La Barbecue – Austin, TX

June 16, 2014November 13, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: La Barbecue
Date: 5/17/14
Address: 1200 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702 (link to menu)
Order: ¾ pound of brisket, ½ pound of ribs, 1 sausage, side of potato salad
Price: $30

Rudy: After spending hours in the classroom, minutes in the library, and many thousands of dollars earning a graduate degree, what’s the only thing I wanted to do on graduation day? Go pick up great barbecue instead of going to pick up my degree.

Monk: Congratulations on all that learning, Rudy!

Rudy: I have been hearing great things about La Barbecue for well over a year, but haven’t had the time to go wait in the line (much shorter than at Franklin’s, but still a line). So I figured this would be as good of an occasion as any.

La Barbecue was originally established LeAnn Mueller who is the granddaughter of the famous Texas pitmaster Louie Mueller. She has moved on, and in her place John Lewis has taken over, keeping the name and raising the level of barbecue that’s produced.

It still operates out of a trailer, but it has set up permanent residence, so they have plenty of picnic benches and shade tarps. They opened at 11:00, so I got there at 9:30 hoping to snag a good spot, which I did, 3rd in line. As the line grew, everyone sat on the picnic benches creating a makeshift queue. Adding to the atmosphere was the offering of free beer on weekends. Let that sink in, free beer, not some bread for the table as a freebie. FREE BEER!

Monk: Uhhh wow, best idea ever. Who is going to bring this idea to NC?

Rudy: La Barbecue is known for their massive beef ribs, but I decided to opt out of that and try as much of the other meats as possible. When I got up to the front to order, Lewis (who was taking the orders and cutting the meat) handed me a piece of brisket to try. This is a dirty trick, because I immediately upped the amount of brisket that I was planning on ordering. I started with the brisket, which was amazing. It was so juicy with a great amount of smoke and crust. They served two different sauces with it, but I have no idea what those even taste like because the meat was perfect by itself. La serves thicker slices than many of the other places, and that helps to keep the pieces super juicy.

Next I moved on to the ribs, which were the best I’ve ever had. Very meaty, super moist, and extremely tender. The problem that I have had with most ribs is that they are usually tough or they don’t have much meat. These had a similar rub to the brisket, but they also had a glaze that had just a hint of sweetness and spice. They were perfect.

The last meat that I had was one of their sausages, which they called “Hot Guts.”

Monk: Hot guts? Sounds appetizing…

Rudy: This was the least impressive meat I had. The link that I had was a bit dry and a bit disappointing. They make their sausage in-house and make it from 100% beef, which causes some of the dryness, but it was still more than I cared for.

I also ordered a side of their buttermilk bacon potato salad. It was better than most efforts at potato salad, but it still wasn’t anything to write home about. What’s still my complaint about Texas barbecue is that they put so much time and effort into cooking the meat, and then put little effort into the sides. Most places offer the same ones, which means I usually just end up ordering meat.

La Barbecue pitmaster John Lewis has completely mastered Texas barbecue. For my money, this is the best in Austin. This shouldn’t come at any surprise, because Lewis’s first job as a barbecue cook was to help Aaron Franklin open Franklin’s. He then cooked for them for 2 ½ years before taking over la Barbecue and transferring what he learned at Franklin’s and adding his own touch. It doesn’t have the hype that Franklin’s does, but it also doesn’t have near the line. When you are weighing taste and length of wait, it isn’t even close.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4.5 Hogs (Half Hog bump for the free beer)
Brisket – 5 Hogs
Ribs – 5 Hogs (because 6 isn’t allowed)
Sausage – 3 Hogs
Sides – 3 Hogs
Overall – 4.5 Hogs

Bonus photos after the jump

Southport Smoke House – Southport, NC

June 13, 2014July 31, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Southport Smoke House
Date: 5/22/14
Address: 1102 N Howe St, Southport, NC 28461
Order: Lunch portion pork and brisket, small red slaw, and sweet tea (link to menu)
Price: $14.51

Like Duke’s Old South BBQ in Leland, Southport Smoke House is another joint by the coast that is cooking over wood. Based on what I’ve read online, it looked fairly promising so we took the ferry from Fort Fisher across the Cape Fear River to Southport so I could check it out for myself (Mrs. Monk opted not to have barbecue for the second day in a row – pfft).

On the website for the restaurant, it claims to have “the finest wood smoked bbq this side of Texas” which is just a weird thing to say in North Carolina. But the restaurant definitely does have a Texas bent to it – in addition to pulled pork it has brisket, sausage (labeled as “Kreuz” in the restaurant so possibly shipped in from Lockhart), and ribs on the menu.

Had the sausage not already sold out (at 12:30 on a Thursday, which is kind of impressive), I would have gotten it as well as pork and brisket for my lunch that day. Instead, I stuck with just pork and brisket and although they don’t have a combo plate, the lady who took my order suggested I just get lunch portions of the two meats. Done.

I could taste the hickory wood smoke in the pork, particularly the bark, but it was a tad bit dry. Southport Smoke House has several house sauces available (with a sign promising more to come), so I tried the pork with Lexington (of course), Eastern, and “NC Tangy.” The Lexington sauce came off best for me, with the Eastern coming second, and the NC Tangy barely registering. Whatever the case, although the pork had good smoke it definitely needed some sauce, whichever one the eater may have preferred.

The brisket was sliced (or chopped if you prefer) to order and had a slight smoke ring as well as a decent tug to it. It also wasn’t completely overdone, so it had that going for it. The restaurant had only been up and running for a little over a month at the point where I visited, but both the brisket and the pork showed a fair amount of promise.

The red slaw was a decent Lexington imitation and not too much more to be said about it. Southport Smoke House doesn’t offer hush puppies, which again is a more Texas way of doing things, and instead each dish came with a couple slices of Sunbeam sliced bread. I think its a shame they don’t offer hush puppies and I’d love to see them on the menu eventually.

Southport Smoke House only opened back on April 18 and I would imagine that they are in some ways still working out the kinks. However, like the pork and brisket, the restaurant itself shows a lot of promise and I’d love to check this place out in another 6 months or year once they really get going. Definitely a joint worth keeping an eye on.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

Herb’s Pit BBQ – Murphy, NC

June 9, 2014July 31, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 11 Comments

Name: Herb’s Pit B-B-Q
Date: 5/29/14
Address: 15735 U.S. 64, Murphy, NC 28906
Order: Chopped Bar-B-Q plate with fries and hush puppies (link to menu)
Price: $9.99

Speedy: Monk and I have been talking for a while about trying to hit up every spot on the Historic NC Barbecue Trail. It’s a lofty goal, but one made even more difficult by the presence of Herb’s Pit BBQ, which sits just outside of Murphy, NC, which is literally as far west as you can go in the state. So when a six hour drive to Nashville popped up on my schedule, I couldn’t resist the urge to make it an eight hour drive in order to check out Herb’s. So first things first – if you want to go to Herb’s, you will be driving two hours out of the way. It is in the middle of nowhere.

Monk: What a soldier for the cause. Mad props to you, Speedy. I thought this would be the last place we would get to on the trail. And that it would be in like 2018.

Speedy: Anything for our readers, Monk. I knew this barbecue was going to have to blow me away for me to ever eat it again. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

When you walk in to Herb’s, it’s set up sort of like a Cracker Barrel, with a small country store in the room with the register. When I got there, the restaurant was basically empty, so I went and sat myself. The dining room is large and would seat plenty, and the tables are fairly nice. Herb’s also has a salad bar, which is a first for me at a ‘cue joint. I didn’t bother to peek at the salad bar, and if you want to know how it is, you’re reading the wrong site.

Monk: …or are Mrs. Monk.

Speedy: Monk – you and I both know she doesn’t read the site.

Monk: True… *sigh*

Speedy: Anyhoo, opening the menu, I saw quite a few other food options – steaks, burgers – as well as a variety of barbecue goodness. Surprisingly, Herb’s cooks brisket, ribs, and chicken in addition to the standard pork. Normally, I would’ve ordered everything, but I was by myself and was not super hungry (a poor excuse, I know),

Monk: Hey, that’s called pulling a Monk!

Speedy: …so I stuck with the staple – the chopped BBQ plate. I asked the waitress whether the slaw is mayo based, and it is, so I didn’t bother to order it. Let’s just assume I tried it and found it to be terrible. Instead, I went with fries and hush puppies, which is fairly standard for me.

I was surprised by the amount of time it took for the meal to arrive. I actually took this as a good sign, thinking it means the ‘cue was reheated over fire as opposed to sitting in a warmer all afternoon (I was eating around 2:30, so missed the lunch rush).

Monk: Or as opposed to being reheated in a microwave.

Speedy: I was served a generous portion and was excited to dig in. The pork was actually quite good. It had great smoke flavor, was very tender, and included plenty of bark. It was not dry at all (read: no heat lamp) and probably didn’t need any extra dip. However, in an effort to try the dip provided on the table, I did add a generous portion about halfway through my meal. This was a mistake. The dip was just too sweet. It definitely could have used more vinegar and something to give it some heat (I’d prefer red pepper, but just throwing some Texas Pete in there would’ve done wonders). I don’t want to say it ruined the pork, but it was not an improvement. Overall, though, I was impressed with the pork on the plate.

Monk: The pork sounds good (sans dip of course) and based on your description, I can see why Herb’s was included on the Historic NC BBQ Trail (even if it is in BFE NC). You get that smoke by cooking over wood.

Speedy: The hush puppies were another story – they were not good. Maybe it was due to over-frying, but I just didn’t think the flavor was there. The fries were pretty good – thick cut steak fries – but overall, the sides were not impressive.

The pork was very good, and if you do happen to be passing through Murphy, Herb’s is worth a stop. I’m curious whether their other meats are as good as the pork – I suspect they are, as Herb’s seems to cook things the right way. However, the inconvenience of the location likely means this will be my one and only visit to Herb’s.

(For another review of Herb’s, check out Marie, Let’s Eat!)

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 3.5 Hogs

A & G Bar-B-Que & Chicken – Carolina Beach, NC

June 2, 2014July 31, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: A & G Bar-B-Que & Chicken
Date: 5/21/14
Address: 800 S Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach, NC 28428
Order: Pork BBQ chopped plate with cole slaw, yam sticks, hush puppies, and sweet tea (link to menu)
Price: $10

I don’t really have high hopes when it comes to barbecue at the beach. Even still, as soon as I passed A & G Bar-B-Que & Chicken in Carolina Beach, I knew that I would be checking it out at some point during our week-long stay at nearby Kure Beach, and after a few days it was time to finally do just that to escape the monotony of honey baked ham sandwiches at the house.

Unfortunately, it was no surprise to me that the barbecue itself wasn’t all that great. The meat itself lacked smoke and was clearly cooked in a gas or electric smoker, possibly not even one where you can add wood chips to approximate smoke. Also, the texture of the coarsely pulled chunks was fairly mushy. And once I added the house made sauce, in each bite the meat was overpowered by the vinegar.

The hush puppies come with each barbecue plate and were simply ok but weren’t as sweet as I’d prefer. The cole slaw, on the other hand, had too much sugar and was far too sweet. For my second side, I decided to try “yam sticks” which are more or less like deep fried cheese sticks, but with mashed yams instead of mozzarella cheese. I have to admit, they were just kind of weird.

A & G Bar-B-Que & Chicken is located in a small roadside shack with both window and sit-down service, and in addition to barbecue they serve fried chicken and seafood. Next time I go, I’ll probably forgo the roast pork they call barbecue and go one of those routes instead.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs