The Franklin BBQ Conundrum

[The Shrink]

I'm a big fan of BBQ and Franklin BBQ in Austin, TX is often voted one of the best BBQ restaurants in the U.S.

http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/top...austin-tx.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-1...america-2015-5

http://thechive.com/2015/08/11/the-b.../#.afy4oq:0Z71

I also recently read Aaron Franklin's book which was excellent.

So had a hankering for this stuff. As luck would have it, I'm going on a trip to Texas with a buddy in December and Austin is one of our stops. I had heard about the legendary long lines at Franklin (about 5 hours on most days) and I don't do line-ups. However, I saw a news story about a kid who you can pay to sit in line for you:



I contacted him by email and secured his services for the day we plan on being in Austin ($100 to sit in line for 5 hours and take my order. A little pricey but totally worth it in my books).

Now the bad news. Yesterday I received this email from the kid who runs the line sitting business:

Customer,
I'm sorry to say that I am no longer able to offer this service and won't be able to fulfill your request.
For more details see the link below.
Thanks for your support.
Desmond

http://austin.eater.com/2015/10/4/9447461/franklin-barbecue-bans-line-waiters-bbq-fast-pass

--
Desmond
CEO
BBQ Fast Pass
www.bbqfastpass.com
twitter @bbqfastpass

I have to hand it to the kid for being enterprising and building a successful business. But he fucked up when he let NBC do a news segment on him. I imagine after seeing this story, tons of copycats came out of the woodwork. Apparently Craigslist and TaskRabbit had an influx of ads for people willing to sit in line for a fee. Understandably, Franklin had enough and shut it down.

Now my questions are:
1. Has anyone had Franklin BBQ?
2. If so, was it worth the wait?
3. Is anyone familiar with other BBQ places in Austin and what would you recommend in lieu of Franklin?
4. Any other advice on how I can get my hands on some of that sweet, sweet brisket?

I'll also be in Dallas so if you have BBQ suggestions for Dallas I'm all ears.

[Dan Druff]

5 hours?

I can't believe they don't scramble to open up additional locations nearby, or expand.

Credit to the kid for what he came up with, and I admit that he was foolish to let himself be interviewed. But he's still a kid, and kids are liable to make mistakes like that.

Strangely enough, I did a poor man's version of this in my high school's lunch line. My class happened to be close to where the lunch line was, and I also made sure to get over there quickly once class was dismissed, to basically be one of the first in line. Other kids recognized this and started paying me to "buy them lunch", and I was ordering like 6 lunches every time. The lunch ladies were 100% aware of what was going on, but were okay with it.

Have you thought of arriving right when they open? Or is the line already ridiculously long at that point?

[SrslySirius]

The only situation where I think it's worth waiting hours upon hours for brisket is when you're smoking it yourself.

I can't comment on Franklin's or recommend any places in Austin, but it's hard to go wrong with BBQ in Texas. I really took it for granted until I moved to the east coast.

[DRK Star]

Ive had Rudy's (W/ Gamblebot, Toots and Queen Lindsay, actually) and thought it was really good. Salt Lick is another fine BBQ down there. Rudy's if I remember, had some kind of sampler for like $17 or so and was worth it. I still use some of their dry rub for bbq, but I cant get my stuff to taste as good as theirs.

[The Shrink]

5 hours?

I can't believe they don't scramble to open up additional locations nearby, or expand.

It's actually a big knock on Franklin. He's extremely proud of what he's built and seems to be very possessive of his legacy. So he basically refuses to franchise because he would risk losing a grip on quality control.

Have you thought of arriving right when they open? Or is the line already ridiculously long at that point?

Line is already ridiculously long. It opens at 11:00 AM until they are sold out and they're only open for lunch. So you have to get there at some unholy hour just to get to the front of the line before they sell out.

[lol wow]

can we talk about how overrated bbq is like yes ribs are great but brisket is average even when cooked for 11 hours and half the time all you care about is the sauce

[The Shrink]

can we talk about how overrated bbq is like yes ribs are great but brisket is average even when cooked for 11 hours and half the time all you care about is the sauce

Ha, point taken. I certainly would have agreed in that there doesn't seem to be much point in laboring over brisket when you end up drenching it in sauce that overtakes the flavor. But I have to admit after reading A Meat Smoking Manifesto, I'm very intrigued by Franklin's brisket. The book is approximately 90% about brisket and it's obviously his specialty. He makes a great argument in his book for the superiority of his product. This is why I'm very keen to try it.

[lol wow]

the word keen is the territory of fags

[Gordman]

I wish i lived in Texas just to be closer to the barbecue places. I have relatives by San Antonio, and I try to get out and try new places when I can (which isn't very often)

Ive been to Coopers in New Braunfels and that was I think my best experience so far. The brisket (and everything else) was fucking fantastic (except the baked beans I could have done without). Let me tell you, I have eaten alot of BBQ and I have cooked even more, and when I tried theirs, it was off the chart for me. That brisket literally melted in my mouth. I explained to my brother in law that it was probably the best Q I have ever eaten, and he says "there is even better places in Texas". Shit...I have work to do.

[DRK Star]

Im pretty picky about my BBQ and tend to not order sauce ON anything. I love dry rub and brisket. I tell them sauce on the side and then just decide how much I want to put on each forkfull.

Rudys and Salt Lick both had great brisket.

[Gordman]

can we talk about how overrated bbq is like yes ribs are great but brisket is average even when cooked for 11 hours and half the time all you care about is the sauce

This is only true for people who don't know how to cook/eat real bbq, and also true when you visit some restaurants who think they cook great bbq but don't know what the hell they are doing.


IMO in most cases, if you can prepare and cook the meat correctly, you do not need sauce. I repeat, you do NOT need sauce - and I know from experience.

take ribs for example. I have cooked alot of ribs. I don't consider myself a competition pro, but I can hold my own in cooking for my friends/family. Most of the time now, I don't even put sauce on. I add some certain seasonings and sometimes brine them as well, but that's about it. If I have a bunch of people i may add glaze on a portion of it as an "option" for them, but thats usually it...and once in a while I may add some glaze to mine depending on my mood. I have had at least a few people ask me what kind of sauce I put on the ribs after they eat them... my response: "I didn't add any", and they have a look of confusion.

[sonatine]

@gay sex

[sonatine]

honestly tho ive never had a brisket i didnt think was underwhelming.

[jsearles22]

If you are eating BBQ and you aren't in Kansas City, then you aren't eating the best. Simple as that

I've had it all, from the best places in the U.S. and I'm not waiting 5 hours for any of it!

[jsearles22]

The line at this place has its own Twitter!

https://mobile.twitter.com/FranklinB...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

And here's some info from the man himself

http://www.eater.com/2012/3/13/66061...nklin-barbecue

[Texter]

Salt lick bbq is Near Austin or you can head to Lockhart TX which is about a half hour away, there are 3 of the best joints in texas there.

Smitty's, Kreuz market, and Black's.

Smiths and Kreuz are pretty much the same due to one being a spinoff of the other due to a falling out several years ago.

Check out texasmonthly.com for a list by city of the top joints

[SrslySirius]

If you are eating BBQ and you aren't in Kansas City, then you aren't eating the best. Simple as that

[lewfather]

saw this place on vice:

[Crowe Diddly]

I googled 'list of best barbecue in US' and #1s of the first three results were KC, Austin, & Blue Ridge, GA.

Not exactly every list, but it is there sometimes.

[The Shrink]

I’m liking the vibe of the forum lately.

Although it’s been a few months I thought I’d give a trip report on my journey to Franklin BBQ. This was part of a larger trip to Dallas, Austin, and New Orleans. I went with my buddy Gooch, his dad Paul, and his dad’s friend, Brett.
This trip was all about drinking tons of beer, eating good food, and watching pro sports. I met up with the other three in Dallas. They were staying near the airport that night and the plan was to drive to Austin the next day. After arriving in the evening I rented a car at the Dallas airport and drove to the hotel which was just a few miles away. Of course, I got lost in a spider web of exits and ramps and 40 minutes later ended up in a weird residential area. No sign of badguy.

I finally got to our hotel and I was famished. I remember every meal of this trip so I’ll give a quick rating to each one. The only restaurant by our hotel was Whataburger. I’ve never seen this fast food place before although I subsequently saw about 100 locations throughout the trip. I had a patty melt that was tasty as fuck. Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten in 8 hours but I give it 7 Cowboy Hats out of 10.



The next morning we started to head south to Austin but Brett suggested we take a detour to check out AT&T Stadium. Although they were going to the Cowboys game in a couple of days, they wanted to take a tour of the place. I wasn’t super enthusiastic about it but I’m glad I went. Holy shit. Jerry World is, without a doubt, the nicest sports venue I’ve ever seen. It’s unbelievable. The jumbotron itself is something to behold. The tour was just okay. Walked around most of the facility. We spent an inordinate amount of time in the Cowboys dancers’ dressing room where the tour guide bored us with inane details about the dancers. Finally, we got on the field which was cool. Even tried to kick a few short field goals which was humbling to say the least.



Next we stopped off for lunch at a Texas taco chain called Torchy’s Tacos. Unbelievably good. I had a “Trailer Park” (fried chicken) and a “Mr. Pink” (ahi tuna). 8 Cowboy Hats out of 10.



Then we headed down to Austin. Traffic is just brutal between Dallas and Austin. There’s no letting up at all. Took about 4 hours because there was some kind of construction SNAFU. We checked in to our hotel and headed off to Rainey Street for beers and dinner. First stop was Craft Pride which was pretty solid for local beer selection.



We were hungry and asked around for good restaurants close by and people kept suggesting some East Indian place. I’m sorry, but I’m in Texas for the first time. I’m not eating no curry in fucking Tejas. We ended up at a place called Banger’s which had another amazing beer selection and a bunch of different sausages for food. We ate outdoors near a fire pit while a honkytonk band with an Asian lead singer played country tunes.



This was the Austin I had always envisioned. Food was 5 Cowboy Hats but the ambience was 9 Cowboy Hats.



Paul and Brett packed it in for the night so Gooch and I went looking for trouble. We made the mistake of leaving Rainey Street for the more well known Sixth Street. It really wasn’t our scene at all. Too many young hipsters. I wish we had stayed on Rainey. We turned in after popping into a few nightspots that were way too trendy for their own good.

The next morning was BBQ day. We headed out around 8:00 AM to get in line at Franklin. Normally I wouldn’t tolerate standing in line for food but we were treating this as an experience. When we arrived at 8:30 AM there were already about 30 people ahead of us. They have a pretty good system in place. There are free lawn chairs available and they are BYOB friendly. I ran over to a nearby CVS and bought a six-pack of Lone Star tall boys. The “National Beer of Texas” is fairly shit beer, but it was $5. I’m used to a six-pack of beer costing between $11 and $15 in Canada. Seriously.



We met a few interesting people in line and it was fairly pleasant. They started letting people in around 11:30 AM and we had food by 12:30 PM. We got a little bit of everything: ribs, pulled pork, sausage, brisket, and two sides – coleslaw and beans. Franklin is known for his brisket and now I know why. It’s incredible. So moist and tender. In fact, everything was unimaginably moist. A lot of BBQ is dry as shit but this stuff is God. The ribs were excellent too (quite peppery), the pulled pork above average, and the sausage (which are not made in-house) were the only disappointment.



All-in-all, it was worth the wait and highly recommended. Of course, I didn’t eat at any other BBQ places in Austin so there could be better places in the city, but it’s the best BBQ I’ve ever had. 10 Cowboy Hats.



Now we had a long drive back to Dallas and boy were we dropping some putrid bombs for the next few hours. A small child surely would have died from toxic gas inhalation if they were in that car. It was a nightmare. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day.

The Mavericks were playing the Grizzlies that night and we managed to grab super cheap seats (about $15 each) on StubHub. American Airlines Center was only a half hour walk away. Our hotel was a couple blocks from the JFK assassination site so I kept walking by it over the next couple of days. It was amazing to me how there were ALWAYS people there, looking around, taking photos, chilling on the grassy knoll. There was always a dude on the corner trying to sell his conspiracy newspaper to passersby. I wanted to check out the museum but we didn’t have time.

The Mavs game was pretty good even though I’m not really a basketball fan. Gooch and I needed a sweat so we put some money on the Mavs to cover the spread (I think it was Mavs -4). After a slow start Nowitzki took over and helped the Mavs cover easily. One weird thing about Mavs games is that they have these guys called the Mavs “ManiAACs” (Get it? It’s the American Airlines Center and they are Maniacs). Anyways, it’s just a bunch of morbidly obese men in halter tops making synchronized hand gestures as they watch the game from one end of the arena and then they also did a dance at halftime. So it’s funny because they are fat, you see. Terrible.

We were all still experiencing some severe meat sweats so we went back to the hotel after the game. The next day Gooch and I walked just outside of downtown to a neat new restaurant called Chicken Scratch. It’s a hipster take on fried chicken sitting in a gentrified area just beyond a slum riddled with Bail Bondsmen and Check Cashing Stores. The food was delicious. 8 Cowboy Hats and a lasso.



Then we walked over to Four Corners, a small craft brewery, for a free tour. It wasn’t a tour so much as it was a 20 minute overview of their product followed by copious sampling. So it was basically perfect. We were both pretty snozzed at this point and Gooch had to catch up with Paul and Brett to head off to the Cowboys vs. Jets game. They were taking a shuttle bus to AT&T stadium and it was leaving something like 5 hours before kickoff. Being a hockey man myself, I was going to the Stars vs. Canadiens game back at AAC. So fortunately I got to have a couple hours nap before the hockey game. I had an amazing seat for the game. It was about 10 rows up, inside one of the blue lines. Ticket was only $80. Eighty bucks wouldn’t get you in the door at the Bell Centre in Montreal.



There was a strange mix of people sitting around me. To my left were two straight up hippies and their infant child. Both had dreadlocks, wore wool ponchos and bellbottoms, and smelled of patchouli. Not exactly a look that screams, “I love me some ice hockey.” In the middle of the second period the woman whipped out her titty and started breastfeeding her kid. What?!

If that was weird enough, to my right were four of the most unlikely looking hockey fans in their own right. They were all super overweight white women in their 50s who looked like they just left the beauty salon. All had big bouffant hairdos and had makeup for days. None seemed to be really interested in the game. The one directly to my right spent most of the game on her phone. I found her phone wallpaper to be incredibly random/curious. It was the image of a VERY minor celebrity and this woman did not appear to be in the demographic of his fandom. Give it a shot but I’d be very surprised if the forum could figure out this celebrity using 20 yes/no questions (I’ll answer your question as rep).

Of course, the Habs got their shit pushed in. They lost something like 6-2 and I became very well acquainted with the Stars’ goal celebration song. I will say that despite having every right to be obnoxious about it, the Stars fans were very respectful. In fact, I’d say that everyone I encountered during my stay in Texas was incredibly nice. Some of the nicest people I’ve met in my travels. This would be in stark contrast to the surly assholes that inhabit New Orleans.
I was pissed (both in anger at my pitiful Habs and drunk) after the game so I walked back to the hotel and went to sleep. In the morning we caught a flight to New Orleans. I had breakfast tacos at Dickey’s BBQ Pit at the airport and they were average. 5 Cowboy Hats.



Next post I'll summarize the New Orleans portion of the trip.