Name: Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que
Date: 6/11/2012
Location: 1530 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Order: 2 Meat Plate with Brisket (moist) and Jalapeno & Cheddar Sausage. Sides: Fried Okra and Corn.
Veggie Plate: Potato Salad, Green Beans, Corn, and Mac & Cheese. (link to website)
Bill: $40
Rudy: Mrs. Rudy and I had been trying to eat better recently, so that excluded being able to eat barbecue for a while. Well Monday we decided enough with that crap, it was time to try a new place, and we found ourselves at Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que. It is located near Zilker Park and has a great patio area. Even though it was a hot night, they had plenty of fans and misters on to keep it cool. It seemed like a great place to take a group and sit around just eating good barbecue and drinking cold beer. Uncle Billy’s brews their own beer (I had the Agave Wheat, which was great) and has a huge selection of fun summer drinks. One even had brisket infused vodka.
Monk: Wait, what? Brisket infused vodka? Go on…
Rudy: I didn’t try it. I kept thinking about the Jim Gaffigan joke about Fruit Cake. Fruit: good. Cake: good. Fruit Cake: nasty crap.
Speedy: Yeah, but it is brisket infused vodka.
Rudy: I know, maybe next time. Speaking of brisket… This is the standard for Texas barbecue, and what most of these places will be measured by. Uncle Billy’s left a little to be desired. I got the moist, but I found theirs to be too fatty and lacking on flavor. The meat did not hold up by itself and needed sauce to give it flavor.
Speedy: So then, did they have sauces that were able to elevate the brisket?
Rudy: That was the problem, none of the sauces were any good. The original was inedible. I don’t know what the problem was, but it almost tasted as if the sauce had gone bad; it tasted rancid. Their Texas Peppercorn sauce was too sweet. And their third option was a Carolina Style, which was just a mustard based sauce. All in all, the sauces weren’t able to help the brisket.
Speedy: THEY CALLED A MUSTARD BASED SAUCE CAROLINA STYLE? WTF? WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?
Monk: Easy there, big guy…so Rudy, it doesn’t sound like this was a great place for barbecue…
Rudy: If you based it just on the brisket, correct. But I also got the sausage. It was fantastic. I got the jalapeno and cheddar sausage. The jalapeno adds flavor and gives off some heat, but the cheese is creamy and cools it. My only complaint was that the skin was a bit tough, but overall the sausage was fantastic and the best part of the meal.
Speedy: So far you’ve talked about what you ate, but haven’t mentioned what Mrs. Rudy had. Don’t tell me it was because she had a salad.
Rudy: Not exactly… She, uh, she had a veggie plate.
Monk: Mrs. Monk approves!
Speedy: I don’t think your wives understand the purpose of a blog about barbecue. Because they are missing the whole barbecue portion to their meals.
Rudy: I know, but at least this allowed us to try different sides and give a full review of them. The corn, potato salad, and mac & cheese were fantastic. The fried okra came with habanero ranch dressing for dipping. If one were want to get a meal of only veggies, they could here.
Speedy: Yeah, but then one would also have to turn in his testicles.
Rudy: While the brisket was not anything to write home about, the sausage was very good. They also had other barbeque options on the menu, like pulled pork, to choose from. I think the patio and drink selections would bring me back again. One item on the menu that intrigued me was a Breuben sandwich. It was a Reuben sandwich with brisket as the meat. I think Uncle Billy’s is a great place to go with friends and try their house beers and summer drinks. I will definitely go again, but if I’m looking for great barbecue, it won’t be my first option.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs
