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Franklin BBQ ...Jan 2015

SpaghettiWestern

By SpaghettiWestern
in Texas: Dining

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SpaghettiWestern

SpaghettiWestern

Posted
Posted

OK.... so i FINALLY got to Franklin BBQ because i have moved back to central Texas.... to Austin.

WELL .......  i stood in line for 3 hours like everyone else....

when i finally got up to my turn... i was FAMISHED.

 

NEVER go buy BBQ when you are famished.

i bought ALOT more than i intended because it look FANTASTIC !

 

BELIEVE IT !   ... all those TV shows and videos you see about it online and on TV....  it looks even BETTER in person.  lol

 

i didnt eat anything there..... i took it home so i could rip into it in private.  LOL

and i couldnt wait to get home.

 

and the verdict ? ........well......Let me tell you what......   it was just   OK.

 

i'm NOT kidding you..... it was good..... NOT bad in any sense..... but NOT GREAT !

the smoke flavor was very mild..... and the brisket that looked SO fabulous.... didnt taste as good as it looked.

the texture was fantastic..... but that WAS the most fantastic thing about it.

he REALLY knows how to bring the texture.... but the flavor ?   i hate to say this...... and PLEASE... dont hate me on it.....

but..... the brisket tasted more like it came out of an oven and not a pit.

 

in fact..... it was just so average in flavor i was shocked... the smoke flavor is just too mild....the flavor of the pit is  just barely there.

the texture though... WOW !  now THAT was unbelieveable.

maybe  it is his intention not to put more smoke into the meat..... but good brisket is lovely with decent smoke.

 

and the ribs.....  they looked nice

but they were just ok..... not alot of bite.... a tad on the mushy side..... good but not great.

BUT !!!  they looked FABULOUS !

 

i am sorry.... i dont know what to say.

i was so disappointed..... i couldnt believe it.   this is NOT what i expected from this place that people have been raving about for

so long.

 

BUT !..... the absolute worst dissapointment was the sausage !  

without a doubt..... the most average links i have had ANYWHERE in Texas...... barely better than the links you get in the grocery store.

maybe because they are only in the pit for an hour.... there is barely any smoke flavor... and the meat in the link had gritty bits of what seemed like tendon ground up but didnt soften in the cooking.   it was just not good.

 

i am now cutting up the leftover links and putting them in my eggs to flavor an omlette in the morning but even that doesnt work too well.  lol

 

PLEASE..... dont hate on me for this..... but i have been eating BBQ all over the region for years now....

I MOVED HERE FOR THE BBQ  for goodness sake !  

when i got here i was eating it every day for months on end.

i guess this place is just not to my taste.

 

 if you are a fan of very little smoke on your Q.... then Franklin is for you.

the texture is first rate..... the flavor of everything is just ok.

 

i wont be back there again.... there are other places with real pit flavor in their meats.

and... i am not talking about any heavily smoked meats....BUT !   enough to know you are eating REAL pit BBQ !

 

Like when i first went to Taylor... to Louie Mueller years ago.....  after you are done eating.... the smell of the smoke and flavors

of the pit are all over your fingers and the aroma stays with you..... you feel satisfied .... like you got the flavors you were coming for.

 

after eating Franklins Q ..... there was NO lingering smell or tatse of smoked meat... ...no nothing.  it was as if i had eaten a plate at Lubys for lunch.  lol  i kept eating and hoping i was imagining things.... that at some point i would taste more of the pit ... but it didnt happen...

it just wasnt there.  it was very good quality meat but...... hardly any pit flavor. it left me VERY unsatisfied !

hunger was satisfied.... but THAT was all.

 

in ALL the places i have been in Texas.... this is the first time i have had this happen and its weird.

 

so..... i dont know what more to say except that if you like good meat with little smoke flavor.... Franklin is your place.

for me.... i'll stick to the guys in Lockhart and Luling.... and whatever else i come accross in Austin thats got more flavor from the pit.

after all..... isnt that the point of good BBQ ? .... to taste the pit in the meat ?

 

and BOY .... i NEVER thought i would be saying this about Franklin....  but....  its just my 2 cents.... and i am in the minority here. lol

and thats ok.

just wanted to let you know what i thought.

 

 

 

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted

Never been, but I agree. How much better can Franklin bbq be than other competent stuff?  Or Shake Shack...its just a damn burger why wait in line?

SpaghettiWestern

SpaghettiWestern

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

you know  ......i LOVE good BBQ SOOO MUCH..... that IF this was REALLY worth it.....  i wouldnt wait in line again.... but find another way around it.

Like.....  if you pre-order more than 5 pounds of anything at Franklin....  you can just walk in early before they open... and pick it up.

 

IF......  it was to my liking and i was really in love here..... i would do that.  LOL

BUT.... this is the first and LAST time i wait in a 3 hour line for any food item...... and THIS was not even remotely worth it to me.

 

but... thats just my taste.... lots of other folks feel differently.

 

i suggest to you out of towners coming in to Austin for whatever reason you need to be here......  GET DOWN TO LOCKHART !

 and check out the other guys ....... THEN go to Franklin.....  that way you can judge for yourself.

 

If you want the deep flavor of the pit in your meat ...... you will find it  in LOCKHART !

 

there may be others in Austin.... but i havent had time to find them yet.  LOL

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

BTW  when I stated " Expert Marketing "

 

it was a complement in this case.

 

My sister lives down there

 

:huh:

 

she has good friends that know " Franklin "

 

he is said to be the Real Deal as a person etc etc etc.

 

and Good For Him.

 

3 hours, Not so good for Me.

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Franklin's consistently gets spectacular reviews :

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/19ttpatoski.html

 

http://www.texasmonthly.com/lists/franklin-barbecue

 

I like this part in the last one :

 

Rating: 5

Opened: 2009
Pitmaster: Aaron Franklin, age 35 
Method: Post oak; indirect-heat pit 
Pro tip: Waiting in the long line can be fun; even more fun is ordering ahead of time. The minimum is five pounds, but best of all is getting a whole brisket (around $100; try your luck at least two weeks in advance). Pick it up at ten-thirty and waltz through the impatient masses with your bounty. 

I emphasized the later.
SpaghettiWestern

SpaghettiWestern

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

 

Franklin's consistently gets spectacular reviews :

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/19ttpatoski.html

 

http://www.texasmonthly.com/lists/franklin-barbecue

 

I like this part in the last one :

 

Rating: 5

Opened: 2009

Pitmaster: Aaron Franklin, age 35 

Method: Post oak; indirect-heat pit 

Pro tip: Waiting in the long line can be fun; even more fun is ordering ahead of time. The minimum is five pounds, but best of all is getting a whole brisket (around $100; try your luck at least two weeks in advance). Pick it up at ten-thirty and waltz through the impatient masses with your bounty. 

I emphasized the later.

 

SpaghettiWestern

SpaghettiWestern

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

 

you know, SW

 

some pic's from Lockhart would be nice  ...

 

Im a Rib and Sausage person myself.

 

BBQ Brisket, even what's outstanding, hands down, Id go with the

 

sausage

 

ive had it in Taylor

 

from

 

 

http://mikeska.com/

 
 
these are a collection of brothers :
 

 

I never have been into taking pics for some reason.  lol

i dont even own a decent phone that takes good pics.... i'm still using a flip phone that i got 6 or 7 years ago.

i dont carry the internet around with me... and my phone is off all the time.

i have a pay as you go plan because i dont usually use the phone more than a few times a month.

my friends tell me i am the most disconnected person they know because i only have a laptop at home.

 

if i am not home.... i am not online.... and even then its spotty at best.  lol

so....  sorry about that.... but i dont have any pics.

in my world..... its just about eating the meal.... i dont do anything more than that.... except to give an opinion here from time to time...

AND.... look for info about places when i move wherever.

 

i have only been in Austin a few weeks so i am still getting the lay of the BBQ landscape.

i do value everyones suggestions on where to go so..... let me know if there are places you like here.

thanks

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