I was in town for a conference and had to hit a few barbecue joints. Started out hitting Lamberts, which was on last year's Texas Monthly list of top 50 barbecue joints. Got the brisket and was not impressed at all. $18 for maybe 1/3 lb of brisket and some pickled veggies. We had some appetizers that were great (crispy wild boar ribs and broiled oysters), but the brisket was lacking.

Next, I hit up La Barbecue, which also made the top 50 last year and has been getting a lot of buzz in the Austin area. The brisket was very good and the turkey (extremely juicy too) was some of the best I have ever had (slightly behind Franklin). The ribs and sausage were disappointing and below average in my opinion.

I really wanted to try Micklethwait Craft Meats on my last day there, but a buddy wanted to hit Louie Mueller's in Taylor instead and I decided to go with him there. Been a while since I have been to Louie Mueller's, but I forgot what a huge selection they had. I got the brisket, the turkey, the baby back ribs, and the original sausage. I wanted a beef rib too, but my tray was already full. Everything I had was great. Brisket had an excellent bark covered in pepper. The baby back ribs were falling off the bone and had a great smoke flavor. The beef sausage is one of my favorite beef sausages in the state. The turkey was covered in pepper and very smokey too. All in all, it was a great trip.

After trying Lamberts and La Barbecue, it really didn't change my top three favorite Austin barbecue spots, but La Barbecue cracked the top five.

Here are my top five that I have tried:

Franklin
Freedmen's
John Mueller Meat Co.
La Barbecue
Stiles Switch

John Mueller? not Louie???

NDN98, your top five is a who's-who of Mueller clones. LeAnn Mueller (LA BBQ) and John Mueller are two of Bobby Mueller's children. The other child, Wayne, still runs the family joint in Taylor. Louie was Bobby's daddy and Wayne's grandfather, IIRC.

And Aaron Franklin grew up in Bryan, but worked (and learned) at Louie Mueller's when Bobby was still living.

So 3 of your top-5 Austin joints are off-shoots of Louie Mueller. Great minds (and taste buds) think alike: those three are in my top 5 or ten too!

PMK,
I went to Louis Mueller's last week, but went to John Mueller's last time I was in Austin and it was great. In my Austin BBQ rankings, I didn't include Louie Mueller since Taylor is a good 40 miles outside of Austin.

Dawaba,
Actually four out of the five have Bobby Mueller's influence. Lance Kirkpatrick, the pit master at Stiles Switch, worked at Louie Mueller's for 9 years under Bobby Mueller too. http://www.tmbbq.com/stiles-switch-bbq-brew-2013/

I did not know about Stiles Switch and Lance! I guess I need to try the place out next time I'm visiting my daughter in Austin. Bobby Mueller has certainly carved a wide, deep swath across Texas with his style of BBQ.

Growing up in EasTex, my memory was that our BBQ tended more toward the Carolina and Memphis styles with lots of pork ribs bathed in gobs of sweet, smokey sauce. Chopped beef on a bun with pickle relish was a mainstay as well. In fact, Stanley's here in Tyler catered to that style back when the Stanley family owned it. It was good and I loved it. But the new wave that has discovered the German/Bohemian meat market style centered on brisket has made most any other style an irrelevant afterthought. Under Nick Pensis, even Stanley's has gone that route, and all the better, IMO.

(but in a nod to the deep south, Stanley's still paints their ribs with a light glaze that I absolutely love)

'Growing up in EasTex, my memory was that our BBQ tend more toward the Carolina and Memphis styles with lots of pork ribs bathed in gobs of sweet, smokey sauce.'
dawaba, that's a description of Memphis BBQ but Carolina BBQ consits of pulled, shredded, or chopped pork with Lexington style using pork shoulders and Eastern style using the whole hog. The sauces are, viniger based with spices, Lexington adds some tomato.

Salt lick should be on the list....I know, I know....touristy, commercialzed and all.... the experience is something else....go to the country and enjoy some live music, let the kids play at the playground...yes you will wait in line... ok, take your cooler loaded with what you drink and forget it all...we live 10 minutes from there so its not like a dedicated trip, but every time we go we are pleased that we did!

Haven't tried that one yet but wasn't impressed at all with the one in Round Rock.

didn't know there was another one up north...the one out in driftwood area is the original...seems like it just keeps getting bigger but service, food etc...has always been great!
pic of one of their pits out there

A thing of great beauty!

Anyone go to the Green Mesquite? South of downtown.

I believe there is also one in Round Rock but I haven't had a chance to go yet.

Wanted to go to Franklins last week, but they are closed for 2 weeks for renovation or something. Doh!