Where is the Best Barbecue in Austin?

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Where’s the best barbecue in Austin?  Gary at View from the Wing wrote about a new barbecue place that popped up in Austin, Terry Black’s Barbecue.

While it did not live up to his standards, he mentioned a couple of favorite barbecue places in the Austin area– Black’s Barbecue (different) and Franklin’s.

Franklin’s is probably the most famous.  But I just got back from Austin and I still have a place that tops my list–Micklethwait Craft Meats.

I reviewed them before and since then, they’ve receive a lot of press.  I consider them the best barbecue in Austin.

Here’s my last review which goes into more detail about who they are overall.  (This post will focus on nomnoms).

But they are basically  a sort-of-restaurant-sort-of-food-truck located in East Austin somewhere around 1309 Rosewood Avenue.

The food truck is parked in a grassy area attached to a parking lot, complete with picnic tables.

They received an extremely favorable review from the Austin Chronicle.

And then went on to win the title of best beef ribs in Austin.

And then they were on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

I revisited and this press has only affected them in two ways:  1. The line is much longer and 2. the food runs out much earlier.

I recommend getting there just before 11am.

I got a plate with beef brisket, sausage and a pork rib, with sides of the coleslaw and jalapeno grits.

 

Everything is made in-house, including the bread.

My favorite this go-around was the beef brisket.  It seriously melted in my mouth and between that and the jalapeno grits, I got full very quickly.

 

Look at that nice smoke.

 

These jalapeno grits are amazing.  But they will also fill you up.  I scraped every bit of it I could off the edge of the plate.

(Side note, you’ll see the corner of a Stella Cidre in this picture.  They allow you to stop by the convenience store next door and BYOB.  The store has a good selection).

Even though I was extremely full, I had to try more desserts this time.  Last time, I had a moon pie which was extremely tasty and completely made in house.  That’s a seasonal item though, so I got a lemon bar and pecan pie, even though I’m not a huge fan of most pecan pies.

 

This pecan pie didn’t have that usual way-too-sweet flavor to it that pecan pies tend to have.  It was nutty and mildly sweet.  I could eat it over and over again.  (Note, those uneaten grits in the above picture are Tiff’s, not mine.)

 

The lemon bar was also a dessert home run.  It was flavorful without being too (again) sweet.

This is a barbecue place that is more than just barbecue.  It is hard to decide what you should focus on eating–the sides or the meat or the dessert!

I recommend going with a bunch of people, ordering a bunch of different things and sharing so you can taste it all.  I like this place so much, I can’t justify cheating on it with another BBQ place next time I’m in Austin–I want every opportunity to eat it!

Here they are on Jimmy Kimmel.  Watch from 2:07 and on.

Jimmy Kimmel liked Micklethewait’s food and desserts so much, he decided to go back.