Austin Food Part 3: Franklin Barbecue

Franklin Barbecue has to be the most talked about place in Austin as far as food goes. It’s supposed to be the pinnacle of BBQ in the entire world, at least, Texas BBQ. People line up for 3-5 hours, get there at absurd times in the morning just to try to snag the meat before they run out for the day.

They also price about 3x more expensive than any other barbecue I’ve ever had. If you’ve got the lines, I suppose you can charge what you want.

The question is: is it worth it?

I lucked out because of the China Virus. There’s no lines anymore which means I can just go online and order and set a time for pickup. I was able to do so without problem, though some days they are sold out of options unless you get your order in early, so they told me.

The sad part about this is you don’t get the nice experience of seeing the whole smoker, sitting in the restaurant and enjoying the food hot, but instead they have a situation where they make you open the back of your trunk to put the food in.

I got the food out right away, went a block away and parked just to try the food as it’s meant to be, before setting it up as a full meal in the hotel.

I ordered brisket, ribs, and turkey meat, along with a pint of beans.

And I have to say, the brisket is the best brisket I’ve ever eaten in my entire life by leaps and bounds, doesn’t need BBQ sauce even it’s so good, and it was worth the trip alone. When you try to pick up a slice, it falls apart. It’s that moist and fatty. The meat flavor is so intense, which usually brisket is near-flavorless other than the seasoning, it’s just a joy.

The ribs were similar. Falling right off the bone. It’s a messy experience but very tasty. The rub they use on the ribs has a little kick, which is a nice contrast to the salty/fatty brisket.

The turkey was my wife’s favorite, but some of the better sliced turkey out there. All fantastic.

The beans had a little kick and were filled with pulled pork. Enjoyable, but I’ve had better beans before.

I should note they give you a bunch of sliced white bread to make sandwiches with if you desire. A nice tough.

The BBQ sauce had a chocolaty/tangy flavor which was very nice and served as a good addition to the meat, but after trying it I really wanted to just experienced the meant more itself.

Frankly, you can’t top Franklin. It was the best possible experience and if you’re here in Austin and they’re still doing their online ordering — jump on it! It’s the best BBQ you’ll get.

On Friday, I’ll have one more experience with BBQ which will be my friend artist Tim Lim’s favorite spot to try. I’ll report back on Saturday.

Next week — I’ll be in Nashville and likewise blogging about their food. After that week, we’ll return to your regularly scheduled programming.