Saturday, May 27, 2017

Micklethwait -- Austin, TX

Wednesday I dropped by Micklethwait in Austin for lunch before catching my plane back to the Bay Area. Am I glad that I did! I got the two-meat platter with brisket, pork spare ribs, jalapeno cheese grits and lemon slaw. The pork was nothing special and so was, for that matter, the barbecue sauce. What made this lunch was the brisket, which was as juicy and chunky a slab of meat as I've ever had. Yes, it's well marbled, but the experience was worth the fattiness. The grits tasted a lot like polenta but a little mushier and with a pleasant amount of bite from the jalapeno.



The majority of those ordering ahead of me got a Big Red soda. I'd never heard of it before but felt compelled to try one. I inquired with those eating at the same picnic table (at Micklethwait, you order at a trailer, then eat at one of several picnic tables under a tent) and found that Big Red is a Texas classic, bottled in San Antonio. It's sweet and tastes like bubble gum.


I got to the trailer at about 11:10 am and waited ten minutes to order and food was ready about five minutes after that. The line gets long, though, at about 11:30. The beef short ribs looked delicious, but to get them you need to order a pound and a quarter at once. They don't come with sandwiches or platters.

I walked to Micklethwait from the Austin Convention Center in 20 minutes with a backpack, a rollerbag and arthritis in both knees. So, even if you're in the downtown area and you're craving great barbecue, you don't have an excuse to not try Micklethwait!


Micklethwait Craft Meats
craftmeatsaustin.com