Breakfast tacos, Tex-Mex, and barbecue. The three points of the foodie Texas Trinity. Arguably the tip of this triangle of tasty treats, barbecue fandom goes beyond intense. Tell somebody you prefer Rudy’s over Franklin’s and prepare for battle.

But barbecue doesn’t stop with Central Texas. The Lone Star State is flush with some of the finest pitmasters in the world, 31 of whom will be attending the 10th Annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival on Nov. 3, 2019, at the Long Center.

Six local masters of meat will be representing Austin (more than any other major city). In true hyperlocal fashion, here’s our guide to each and every one of them. Though they won’t be offering their full menus at the event, you can build up your appetite with this review of their smoking hot strengths.

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Getting out of my Uber in front of the Long Center last Sunday and seeing the crowds gathering to eat some of the best barbecue in Texas gave me a slight feeling of overwhelm. The 8th annual Texas Monthly BBQ Fest was the biggest one yet, with over 4,000 meat lovers in attendance.

Thirty BBQ joints from around the state–all featured in Texas Monthly’s latest list of the top 50 BBQ joints in Texas–were offering samples of their meat. The prospect of having all-you-can-eat brisket, ribs, and sausage from the best pitmasters was both exciting and intimidating. Especially when I realized I only had four hours to try them all! [Read more…]

Texas Monthly invited 27 BBQ purveyors to participate in the 7th annual TMBBQ Fest at the Long Center on Oct. 30, 2016. Austin pitmasters represented our city well, claiming five of the coveted spots at the festival and sharing the stage with others from among the top 50 pitmasters in Texas.

The pitmasters, crews and volunteers brought in their smokers early to set up for the meat-tasting extravaganza of the year. A hungry horde of roughly 3,500 eaters put on their game faces and lined up for grub. Some families planned their tasting strategy ahead of time, employing a divide and conquer strategy. Others meandered about, going where the day and their noses led them.

The five Austin participants included Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue, Freedmen’s, Stiles Switch and Lambert’s. Here’s what you missed. [Read more…]