#1 in the nation and now I know why. Went with a friend and our kids yesterday. Got there at 930, the place opens at 11, and there was a line that was already 70 or so deep that ran from the door into the parking lot. Of course we brought rum and cokes, water, and chairs and set up camp. An employee came down the line asking about how much of what we wanted and told us we should be eating around 1 by where we were in line. He also said the ribs would be gone as per his tallys from the others in front of us, they weren't. People around us in line were nice and another employee came up and down the line selling beer, water, and sodas while we waited to get in. Also some ingenious person was renting chairs and umbrellas for 5$ for those who weren't prepared lol.

On to the food. By the time you get inside there is about another 15 min wait. You can either order meat by the lb 17$ for brisket. Or by how many meats you want on a plate. Typical sides were beans, slaw, or potato salad. He had 3 sauces one a vinegar bases sauce, the other a tomato based one, the last a coffee one. The meat is so good there is no need for a sauce but I tried all three. I got 1lb fatty brisket another lb of lean brisket, 2 St. Louis ribs and a link of sausage. Sausage was ho hummm. Ribs were very good some of the best I have had. But Franklins brisket is like meat crack. Perfect bark. Just the right amount of smoke. Smoke ring was right on. And it was so tender you could cut it with their plastic forks. They cut their slices thicker then any other BBQ joint I have been too. I thought for sure it wouldn't be as tender this way....boy was I wrong. Once you start eating the only thing that stops you is your belly saying to your brain stop or else you will puke. Eating this brisket is like having a meatgasam!

In conclusion, the line is insane long as is the wait but once you have eaten this brisket all others will fail in comparison. If you are in the Austin area and have a day to kill ( we went to Barton Springs swimming hole after to cool down) I say do it but plan on getting there 900 or earlier if you want to be at the front of the line under the overhang and mister system. Any later and you better bring a cooler,some chairs and sunblock because you will bake in the sun like we did lol.

Sorry no meat pix we were too busy eating lol.
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Sounds deliciously fantastic.

But I have no interest in camping out in line for 3.5 hours no matter how good the food is. Add to that the possibility that there is a liklihood that they will be out of what I might want to eat, it's easy for me to say "thanks. but no thanks."
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I am the same way or a 15min wait inside the AC at the bar kinda wait guy. But let me just say again best BBQ in the nation and this face and waist has eaten its fair share of BBQ being in Texas and this was to die for. I guess the line was kinda like a tailgate before the big game except you had to move every so often and you didn't eat only drank. Not an every day place but omg so good.
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:-)
Do they deliver? To California?
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Lol. Don't think so but if you call ahead a few days and order at least 5lbs of meats you can prepay and then pick up and take out and avoid the line. However that pre order cue wait could run into the weeks or month so either way you wait. Also you have a 10:00-10:30 window to pick it up or they keep your cash and sell it to the masses waiting in line. Think soup nazi only with BBQ lol. Maybe this is how we will do it next time and just take it for a picnic? We saw plenty of folks doing this while we were in line.
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This sounds delicious. But me, being born and raised in North Carolina, I prefer my homegrown BBQ.

Hey, who doesn't like having their pork pulled? :-)
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While I am sure it's not as good anytime I go to Texas I have to get some BBQ from Rudy's.

http://www.rudysbbq.com/page/home
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I agree with Pete, while it may be the best, there is a portion of that award that goes
towards OVERALL dining experience, and there is no part of that description that I find
tolerable, ESPECIALLY for Brisket, which to me is way down the list of BBQ preferences
since I was not raised up in cattle country. I would rather have a restaurant that is
just good, but no waiting. hell, the BBQ Shop on Madison Ave is top 3 in Memphis, a BBQ
TOWN, and I used to get pi55y when I would go there for my 1 hour lunch and the FOOD
wouldn't come til I had already burned 35 mins of it. It was only about a quarter-mile from
work. It was GOOD stuff, but even 15 mins past ordering is too long for me.
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Best brisket I have ever had, hell I would wait for 8 hrs for a plate
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I have a brisket in my freezer that I want to throw on my smoker but am afraid I will ruin it. Aaron makes it look so easy!
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Cooked it, OWNED IT!!
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