You’ve heard about Franklin Barbecue. Your neighbor has heard about Franklin Barbecue. Your aunt’s cousin’s best friend who lives in Wisconsin has heard about Franklin Barbecue. Aaron Franklin has built a name for himself by making some of the best brisket in Texas (and possibly the world). You can get brisket that’s almost as good at a few other places in town, but what sets Franklin apart is how consistent they are—there’s never an off day.

While everyone in town is competing for the coveted Brisket Belt™, at Leroy and Lewis they’re doing things a little differently. That means smoked beef cheeks, barbacoa, and pork sausage with citra hops, and sides like kimchi and pork hash. While barbecue trailers are generally not the most vegan-friendly spots out there, here you can get cauliflower burnt ends—a tasty play on their popular brisket counterpart. OK, and if you really just want some brisket, you can get it on the weekends here.

Valentina’s is the ultimate in Tex-Mex, combining expertly smoked barbecue with housemade tortillas, salsas, guac, and queso. Here you can get meats by the pound, or order from the “Tex” or the “Mex” sides of the menu, for sandwiches and tacos, respectively. The smoked meats are great on their own here, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice to leave without trying a smoked brisket or carnitas taco. The breakfast tacos with brisket are also some of the best in town.

When people visit from out of town in the middle of the summer, we take them to Stiles Switch, because they offer a few things: beer on tap, an indoor air conditioned space (there’s also a patio), and most importantly, their always consistently solid traditional Central Texas barbecue. Expect fantastic brisket, gigantic peppery beef ribs, chunky pulled pork, and sausages with a good snap. We’re also big fans of their smoked chicken wings and their rich but airy corn casserole.

Interstellar BBQ is a Central Texas-style barbecue joint that decided getting an A in “the classics” wasn’t enough and made up its own extra credit assignments. Brisket, pork ribs, and turkey here hold their own with all the big names in the Austin barbecue scene, but it’s the daily specials that keep us coming back. It’s where you’ll find things like Frito Pie sausages, smoked duck breasts, and gamey pulled lamb shoulder served in a warm and fluffy flour tortilla.

KG BBQ adds an Egyptian twist to classic Central Texas-style barbecue. That means dishes like sticky pomegranate glazed pork ribs, smoked chicken kabob shawarmas with sumac-pickled onions, and tender, savory lamb chops with za’atar. The brisket, on the other hand, is about as classic as it gets—seasoned with salt and pepper, and slow-smoked over oak—but it gets a distinctive KG BBQ treatment after it takes a plunge into tangy pomegranate barbecue sauce.

The barbecue (and sides) at Distant Relatives aims to highlight the flavors and textures of the African diaspora in America. That means strong spice profiles, classic preservation methods, and a nose-to-tail approach that puts everything from spare ribs to hog jowl side-by-side on the menu. It’s creative and so consistently great. Some of the sides and toppings change seasonally, but you can generally expect to see some menu staples like pulled pork sandwiches and brisket.

Micklethwait is where we usually take out-of-town guests that want a best-in-class barbecue experience without a multi-hour line. The meats and seasonings here generally lean classic, but the sides are where things really get fun. Coleslaw gets an upgrade in the form of lemon poppy slaw, and the citrus beet salad tastes like something we’d get at a restaurant with real chairs and tablecloths. They even bake their own bread, and the brisket and sausage are not to be missed.

The brisket at Moreno BBQ holds its own with the best in town—seasoned minimally with just salt and pepper—and the jalapeño cheddar sausage is some of the snappiest we’ve had. But the real reason you should be here is for the extensive menu of combinations, from barbacoa and pork belly tacos to brisket gouda mac and cheese and pulled pork nachos. Show up with a group and leave all the picky eaters happy. They also make a great smoked cheeseburger.

You can (and should) show up to Rollin Smoke and get the classic staples—like brisket, ribs, and sausage. But it’s when they start to experiment a little and introduce some low-and-slow smoke flavor into otherwise familiar dishes that we’ll consider making a detour, especially for the smoked carne guisada burritos and al pastor tacos. And the best part is that while most barbecue joints in Austin close up long before dinner, Rollin Smoke is open late.