Needed my barbecue fix and it was already 11:30 on a Saturday - lines would be too long at any of the widely accepted greatest barbecue joints in and around Austin. Luckily, there are so many great barbecue places around here. I haven't been in a while, so decided to hit Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville. Showed up at 11:45 and walked right up to the counter. I had a $50 gift card from some charity event, so I decided to get a family pack with half pound moist brisket, half pound pork ribs and a couple sides. Got it to-go, since it was much more than I could eat in a sitting. I ate one of the pork ribs and a slice of brisket while I was there, though. Rib was cooked perfectly with a good bite and not quite fall off the bone. Although it was a little over sauced for my liking, the flavor was good. Brisket was seasoned well with nice bark and nicely rendered fat - as one would expect from a TM Top 50 joint.
People are not coming from out-of-town to eat at Brotherton's because there are some many other, higher profile places to chose from. However, it is really nice to have great barbecue without the wait. Brotherton's also has a great sandwich selection - brisket grilled cheese, pastrami Reuben, and brisket bahn mi, being the three that I have tried.