Mickey said:

Last night Franklin's caught fire (est $350k) from an ember. Seems Austin would have had enough rain to put out.....

Texas taking it on the chin this weekend. Sad

Here's an earlier alertment thread.
Fire at Franklin BBQ?  Sad day for BBQ-

From my understanding, fire was contained to the smokehouse.  The restaurant itself only had smoke and water damages.  Guess he'd going to get the updated smoke shack with fire suppression after all!

nolaegghead said:

Oh man, now the restaurant will smell smokey.

Curious if the smokers survived the fire.

You would think so. They will probably need a new coat of brisket grease to season them up though. 

The thing is the smokers are on the second floor elevated over a storage area.  They had to be lifted into the structure by a crane.  The structure survived, but I am sure they will have to crane them out, rebuild, then crane them back inside - a very costly endeavor.  If he wasn't so land-locked, having a separate pit house would be good and much easier to do.

@Foghorn, is Lewis' brisket comparable to Franklin's? Far better chance I'll get to Charleston than to Austin! Thanks.

Carolina Q said:

@Foghorn, is Lewis' brisket comparable to Franklin's? Far better chance I'll get to Charleston than to Austin! Thanks.

I haven't had Franklin's. But I've had a lot of great brisket, and John Lewis is definitely worth checking out in Charleston. It's up there with the best I've ever had. 

lousubcap said:

@GATraveller - out trolling??    Look at the post count for a dead give-away and the obvious space in the handle name.  But @Carolina Q  can provide more id info I'm sure.

Who me???   It's still suspect.

Thatgrimguy said:

Carolina Q said:

@Foghorn, is Lewis' brisket comparable to Franklin's? Far better chance I'll get to Charleston than to Austin! Thanks.

I haven't had Franklin's. But I've had a lot of great brisket, and John Lewis is definitely worth checking out in Charleston. It's up there with the best I've ever had. 

Thanks. As I recall, Lewis used to work at Franklin, but I don't know if he already knew what he was doing when he started there. Or if he is a pure  Franklin disciple. 

Carolina Q said:

@Foghorn, is Lewis' brisket comparable to Franklin's? Far better chance I'll get to Charleston than to Austin! Thanks.

It is. John Lewis was Franklin's pitmaster when he was called the best bbq in the world and got famous. I've had his stuff several times. He's very good.

Carolina Q said:

@Foghorn, is Lewis' brisket comparable to Franklin's? Far better chance I'll get to Charleston than to Austin! Thanks.

@Carolina Q, Lewis' brisket is REALLY good.  On the day I was there it wasn't quite as good as Franklin's as it was just a little overcooked.  It was moist and flavorful but it fell apart just a little too easily - even though they did a good job of slicing it a little thick to minimize that.  I'd give it a 9.5 with Franklin's being a 10 (on this scale, places like Rudy's, Kreutz, Salt Lick which are great Texas BBQ places fall in the 7-8.5 range).  With that said, it was perfect for chopping.  My wife got the chopped brisket sandwich and said it was the best sandwich of any kind that she has ever had.   She got the same thing when we went to Franklin's.  At Franklin's she gave me a bite of it and I still believe that to be the best bite of food I've ever had.  At Lewis' she ate it so fast that she forgot to give me a bite.  That's never happened before.  She doesn't eat that much and I'm a glutton.  I took that as a sign of how good it was.  The pork ribs were pretty good, but a little bland.  They had Wagyu beef back ribs the day I was there that were really good, as was the pulled pork.  

As for the family tree, it is my understanding that Lewis learned from John Mueller and helped Franklin open his restaurant as he learned from him.  Then he partnered with LeAnne Mueller to open LaBarbecue before he moved to Charleston.  

He doesn't normally move as much meat as Aaron although for the eclipse weekend he geared up to that level (100+ briskets/day).  Apparently, they don't man the pits all through each night either as their 4 pits can handle all the meats at one time - vs Franklin when he fills all his pits with brisket from 10 AM to about 2 AM every day, then gets it off to make room for ribs and shoulders, etc.  Lewis seems to have enough meat to last until 10 PM so there's no need for standing in a long line or getting there early.  He also has a good bar with some good local beers so it is much more of a place to hang out.

I hope that helps.

Carolina Q said:

Thanks, guys!! Interesting that Lewis took his brisket skills to Pigs-Я-Us country. Far less beef competition I guess, but I would think, far less interest
too. If "Lewis learned from John Mueller and helped Franklin open his restaurant as he learned from him", I wonder who learned from whom!

Anyway, next time I'm down that way, I'll see what this brisket nonsense is all about.

If you don't like John's brisket, you don't like brisket. It's not as good as Franklin's every time but it's always good. It's top 2-3 on the planet. Definitely worth a try.

Carolina Q said:

Thanks, guys!! Interesting that Lewis took his brisket skills to Pigs-Я-Us country. Far less beef competition I guess, but I would think, far less interest
too. If "Lewis learned from John Mueller and helped Franklin open his restaurant as he learned from him", I wonder who learned from whom!

Anyway, next time I'm down that way, I'll see what this brisket nonsense is all about.

When you go to Lewis', do yourself a favor and get your beer first - or divide and conquer with your group.  Even great brisket is best eaten shortly after it is sliced.  The service at the bar wasn't that fast.  I quickly sampled everything before I headed that way and I'm glad I did.

I have been to Lewis's as well and got a tour. That place is legit! 

lousubcap said:

Curious as to the time-frame when Lewis moved to Charleston as I had some great brisket at LaBarbeque in Austin last Dec.  

He has been gone over a year but he most likely taught whoever made yours how to do it.  Not sure who is doing it now. haven't to been to LABBQ in a while.

I think he still has some small ownership in LABBQ. LeAnn Mueller (The LA in LaBarbecue and Louie Mueller's granddaughter) was saying he was still their creative consultant and had his hands on everything they do at LaBarbecue.Speaking of LA, they are opening a trailer in Los Angeles in the next month or so.