It was a brisk windy morning when I awoke at my BNB and headed out for another hike in Zilker Park. I like starting the day with a little exercise, especially when I know I’m going to be eating a rather large lunch! As I walked along the steep rocky trail I saw people on Mountain Bikes criss crossing another trail down below me and more hikers on the other side of the dry creek bed. This park certainly does get a lot of use and that made me feel good. That outdoor vibe is a part of what makes Austin great. I can only imagine what it’s like in the summer when it hosts outdoor music festivals and plays. I wish I had time to explore one of the lakes around the city but that’ll have to wait for another time. I had to start heading back to my BNB and meet up with my guide for the day.
My guide is an old friend from NY who moved to Austin a while ago. Her boyfriend is an Austin native that knows a lot of great places to eat, and my friend knows good food. So off we went into the wilds of the Austin BBQ scene. There must be 50 BBQ joints in Austin and the surrounding area. One of the most popular is Franklin’s, it was featured in the movie “Chef” and the pitmaster Aaron Franklin has many awards like the James Beard Best Southwestern Chef award and Texas Monthly’s Best BBQ in Texas award. Aaron also teaches a master class on BBQ, so needless to say he does know BBQ. I have to tell you though, Franklin’s is not a favorite of the locals. Maybe its all the hype or the long hour plus wait , but many of them shy away from Franklin’s and opt for some of the older BBQ joints. The Black family is one such establishment that has been serving BBQ since 1932 started in Lockheart Texas. We were going to Terry Black’s BBQ which is an offshoot of some controversy in the Black family. Two fourth generation BBQ brothers Mark and Mike Black broke away from the family to start their own interpretation of Black’s BBQ. Being barred from using just the Black’s family name they decided to name it after their father and put Terry in front of the Black family name. This prompted their uncle Kent to open a Black’s BBQ in Austin creating a little competition between the two. Each restaurant has it’s own style but I could only eat at one place, so we opted for the upstarts, because I’m a rebel at heart!
The first thing you’ll notice at about 1/4 mile away is the smell of the food! The waft of slow cooking proteins over a hardwood fire. It let’s your taste buds know you’re in for something special. The next thing you’ll notice is how busy the place is. The parking lot was packed and cars were parked across the street. Busy is always a good sign but I’m also impatient and don’t like waiting in long lines for food since there are so many choices out there. I was happy to see the line wasn’t out the door and it moved rather quickly. Like most Texas BBQ joints Terry Blacks has that rustic feel of a bunkhouse with wood floors and exposed beams in the ceiling. You also stand in a chow line that moves you through quickly, if you know what you want. First you’ll pick out your drinks, they have everything from beer to water. Next you go into the side dish line. Side dishes are not the main event in Texas BBQ so usually I’ll go for a few traditional ones. This time it was creamed corn, green beans, coleslaw and corn bread with a mini pecan pie for dessert. That seemed like a nice array to get things going. Then it was on to the meat! In Texas, Brisket is king so you have to try some of that. Texas also does a couple of things most other BBQ regions don’t ,turkey and smoked sausage. I wasn’t in the mood for any of those and wanted to try the pork ribs and chopped beef. In Terry Blacks like some other BBQ joints you pay by the pound , so getting something like beef ribs is a waste of money in my opinion. Beef ribs were $27 a pound and half of that is the bone if you’re lucky! They said, “you can give the bone to your dog.” For $27 I’m going to be eating that bone! The fun part about ordering the meat is watching the butcher slice your portions. You have to be really careful because as you watch him your eyes get bigger than your stomach and you’ll be asking for another slice and another! I learned this the hard way, now I ask for it in 1/4 pound increments and if I want more I can go back later.
As expected the side dishes were just ok. If you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know we can make better creamed corn, recipe here. The coleslaw needed a little doctoring but the corn bread was moist and a nice accompaniment to the brisket. The string beans were also good but not great. The meat was where Terry Black’s shined. The brisket was juicy and tender and had a nice crust on the outside. Brisket can be hard to cook just right, but it looks like they’ve got it down. The chopped beef was also tender with a nice smoked flavor and was perfect with a little spicy BBQ sauce on it. The pork ribs were only ok. They had the smoked flavor and the pink smoke ring that smoked meat should have, but I feel they needed a little more time in the smoker to make them fall off the bone. There was a little too much pepper in their dry rub, but that is a Texas thing. Overall it was a delicious experience and I would certainly recommend Terry Black’s BBQ when you’re in Austin. I really wish I could have tried another 20 places!
After a meal like that I could use a nap, but to the best of my knowledge no one has created a restaurant and lounge… yet. The next best thing is a nice long walk and a fun place to do that walk in Austin is on a street called South Congress or SoCo. Congress Avenue is divided by the Colorado river. On the north side is the capital building and on the south side are lots of funky shops and hip restaurants. One thing you’ll notice is that Austin loves their patio’s. So many restaurants have beautiful outdoor patio’s that can be used almost all year around, that’s very handy in the time of Covid. One can have a fun time just walking down SoCo. There’s crystal rock shops a costume shop and Allen’s famous boot store. You’ll most likely see a busker on a corner singing to make a buck. There’s also a homemade ice cream shop called Amy’s. It’s brightly painted front shows the spirit of Austin with the word “Empathy” painted right under the take out window. I don’t know about you, but no matter how full I am somehow ice cream always finds a little more space. Plus I’m a sucker for real homemade ice cream. Amy’s won’t disappoint either. They have Mexican influenced flavors like Jalapeño Bacon or Get Churr-Own , which is a honey ice cream with fresh baked cinnamon churro’s inside! Or, you can also go the old chocolate, vanilla or strawberry route. I settled for Mexican Vanilla Bean with Burnt Caramel, which tasted like butter pecan on steroids, good stuff! Yep I kept on walking! On occasion you’ll see the random person with pink hair, this is completely normal in Austin, personally I found it refreshing. I had to also walk by The Continental Club, which has been a music venue in Austin since 1955. The club has seen many musicians grace their stage including Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Paul Ray and the Cobras, Joe Ely, Bill Carter and the Blame and even Robert Plant. The Continental Club was closed due to Covid but there was still something about it just from the outside. Someday I’d love to spend a week in Austin going to live music shows. The famous South By Southwest happens here and draws a huge crowd. That might be to much for me but there’s nothing like live music and I can’t wait to be able to get out and hear some soon.
My friend had to stop by Home Slice to bring some pizza home. According to a New Yorker it’s the best pizza in town. I took her word for it and passed on bringing any back to my BNB. As crazy as it sounds I had actually eaten enough for one day! It was getting late and we had walked over much of SoCo. On the way back to my BNB we drove through more of South Austin, which has many unexplored restaurants and music venues, but that’s for another time.
I can really see the appeal of living in Austin, it’s a thriving city full of young adventurous people. It has a diverse make up and the old has been preserved as the new has kept growing. Nature is also embraced which is very important if a city is to thrive. It’s home to the University of Texas for all you Bevo fans,”Hook em’ Horns!”.The weather is very nice, except for a freak freezing spell, they just just had, but those are rare. It’s also a fun place to visit with many exciting things happening everyday. Where else can you play Chicken Shit Bingo? Yep you read that correctly. They place a chicken on a giant bingo board and wherever it does it’s business is hopefully the numbers on your bingo card. It’s places like that, that help “Keep Austin Weird”.
If you have any comments or questions please leave them in the box below. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. If you’ve been to Austin please add to the small amount I was able to do. What did you like or dislike? Let the people know. Until next time, Boone Appétit!
