H&M: Austin, TX

Here is the thing about Austin, Texas: It is rad
One thing that is really rad about Austin: The food trailers.

This one was called "3 Little Pigs"

This is what we ate:

Matt: Cracklin' Meatloaf wrapped in bacon with
cheese grits and collard greens

Hillary: Pulled Pork Sandwich with chipotle potato salad

So good. I recommend everyone wraps their meatloaf in bacon.

Something else about Austin: It is the "Live Music Capital of the World"

And although there was at least two bands playing on every block on 6th St all we could hear from the road was the sound of motorcycle engines revving.

It was the Riders of Texas Motorcycle Rally that same weekend.

It was insane. Bikes lined 6th st at least three deep on both sides.

There were so many people crammed on this one street and the noise was so loud it gave the place a ton of energy.

Our second day, we woke up "early" and headed toward Round Rock, Tx to get one of the famous "Round Rock Donuts" They do have normal sized donuts but we prefer the "largest donut in the world"

I thought for sure a donut this big couldn't be very good. I was wrong. It was very good.

So back in Austin we had to check out Stubb's BBQ.

We wanted to see a show there and low and behold Matt and Kim were playing

I can totally listen to their music long enough to say that I got to see a show at Stubb's

Only problem (and I totally should have known): tickets were sold out

so, alas, no show at Stubb's but we did have one other historic thing on our agenda that may require as much standing in line as all those 14-year olds who's parents bought out the Matt and Kim show.

But this will be worth it: Franklin Barbecue

On the top of everyones "To do in Austin" list and on the cover of "Edible Austin" magazine, we knew that if we were going to try some real Southern BBQ it had to be this.

So we waited.

Woke up early-ish the next day. Didn't eat breakfast. We just found the place, parked the car in the next city over and got in line.

We were in line at 10:50 AM behind a group of frat boys with a cooler full of beer

We knew what we were getting ourselves into.

As the sign says, they sell out every day. Its usually within 2 hours of opening.

Waiting in line isn't an option. So people just do what they can to make it less of a chore.

Their menu is pretty simple. It echos back to the days when they started serving food out of their trailer.

Aaron Franklin is passionate about barbecue.

He doesn't just cook the meat and walk off.

He is at the counter cutting it and serving it.

We've never really had barbecue like this so when it was our turn to order (which, by the way was about noon) we were still a little unsure of what or how much to get.

So Mr Franklin just put together a nice pile of food to sample.