We should be honest about this one. Franklin Barbecue involves a queue, usually two to three hours of it, starting before the doors open at 11am, and the brisket sells out most days by early afternoon. People fly in for it. Whether that is a reasonable way to spend a morning is up to you, but if you are the sort of person who has read about Texas barbecue and wants to know what the fuss is, this is where the fuss is.
The brisket is the reason. It is smoked overnight over post oak and comes out with a black bark and a pink smoke ring, and it is genuinely different from what most people have eaten before. Order it by the pound with a side of pork ribs and the sausage, take white bread and pickles from the counter, and eat at the long tables outside. The queue itself is oddly sociable; people bring chairs and coolers and make friends.
It is in East Austin, ten minutes from West Campus by car. Two practical tips. Weekdays are shorter than weekends. And you can pre-order whole briskets online for pickup, which skips the line entirely if you are feeding a group at the house. Bring folding chairs and a hat.
