Hot Texas BBQ

Austin and Llano (Cooper's)

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Photographer: Chris Vallejo

There aren’t enough meals in the day to sample all the excellent barbecue around Austin. You can start early, however, with barbecue breakfast tacos from Rudy’s Country Store and Barbecue, a local chain that also sells gasoline and convenience store necessities. Rudy’s peppery sauce is guaranteed to wake up your tastebuds, whatever the time of day. Regulars order chopped or sliced beef brisket by the pound, purchase a couple of hamburger buns, then make their own sandwiches at the long indoor or outdoor picnic tables. Austin is also home to the nationally popular County Line restaurants. Choose County Line on the Hill or County Line on the Lake, depending on your taste in scenery, and soak in the roadhouse décor while you feast on delicious family-style barbecue and fixings. Be sure to order a loaf or two of homemade bread to soak up the sauce.

A trip to Austin isn’t complete without a pilgrimage to the Iron Works, so named because the building once housed the historic Weigl Iron Works. Since 1978, Iron Works has been dishing up brisket, chicken and ribs in the heart of downtown. With a clientele that ranges from politicians and visiting celebrities to local families and students, Iron Works is a perfect spot to take the pulse of Austin while dining on great barbecue. Another downtown favorite, Stubb’s Barbecue, combines barbecue and live music. Housed in a historic building with hardwood floors, Stubb’s serves heaping portions of barbecue (the ribs are especially popular) while maintaining a reputation as one of the Austin’s best venues for live music. And that’s quite a distinction in the Live Music Capital of the World. Check out the Sunday Gospel Brunch and Barbecue Buffet, which brings together gospel music, breakfast favorites and a full barbecue menu. Fans can also pick up Stubb’s brand of barbecue sauce in local groceries.

Far from downtown – but near the heart of Austinites – is the Salt Lick. Located southwest of town in the scenic settlement of Driftwood, Salt Lick is the place Austin families take their out-of-town guests to introduce them to real Texas barbecue. Salt Lick features one of the few open pits in this part of Texas, so you can watch the meat cooking as you enter the native cedar and stone building. You can order by the sandwich or plate, but why bother – all-you-can-eat family style is the way to go at this relaxed and friendly Texas original.