return of the micklethwait

Esteemed Austin barbecue truck graduates to brick-and-mortar off Springdale

Micklethwait Craft Meats bought the building that previously served as its catering and commissary kitchen.

Photo courtesy of Micklethwait Craft Meats

In the world of Austin barbecue, Micklethwait Craft Meats occupies an enviable slice: well-respected, yet not over-publicized. It's not that the world didn't know about it, after features in Texas Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, the New York Times, and Southern Living; but serving customers out of a food truck seems to have kept it off of most tourists' radar.

The Rosewood barbecue business did have a brick-and-mortar two miles away at 4602 Tanney St., but it was reserved for the last six years as a catering headquarters and commissary kitchen (essentially a behind-the-scenes space). On June 4, Micklethwait (with a silent "th") announced that it now owns the farther east space off of Springdale Road, and will be moving the remainder of its operations there. It is expected to open in early winter of 2024.

An email announcement from owner and pitmaster Tom Micklethwait points out that the building was previously a farm store, and then a neighborhood church, so quaint country vibes — or at least nostalgia — evidently remain a priority. Still, renovations are in store to convert the building into "a modern market-style barbecue restaurant."

The woodsy Micklethwait Craft Meats trailer.Photo courtesy of Micklethwait Craft Meats

It covers 1,200 square feet of dining space inside, and spills out into a shaded outdoor seating area surrounded by pecan trees. Diners can enjoy the smoky smells coming from the three offset smokers that share the space — the horizontal barrel kind Austinites are likely most used to seeing.

Micklethwait serves the classic Texas barbecue staples — Brisket, sausage, beef and pork ribs, and turkey — plus sliced, rather than pulled pork shoulder. It branches out more in its multitude of sides, including the creative lemon poppy slaw and citrus beet salad, plus its famous Frito pies.

Past efforts by Tom Micklethwait included a taco truck called Taco Bronco, a deli trailer called Romanouskas Deli, and a Micklethwait brick-and-mortar in Smithville, which closed in 2020 after a year.

Customers can continue visiting the Rosewood location until the brick-and-mortar location is ready to open.

openings barbecue east austin

Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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