LA BARBECUE: AN AUSTIN SPOT THAT SERVES DELICIOUS TEXAS BBQ WITH A KICK
The Cost -$29 per person
The Atmosphere – la Barbecue originally started in a trailer but has since moved to a permanent location on East Cesar Chavez Street in which one group at a time is inside ordering while the rest of the folks waiting to order are lined up outside. It is open from 11am to 6pm, Wednesday through Sunday, and you can definitely expect very long lines starting at noon. You will still have to queue up if you arrive between 11am and 12pm but the wait will be considerably less than if you show up during peak lunch hours. There is some seating inside the restaurant and outside you will find wooden picnic tables that you can dine at as well. La Barbecue does take credit cards, so you don’t have to worry about bringing cash.
la Barbecue is now ten years old but in that time it has made quite the mark on Austin’s BBQ scene. Serving up Central Texas BBQ, la Barbecue sources its meats from a local ranch where the cows are grass-fed and hormone-free. The restaurant isn’t afraid to add some spice to its meats and sides and focuses on savory and salty rubs instead of the sweet stuff, setting it apart from some of its local competitors.
The Order – Pork Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Jalapeño Sausage, and Chipotle Slaw.
The Fantastic – We ordered half a pound of the Pork Ribs which ended up only amounting to three ribs, but boy were they good. There was more bone than normal in the ribs, but the meat was amazing. Super flavorful and juicy, the meat falls right off the bone. There is a sauce already on the ribs so they are not dry and I only wish that we had ordered more of them. These may just be the best pork ribs in Austin.
The Jalapeño Sausage was the other meat that earned our Fantastic rating. The homemade sausage had quite the kick which landed just above a medium level of spiciness at an Indian or Thai restaurant. The jalapeño didn’t just give the sausage heat though, it gave it some great flavor that went well with the other ingredients. If you have a high spice tolerance, this sausage should not be missed.
The Great - It would be a crime to go to a BBQ spot in Texas and not order brisket. We ordered a half pound of the brisket which came out to two, good-sized slices of beef. The meat, which is slow cooked for fourteen to sixteen hours, was juicy and quite good. While it may not be the best brisket in town (that award might go to Franklin Barbeque), it is not something you are going to regret ordering.
The last meat that we ordered was the Pulled Pork and we grabbed a quarter pound of it, bringing our meat total to one and a quarter pounds plus a sausage link for two people. The super stringy pulled pork had a great, more natural flavor to it, especially because there was no barbeque sauce on it to mask the taste of the meat. A quarter pound of the pork went a long way and really gave us the opportunity to each have a sufficient amount without feeling like we missed out.
The last item we ordered was one of la Barbecue’s side dishes, the Chipotle Slaw. Unlike most coleslaws, la Barbeque does not add sugar to the mix, but they sure do add spice. The chipotle flavor was front and center but aside from the lack of sugar and the spiciness, this was a typical, well-made coleslaw.
The Verdict – la Barbecue is hands down one of the best BBQ spots in Austin. There was not a single thing that was ordered that I would not order again and again. Although you certainly don’t need to be a spicy food eater to dine at la Barbecue, enjoying food that packs some heat will enable you to experience this restaurant to the fullest.