Austin BBQ

closed.
come back, doug.

After hearing great reviews from others, my husband and I were certainly disappointed. We went on a Friday night for dinner, and it was dead. We were the only people there. It’s also nice that they have an open kitchen, but I wasn’t impressed…
We got the sandwiches with brisket & pulled pork, and bbq pit beans & white chicken chili on the side. The meat was cold… worse it was served on white Wonderbread. I guess we were expecting something more along the lines of Texas toast, like in a REAL BBQ place? The beans were bland. We were considering giving the Mac & Cheese a try since bbq places usually serve it with a kick or homemade… but the workers basically said it wasn’t worth it since it was basically Kraft mac & cheese. Wow.
The most hilarious thing was the cornbread. We ask for the one w/​o jalapeños, and received a mini cupcake. It was laughable, and also the only hot thing on our plates. The worst part was that it wasn’t worth the money. At all. I can’t believe they charge such a high price for sub-​par food.
The service was meh; the people were decently nice but practically ignored us (which was weird since we were the only ones there). They didn’t notice when we left either.
Bottom line: Will not be going back.

So I have been here countless times… I cannot recommend it overall. At first the food was good… but that has degraded over time. My most recent visit included cold brisket and the same bad attitude their employees have had since day one.
THIS IS NOT YOU MOTHER’S KITCHEN is proudly proclaimed all over the joint… and it perfectly sums up their customer service attitude. The owner constantly seems like he is hiding from me and other customers — I have seen him act friendly to other customers — apparently since we aren’t friends I don’t deserve a smile. When I first came to Austin BBQ I lingered in the door on my way out hoping that someone would at least say «thank you for coming» they never did and no one ever has since. When I pay a good price for my meal I expect to be treated well and for an employee or owner to ask me how my meal was (and maybe actually take a tray when the restaurant is empty besides me). Now that there is a new BBQ place in town with far better food and way better service — I cannot see why I would go here ever again.
Bye bye Austin…

When Austin first went in it was the best BBQ in Wheaton, which was a dry desert of smoked BBQ options. People flocked here, myself included, for a taste and smell of great wood smoked meats.
Eventually the appeal wore off. The first time I went I was pleased with the food but felt the service was lacking to be a great place to eat. I gave them a pass because at that point they had no sign and were rather new.
Since then I have been many times and the food consistency has been spotty. I have noticed that the menu is confusing and cluttered. The sides are sometimes very good but more often they should focus on what they do well, as others have said. The brisket is often dry, it doesn’t have to be if my experience in Nashville, Memphis, Kansas City and Texas tells me anything.
On top of this, which would net it a 3 – 4 star review in my book is a businesses greatest sin. Give me bad food but amazing service and I will give you many chances. Obviously both are needed but service covers a multitude of sins. Here there is none. On many occasions I have felt like I was intruding. The owners appear dour and taxed by their station as operators. The poorly made signs saying that this is not my mothers kitchen, clean up after yourself are rude and misguided.
They are correct about one thing, this is not my mothers kitchen. I come here, pay $ 20 – 50 dollars for me and my family to eat and I expect to be treated like a customer.

I like this place.
I’m not a BBQ expert but I’m more than willing to learn or I guess eat my way to become an expert.
The pork and brisket is really good, especially for the area. I wouldn’t say it’s the best I have (Smoque) but very solid. The only downside to their sandwiches, which people have mentioned — it’s just on regular white bread as tradition in Texas. (Silly Texans)
I would say if you like BBQ this place is worth a visit, it wont break the bank — the prices (I guess) are reasonable for BBQ.
Try it out!

I finally got out to Austin BBQ.
First off I was amazed on a Sat night at 7:00 their was only one other table occupied, it did not make me feel real confident that I made a good choice. That being said while we where eating there was a slow but steady trickle of people coming in.
We tried the pulled pork & the brisket, both where good, I do wish they where served on a nicer bun, I know the white bread is traditional and all but it defiantly did not add to the food experience.
The sides, both of our mac & cheese was way dried out, I can only assume it was made 2 days ago and zapped in the microwave before serving. If that was my kitchen it would have been tossed. The brisket chili on the other hand was excellent, I could make a meal on that stuff for sure.
The staff was a bit indifferent, not super friendly, but they did not cuss at us either so no harm done however a smile or thank you would have been nice.
The place itself was a bit on the dirty side, some cleaning was defiantly in order.
Overall an OK experience.

We wandered in at an off time… about 2:30pm. It was kind of an odd time, but we were hungry and the husband wanted BBQ. Off to Austin BBQ we went.
We were greeted so warmly! Christine/​Christina (I’m sorry… I was overwhelmed & I forgot!) came around from behind the counter and shook our hands and broke down the whole menu for us. Before I knew it, the owner (an honorary Texan) was slicing up a beautiful beef brisket and giving us samples, followed by samples of pulled pork and even tri-​tip! We were eating it all while looking at the menu.
After taking a breath, we went with a four meat combo: pulled pork, beef brisket, tri-​tip and chicken. We had the onion rings and beans with a cornbread muffin. Here’s the rundown…
The pulled pork was nice. Burnt ends mixed in and very little fat. Tasty, but not dry.
Beef brisket turned out to be my husband’s favorite. I noticed the beautiful smoke ring when we were munching on the samples. It was a great piece of meat with excellent seasonings!
The tri-​tip was my favorite. This has a little more fat for flavor, but it is not fatty by any means. Juicy and delicious come to mind when eating this meat.
Finally, the chicken. Although highly suggested, it was our least favorite. No real reason other than everything else was just more exciting.
The onion rings are beer battered and really good. Ate a few more than I should have. ;-)
The beans were not your average baked beans. Loaded with a variety of beans, meats and saucy goodness. You could make a meal on the beans alone.
I ate the cornbread. It had a nice crust and was soft on the center. The honey was nice but not necessary. It was good eating.
The white bread didn’t get eaten. We got full long before the platter was clean. Anyhow, after talking with the owner, we learned that there’s a method to the madness. We should basically smoosh the bread around the meat to keep our fingers from getting greasy. Well, now we know for next time. And there will be a next time!
So glad that we tried this 15 month old restaurant. Still a newbie on the block, but I hope they stay around for a long time to come.

While visiting Andrew T we decided to have some barbecue. Andrew recommended we go to Austin Barbecue, since he knows we like the barbecue in the Austin, TX area. He had been there before and found it to be pretty good with some reservations regarding the sides.
The three of us had a brisket sandwich, a sausage platter and a pork sandwich. To start with, Austin claims to import authentic Texas sausage from Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Anyplace that does this deserves your attention. We have had so much bad sausage in the Midwest so this was a treat. We split the platter, one link of jalapeño and one link of regular. I highly recommend the jalapeño. It is not extremely spicy, but has great jalapeño and black pepper flavor. The casing has a good snap, the sausage is loose and juicy inside. Chicagoan’s can get a hint of what it is like in Texas.
The brisket sandwich was also good. The meat was tender and not dried out. It had good smoke and great beefy flavor. Again, in the St Louis area most of the brisket is pitiful, so while Austin’s is not the best I ever had, it is pretty good for the Midwest. The pork was OK, but I am not a big fan of smoked pulled pork.
Sides are not what you would go here for, in general. The fried okra was good, standard stuff. The beans are also pretty good, being a mix of butter beans and baked beans with bell peppers and a little too much onion. They really need to use jalapenos in place of the bell pepper. The coleslaw is inedible for me due to the use of tons of raw red onion. I ate one or two bites and left it. The fried pickle spears were good.
I would go here for brisket and jalapeño sausage.

Considering there isn’t much BBQ in the area, this place was definitely a breath of fresh air. However, we got there very early and they still managed to sell out of tons of stuff by 5pm, which is unacceptable for a company thats been open more than 6mos. I got a 2 meat dinner and they got the second meat wrong, I asked for jalepeno corn bread and they gave me regular, and my boyfriend didn’t get any (he’d asked for jalepeno, too).
they are growing too fast for their own good. I’d be willing to go there again after some time for them to get their stuff together more

Yes, ma’am, it’s the real deal, right in the middle of the suburbs. Don’t let the location fool you — they have real BBQ and all the sides. The ribs were smoked pink through, tender, meaty and on the dry side with a crunchy spice rub crust. This is correct for this style, but people who come expecting gooey, sticky sweet BBQ may be surprised.
The food was ready freakishly fast, which worried me – how fresh can the food be if it’s ready to go like that? The pit beans were excellent — three kinds of beans swimming in pulled pork and tangy sauce. Potato salad came in plain and bleu cheese flavors. The plain was ok, needed a tad of something to kick it up, maybe vinegar. We also tried a jalapeño sausage imported from Kreuz barbecue in Texas. The skin popped open on hot, juicy, tender, spicy filling. Sinfully good. Corn bread was a small cold muffin — nothing to write home about. W-​a-​y too many raw onions in the coleslaw. And they desperately need a busboy to wipe tables and empty the trash (hint, hint). But overall the place is a welcome change from all the upscale fastfood chains in the suburbs. I’m looking forward to another visit.

I went here for lunch and was the only person in the place-​a combination of going early and that this part of town was not exactly bustling. The inside is a bit odd-​not a typical BBQ joint atmosphere and the overwhelming smoke odor should be vented more.
With that said, I enjoyed the food. I had the two meat platter and enjoyed the jalapeño-​cheddar sausage, which was a little «creeper» with the spice, which was just right. The sides were very good and as I’m particular about food temperature (I like foods either right out of the fridge cold or piping hot), the blue cheese coleslaw and pit beans were hits.
The hush puppy was brought out to me fresh and was good.
The brisket was a little dry, but the side sauce helped that.
I’ll go back for dinner as ribs are only served after 5 and will try those and some different sides as the two I had were very good.
A place to try if you’re in the area, but not a destination by itself.

There is an astounding lack of BBQ places in the western ‘burbs, so when the Groupon came up I jumped all over it.
It’s not really a sit-​down restaurant kind of place, more someplace where you grab your order at the window after they call out your name and it’s ready.
I had the ribs with fried okra and pit beans, while my wife had a pulled pork sandwich with mac n’ cheese as the side. First thing’s first — get the ribs. I can’t speak to the authenticity of Texas ribs, but I know enough to say that these were goooood. Deep, smoky, beef flavor, a great dry rub, and tangy sauce for an accompaniment. Maybe I need more rib experience (since I used to think Barney’s ribs were the bomb) but this was on another level.
The fried okra was quite good… breaded, not slimy. The pit beans had the same smoky goodness that the ribs had. More smoke! More! The sides I picked were perfect. The cornbread was, umm, northern cornbread (they used sugar!) but that’s OK, because I like my cornbread northern-​style.
My wife’s pulled pork was equally smoky, and the BBQ sauce went well with it too. Her mac n’ cheese was dry, though it was made up for by the hush puppy, which was well seasoned and fried just right.
Overall, I’m really happy I gave this place a try. I’ll have to check out other things on the menu too, but I was very impressed by my first visit.

I prefer a sweeter sauce when it comes to ribs. The Smoked style of ribs is average tasting and lacks that sweet sensation I prefer.
I wouldn’t bother coming here if you plan on impressing a date, as the décor reminds me of my friend’s basement when I was a kid.
I prefer other rib places in the city such as Lillie’s Q, Smoke Daddy, Q, and Twin Anchors over Austin BBQ.
What’s up with the soda fountain machine not having Diet Coke but instead serving Diet Coke with no caffeine. Who drinks that?
I would place a carry out order rather than dining in if you somehow get stuck coming here.

Okay, I must admit that like probably 98% of the other people in line at this no-​frills place, I heard about it through the Chicago Magazine «Best Of» issue. (Hipster Cats, feel free to scoff… now.) I probably wouldn’t have made a huge trek to try it (Gemato’s in Naperville is always good to me), but it’s nearby, so the bf and I went for dinner on Saturday to partake of some smoky meaty goodness for dinner.
My advice:
— Go early. There was a line to the door when we got there around 6ish?
— Plan on taking it to go. There are maybe a dozen tables (though they could fit in many more…), and again, line to the door.
— Have a backup plan as to what you want to order. By the time we got to the front of the line we saw that they were out of about 3 things on the menu that was posted on the wall. Thus I went with baby back ribs, though I would have chosen pulled pork.
The verdict: Pretty good. This is Texas barbeque, thus smoked with the sauce on the side. If you’re used to your ribs slathered in Sweet Baby Rays, you may think these are dry, but they’re just different.
My boyfriend and I have both lived in TX, so all this stuff was familiar. He got brisket, which is the lynchpin of TX BBQ, but we both thought it was just a tiny bit dry (a serious accusation, and brisket’s Achilles heel as a meat, but I must be fair to my fellow Unilocalers and point it out). Austin’s sauce (ladled out of a giant crock pot into little cups) was tasty and smoky, though.
You get two sides if you order the «dinner»: I chose mac and cheese (which was some not-​too-​cheesy pasta under a toasty breadcrumb crust) and some gloriously brown onion rings (seriously, GET THESE!!)
My boyfriend got a side of the Kreuz jalapeño-​cheddar sausage; I would have expected this to be a chunk of sausage, but it was a whole twisted link, probably about 6 inches long if it was unlooped. Very tasty and VERY spicy — I had one bite and the inside of my lips tingled for the rest of the meal.
Each meal also came with a minuscule cornbread muffin and a couple of slices of plain white bread (welcome to Texas, folks).
They serve Blue Bell Ice Cream and Dublin Dr Pepper (made with cane sugar), though you have to ask or you’ll get a can of the regular variety, and the former is a hefty $ 2.25.
Overall, if you’re looking for authentic Texas BBQ in the Chicago burbs, Austin is smokin’! Go early and be hungry.

As soon as my brother and sis in law move out of Wheaton this tasty BBQ joint opens up. Just my luck.
I love pretty much anything dipped in BBQ sauce, but Austin BBQ does everything Texas BBQ style, which means its not cooked or served *in* the sauce. Everything comes with some really good BBQ sauce on the side, my sis in law likes the white BBQ sauce (I haven’t tried it). The meat is tender and juicy and delicious without a drop of sauce. Everything is served on a small jelly roll type pan lined with paper. Meat piled on a piece of white bread, a couple pickle slices, some chopped onion, and a few cheddar cheese cubes, last but not least cornbread or a hush-​puppy. Oh, and your choice of side. I’ve tried, and liked, the pit beans, onion rings, fried pickles (spicy!), and cole slaw.
It’s a counter service place, with plenty of seating. Street parking can be hard to come by in down town Wheaton, but there is a large public garage right across the street from Austin BBQ. It’s free and there’s always a spot available.
Oh, but you will smell like smoke for a few hours after eating a meal here. About 2 and a half hours after our dinner I was told I smelled like a bonfire. Not the worst smell in the world.

No ribs for lunch! That was a big disappointment. I like my bbq and so I was excited to try this place out. I even went online and looked at their menu which didn’t tell me no ribs for lunch.
The signs are kind of confusing as far as ordering goes. There’s a sign above the counter, some signs on the counter telling you things like «no ribs until 5:00» and then there’s a white board to the right of the counter. So even though I looked online, when I saw all the signs I was a bit overwhelmed.
We ordered dinners which is meat with 2 sides. I had the brisket which was nice and tender and not dried out and stringy. For my sides I chose a cup of chicken chili and a jalapeño cornbread muffin. The chicken chili had no flavor and not much chicken. It was mostly beans. The muffin was a mini muffin which felt like it had been refrigerated. It had that clammy moist feeling to it.
Hubby had the tri tip dinner. His meat was great and he had fries and brisket chili for his sides. The fries were nice and crisp with some flavoring and the brisket chili was chocked full of meat with no seasoning.
We also ordered some fried onion rings and fried pickles. The onion rings were great. The pickles were not what I expected. I’ve had fried pickles in the south and they are dill pickles and coin shaped and you get a basket of them. These were spear pickles and I got 3 of them. I didn’t find them flavorful at all.
On to dessert. We had a brownie and a cookie. I should say we are still waiting for them to warm up as they were refrigerated and hard as a rock. We had a
gift certificate and had to order $ 35 worth of food, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten so much.
So if you just order the meat, you won’t be disappointed. Its the sides that need some help!

Took my bf there last week on a romantic dinner (romantic to him is anything that includes meat as the main attraction-​BBQ meat is bonus points). We both got the 3 meat dinner for $ 15.95. –Brisket –¼ slab pork ribs (he got ¼ beef) –Tri-​cut. I got Mac n cheese and fried pickles (Im a southern gal) and he got the mac with bleu cheese
e thought the price was decent for what we got, the décor could definitely use a little work. Talked to the owner a bit before leaving and he seemed like a great guy. –The ribs were a let-​down, almost no meat, the meat they did have only tasted like smoke. –The brisket was good but not great. (I think it is probably great in the chili) –The tri-​cut was STUPENDOUS! As in, melt in our mouths, we would go back just for it, AMAZING.
–The sides were all good, I prefer my frickled pickles sliced thin, not in wedges. We will def go back but we’

Having heard significant buzz regarding this bbq joint, I went to check it out. The food was tasty, and it seems like this place will last considering the lack of authentic bbq options in the western suburbs. I wanted to try the St. Louis ribs, but this past Monday around 6pm, they were sold out. You might want to give them a call to ask what meats are available if you have your heart set on a particular kind. We snatched the last order of tri tip, and those after us had to wait about 45 minutes before the next batch would be ready. The meats all possessed a nice smoke ring and were fresh, moist, and seasoned well. It’s nice to see the owner so passionate about bbq. My breakdown of the food we ordered:
Great:
–tri tip and the tangy sauce served alongside
–baby back ribs (Austin BBQ uses a dry rub; their ribs aren’t served with sauce)
–brisket chili

Good:
–hushpuppies/​jalapeño hushpuppies
–white chicken chili
–brisket
–beef ribs
–fries (although frozen, at least they’re fried well and served hot)

Didn’t Care For:
–white bread slices served with the tri tip and brisket
–cornbread/​jalapeño cornbread
–smoked white chicken and the strange white sauce served alongside (kinda mushy/​wet texture)
Austin BBQ has only been open a couple months so you must be patient for your food. I really enjoy the side dishes when I eat bbq so I was very disappointed with the corn bread and mac and cheese. I’m hoping the owner plans to rework these sides because Austin BBQ is off to a really great start!

Deep in the heart of Wheaton … that is where you will find this Texas BBQ. Well worth the drive from the north side of Chicago. I fell in love with this place when we walked in and saw the big red «Oyler», which is the smoker in which some delightful BBQ is prepared.
The owners are friendly and very helpful. They invited us in back to get a good look at the Oyler. Chris even got down on floor level to get a pic of the burning oak logs which of course is what creates the wonderful aroma of smoking meat that permeates the air.
Christopher had the brisket sandwich with a side of blue cheese potato salad. They provide chopped onions, cheese chunks and pickles on the side as well as BBQ sauce. He enjoyed it a lot, and is up for a repeat visit in the near future.
I had the two meat combo with pulled pork and tri-​tip. My sides were mac n’ cheese and their pit beans. The meat was so good and flavorful and yes, it was tender. The mac was good and the beans were amazing. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich to take home to mom and she loved it too, especially the pit beans.
We also tried the blueberry crumble, which they actually prepare in the smoker. It was good, but a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side would have made it perfect. They said they will soon be carrying Bluebell Ice Cream, so that is something else to look forward to.
Next visit I want to try the clod sandwich (beef shoulder) and the armadillo eggs. What you may ask are armadillo eggs? Well, they are hollowed out jalapenos stuffed with cheese, wrapped in sausage and smoked in the Oyler. I don’t know if I will survive the bliss, but that image will haunt my dreams for a long time to come.
There is a free parking lot right across the street, so it is an easy trip there. My only complaint is that the only diet Coke they have is caffeine free. I opted for root beer which I think goes great with BBQ, so I was happy. Will we be back? Oh yes we will!!!

While out-​and-​about I remembered the good reviews on Unilocal so we decided to stop in for some ribs. They were pretty good. The sauce is more on the spicy side than sweet. We were not hungry but since we were driving right by it and the parking space right IN FRONT was open it was a sign to stop. We would probably stop by again. I still think Famous Dave’s is better but that’s just me.
Friendly staff.