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To be fair, it's ranked #1 because the line at Franklin is super long. If you only have 1 - 1.5 hours to wait instead of 3 or more, La BBQ is an excellent choice. Very good brisket, beef ribs, and pork ribs. I'd say it's a half star behind Franklin.
If you don't want to wait in any line at all, check out Louie Mueller. It's inconsistent, and not quite as good as La BBQ, but most of the time I just don't want to wait. Oh, and it's cash only.
With legitimate Austin veteran food critics like Mike Sutter and Matt Odem, and knowing Austin locals (not the media's tourists) choose La BBQ day in day out as 1st choice, regardless of lines I stand with La BBQ as #1. Besides John Lewis left Franklin 2 years ago (now pit master at La BBQ) was the original Franklin pit master that developed Franklin's brisket.
We're headed to Austin the last week of October for some BBQ and music. We have La BBQ, Browns and Stiles as our planned places to eat. Would love to try Franklins brisket but can't see myself in line that long.
Cookers:
Memphis Advantage w. Searing insert option
Bradley 6-rack digital
Thermal bath for sous vide, pressure cooker, etc.
Time & Temp:
iGrill2 & iGrill wireless thermometers used with iPhone 5
Drawer full of various Maverick models
BBQ Interests:
Love smoking ribs, pulled pork, salmon, sablefish, rib roasts, sausages, lox, beef ribs, and brisket when I can -- strictly for friends, fun, etc.
Lunch at La Barbecue today. Sandwiches were amazing (propelled by some great pickled onions, solid chopped beef, and tasty jalapeno cheese sausage). Brisket was excellent, but I am now super-spoiled. I found it a little more dry, and with less of the bark I love than when I've eaten at Franklin's or even Terry Blacks. However, I can easily see that YMMV. We got there at 2pm, and they're serving out of a 145F warming oven, so I suspect things change over the course of the day. That said, it was convenient (on the way from the airport) and we waited 30 minutes, so we were plenty happy. Chipotle Slaw was also excellent -- quite spicy, though, for any weak of will.
I happen to have a 360-degree camera with me, and since I know it is hard to get a visual on these places without being there, I posted a shot of the "ambiance" (I use that word loosely). If it works for people, I'll try some more while we're here: https://theta360.com/s/3aBeUbQKNOvZ1taCnMyr5l3Ts (warning, it is kind of large). You can just swipe or mouse around the entire surroundings, or in theory view it in a VR headset, or by moving your phone around.
It's a bit of work with a phone, and since it's multiple frames over time, people get all smeared and such, but definitely doable. I've got a review unit of the fairly slick Ricoh Theta S that does it all in one frame, using 2 fisheyes. Pretty slick, although certainly a specialty item.
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