Food

Sweet Escapes: Rating 5 Not-So-Basic Dessert Spots in Austin for Your Next Delicious Adventure

Charli Squire

March 12, 2025

Savoring the South: Austin’s Fan Favorites vs Michelin Acclaimed Restaurants

Enzo Hsu

March 12, 2025

In the eyes of the Michelin guide, the margin for error is non-existent. The most established and prestigious institution of cuisine critique, Michelin deems only the utmost deserving restaurants their famed star. New York, Paris, London, and all major cities have been thoroughly examined for the 1% of the 1%, and now, Austin has received its long overdue visit from the Michelin guide. 

Bestowing a star only seven locations a star, some of Austin’s most acclaimed and adored restaurants have been left out of the list. Austin has established itself as a cooking haven for southern dishes since its birth, so how do the modern Michelin recognized spots stack up against the fan favorites of Austin? I tried 4 different locations across Austin: 2 Michelin Starred, and two fan favorites. Here’s what I thought:

La Barbeque - Michelin Star

Started by lifelong friends and couple Alison Clem and LeAnn Mueller, La Barbeque’s history sparks just as much interest as its meat. The pair worked alongside each other at Mueller’s father’s barbeque restaurant until 2012, where they would open a food truck with the iconic title, La Barbeque. The spot would skyrocket in popularity, with Mueller’s recipes working perfectly with Clem’s “one-shift” style of management. The two opened the current brick and mortar location on the east side of Austin in 2021, and the success continued. I tried the most popular dishes from La BBQ alongside barbeque expert and former journalist junior Cooper Johnson, and 

here’s what we thought.

The opener of the show was La Barbecue’s unique and spicy mac n cheese, which can only be described as perfectly cooked pasta shells in a bath of creamy rich queso. This distinctive approach makes a great pair to any of their meats when put in a sandwich, but which meat is the best? The brisket didn’t make our heads spin, but served as a tender and well seasoned precursor to the star of our show: the pork. La’s pork ribs were nothing short of phenomenal, mixing a perfect combination of spices with the slight sweetness of a peach glaze. This superb piece of meat especially shines in comparison to their subpar sausage which Cooper described as, “overly spicy ground meat stuffed in a paper towel.” Overall, we gave La Barbeque an 8.9 out of 10.

Franklin’s Barbeque - Fan Favorite

Even as Austin rain came pouring down, a line longer than I could see wrapped around Franklin’s, entranced by the aroma of fresh cooked beef. These loyal followers have sold out Franklin’s supply of barbeque every single day since Aaron Franklin opened his food truck in 2009, and after opening his current location just two years later, the establishment has become a symbol of the massive rise of barbeque in Austin. With the help of his wife Stacy, Aaron has grown Franklin’s into the most iconic, and maybe the best, barbeque joint in Texas. With a reputation unparalleled by any other of its kind, it sets an extremely high expectation for a food so synonymous with the south, so I decided to see for myself how good Franklin’s Barbeque truly is.

The quartet of meats were packaged neatly and quite beautifully in brown butcher's paper, with an entrancing smell that invites a second plate before you’ve had a first. While the pulled pork and sausage on my plate was nothing to amaze at, its rib counterpart was a stunner. Elegantly seasoned and lovingly cooked to perfection, the meat falls off the bone with almost no effort and gives a chewier texture to allow for a longer experience while eating. The ribs were simply wonderful, but even a piece of art as wonderful as this can still be outshined by something of pure enjoyment. The brisket, truly, might have been one of the most beautiful things to grace my lifetime, and if you’ve had Franklin’s before, you would understand. Lathered in a thin but powerful coating of seasoning and sauce, the brisket falls apart easily on your plate, inviting you to eat without utensils. Hints of sweetness and even espresso came through strongly, but the Franklin’s seasoning hits the hardest. This brisket was one of the most outstanding experiences I have tried, and if you haven’t already, it is a must for any and all Texans and barbecue lovers. I gave Franklin’s a 9.7/10.

Cuantos Taco - Michelin Bib Gourmand

Nestled in a quintet of food trucks on the east side, Cuantos Taco has become a spectacle to watch grow. With help from their friends within the “Taco Mafia,” Cuantos has become one of the most prominent food trucks in the ATX area, with lines spanning almost 200 feet (around 20 times longer than the length of their truck). Outside of taco chains like Torchy’s and TacoDeli, Cuantos Tacos is one of the most famous and recognized taco joints in austin. The menu is simple: 6 different meats, and the option for quesadillas or tacos. Once again recruiting food connoisseur Cooper Johnson, I went to see what all the hype was about, and I was not disappointed. Here’s what we thought:

The flight of 6 unique tacos came quickly and warm, each wrapped in a perfectly sized three-bite corn tortilla. Made fresh in house, the tortilla was the perfect catalyst for the incoming meats. The chorizo and barbacoa tacos were amazing, perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the mushroom serves as a great way to balance out the other 5 meat based tacos. Cuantos’ pork stomach was also nothing short of stunning, using a traditional chewy stomach as a vessel for their immense seasoning, an experience that you couldn’t find at any chain joints. Finally, the the brisket taco was completely breathtaking, with Cooper calling it “literally the best taco I’ve ever had.” The tacos themselves were each stunning in their own right, but the real surprise was the service. Before we had received our food, one of the more experienced workers was carrying trash behind the back of the truck. After offering to help, Cooper and I had a brief but meaningful conversation with him, where he expressed his love for the tacos. Before we left, he made sure to bring us napkins for our food and say goodbye, which made for a truly memorable and familiar experience. We gave Cuantos Tacos a 9.4/10.

Taco Deli - Fan Favorite

With over eight locations around Austin, Taco deli has cemented itself in the taco industry. With a wide variety of options to choose from, it’s become a go to for many around the area. Deli has become synonymous with tacos and easy quick meals, and while far more popular, does the food justify the popularity?

Taco Deli has much more to offer than a single truck like Cuantos, so I tried to replicate the 6 I had there to get the best comparison between the two. Firstly, the corn tortillas were noticeably subpar, and seemed reheated because of it’s chewy texture and consistency. Due to its consistency, it was hard to bite into some of the tacos, especially the brisket. However, the brisket was very well seasoned, but a tad overcooked. The pork tacos, though, were surprisingly well cooked, and while they didn’t offer pork stomach like Cuantos, it was by far the most impressive. 

Taco Deli also offered both a mushroom and  chorizo taco, which were nothing to applaud over. Overall, Taco Deli gets a 7.8 out of 10.

How do they stack up?

While Michelin’s opinion seems absolute and final for most restaurants, Austin seems to be a rare exception. The seven stars in Austin were exceptional, and the slightly longer list of Bib Gourmand recommendations give an even wider variety of options for those not looking to break the bank. That being said, however, some may not live up to the hype. La Barbeque is one of the poster girls for Michelin’s list, and while the food was superb, it dwindles in comparison to Franklin’s. La Barbeque was superb in all aspects, but simply doesn't compare to an institution like Franklins.

Although Michelin may have missed the barbeque mark, its tacos were on point. Cuantos Tacos was a completely different experience than most taco spots in Austin, and because Mexican dishes have become so normalized in our Texan diets, it’s easy to forget how amazing authentic cuisine is compared to the chains. Cuantos Taco was an unforgettable experience and, and blows most chains in Austin out of the water.