Austin area BBQ

I had Freedmen's BBQ yesterday for the first time, it was really good. I had a sliced brisket sandwich, baked beans, sausage, and the smoked banana pudding for dessert.

The brisket has a great bark, great flavor, and the only think keeping it from Franklin level IMO was it was not extra moist, but still moist. That said they have a great sauce made from bone stock, I used it sparingly. The beans have brisket in them, and plenty of beer in the sauce. A buddy of mine really liked the slaw, it is not mayo-based, a bit of vinegar and other flavors, real creative.

The dessert was crazy good, they bake their vanilla wafers fresh every morning so they were actually crispy crunchy, real cream, fresh bananas... but $6.50. The lunch special is $11, a sandwich, side, and a beer, so that's a good deal. We ordered sausage on the side, they make it there and it was beefy, with just a touch of jalapeno warmth, real nice.

I'm going back for sure. Brisket is $19/lb. if you want. The building has great history, and they have a nice outdoor area. We got there at 11:40 on a Tuesday and had no wait.

jimithing said:

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Saltlick is kinda meh IMO.  I understand that they actually cook their meats in a gas smoker in the back and then just finish them on the open pit for show.  It's a cool place to go hang out and shoot the sh!t on their patio but don't expect BBQ heaven.

Back in the late 70's before Saltlick got "popular", they were really good and they DID cook it on the pit. Loved the "family style" service.

When we lived down there, we always went to Black's in Lockhart if were buying instead of smoking. I guess they have an Austin location now, but never been to it.