deniah

for barbecue, in austin, go to franklins. forget everything else. iron works, stubbs, rubys, rudys (well, im sorta fond of this one for the convenience), artz ribs, etc.

dont even have to bother going to lockhart or lulling. or llano. or taylor (though louie mueller taylor used to have imo the best brisket in the state).

franklins has what you need.





though louie mueller austin recently opened up an is reputed to be tasty. i havent had a chance to try it

spankytoes

Do not listen to this person. Franklins is terrible and you should stay away. Ignore the long line, they're just tourists that don't know any better. This is not the BBQ you are searching for!

Salt Lick is where Texans send Californians so that we can have less people in line at a real BBQ joint. Seriously.

saint_em

We went to Louie Mueller last autumn on a trip from the UK and really enjoyed it - though we didn't have anything to compare it to apart from the place at CLT!

deubster

^^

Yup. Though it's all personal preference. So here are my preferences:

1) Smitty's, Lockhart, TX
2) City Market, Luling, TX
3) Snow's, Lexington, TX
4) Black's, Lockhart, TX
5) Kruez's, Lockhart, TX
6) Louie Mueller, Taylor, TX

All rankings above are for Brisket. Great brisket makers may or may not make great sausage, shoulder clod, or other meats. Sausage is important to many. Other meats are irrelevant. Pig and yardbird are discouraged in most Hill Country Q joints.

Note that on any given day you can get stellar Q from someone down the list and mediocre Q from someone near the top. Time of day matters, the specific cut matters (one brisket may be better than the one next to it), even the day of the week matters.

Salt Lick is for fun, atmosphere, and so-so Q. Rudy's is passable if you can't make it to one of the better joints listed above. Cooper's in Llano is capable of making very good Q but rarely does. They do, however, have lots of strange critters in the pit, such as goat, chicken, lamb, etc.

spankytoes

Can't disagree with your list. Though, I prefer Taylor Cafe to Louis Mueller's. It's too peppery on the bark. I'd also add Ironworks into the fray. Their brisket is usually pretty on.

Probably a better list is places to avoid:

1. Stubbs- Unless it's Sunday brunch or a great band is playing there. Great BBQ sauce, but real BBQ doesn't need it. There shouldn't be any mistakes to cover up.
2. Bill Miller's- Just terrible BBQ
3. County Line- Some people swear by this. I see it as nothing more than a buffet of barely passable meat. It's Salt Lick without the ambiance
4. Rubys- I don't get the hype. It's like Rudy's but less accessible. Fast food BBQ

Even BBQ on a bad day in the Hill Country is better than what we get in Dallas. Rudy's and the recently opened Lockhart are the kings. Sonny Bryan is broiled jerky and Dickey's is just awful.

I would disown my children if they ordered pork at a BBQ place or made their chili with beans. This isn't Nam, there are rules!

bkat73

I'm heading to Austin the second weekend in May and am looking for recommendations on where to find the best bloody mary and a really good brunch. My travel plans mainly revolve around food and drinks, so any other suggestions are welcome. I am a pescetarian so BBQ places won't be first on my list but I will check some out for sure... you can always find great sides at a good BBQ place.

Dan6681

I am new to the area so take that into consideration. The 1886 Cafe & Bakery at the Driskill hotel on 6th St. has a great atmosphere for brunch. However, the food is just OK. The drinks look good (I haven't indulged there yet )

mecabq

Unfortunately the rates are exorbitant over Memorial Day weekend when I will be there ($500+ for Four Seasons, W, and InterContinental). How is the Sheraton, which is about half the price? How about the Hyatt across the river?

Any other recommendations? This is FlyerTalk, so I am partial to these four chains/loyalty programs of course, but am open to other suggestions.

Austin99

I would take the Hyatt over the Sheraton only because the Hyatt is more accessible (walking distance) to food and drinks. The Sheraton isn't in a bad location but I would choose Hyatt for this reason alone.

texil

Eat: Torchy's Tacos
Stay: Somewhere downtown if you want to be near the action. La Quinta on the west side is good if you want to be somewhere nice and quiet.
Play: Check out The Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie all at once! It's a great theater and something you really don't find elsewhere. See the bats under the Congress St. bridge too!

gobluetwo

I'm heading to Austin to visit a couple of client locations, one on the south side near I-35 and 71, and one on the north side off 183 between I-35 and highway 1.

South side on day 1 - dinner recs? Breakfast the next morning?
North side on day 2 - lunch recs? Short trip, so I'll probably end up eating dinner at the airport.

HawaiiO

Is there a river in/near Austin where u can go tubing on?

Thinking of going there for a few days.

deubster

In Austin you have the Colorado River, which widens on the southeast side of town into what's called "Lady Bird Lake" (formerly Town Lake). You can rent rowboats, pedal boats, kayaks, etc., but not really a tubing river.

Head 45 - 50 miles SW on I-35 to New Braunfels to the tubing capital of Texas. 2 rivers to choose from. More popular is the Guadalupe River, but the Comal is nice and laid back (much shorter, though). Plenty of outfitters at both rivers to rent you a tube if you don't have one, along with any supplies you may need. The Comal is particularly nice because it's just a nice mostly shady, slowly moving beer party.

They're trying to spoil the fun, however. Several years ago they banned glass containers (beer), and placed a limit on how loud you can turn up your ghetto blaster. Those were both fine, I guess. But just last week, despite numerous organized and disorganized protests, and various lawsuits, they've decided to disallow disposable containers on the Comal (beer cans, foam coolers). Expect more lawsuits.

spankytoes

First off, it's called "TOOBING". Don't ask me why.

This place has always treated us right and they have a coupon on the site: http://www.rockinr.com/

If you really want to knock it out of the park, you should check out Schlitterbahn: http://schlitterbahn.com/

If you are a man, you will want to invest in mirrored sunglasses there. Trust me on this

spankytoes

It really depends on what you like

Burgers: Casino el Camino or Hut's for sit down. (Get the Richie Valens at the latter) MY-T-Fine for fast food
Pizza- Mangia's for the good stuff. Ropollo's if you are on 6th street and need to soak it up
Tex-Mex- El Arroyo, Trudy's or Maudie's
Sandwiches- Thunderclouds or Phatso's Cheesesteaks
Wild Card- Torchy's Tacos

You missed a glorious time where you could eat fried pickles at 3 AM at Katz. If you want something completely different, and want to sit waterside, Hula Hut is a great spot.

If you have a little extra time, it's worth a stop to Round Rock Donuts to get the glazed donut that's bigger than your head. It's actually really good. If you are at the airport, please do not eat the Salt Lick there. It will taint your view on BBQ.

P.S. If you don't go to Amy's ice cream, you really missed out on the good stuff. Get the Mexican vanilla, thank me later.