barbecue

Austin Barbecue Joint Big Board – August 2015

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With the explosion of popularity in barbecue nationally (particularly with brisket), there is an abundance of options for eating in Austin and the surrounding areas.  How do you sort through all the options? We’ve got you covered.  There are so many new places opening up all over the city, and we’ll add them to the list as we try/vet them.

  1. La Barbecue
  2. Louie Mueller (Taylor, TX)
  3. Franklin Barbecue
  4. Black’s Barbecue (Lockhart, TX)
  5. Kreuz Market (Lockhart, TX)
  6. Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
  7. Micklewaith Craft Meats
  8. Stiles Switch BBQ (re-review)
  9. Freedmen’s Bar
  10. Terry Black’s Barbecue
  11. Blue Ox Barbecue
  12. Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
  13. Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q
  14. The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX)
  15. Live Oak Barbecue
  16. Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que
  17. The Green Mesquite BBQ

Where should we try next in Austin or the surrounding areas? Leave a comment below to let us know.

For your reference, Charlotte Rankings are located here

Linkdown: 8/19/15

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– Charlotte restaurateur Jim Noble is getting into the barbecue business and while its still a ways off (no name or location yet), I’m very much encouraged

First, he needs to secure a Charlotte site that’s close to Interstate 77 with easy access. Most importantly, the restaurant needs to be in a space that allows the barbecue to be slow-cooked over wood, Noble adds.

– Jim Noble had previously mentioned the upcoming barbecue venture in an interview in Food Republic in April from friend of the blog Sarah Crosland, stating “[b]arbecue is a passion with my heart”

– Robert Moss has details on the upcoming Durham barbecue restaurant Picnic  from Wyatt Dickson (the barbecue man) and Ben Adams (the chef)

-A review of Moss’s latest barbecue book, Barbecue Lover’s The Carolinas

– Barbecue beer pairing: Charlotte Five (well, really OooWee BBQ) says IPA’s in the fall/winter and pale ales in the spring/summer

– Barbecue beer pairing, pt 2: Garden and Gun has suggestions from several southern bottle shops including a scotch ale,  a smoked porter, an amber, and a brown ale

“Most people will suggest a smoked beer. I find that the pairing of smoked beer and smoked meat works for about three bites, and that is not how I or any normal person eats ribs or pulled pork. I like to introduce softer, maltier beers that can balance the salt and set up a nice platform for the smoke to dance on.”—Brandon Plyler, Charleston Beer

– The 112th Charlotte Picnic is this Friday and features hickory smoked chicken and pork, but that’s Charlotte, TN not Charlotte, NC

-From an earlier issue of Garden & Gun earlier this year

 

– Press release on the special train stop on October 24 for the Barbecue Festival

 

Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew – Austin, TX (RE-REVIEW)

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Name: Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew
Date: 8/5/15
Address: 6610 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 78757 (Link to menu)
Order: ½ pound of smoked prime rib, 1 jalapeno cheddar sausage, side of potato salad and creamy cole slaw.
Price: $17.00

Rudy: Speedy and I had previously visited Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew but they were advertising their smoked prime rib, which they only offer on Wednesdays, and the idea of barbecue smoked and flavored prime rib drew me in. I won’t go into a full review, since Speedy and I already covered most of it, which hasn’t changed.  

I opted for the meat and two sides combo, plus added a jalapeno cheddar sausage.  I had big expectations for the prime rib, and was pretty much let down. Maybe the piece I had was overcooked for my liking, but I expected so much more. The outside had a little bit of flavor, but the smoke and seasonings never made it inside the meat, leaving the bulk of the meat pretty flavorless. The outside bites were fine, but did not make up for the lack of taste on the inside.  

The sausage, same as last time, was grea Juicy and plenty of flavor, and sure made me glad that I added it to my order. The potato salad was really good and worth getting in the future. However, I was not a big fan of the creamy cole slaw. That is not that big of a problem, because Stiles, unlike many Texas barbecue restaurants, offers multiple side order options other than just beans. So there are plenty of other options to choose from in the future.  

Stiles Switch is still a very good and above average barbecue place (as noted by their top 50 ranking by Texas Monthly) but in the future I will stick to their brisket, sausage, and their beef ribs.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4.5 hogs (half hog bump for the free beer)
Prime Rib – 2.5 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Click to add a blog post for Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew on Zomato

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Linkdown: 8/12/15

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– Move over Austin, Is Houston the hottest barbecue market in Texas?

– The Drawn Cutlass has a review of the new Queen City Q location in Matthews

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Rib & Loin in Hixson, TN

– This “complete” list of Charlotte food trucks includes several we’ve reviewed – Smoke & Go, OooWee BBQ, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que – but  of the writing of this post somehow omits the best of the bunch, Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen

– Downtown Charleston is getting its 8th barbecue restaurant soon, Poogan’s Smokehouse

– Speaking of new barbecue joints coming to Charleston, Charleston Magazine has a quick conversation with John Lewis (via)

– Well?

– Johnny Fugitt’s top 25 barbecue restaurants (as detailed in The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America) here

– TMBBQ has their list of a few more influential barbecue pitmasters that just happen to be black in response to this list of all white barbecue pitmasters and personalities

– Speaking of TMBBQ, Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt researches 40 years of lists from the publication

– Charlotte’s South End neighborhood is getting a Korean barbecue restaurant called Seoul Food Meat Market in the coming months, and the description is somewhat reminiscent of Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta

Esthetically, it will look like American traditional Southern barbecue ribs: It will look the same but it will taste like Korean food.” So beef ribs will be seasoned as the Korean kalbi and bulgogi, pork ribs like the Korean spicy pork, slaw will be kimchi slaw, and wings will be fried, but in rice bran oil, making them healthier, and crunchier, than most, says Chun.