Austin Review: La Barbacue

STAR

La Barbecue (formerly JMueller), 1502 S Lamar St, South Austin
http://labarbecue.com

You just can't go to Austin Texas and not have BBQ, so before I left San Diego my eye was on the prize to pick the most perfect destination to unleash my inner flesh-devouring carnivore. I was convinced without a doubt that the destination should and would be the JMueller BBQ trailer.

After walking up and down South Lamar street we landed at 1502 only to find another food trailer called "La Barbecue" in its place.  I'll be honest my heart sunk. But it didn't last long. It was quickly lifted by the scent of savory meat and charred wood pouring out of a massive smoker, and the sight of a small handwritten sign placed next to a keg which spelled out 3 magical words, "Free Lonestar Beer". Coming from California where nothing is free, I thought it was a cruel joke. But as it turns out, it really was just free! I was positive at that very moment that I had hit the Texas gold mine.

We got there around 1:30, and the lunchtime pile up wasn't too bad. There were plenty of tented picnic tables scattered in front and about 8 people in line in front of us. But enough with those details, now for the menu. You can order BBQ by the slice, by the piece, by the pound and you have a ton of choices. Beef Brisket, Pork ribs, Beef short ribs, Pulled Pork, Turkey, and Housemade Sausages ranging from  $12.98 - $17.98 per pound, and a few bucks for a sausage. For those of you that need some carbs and veggies to go with the meat you can order a sandwich topped with slaw and either Brisket, Pulled Pork, or Sausage. Or better yet, you can trump those options and go with the "El Sancho", which is a combination of all 3 meats.

By the time I was up to order the Beef Ribs were sold out, but I wasn't too concerned. I had the inside tip from one of the guys that worked there that the fatty brisket was the way to go, so as long as I could get my hands on some of that, my beef category was covered.  You wouldn't believe this, but us 3 girls walked back to our picnic table with trays filled with about $70 worth of BBQ and a few sides.

Dug right right in. Couldn't wait for the photo opp. 

And it was awesome, I mean really awesome. You could taste that there was a lot going on in their rub, and whether that's sacrilegious or not, it made for some great complex flavors. The brisket itself was super moist with the most intense, almost crispy, dark crust on the outside and this gorgeous deep red smoke ring that surrounded the meat. I tasted some of the regular brisket which was still great, but I would definitely say the fatty brisket was better hands down. The pork ribs also had the same dark crusty outside, and the meat was fall off the bone tender. We had the pulled pork in the El Sancho and it was soft, moist, and had just the right amount of fat, it was darn tasty. I also ordered 1 "Hot Guts" Sausage and ate half of it on its own, and the other half with a few squirts of their tangy tomato based sauce they had on the tables. That sausage was fantastic. It had that perfect crunch when you bite into it from the natural casing, and it was just really savory, garlicy, and meaty. We also ordered up some beans, slaw, potato salad, and cheddar cheese. The sides were good, but not overwhelmingly good (My advice is to simply save your stomach for the BBQ and you won't go wrong.) But if you have to know I can sum it up. The beans were cooked to a good consistency but they weren't memorable, the slaw was a spicy chipotle slaw with a level of heat that some may love or hate (I, for some reason just couldn't seem to down enough beer that day to handle it) and the potato salad was pretty decent with a good, heavy hand of mustard. It's was a funny conclusion but out of all of the sides, the cheddar was my favorite. It was zippy and firm but creamy, and honestly I don't have a clue what kind of cheddar it was or where it was made.

La Barbecue uses only oak that grows around locally for their smokers, and they start those bad boys up at 2:00 am every day.  I would call that a major commitment. I think they just call that SOP to make really great BBQ. The tiny door at the entrance of the smoker controls the temperature, and frequent sprays of H20 keep everything moist. Another thing I found out was that BBQ for Texans is "...just a lunch thing,"  I was told. "No one here eats BBQ for dinner." It takes a full morning and day's work to cook it up, and then it usually sells out by the end of lunch time. So now I get it, no BBQ for dinner because there physically is no BBQ at dinner. It makes sense.

After chatting it up with the insanely hospitable and friendly crew of La Barbecue, it was a pleasant discovery to actually find out that most of them had been a part of JMueller, and that La Barbecue is a reincarnation of JMueller. Well, not completely a reincarnation, maybe they would kill me for saying that. There is a new pit boss smoking and stirring up their scene now, who also had his hand over at the widely known Franklin BBQ before coming over to JMueller/La Barbecue. La Barbecue is also still in the Mueller family, as it is now run by the  Mueller sister.

I never had a chance to taste the BBQ at JMueller to compare the two, but after my awesome experience, who cares. I accomplished my goal that day, and had plenty of meaty goodness leftovers to remind me of my victory later that night. La Barbecue hit the spot and it was good BBQ. Correction, it was damn great BBQ worth remembering and re-visiting for sure.