BBQ so great, IMO. Not necessarily debating the value of a person's opinion or input, rather debating the quality and consistency of the Q itself.

So very highly subjective. In fact, this past weekend I smoked two briskets for a party. One of which, I tried an experimental rub - replacing 50% of my cracked black pepper with a course ground fresh smoked Chipotle pepper. The result? I was NOT a fan, but 75% of the party tore it up, loving the different flavor it created.

Just goes to show that you never can tell what folks will like or why.

[tfresca]

Stiles is good for beef ribs, period.. The brisket is inconsistent and sometimes dry. I say that as a big fan of the place. Sausage you go to Louie Mueller or the Lockhart places. I haven't tried Mickelwaite or Buzz Mill so can't say. I do want to give Lambert's a try though even though hardcores crap on the place.

[TexasHorseLady]

Wait, Rudy's top tier? That says a whole lot about the people doing the rating - if a place is popular, it must be the best. Rudy's is consistent, and that's it's only true virtue. I'd put it down about Tier 2 on this particular scale, lower on others.

[EzPeterson]

I've actually had some damn good brisket at the 360 location.

I agree though. Overall they're a notch down from the Mueller clan/Franklin/SS/Lockhart group.

The downside to those crowd source ratings is that the most popular/highest volume tend to get the most/best ratings.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

Crazy! No way I would put Stubbs in there!

Me either, but I love that it showed up in there, just because I know it will drive a few people crazy. And truth be know, there was a time in the wayback when Stubb's earned their legendary status the old fashioned way, though sadly their parade has obviously passed by... at least in terms of smoked meats. That's why the Stubb's brand of bottled sauces is so well known, because of what Stubb's once was.

Love all the debate, which is what makes BBQ so great, IMO. Not necessarily debating the value of a person's opinion or input, rather debating the quality and consistency of the Q itself.

Yeah, I like to poke some fun when people get too serious about it. After all, tastes do differ, and some folks like their brisket dry and slathered in pepper sauce, which is the opposite of how I like it, but they have the right to live, even if they are dead wrong.

So very highly subjective. In fact, this past weekend I smoked two briskets for a party. One of which, I tried an experimental rub - replacing 50% of my cracked black pepper with a course ground fresh smoked Chipotle pepper. The result? I was NOT a fan, but 75% of the party tore it up, loving the different flavor it created.

I've had similar experiences... loved something that others hated... hated something that others loved... I'm amazed that so many of my own friends can be so wrong about some things.

Just goes to show that you never can tell what folks will like or why.

Here's a brief sidebar that is my favorite illustration of this very point: Many years ago I lived in L.A. and there was a restaurant there I liked for breakfast called Ship's. They had an unusual feature, a toaster on every table, and if you wanted toast with your order they brought you bread and you toasted it yourself. I was there often enough that I eventually noticed another regular, a thin, sad looking man who was always alone, and who always burned his toast. He'd pop it out just before it started smoking, but the toast was always black.

After some time, seeing this many times, my curiosity was killing me, and I stopped by his table as I was leaving and asked him the obvious question... Why?

He blinked, swallowed the bite he had been chewing, and shyly answered... "That's how my mother always made it."

Originally Posted by tfresca

Stiles is good for beef ribs, period.. The brisket is inconsistent and sometimes dry. I say that as a big fan of the place. Sausage you go to Louie Mueller or the Lockhart places. I haven't tried Mickelwaite or Buzz Mill so can't say. I do want to give Lambert's a try though even though hardcores crap on the place.

I predict that Micklethwaite Craft Meats will come on strong as the reputation spreads. All the national foodie attention is raising the bar in Austin, and these guys, in a food truck on Rosewood, are right up there already.

It's hard for me to comprehend why La Barbecue, another Mueller family venture on S. Congress gets overlooked by one crowd, while being so beloved by another. Anthony Bourdain has filmed there twice, as I recall, with good reason.

Live Oak, IMO, is a hidden gem, a change of pace, definitely not for everyone, a blackened and funky honky-tonk in a not yet quite acceptable neighborhood, which is pretty much the most rock and roll joint at the moment (at least when I was last in Austin). The standard Texas BBQ offerings are good, with some great logical additions like pork steak and borracho beans, but the non-canonical items are well worth the trip. There is some form of BBQ practiced in almost every part of world, using all kinds of different meats and preparations, and Live Oak seems to always have at least one or two of those global alternatives on the menu board as Saturday Specials. You never know what you'll find (unless you check their website)... West Indies style curried goat, bourbon and cherry glazed strip steaks, Austrian ox roast, Mediterranean lamb, Thai pork belly, whatever??... and that's part of the fun of the place to me. Come on... just look at these pics... I'm ready to go book a ticket right now just being reminded... Live Oak Barbecue East Side Austin Texas - Specials

And Lambert's Downtown - Fancy Barbecue... what can I say? Hardcore BBQ enthusiasts who knock them miss the point entirely. Lambert's is fabulous for what it is, which is an unapologetically gentrified, upscale reinterpretation of traditional barbecue by three Culinary Institute grads. The three cheese macaroni is sinfully luscious and good, the eggs benedict with marinated flat-iron steak is better than the original, and the espresso coffee rubbed brisket is superb... as a change of pace, and as a much nicer place for a romantic dinner than any other BBQ place on my list list. My favorite is the Sunday Morning Buffet, which though expensive, is thoroughly memorable for the general excellence of everything they have out. Do they still have the bottomless mimosas? I haven't been there in several years, simply because I don't live there any more, but just thinking about them has me looking at my calendar for possible travel bookings to come.

And Snow's, out in Lexington, not even on the list I compiled, I hope it's still open the next time I'm in the area, because Tootsy is in her late 70s at least, so who knows how long she'll keep doing what she does so well? Twice I made the drive all that way out there too late to get any meat, and came home only with potato salad and beans, but even that was worth it, because the potato salad... at least then, a couple of years ago... was the best I've ever tasted in my life. She told me her neighbor makes it by hand in a big dishpan, by an old family recipe. Her neighbor was 92 then, and I wish her good health, because I'd sure love to taste that potato salad one more time. I'd love even more to know what the secret is. Honest to God, a potato salad worth driving nearly two hours to get when they've already sold out of meat, that's really something!

Sadly, that reminds me of another thing I didn't like about Stiles Switch, besides the obnoxious big TVs and the very forgettable brisket, was the potato salad... iccckkk.... how can you mess up something so basic? It was like a soupy mess of lumpy mashed potatoes and mustard. I'll never make that mistake again.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by OpenD

It's hard for me to comprehend why La Barbecue, another Mueller family venture on S. Congress gets overlooked by one crowd, while being so beloved by another. Anthony Bourdain has filmed there twice, as I recall, with good reason.

And Snow's, out in Lexington, not even on the list I compiled, I hope it's still open the next time I'm in the area, because Tootsy is in her late 70s at least, so who knows how long she'll keep doing what she does so well?

Actually on S First. When AB filmed there, it was J Mueller - with John cooking, before his sister LeeAnn fired him.

Tootsie is actually in her 80's. Last time I was there, she was showing a bunch of us around, when she abruptly says, "Well, I have to get going. Have to go to my granddaughter's wedding." I aspire to attend my grandkids' weddings.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Wait, Rudy's top tier? That says a whole lot about the people doing the rating - if a place is popular, it must be the best. Rudy's is consistent, and that's it's only true virtue. I'd put it down about Tier 2 on this particular scale, lower on others.

I agree. When we are in a hurry or on short notice, a stop at Rudy's in Round Rock for some brisket and turkey (plus tater salad) is satisfactory, but nothing stellar. We do like their sauce, but I use only a little of it to dip the drier meat in.

Their breakfast tacos are decent if you special order them.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Well, shucks! THIS former Carolina(and Georgia) boy will keep his mouth shut(figuratively) about Texas BBQ since y'all don't consider pork barbequeable and I'd take pulled pork or pork ribs over any cut of beef any day! Carry on! And yes, sweet sauce on the ribs...not too much, but it needs to be caramelized during the last hour or so...then, just a touch of sauce to bump into the sweet cole slaw and beans.

OMG, this 5th-generation native Texan loves BBQ pork, especially baby back ribs......and I also don't care much for beef ribs--or any other ribs other than babyback.

I've had southern pulled pork with all the trimmings in VA--and about the only thing I didn't like was the sweet beans! I just can't handle them, LOL! I like any kind of sauce--savory, sweet, hot, or any combination thereof!

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

OMG, this 5th-generation native Texan loves BBQ pork, especially baby back ribs......and I also don't care much for beef ribs--or any other ribs other than babyback.

I've had southern pulled pork with all the trimmings in VA--and about the only thing I didn't like was the sweet beans! I just can't handle them, LOL! I like any kind of sauce--savory, sweet, hot, or any combination thereof!

I'll agree here. There's something perfect in a slow smoked pork shoulder and a rack of ribs (personally prefer the spares over baby backs). Little finishing sauce and a cheap white bun and heaven in a sandwich. You can actually find some pretty good pork BBQ joints over in East Texas.

[walt151]

love bill miller here in SAN ANTONIO CITY IN LULIBG IS GRAT. YUM EGIN SAUSAGE
..DROOL.