BBQ

Waiting in line at
Franklin BBQ

Wow what a day last Wednesday. My son John and I got up at 5:00AM and Headed to Austin to see what all the hoopla was about at Franklin BBQ. We arrived at Franklin’s just before 8:00AM. There was already a nice sized line forming outside the restaurant. John and I parked and found our place in line. We figured there were about 50-60 people ahead of us. We were having a good time in line visiting with the people in line around us, one young couple was in from LA and wanted to try some great Texas BBQ. Around 9:00 one of the employees came by to let us know that they were already sold out of pulled pork and ribs. Now remember they do not open until 11:00, but they were taking orders. He then returned to taking orders. Now it is about 9:30 he is nearing us for our order. We are still feeling good about getting to try some of this much talked about brisket. At 9:35 he is taking the order of the people in front of us in line. One man orders a whole brisket and the other orders 1/2 brisket, the young man looks at us and says sorry we are sold out. Yes we drove for over two hours sat in line over an hour and a half and they sold out to the people in front of us. Well our search for BBQ was not over, we had alternate plans. We are now heading a few blocks south to La Barbeque, who’s pitmaster used to work for Franklin’s. Upon approaching La Barbeque we noticed no line and no smoke coming from the pits, they had closed for the holiday and would not be open until Friday. Well now we are hung on the horns of a dilemma. John searches the net for John Mueller Meat Co. and I search for Micklethwait Craft Meats. Mueller’s is closed on Wednesdays so our choice was easy we were headed to Micklewait’s. Upon arriving we see people who were inline with us at Franklin’s, so we take our place behind them. Then more people arrive that had been at Franklin’s and we all have a great conversation about not getting in. After an hour wait the line starts moving, we are in the front so there is no danger of them selling out before we make it to the order window. We spent about $60 on brisket, pork shoulder, Shiner Bock Sausage and chicken, John also got some jalapeno cheese grits. We quickly received our tray of food and we returned to our picnic table that we were sharing with a very nice young couple, their six month old son and their parents in from Florida. In line one of the ladies had told us that she eats at Micklewait’s and Franklin’s both and that the brisket at Micklewaits is just as good as Franklin’s. Now the brisket was moist and tender, but I did not think it was overly flavorful. This could be because of the simple salt and pepper rub that most central Texas BBQ joints brag about. The sausage was very good and I loved the course ground texture that it had. Chicken was very good but again there was plenty of cracked black pepper, but I did enjoy it very much. The grits were tasty but maybe a little undercooked. The plate came with red onions bread and homemade pickles, which were outstanding. Now for the pork shoulder, it was out of this world, probably the best I have ever had. John and I both agreed it was fantastic. Not sure if I will wait in line again for Franklin’s, but I will return to Micklethwait Craft Meats.

Our plates at Micklethwait Craft Meats