If you haven’t read my “Bending Wheels to Bentonville” blog yet, it’s quite the spot and worth the views. It’s my very first blog for you all. It was also a road-trip, which I love doing. About 8 hours of driving (equivalent to going to Memphis or NOLA from Dallas) is where I tap out. But Dallas to Austin is 3 hours, it’s a sweet stop. I think actually travel to Austin more than any other city. It offers delicious foods from food trucks to upscale eateries, 6th street for the turn up and everything in between. When I was younger I used to beg my mom go to the Alamo and Texas State Capitol because just viewing the history and elegance thrilled me. This time around, no history would be involved. I was watching Delicious Destinations- Austin. In this episode, Andrew Zimmern, host, boasts about Texas chili, chicken-fried steak, breakfast tacos, and AWESOME brisket from Franklin Barbecue. So I packed an overnight bag to Austin!
That night I headed to 6th Street in the Entertainment District. 6th can be an adventure of its own. You’ll see plenty of Austin’s weirdest there. But you’ll also get awesome food, like Happy Chicks. Snuggled in between San Jacinto Blvd. and Brazos, on 6th St. you’ll find some of the sexiest tenders you can eat. Fried to perfection with a slight crunch from a flour coating. Plus, I asked for half regular and spicy. And can I say 🗣 ROASTED 👏🏽CREAM👏🏽CORN👏🏽! The corn gods granted me inner divinity. Scratch-made cream corn with a kick… oh yes! It’s like a bowl of corn soup. Very rich and creamy but not thick. It’s definitely slurp-able like soup, for sure. If you want something magical to happen… dip your tender in the corn soup juice!! 🤯 Plus they have more sides to choose from. The freshly made lemonade was pretty stellar too. They offer a variety of Happy Sauces in 2 categories: ranch and classic. Both with a pretty decent selection of sauces. I really enjoyed the garlic and jalapeño. But seriously, the corn, don’t sleep on it… it’s freakin awesome. It’s drink out of a boot worthy.
Before calling it a night, I walked straight across street to Buffalo Billards. The inside is definitely reminiscent of an arcade hall. When you walk in you can see a pretty big bar and several pool tables on the floor. TVs, air hockey and darts are just some of the other amenities offered. Also makes for a great photo session.
The next morning, in thrity-eight degree weather, I made my way down to Veracruz All Natural for breakfast tacos. This was another destination spot Zimmern showcased on the episode and the item he raved about was the Migas tacos- egg, tortilla chips, Monterrey jack cheese, cilantro, tomato, onion, and avocado. It’s a good vegetarian option and the Al pastor was flavorful from the marination but the Fajita Steak is truly the star. The steak had a ton of flavor and was grilled to perfection!
After sleeping off breakfast tacos, I got up and got dressed for my date with Franklin Barbecue. I heard the line quickly wraps around the building so I knew I would try to get there before the lunch/church crowd. When I did arrive, there was already a trail beginning. Tents and bikes were gathered on the property from where campers had waited their turn. The ramp, going inside, was snaked around with people standing like dominoes. They even had an employee standing outside making progress updates. I waited in line for 45 minutes (very much worth it) and the only thing sold out was turkey, which wasn’t initially on my mind until I heard it was sold out. Means it has to be good, right? As soon as you step one foot inside the door, the amazing smell hits your nostrils and you see memorabilia available for purchase. I ended up getting everything else. Brisket, pulled pork, sausage and ribs filled my tray as the meat cutter finished butchering a freshly pulled out slab of ribs and a whole brisket. The brisket was juicy and super tender- accompanied with the perfect smoke ring. Both lean and fatty cuts were excellent but the fatty cuts provided more flavor and juice, while not being overly fatty. Ribs slid smooth off the bone and also carried that awesome smoke flavor. The pulled pork was given to me as a sample. Typically, when I try pulled pork it’s still extremely salty… not at Franklin. The smoke and salt flavors actually complimented each other- the perfect pork for a pulled pork sammie! And the sausage was delicious with that slight snap/crunch from the outer layer of the skin. I literally had no complaints and a small little wrapped up doggy bag to take home. I’ll definitely be back for you Franklin 🙂
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