Restaurant Review - Louis Mueller Barbecue

Stepping outside of your own kitchen, you lose control of how your food is prepared.  Most restaurants will give you a brief description of the dishes on their menu... but few will tell you what is actually in them.  Do enough digging online, and you can find out how much MSG you choked down at a national chain... and how many more ingredients there were in their crispy french fries (aside from potatoes, oil and salt).  Caveat emptor.

Having been in Austin for PaleoFX12, we decided to stop at Louis Mueller Barbecue on our way out of town.  Louis' is a mere 45 minutes northeast of downtown Austin, we took "the long way" home.  It was well worth the side trip.


Driving east on Highway 79, you'll find Louis Mueller's in the middle of Taylor, TX.  It's in an unassuming brick building, but easy enough to find.  It's the restaurant with the packed parking lot and the big American flag flying out front.  Walk on in and get in line.  After you pass the large urns of ice tea and other beverages, you'll come to the menu taped to the wall.  As you can see below, it doesn't look like they've changed much over the years.

I'll rattle off the list of ingredients in the brisket we ate: grass-fed beef, salt, pepper.  The pork ribs?  Seasoned with salt and pepper.  The sausage?  Beef, tallow, and seasoning.  Oh, wait... what?  Yes, I said grass-fed brisket.  Behind the register was another sign posted advertising grass-fed brisket for $14.99/lb "while it lasts."  As this was only $2 more per pound than the regular menu item... and we wanted nothing to do with any of their sides (all dressed with Kraft mayo)... my wife and I had them load up our tray.

To be sure, we got odd looks from a couple of the other patrons walking past our table.  Their peckish portions of meat were surrounded by bread, beans and other filler.  That's fine for them, but we didn't go to Louis Mueller's for the side dishes.  I mean, really... who goes to any barbecue joint because a friend tells them, "You've GOT to try their coleslaw!"  It's about meat.  All of that scary red meat that is supposed to kill me.

One other thing to note, before slicing your brisket, they will ask you if you want "lean or moist."  Moist is their nice way of saying "fatty."  Get the moist... especially if you opt for the grass-fed.  And, if you're like me, grab a few extra napkins (because I found a fork to be unnecessary).

Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Mueller Barbecue... is Primal Texas approved.