Mum Foods Smokehouse And Delicatessen — Restaurant in Austin

When your brisket cheesesteak brings tears to your eyes, but the ribs finish the job and make you weep for joy.

TL;DR: Mum Foods in Austin delivers smoked meat magic wrapped in deli genius. Got a killer brisket cheesesteak, then was surprise-gifted a tray of brisket, sausage, and ribs on the house. I’m still emotionally recovering. Seventh stamp collected!

BBQ stop number seven on my Texas Monthly top 50 quest led me to the holy grail of hybrid hospitality: Mum Foods Smokehouse & Delicatessen in Austin. This joint doesn’t just serve meat, they compose love letters in smoke and cheese.

Rolled in solo a little after high noon. Parking lot was more packed than a Buc-ee’s on Labor Day weekend, but the BBQ gods smiled and a spot opened up. Walked in bracing for a line worthy of brisket royalty, but lo and behold, just a few loyal carnivores ahead of me. The vibe inside? Think upscale butcher meets laid-back lunch counter.

Now, I could’ve gone full traditional with a half pound of brisket and a prayer, but I zigged instead of zagged. I locked eyes with the Smoked Brisket Cheesesteak: a toasted hoagie roll stuffed with brisket, molten American cheese, Jimmy pepper relish, and smoked tomato remoulade. One bite and I knew: this sandwich was engineered to ruin me for all other sandwiches. It was meaty. It was cheesy. It was a smoked symphony of perfection.

But just as I was polishing off the last glorious corner, fate intervened. Out comes a BBQ angel from behind the counter carrying a tray of smoked dreams: brisket, sausage, and ribs, all on the house. He said I couldn’t come all this way without tasting it all. Sir, whoever you are, you are a brisket blessing in human form.

The meat? Unreal. Brisket bark with a peppery crunch, sausage that snapped louder than a gator in spring, and ribs that whispered secrets as they fell off the bone. I boxed the leftovers like they were fine jewels and delivered them home to the Side Dish Queen. She took one bite, nodded approvingly, and declared the holy meat trinity legit.

Staff? Phenomenal. Friendly, proud of their craft, and clearly running on passion. The place hums with love for the smoke.

Seven joints down, 43 to go. This one’s a must-return. Might need a double stamp next time just for that cheesesteak.

I asked the sandwich if it believed in love at first bite. It said, “I brisket...

My friend wanted bagels and the place he wanted to go closed at 1. So while he was finishing business I went about finding something else. Just perusing google maps.

I love a deli. And my friend is constantly trying to get me to be more in love with BBQ. So I suggested we get something here.

We ordered for pick-up, but I insisted on coming inside instead of just one of us snatching the food. Vibe check went well. Coffee shop as you enter, which is so smart. Especially if there is a line.

We came on a weekday at 2, so while the lot was nearly full, it obviously wasn’t the busiest moment. The interior is so neat, IMO. It smelled so good in there.

Fast forward to unpacking our food; more good smells. My friend wanted a bodega breakfast sandwich and I was really wanting some smoked turkey, so I ordered Grandpa’s favorite. I love a kraut. I love a dressing. I love a rye bread. It was a natural choice for me.

For sides, I chose the $2 potato salad giddy up you can get with a sandwich. W also chose mac and cheese and pickle plate.

We like sharing bc there is a lot of value in tasting everything, right?

The bodega sandwich is one of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had. And I’m picky. Eggs can so easily be overcooked and it’s gross to me. Anyway, the egg was cooked with so much care. It was still warm but not overcooked even after travel. The ratio of bread to meat to cheese to egg was perfection. I didn’t even choose that sandwich.

On to Grandpa’s Favorite. The turkey was perfectly tender, smoked and sliced. Same to this sandwich about the ingredient ratios. I ate a quarter of it. My friend ate a quarter of it. And I ate the other half the next day. It was still so good.

Potato salad is great.

Mac and cheese had some THICK cheese sauce. Stick to your ribs thick. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. I like that they sprinkle some fresh herb on there.

I’m partial to anything pickled, but I appreciate their pickle plate. Green beans. Tomatoes. Red onions. I liked adding some on top of bites of sandwich. And the green beans on their own.

Their sauce is nice and Smokey and vinegary.

I’m intrigued about their bologna. And pretty much everything. May stop on my way out of...

Wife and I were very excited when this place moved in, there isn’t really anyone in Austin filling this niche. Unfortunately there is A lot going wrong here. Wife and I both cooked for 15 years so 30 years between us. We know food. The breads and pastries are bad. If they are made in house they should just order Easy Tiger and save the effort for the meats and sides. Potato salad under seasoned. Pickles, pure vinegar and not cured through. Meats were OK. We’d go back for these. We had chopped beef, ribs and pastrami. Pastrami spice blend is off, they need to work on this recipe. If that’s how they want it to taste fair enough, but it’s not what is expected for this item. Ribs were over cured and hard. They had an odd sweetness we weren’t expecting and they were mucho heavy on the black pepper. The service was rough and there was no flow. Cold items ordered from a different person than the hot items. We ordered cold items, they handed them to us, no tray no bag, so we carried them to hot counter. Same situation there, we ordered and they handed us the items. Now we we’re really struggling to carry it over to pay. One sandwich wasn’t wrapped properly and it was coming open. At payment counter we had to tell the cashier what each item was to be rung up. Ladies and gentlemen this could be remedied by writing on each item what it is or with a ticket system like at Katz’s in NYC. But judging by the pastrami nobody that works here has eaten there. Like I said we’ll give it one more shot just for the meats and I really hope they can pull it together. If not this place won’t last long. Sorry if this sounds harsh, just using my blunt...