• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Favorite Barbecue Restaurant

I wanted to love it, but you can skip it.

Wife and I showed up after the rush around 8:30PM. Sweet Old Bills was fairly well attended, but not packed.

We were seated promptly, and I was stoked.

Waitress shows up, wife orders a dirty martini, I get a beer and start with pork skins. Martini comes clean, but that gets fixed. Pork skins are awesome, but the cheese sauce tastes like it came from a can.

Wife orders the kale salad with salmon. I get the Ruben, but sub 1,000 island dressing for blue cheese dressing (I call it a Blueben, it's amazing and you should try it). Wife asks for a second martini whenever our food comes, same as before, but bruised.

Dinner comes, salad is meh (missing an ingredient and the salad is >50% arugula with tiny bits of kale), salad salmon is great. Her martini is not bruised or dirty (again). Waitress takes it to the bar and the bartender must have bruised it with the olives, because when it comes back there's frozen olive oil specs floating in the glass (gross). My Blueben was an atrocity; they smothered the thing in 1,000 island and then threw some actual blue cheese on it. Then burned the shit out of it; the rye was black. Collards as a side were good though.

I'm not a picky dude. Any one or two of these things would have been totally overlooked. Waitress screwed the check up, but at that point I didn't even care. It was worth it to just leave at that point.

The place has potential, but the bar, kitchen, and staff all have some growth opportunities.

You would enjoy Noble Smoke.
 
Was able to go to Franklin's in October. It is everything everybody makes it out to be. Truly fantastic. There is a new spot in north Austin called InterStellar that is delicious and is wait-free as of now. I want get over to Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX, but with it being open only 8:00-12:00 on Saturdays, it is tough to get to. Also need to get over to Lockhart to hit Kreuz, Smitty's, and Black's, amongst others.
 
I made Franklins bbq sauce yesterday. I thought it tasted pretty good. My son told me it tasted like Sweet Baby Ray’s. He meant it as a compliment, but I really wanted to tell him that he is 12 and his opinion doesn’t matter.
 
Was able to go to Franklin's in October. It is everything everybody makes it out to be. Truly fantastic. There is a new spot in north Austin called InterStellar that is delicious and is wait-free as of now. I want get over to Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX, but with it being open only 8:00-12:00 on Saturdays, it is tough to get to. Also need to get over to Lockhart to hit Kreuz, Smitty's, and Black's, amongst others.

There's no reason to go to Lockhart for bbq if you're in Austin. Smitty's and Kreuz are awful. Black's is solid but there's a location now in Austin.

Louie Mueller in Taylor is better than all the places in Lockhart and has just as much history
 
You would enjoy Noble Smoke.

went for lunch today and had MEATS and it was delicious. Great place; only issue is it's pricey for bbq. But really good. I'll go back when i can have beers.

i can't speak to the quality of the kale salad GTB.
 
Went to Noble Smoke for lunch on Saturday. Meh. I'll give them credit that the brisket was very, very good, some of the best I've ever had. But, the pork was mediocre, the sides (mac and cheese, green beans that claimed to be fried but were stewed, potato salad) were mediocre, the portions were not generous, and with tip it came to over $80 for 2 adults and 2 kids for a bbq lunch with no booze. Plus, it felt like someone picked up a South Park restaurant with all of its clientele and dropped it into a big brick building on Freedom. Granted it was a Saturday, but no construction crews, no lawn guys, but a lot of rolled jeans, Patagonia, and craft beer. It just felt really fake and forced for a bbq place. The brisket was good enough that I'd go again if someone else wanted to try it, but I don't think I'd make a special trip.

this was close to my experience, although my sides were good. great brisket, small portions. The "sides to share" are not big enough to share....my friend ordered slaw and the ramekin that it came in was about the size of a dipping bowl for cocktail sauce. The succotash was delicious though. I really liked the sauce choices.
 
Has anyone been to ZZQ in Richmond lately? I'll be up there this weekend and need a scouting report. The last I heard the place was really good.
 
Has anyone been to ZZQ in Richmond lately? I'll be up there this weekend and need a scouting report. The last I heard the place was really good.

It's been about a year since I have been, but it was jawdropping - first time I understood the obsession over texas brisket. Texas Monthly voted it best barbecue outside of Texas.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/zzq/
 
Tried the Pitt in Durham last weekend. I just don't see the hype. The pulled pork was OK, but the sides were just blah. Nothing creative about it. Tough to beat Lewis BBQ and Rodney Scott's
 
Last edited:
I made Franklins bbq sauce yesterday. I thought it tasted pretty good. My son told me it tasted like Sweet Baby Ray’s. He meant it as a compliment, but I really wanted to tell him that he is 12 and his opinion doesn’t matter.

Which sauce?
 
Was able to go to Franklin's in October. It is everything everybody makes it out to be. Truly fantastic. There is a new spot in north Austin called InterStellar that is delicious and is wait-free as of now. I want get over to Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX, but with it being open only 8:00-12:00 on Saturdays, it is tough to get to. Also need to get over to Lockhart to hit Kreuz, Smitty's, and Black's, amongst others.

I think there are some other places in Austin better than those in Lockhart. La BBQ for example. Valentina's has an amazing brisket breakfast taco. If I am venturing outside of Austin for brisket only, Louie Mueller's would be my first choice.
 
Valentina’s did a collab brunch at Buxton Hall here and that taco was indeed amazing.
 
Tried the Pitt in Durham last weekend. I just don't see the hype. The pulled pork was OK, but the sides were just blah. Nothing creative about it. Tough to beat Lewis BBQ and Rodney Scott's

But how was the sushi
 
Tried the Pitt in Durham last weekend. I just don't see the hype. The pulled pork was OK, but the sides were just blah. Nothing creative about it. Tough to beat Lewis BBQ and Rodney Scott's

The Pit is kind of average as you say. Picnic is much better if you’ve never been there. Just not close to anything really but not far from downtown.
 
I think there are some other places in Austin better than those in Lockhart. La BBQ for example. Valentina's has an amazing brisket breakfast taco. If I am venturing outside of Austin for brisket only, Louie Mueller's would be my first choice.

Yes, we used to routinely go to La BBQ while it was just a trailer. Have been a few times since they moved into a brick and mortar but we just don’t like to wait anymore.
 
It's been about a year since I have been, but it was jawdropping - first time I understood the obsession over texas brisket. Texas Monthly voted it best barbecue outside of Texas.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/zzq/

I found my way there Friday night only to find them closed for vacation. I may have convinced a friend to stop by this week for a scouting report. The article is encouraging to the extent it talks about John Lewis in Charleston as a mentor. I've heard great things about his restaurant. A shop owner in Charleston told me that whenever her professional chef son comes to town, Lewis' is a must for him.
 
After the relative disappointment of Noble Smoke a few weeks ago, on Saturday we decided to try Fat Fork BBQ, which is on the west side of LKN near Denver in the spot that Lakeshore BBQ was in forever before it mysteriously burned a few years ago. Hole. Lee. Shit. Apparently on the weekends they have a King Cut smoked prime rib with mashed potatoes and green beans for $25. Count me in, and it was fantastic. The wife got the brisket, which was as good or better than Nobles. The kids had pulled pork and mac and cheese, which was also really good. Huge portions and not expensive.

As we are leaving, the lady says they are smoking jumbo wings for the Super Bowl, $1 each with dressing. I say okay, heading to a party so I'll order 50 and pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Every single person who ate them at the party said they were the best wings they've ever had, and there were some fat fucks there who definitely know their wings. Absolutely unbelievable, I could have eaten all 50 myself. I don't know if they are on their regular menu, but if not they should be. This place gets an immediate spot in the dinner rotation.
 
Back
Top