Meat of the matter
Condé Nast Traveler cooks up list of Austin's 11 best barbecue joints
In Austin, arguing over which barbecue joints are actually the best is as much a pastime as cycling along Town Lake, bemoaning cedar fever, quarreling over the tastiest queso, or griping about the traffic.
While this won’t settle the debate for a lot of meat lovers, Condé Nast Traveler has winnowed the list of the top Austin spots for brisket and other barbecue delicacies to 11.
“While there’s infinite places to get your fix of smoky, juicy, charred brisket, pork, and chicken in the Lone Star State, there’s only a handful that reach peak-barbecue nirvana. Thankfully, the state’s capital is home to several,” Condé Nast Traveler declares.
The magazine published its take on the local barbecue scene on January 14. Here’s the Condé Nast Traveler unrankedlist, served up in alphabetical order:
- Brown’s Bar-B-Que, 1901 S. Lamar Blvd.
- Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th St.
- Interstellar BBQ, 12233 RR 620 North, Ste. 105
- Kerlin BBQ, 2209 E. Cesar Chavez St.
- La Barbecue, 2027 E. Cesar Chavez St.
- Leroy and Lewis Barbecue, 121 Pickle Rd.
- Micklethwait Craft Meats, 1309 Rosewood Ave.
- Oseyo, 628 E. Cesar Chavez St.
- Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, 6610 N. Lamar Blvd.
- Terry Black’s Barbecue, 1003 Barton Springs Rd.
- Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, 11500 Menchaca Rd.
What’s especially noteworthy about the Condé Nast Traveler list is that it blends reliable fixtures like Franklin, La Barbecue, and Micklethwait Craft Meats with more novel takes on barbecue like Oseyo's Korean-inspired fare and Valentina’s Tex-Mex twist on traditional dishes.
The magazine also gives a nod to new-ish kids on the barbecue block like Interstellar and LeRoy and Lewis.
Interstellar debuted in February 2019 at the original Noble Sandwich Co. shop, and while hasn’t even been open a year, it’s already been heaped with regional and national praise. LeRoy and Lewis has been around a bit longer, since 2017, but it’s in the same rave-review category as Interstellar.
So, will the rising-star status of Interstellar, LeRoy and Lewis, and other relative newcomers result in shorter lines at Franklin? That’s about as likely to happen as North Carolina barbecue catching fire in Austin.
