If la bbq is too busy Kerlin bbq is right down the road and very solid. Might be out by now though.

OregonAggie said:

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I'm really surprised that Top 5 in Desoto made any list whatsoever. The brisket was bad when I was there. I'm going to give them one more try since I'm down there for work a lot but I'm guessing it'll be my last stop.

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I've discussed this with some other BBQ people and they agree that Top 5 is trash. I was expecting as much when I stopped. I wouldn't give their brisket another shot, from my sources it's consistently awful. But they have nachos...

RAM700BA said:

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If la bbq is too busy Kerlin bbq is right down the road and very solid. Might be out by now though.

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Agreed on the Kerlin suggestion. If you're down at Blue Owl, it's convenient. Also, check out Lazarus Brewing Co. while you're in that neighborhood. Very cool spot.

RAM700BA said:

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If la bbq is too busy Kerlin bbq is right down the road and very solid. Might be out by now though.

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How is Kerlin compared to Terry Blacks? I haven't been to La BBQ yet, but between Lamberts, Friedmans, Stiles Switch, Mickelthwait, Browns BBQ (Trailer on S.Lamar), I've found Black's to be consistently better. There is rarely a wait unless you go at 7pm on a busy weekend Saturday, and the quality of the brisket and sides is great.

I do enjoy Coopers ribs in Llano, and have heard they are pretty good downtown Austin as well.

Live Oak Brewing in Austin is also another good place to visit with Jester King

Quote:

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I wouldn't give their brisket another shot, from my sources it's consistently awful.

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Your sources still think Lockhart BBQ in Dallas is good?

Not sure how long you're up in DFW but check out Billy Oak Acres in N Fort Worth is you have time. Has very good brisket.

Solely based on meat(s) Kerlin>>TB

Source: meat snob

When ranking bbq places in Austin I go Franklin's, La bbq, Terry Blacks and Kerlin are tied for 3rd.

Terry Blacks is more convenient since they have a brick and mortar building and a dedicated parking lot. Kerlin is a food truck who shares a parking lot with a gas station and a hippie food truck, so parking sucks and it's a no go if it's raining. Brisket is a little more consistent at TB's, but I like the ribs more at Kerlin. They don't use as much sauce as TB's, which I think is the sign of a great rib. Really sticky and great Texas style rub. They are pretty even on side dishes as well. Although Kerlin has some street corn that is amazing, and also offer kolaches now. It's honestly splitting hairs. That's why I think they are tied and it just depends on what I'm in the mood for. If I had to choose I would go with Kerlin just because I think TB's has enough customers. Kerlin could use the publicity and support.


Picture from my last Kerlin trip.

BurnetAggie99 said:

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Live Oak Brewing in Austin is also another good place to visit with Jester King

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Totally agree. Top two tours in my mind.

Gonna have to try Kerlins next time. Those ribs look pretty incredible!

Not in the top 50... But starting next week... AustinAgChef whill be opening his own BBQ offering in Hutto... Look out on FB for Pustka Family BBQ on Farley St...

/Biased

Awesome. I live in Hutto. This place needs something other than Chilis.

I always get hungry around Hutto when I'm driving back to Leander from CS, but nothing ever looks good. I'll have to try this place.

So the wife and I will be in Austin Saturday Nov 4th and likely staying overnight without kids

Saw the tmbbq fest is there on Sunday

if we were to get tickets for the fest what is included and is it worth it? anyone been that can explain the process to me

my wife does like BBQ so if it is a lot of tasting she is definitely in. If it is a cooking demo type thing she wont be interested

Went a few years ago, 25 of the top 50, most offered tastes of several meats, serious meat coma

It's worth doing for sure. It's a ton of meat. Wait in line, eat some of the best bbq in the world, repeat.
It's pretty late to get tickets.

I'll be there Sunday.

Here's something I wrote about the 2015 event:
http://www.texasbbqadventures.com/2015/05/on-side-3rd-annual-houston-bbq-festival_3.html?m=1

Walked over to Pinkerton today with the family.
They didn't want to wait for me to get a picture.

Haven't been since the first day they opened last year. Most everything was great, especially the ribs today. The brisket was a little step down in quality from the other top spots- smoked really well, just not as much marbling.

Edit: my brother said the lean was better than the moist, which makes sense- I only ate some moist.

Drove by Pecan Lodge and the line was massive. Is Pecan Lodge still on top of their game?

MathNewman06 said:

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Walked over to Pinkerton today with the family.
They didn't want to wait for me to get a picture.

Haven't been since the first day they opened last year. Most everything was great, especially the ribs today. The brisket was a little step down in quality from the other top spots- smoked really well, just not as much marbling.

Edit: my brother said the lean was better than the moist, which makes sense- I only ate some moist.

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Been wanting to try out Pinkerton, are they usually crowded?

I hardly ever see a line there when I pass by. Got there at 1130 today and got served right away. Started getting busier for the Texans game at noon, but they were moving people through just fine.

So, if any of y'all follow me on twitter, you'd have seen that I've been dining on subpar southern bbq instead of being in Austin. Had a funeral in Tennessee and had to miss the festival today. How'd y'all fare at the event? Anyone hit all 30?

We hit up a lot at the festival this weekend. Did NOT hit up Snows or Franklins due to the lines and skipped the large line at Truth because we go often

We had never been and had a great time but was extremely surprised at the amount of the size of the samples given. We didn't pace ourselves well

That said Snows sold out before we left as we were in line however we had just gotten in line like three mins earlier as we were full and figured we could eat one/two more before heading out.

Of the ones we had my favorite was 2M for brisket Helm for sausage and the best side by far was Tejas Chocolotory carrot souffl The brisket at Tejas was moist but not as flavorful. It would have been much better with sauce. It was described as a meat coma before we went and that is an accurate description.
We would go again next year but will bring the large ziploc bags we saw some people carry and feast for a week or two after.

Watching the Vegans picket the festival from the outside and seeing them 6th street the night before was humorous to say the least. And two of the picketers could not have been vegans for too long

I'm in Austin for a meeting until noon. Where can I find decent BBQ with a very short line? I'll be meeting the wife and kid there too so sides would be important.

Did you ever try cattleack, Cdub?

What part of town are you in?

Terry Black's

Terry Black's or Kerlin BBQ. TB's is more accessible though.

Freedmens

Koldus131 said:

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Terry Black's

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I finally ate there last weekend. I really enjoyed the jalapeno sausage and cream corn, pork ribs were good, but the brisket was too salty for my liking.

Pretty much a newbie to the pursuit so a little patience please.

First time to Tejas this morning, took it to go as I wanted left overs anyway. I got 2 lbs mixed brisket, 2 lbs ribs, 1/2 lb pork belly, 1/2 lb pastrami and a beef rib. Well... just to balance it out I did get a carrot souffl.

I normally don't do sauce but got a sample of the regular, the verde and the mole - they give you really good mustard for the pastrami.

The pastrami was good but made really good with a little mustard. I thought the beef rib was outstanding.

I've not had pork belly other than bacon so I didn't really know what to expect. I guess I still don't know since I can't judge anything against it. Don't get me wrong it was good but not like bacon X 10 which for some reason I thought it might be. Surprising to me that all the sauces seemed to make it better with the verde being my favorite pairing.

I couldn't find anything wrong with the ribs and found a lot right. Just really liked them - I'll get them every time I go back. I didn't think any of the sauces hurt the flavor of the meat - but I don't think they improved it either.

The flat and point selections of brisket were both fantastic in their own way. I probably preferred the point but plan on making some Aaron Franklin beans this weekend and needed/wanted some of the flat portion anyway. Both were excellent in my opinion though, I haven't had Snow's or Franklin's etc. but if they're better then I'm excited to try them. See rib comments regarding sauce - they just didn't need it.

Haven't tried the carrot souffl yet but everybody in line seemed to be getting it.

Will definitely go again... plus since I live in Cypress, it's practically in my back yard!

lazuras_dc said:

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Did you ever try cattleack, Cdub?

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Yessir. See here: https://texags.com/forums/67/topics/2855368/replies/50222558

Had a day of vacation to burn so me, another texager, and two more buddies hit some Austin joints up on Friday. I apologize in advance if the pics don't work, imgur used to be easy but I haven't had the best of success lately posting pictures.

First was LA BBQ.

Pretty decent and easy to see top 50, but not really close to elite bbq like Franklin's or similar. Our resident Austinite said it wasn't as good as the previous time he was there but overall the experience was still above average. Brisket did have an excellent bark that I liked. All the sides that we tried were good as well.


Next up was Kerlins BBQ (not in the top 50)

Ribs were by far the best of the trip and very good. Brisket was surprisingly decent as well. Bonus points for not having to wait in a long line, it was easy to order and the food came quick! They are probably 5 minutes of walking distance from the new LA bbq location.


Mickelthwaits followed next

Highly disappointed with this one. I've seen several other people comment similarly on here so I'm starting to wonder where their #8 ranking came from. Brisket was way too fatty and it wasn't just my plate, several other people had the exact same look on their pieces as well. It did have a good smokey flavor once you got to actual meat, but way, way too much fat. Ribs weren't anything special but the sausage was very good, which they are known for so at least that checked out. Our Austin regular said this was par for the course on his experiences with them. Highly overrated in our opinion.

We were so full by the time we got to Freedmans, we just had some drinks to finish the trip out. But the people at the table next to us had a bbq plate with brisket that looked the same as the first time I was there, very similar to mickelthwaits so really fatty and not anything amazing.

Also picked up my free hat and T-shirt from the Yeti store. For any of y'all trying to get the soft side cooler by hitting all the edges of Texas, better hurry up as the guy told us they only had about 75 more of those before the challenge was completed and some lady walked in behind us and claimed one of them. Said she was from El Paso and had a son at TU, poor thing.....

Wow. Haven't been to micklethwait in a few years but that is NOT what i remember. They had brisket comparable to franklins when i went. Yours looks like garbage. That stinks.

Went to Mickelthwait two Fridays in a row last month and received perfect lean and moist brisket both times. Was one of the first in line both days so maybe that has something to do with it.