The Ultimate Austin Area BBQ List

This is a repost from our friend and native Austinite, Gabo, who graciously allowed us to post his awesome Austin-area BBQ recs.

Since our Founder / CEO and Managing Partner are both native Texans,  we take our brisket seriously. This is the list we send to those visiting Austin for good brisket but don’t want to wait for 4 hours.  Enjoy!

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Don't listen to anyone else that says otherwise, I'm born and raised here and grew up on BBQ long before Aaron Franklin was ever in town.

My rankings are based on BRISKET because as a Texan, that's what we do best.

Top 3 that aren't Franklin BBQ (because Franklin wait is redonk) in no particular order:

Kerlin BBQ

La Barbecue

Valentina's

Honorable Mentions:

Micklethwait Craft Meats (Trailer, great ribs and non-traditional selections, awesome sides. Heard the brick and mortar is great but haven't visited)

Terry Black's (Not the best but consistently good and easy to get in and out of, no big lines)

Styles Switch

Places NEAR Austin:

Lockhart, TX - 

The entire town of BBQ legends:

Smitty's Market & Kruez Market - (They are basically the same, long story)

Blacks BBQ (It's okay, some people swear by it, I normally swear at it.)

Taylor, TX:
Louis Mueller’s

Llano, TX:

Coopers - I don't mess with the downtown Austin location, it's nothing compared to the original spot, but it's a bit of a drive.

Lexington, TX:

Snow's BBQ - One of the best, but like a lot of the best, hard to get if you're not there early.

Whenever we have guests I cater either La Barbecue or Kerlin BBQ, but most of these places you need to give a heads up several days in advance. 

Definitely stay away from places like Smokey-Mo's, Pokey Joe's, Dickies, etc... if you're in a pinch, Rudy's is probably the best fast food BBQ spot in that tier.