ErGagit heads West…to Austin and Franklin BBQ!
For his first MIAbites contribution, local food blogger, ErGagit, chose to feature a place NOT in Miami but on every foodies bucket list! Enjoy his mouthwatering and humorous account of his "Trip to Bountiful...BBQ".
Austin, Texas....is the capital of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas it is the 11th-largest city in the USA and the fourth-largest city in the state of Texas. It is also home to The University of Texas, South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festival, and Franklin BBQ!
So, The Gagit’s headed on a Foodie trip to Austin, Texas. This trip had been in the plans before but, something had always come up…BUT not this time.
Joining us on this trip to BBQ Mecca was our special Foodie friends, @foodcave, Harold, Lady Laura and her brother Texas Dennis. Although the trip included other restaurants, the main event was the Temple of BBQ...Franklins!
Franklin BBQ debuted in late 2009 as a trailer in an East Austin parking lot staffed by husband and wife, Aaron and Stacy Franklin. As the lines grew…snaking around the block, so did the press. The Washington Post, Texas Monthly and The Cooking Channel offered glowing reports. Bon Appetit magazine named Franklin BBQ as Best BBQ in America 2010. By March of 2011, Franklin had moved from the trailer to a storefront at 900 E 11th St.
And, the lines continued to grow!
Franklins BBQ is Black Friday every day. No door busters here, just get in line early or be sold out. They run out of BBQ every day, sometimes within an hour of opening.
9:00 am- Harold and I are up early on this cold rainy Saturday morning and are 22nd in line at at the shrine.
The group next to us was nice enough to have an extra chair for me and a hat that I had forgotten to bring, so we are now ready for the 2-hour wait. Assured that his place will be held, Harold, goes down the street and gets coffee and a Bacon and Egg Taco for us as we wait. The rains came just as he returns but we luckily are under the patio so keeping us dry. Not so for the many hungry and hardy souls behind us in the growing line.
11:00 am - we are joined by Foodiechic Laura , and Dennis just as the door opens and they join us for the inside line to order. We are now in front of the master meat cutter, Fiori, shown here holding up the Brisket that separates Franklin from all other BBQ places. Foodie and I order the mixed plate, brisket, ribs, extra sausage, pinto beans, potato salad and all for $16.00.
11:30 am-We sit down and start eating, the Brisket is so tender and juicy that I ate with my hands, those smoky flavors that were truly worth waiting for. The Ribs, seemed a little too smoky for me, but the rest of the group thought they were delicious. The sausage, freshly made on the premises was a real treat as were the spicy Pinto Beans. Oops, no room for the creamy house made potato salad, and all washed down with local Beer on draft.
We finish with the Banana Bourbon Pie and can now claim to have joined that special club of all the foodies who have waited and have eaten at this BBQ shrine.
Let the Truth Be Told, was it worth it, YES, was the Brisket one of the all time Foodie Bucket List musts, YES, was it worth doing again ? try it and you decide.
Franklin BBQ
900 E 11th Street
Austin, Texas 78702
( Special thank to The Franklins for providing us with some mouthwatering pictures! )