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| - My perspective: I've spent a good deal of time in Austin, Texas, which is the center of the BBQ loop trail that goes through tiny towns like Taylor, Lockhart, and Fredericksburg. The places in these towns are like institutions, with heritage and loyalty passed down from one generation to the next. People are on a first-name basis with the cutter and pit man.
My all-time favorite: Franklin BBQ, which was recently named best bbq in America by Bon Appetit. It's also gotten rave reviews from the NY Times, Food and Wine, and the only perfect rating from fcg-bbq, a bbq joint blog with its nose seriously to the ground, and whose opinion I take to be more authoritative than any national magazine.
I know BBQ is more than what Texans call 'brisket', but when done right, brisket is so good that it's hard to see what else one could want from BBQ.
If you're looking for what Texans call ' wet brisket' or 'moist brisket', here's how to get the most out of Black Dog: go from Sunday to Thursday when the pit man Jay is working. The wet brisket ( or what people around here call 'burnt ends') is best in the evenings.
Order a burnt ends platter, and ASK YOUR SERVER TO NOT TRIM ANY FAT. Tell him or her that you want about a 50-50 meat/fat ratio with plenty of the fat webbing between the little nodules of meat.
Ask for sauce only on the side. Ideally, you won't be needing any.
Make sure to ask for white onions, because they default to red. And pickles. And try to get some white bread.
If it's at all dry or tough, talk to your server and send it back.
Jay will know what you're looking for. He has been to Texas. He will speak your language.
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