la Barbecue — Restaurant in Austin

Update 4/2018

Went to the new restaurant location and preordered a rib, beef brisket and pulled pork. All was very good and prices are inline with Franklin. My only complaint is that they do not include bread when you order and it is an additional charge, unlike their competitor Franklin. Now that this business has moved from the food truck to the newer location.. I would recommend them and eat here again.

-Old review- In starting this review a statement comes to mind immediately. How much is your time really worth? Up front I would not recommend this experience to friends and family. If you have nothing better to do than to stand in the heat, and wait in line for anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours, then this is your place to go. This place is nothing more than a Food Truck hangout for several vendors and not an optimal business model. There is better barbecue in Austin, (The Salt Lick) so skip the line and the low grade free beer and just order ahead (currently 3-4 days) and pick up. Details of our first impression and day went as such:

You can enter through the alley, and walk past some nice trash containers for your viewing pleasure, or through the front gate they open. In either case you will be parking away from the establishment and walking in as they have NO customer parking to speak of, like I stated, a food truck. Eating area is outdoors, with overhead, and the restrooms are three portable toilets. I could not find a place to wash your hands and the flies are pretty much a nuisance even with the fly traps they have by the garbage cans.

This establishment reminded me of BBQ down south when visiting Alabama. Started standing in line waiting, standing most of the time, at 1:40pm. Tick - Tock...  at 3:04PM they informed us that they were out of beef and pork ribs, turkey, sausage, and sliced brisket. Leaving the only thing on the menu left to eat was pulled pork. Already invested an hour and 24 minutes, so we continued to wait. Then at 3:17PM they ran out of pulled pork leaving the leftover chopped beef brisket and obviously no other meat choice on the menu. At 3:22PM they ran out of regular bread and were going to charge us extra for a "Bun".

However, at 3:30 when we finally paid for or order of leftover chopped beef brisket (this is the burnt ends of the smoking process for those that do not know) 1 1/2 pounds BBQ, potato salad, and a coke, they discovered a loaf of bread and we received four slices all for the price of $45 and almost 2 hours of our time in 100 degree weather. You just have to smile and wonder if you are really this stupid or this smart. All that said, we were unable to sample any other foods, the potatoes salad was peppery, had better, and the chopped beef brisket was extremely oily but with the sauce it was tasty, which it should be since you have made yourself extra hungry while waiting so long. I would not recommend this place and forgo the hype. Order ahead if you much try the BBQ from this...

I like to be real with reviews, so here it goes. Labarbecue is good, succulent, bbq with the classic options. I got fatty brisket, jalapeño sausage, pork ribs, turkey, and shells and cheese. Brisket was well cooked but l thought was under seasoned and had soggy bark which I attribute to the ton of tallow (or whatever melted fat) present on every dish. My entire meal was coated in liquid fat (except the turkey) that seemed over the top. The pork ribs were legit and better than I could make them. Sausage was good but was really loose in the center and was also drenched in tallow. Turkey was something I had to try but organically seems to dry out. Shells and cheese were legit but not outstanding.

I understand prices have to rise with inflation, but the prices seem really high for what you get (2 pork ribs were $16.20) and I had to pay for white bread and pickles, while not even getting onions. One slice of brisket (close to a quarter of a pound) was more than $8.

My whole plate was ~$48 for what it’s worth (pickles, jalapeño, bread, and Diet Coke were extra).

Edit for response: You are obviously correct, since it is your restaurant, it is la Barbecue. My mistake. As to your other comments, I’ll take your word that your bbq doesn’t use tallow - as you said “non fat rubbed food” - but I do find it hard to believe that you do not use tallow during the cook considering the amount of fat on the exterior of the brisket and sausage, and considering the sausage casing did not appear to be ruptured before slicing. I took home leftovers, and when I refrigerated my remaining brisket and sausage, they were both glued to the bottom of the container with solidified fat. You could say that the sausage grind and brisket are both fat heavy - which is fine, but my statement then becomes your bbq is too fatty. Kobe beef is super fatty, but that doesn’t make it awesome - I don’t even like that type of beef very much. As for your sausage, great, you use a coarse double grind, thanks for informing me (assuming that’s what the German comment means). You can use coarse grind and still pack a sausage, which was not my experience with your product. I’ll continue to stand by the turkey being dry, I don’t care if there is a slight nuance between white bread and potato bread, and considering the customer pays for every accompaniment - I should assume onions are free? Your response shows you are clearly not for me, thanks...

The food here is solid. The brisket is great, the sausage is great, and the mac and cheese is great. Actually eating here, however, is inconvenient if you keep a traditional 9-5 schedule. Being closed a couple of days during the week is no biggie and pretty much expected for a BBQ joint, but the restaurant is never open later than 6 pm on any given day. Closing at 6 isn’t even the actual hurdle. The hard part is getting there before they stop cooking. I work a 9-5, so it’s tough to get there during the week, but I love BBQ, so I made it work. I came one Saturday, lucked out, and got everything I wanted. I came another Saturday around 3:30-4:00. They were sold out of mac and cheese, brisket, and one of the rib types. I was surprised to see them sell out so early, but I thought, “Good for them, I’ll just come back another day.” Two Fridays later, I rushed out of work a bit early and got there at 5. They were sold out of mac and cheese and weren’t making any more since they close at 6 pm. I was disappointed that they didn’t have the side I wanted, but at least I got the meats I wanted.

Now, the food is great, but on the ride home, I couldn’t help but think I could have just gone to Terry Black’s, not had to rush, and still have gotten my mac and cheese and even more sides for around the same price (maybe even less).

The service, just like anywhere, varies from person to person. When I walked in, I asked where to order, and the guy said, “Wait a second,” without looking up, but the other people I spoke with were very polite. They said the best way to make sure you get the food you want is to pre-order/order ahead. My advice would be to get there right at open or order ahead. If you’re within 2-3 hours of closing, honestly, be prepared to make some sacrifices. I’m not saying the food isn’t good, but with how good the competition around here is, I just don’t think it’s worth the inconvenience.

Edit:

As the owner said in their response and I said in my review, you can order online; Since this is a restaurant with a dining area, not a ghost kitchen my review reflects my experience treating this place like a restaurant. If you approach this from a ghost kitchen/online only perspective you may have a totally different (probably...