Franklin's Barbecue

When I was a little girl, my Grandma McCray told me there wouldn't be food in heaven because our perfected bodies wouldn't need it to sustain life.  At the time, I thought that was a strange idea.  Now as an adult, I think it's downright ludicrous.  What did she mean, there wouldn't be food in heaven?!?  It's preposterous!

Perfected or not, I think there will most definitely be food in heaven, and one of those foods will be barbecue from Franklin's.  Let me tell you about it . . .

Well, first!  Let me tell you about meat!  I don't love meat; at least, that's what I thought for a long time.  I'd eat it once in a while, but with the exception of Thanksgiving Turkey (especially the one in 1995), it had never been my favorite source of protein.  In fact, I consider myself a flexitarian.  I just don't (or didn't) understand how people love bacon and ribs and wings and steak, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

Three things changed my mind:

1. A particularly scrumptious filet mignon I shared with my mother at Fogo de Chao about six years ago.
2. Beef Toban Yaki at Nobu
3. Pulled pork at Franklin's Barbecue.  (Well, it's Franklin Barbecue, if you want me to be specific.)

So Franklin's.  Aaron Franklin and his staff barbecue brisket, ribs, pork, and turkey all morning, open up shop at 11:00, and sell out by about 2:00 every day.  People—including me—form a line before the establishment even opens its doors!  Beginning around 8:00 am, people arrive and wait for hours to buy that luscious meat, barbecued to perfection.  It's the best barbecue in Texas, and Bon Appetit Magazine even said it was the best in the country.  Think they're overselling it?  Think it's a fad or a gimmick or something Austinites like to brag about?  Think again.  It's the most delicious, most perfect meat I've ever tasted, and remember, I don't love meat!  But when I walked out of Franklin's today carrying four pounds of meat in a greasy brown bag, you better believe I felt like I was carrying four pounds of pure gold.

No, my Grandma McCray was way off when she said there would be no food in heaven.  I'm certain that God himself will ask Aaron Franklin to make him a good brisket when he arrives.


Thing I'm thankful for: Lunches with J