Franklin Barbecue is a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

restaurant located in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, founded in 2009 by Aaron Franklin. The restaurant has attracted a national following.

History

In 2009, Aaron Franklin launched the restaurant in a trailer. The restaurant has sold out of brisket every day since its establishment. Franklin Barbecue moved to a brick and mortar location in 2011. The building was painted in the same color scheme as the original trailer Franklin started in. The restaurant appeared on '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' in September 2012. In July 2014, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

visited the restaurant and bought lunch for those in line behind him. The restaurant is prominently featured in a scene from the 2014

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

film ''

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

'', with speaking cameos by owner Aaron Franklin and general manager Benji Jacob.

Fire and reopening

In the early morning of August 26, 2017, a fire broke out in the smoke house section of the Austin eatery, heavily damaging portions of the outer building. The main restaurant area suffered only smoke damage. The restaurant would close for three months before returning as a smaller operation in November 2017. By March of 2018, the smokehouse had been redesigned and rebuilt.

Food

Franklin Barbecue has been credited with leading the new-traditionalist barbecue movement. Their menu consists of pulled pork, pork ribs, sausages, turkey and brisket. For his Texas style brisket, Franklin uses post oak wood and Meyer Angus beef which is seasoned with salt and pepper.

Awards and honors

In Bon Appetit's July 2011 issue, editor

Andrew Knowlton Andrew Knowlton was the Restaurant Editor at ''Bon Appétit'' magazine, where he worked for 18 years, starting in 2000. He has also been the host of several cooking competition shows, including ''The Final Table''. Early life Knowlton was born in ...

called Franklin Barbecue "the best BBQ in the country." In May 2015, Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin was awarded a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for Best Chef: Southwest. He is the first chef who specializes in barbecue to be nominated, or receive, the award. In 2013, Franklin Barbecue was ranked first in Texas Monthly's "The 50 Best BBQ Joints" and was featured on the list again in 2017.

Notable patrons

Franklin Barbecue has attracted a number of famous visitors that includes

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

David Chang David Chang (Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaur ...

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...

, and

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

''BBQ with Franklin''

In 2013, Austin

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

station

KLRU KLRU (channel 18), branded on-air as Austin PBS, is a PBS member television station in Austin, Texas, United States, owned by the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. In 2022, KLRU moved into its "Austin Media Center" studios loc ...

worked with Aaron Franklin to produce a web series, ''BBQ with Franklin'', on barbecue. This show appears on the

Create TV Create is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast public television network broadcast on digital subchannels of PBS member stations. The network broadcasts how-to, do it yourself, DIY and other lifestyle-oriented instruction ...

network which is part of the PBS family.

Web Episodes

TV Episodes

References

External links

*{{official website, https://franklinbarbecue.com/ Culture of Austin, Texas Barbecue restaurants in the United States 2009 establishments in Texas