# Franklin Barbecue(Austin)-would you wait in line for five hours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186 "2015-09-06T17:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/41 "2015-12-20T02:31:58Z")
A point in the owner’s favor: he freely gives out his methods and recipes, so anyone who’s not inclined to wait in long lines can make Franklin brisket at home. My younger brother in New York made it for us when I visited last month, and it WAS mighty good. Not worth standing in line all morning, but very good nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/42 "2015-12-20T08:53:58Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I wouldn’t wait 5 hours for the Second Coming. You’ll need to when you get to my age. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/43 "2015-12-20T10:13:38Z")
Just another day at the DMV. Ive waited longer to get concert tix. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/44 "2015-12-20T13:54:27Z")
It doesn’t seem that there’s a six hour line to get food. People start showing up six hours before the place opens to make sure they get food before it runs out- but that’s not the same thing. From what the article says , there’s no reason to think that you couldn’t show up at three pm and get served in 20 minutes- although since it’s barbeque there’s a chance that they are out of food at 3 pm.This is more like people who start lining up hours before the stores open on Black Friday to get the doorbusters before they run out , or the ones who start lining up days in advance to get one of 1000 union apprenticeship applications being handed out, or the people who used to start lining up days in advance for concert tickets or who lined up a day in advance to buy a iPhone 6s ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/45 "2015-12-21T03:46:17Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > From what the article says , there’s no reason to think that you couldn’t show up at three pm and get served in 20 minutes- although since it’s barbeque there’s a chance that they are out of food at 3 pm. “There’s a chance they’ll be out of food if you show up at 3PM?” - LOL…usually it’s sometime before the 11AM official opening when the line is long enough that they go down and tell everyone beyond a certain point they’re out of luck for the day. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/46 "2015-12-21T04:02:14Z")
When I was in college, and there was only the original Steve’s Ice Cream in Somerville, Mass. we used to wait in line about hour to get it. But we were young a foolish. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/47 "2015-12-21T04:26:04Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A point in the owner’s favor: he freely gives out his methods and recipes, so anyone who’s not inclined to wait in long lines can make Franklin brisket at home. > > My younger brother in New York made it for us when I visited last month, and it WAS mighty good. Not worth standing in line all morning, but very good nonetheless. Well, according to his book, Franklin’s using some kind of USDA Prime organic briskets that you can’t just go buy at the local supermarket. So there’s that, and whatever degree of barbecue lore and experience that would make his barbecue particularly good. But I agree; 5 hours is too long to wait. I’d just go somewhere else in the area and spend the other 4.5 hours doing something I wanted to do. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/48 "2015-12-21T04:37:31Z")
In 5 hours, I could buy some meat, marinade, BBQ sauce, charcoal, and fixings. Go home, prepare it, in an hour or so light the grill and start cookin’ . Serve to the family, wrap the leftovers, wash the dishes, kick back and digest. We would all be perfectly happy with this scenario!..I would give some money to a friend or neighbor who wanted to go wait in line and ask them to bring me some back. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/49 "2015-12-21T04:50:33Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > In 5 hours, I could buy some meat, marinade, BBQ sauce, charcoal, and fixings. Go home, prepare it, in an hour or so light the grill and start cookin’ . Serve to the family, wrap the leftovers, wash the dishes, kick back and digest. We would all be perfectly happy with this scenario!..I would give some money to a friend or neighbor who wanted to go wait in line and ask them to bring me some back. You’d be fixing New York State Style Barbecue. Not Central Texas Style. However, next time I’m in Austin, I’ll get my barbecue elsewhere. Our local PBS station runs Aaron [Franklin’s show](http://www.pbs.org/food/shows/bbq-with-franklin/). He seems to know his stuff & has some interesting guests. But the Austin-centered episodes are knee-deep in hipsters. We have some pretty good barbecue in Houston, too. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/50 "2015-12-21T13:21:06Z")
Brief hijack: I enjoy good barbecue from time to time, but it’s not my favorite cuisine, nor do I have a strong opinion about the “right” way to make it. But there are people with near-religious convictions as to what barbecue is supposed to be. And those people regard any other kind of barbecue as a heresy, an abomination. So, even if Franklin’s food is truly fantastic, there are going to be people in North Carolina or Kansas City who’ll rail that Franklin is doing it all wrong, and doesn’t deserve to be called barbecue at all. There are people who’ll go to the mat over whether beef can really be called barbecue. There are others who’ll kill you for adding the wrong ingredients to your sauce. There are still others who’ll explode at the very idea of putting ANY sauce on the meat! I couldn’t care less, myself, but it’s a VERY touchy subject for some. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/51 "2015-12-21T13:31:06Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > In 5 hours, I could buy some meat, marinade, BBQ sauce, charcoal, and fixings. Go home, prepare it, in an hour or so light the grill and start cookin’ . Serve to the family, wrap the leftovers, wash the dishes, kick back and digest. We would all be perfectly happy with this scenario!..I would give some money to a friend or neighbor who wanted to go wait in line and ask them to bring me some back. There is no way you are smoking a brisket in 5 hours. I smoke brisket at home a few times a year and it generally takes about 12 hours. I get up at 7 am to make it. Granted, you don’t have to wait in line for 5 hours for brisket, but comparing what you describe cooking with what they are doing at Franklin’s is like comparing McDonald’s to the Inn at Little Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/52 "2015-12-21T13:46:01Z")
I’ve visited Austin once, and a friend took me to a bbq joint in a strip mall. It was quite good, so I don’t see a need to wait that long for food. The longest I’ll wait for food is about an hour, at a breakfast place south of Seattle. But I can tell you that from those waits I’ve learned that I can’t wait any longer. It’s just too hard on the back. ---
**Author:** ![stosh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/53 "2015-12-22T01:27:37Z")
I would not wait in line for 5 hours for anything, nor would I camp out over night for a movie ticket or a new phone, but to each their own. I won’t buy water either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/54 "2015-12-22T05:02:51Z")
Before I went back to school, I worked at Perkins for a while. People would wait TWO HOURS for a table on the weekends. PERKINS! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/55 "2015-12-22T05:09:47Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > You’ll need to when you get to my age. Ha! I might have stood in long lines for the Cro-nut when it first came out. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/56 "2015-12-22T07:40:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Before I went back to school, I worked at Perkins for a while. People would wait TWO HOURS for a table on the weekends. > > PERKINS! 😕 The couple of times I’ve eaten there it was pretty good (breakfast), but it’s not even worth an hour’s wait. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/57 "2015-12-22T10:47:27Z")
There is sushi bar called Sushi Dai in Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo that is known as sushi Mecca. Lines there are typically 4-5 hours long. The best time (in terms of shortest waiting time) to get a seat is to start queing before they open at 5am. Even then, you’ll have people queing from around 4am and earlier. The day I went I got in line around 10am and told me it would be a 4.5 hour wait. I was prepared and had a plastic lawn chair and a book. With the number of people dropping out throughout the wait, I got in an hour earlier than the estimated time for a nice late lunch. The verdict? The sushi is amazing but not 4-hour-wait amazing. (I don’t know if any food is…) In fact, you can get the same quality sushi in Ginza just a few kilometres and a phone call away. The only catch is you’ll have to pay triple the 8,000 yen price you pay at Sushi Dai. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/58 "2015-12-22T21:07:17Z")
Ah, Time versus Money. It reminds me of when RENT opened on Broadway and offered heavily discounted tickets for the first two rows of the theater 2 hours before the performance. It was designed so young people who had plenty of time, but not a lot of money, could see the show by waiting in line. Then the line started forming super duper early in the morning. The system started to break down I believe since people were starting to wait the night before. The kid that waits in line for money makes perfect sense. He’s a kid. He has TONS of time on his hands and probably little money. Great exchange. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/59 "2015-12-22T21:18:56Z")
When I was younger, line waiter was a job you could do in DC to get tickets for important congressional hearings and supreme court cases. I know a few people who did that kind of work through a temp agency. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186/60 "2015-12-23T05:28:09Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > He seems to know his stuff & has some interesting guests. But the Austin-centered episodes are knee-deep in hipsters. It’s _Austin_… what else would you expect? They put the “hip” in hippie and hipster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklin-barbecue-austin-would-you-wait-in-line-for-five-hours/730186.md?page=2)