Sam's BBQ, Austin

Sam's is a legendary Austin joint best known for their late late hours. They're open til 2 am on weeknights and 4 am on weekends. Located just a few miles east of the 6th street music area downtown, we just had to check it out after a night at Antone's. We stopped by earlier in the day to get a daylight photo, but ate after midnight.

I can understand why this place has such a great reputation with late night music folks. Very friendly folks behind the counter and extra grease and fat included at no extra charge. Most helpful after a night out on the town and maybe a little too much alcohol. The brisket was very tender but a bit heavy on the fat content for my taste. Not a lot of smoke flavor, either. The sauce helped some but it was pretty thin and didn't stick to the meat too well. Heavy on the vinegar, too. The beans and tater salad were average, but for midnight on a Tuesday night you'd be hard pressed to find better. They also had several kinds of cake to choose from but we did not partake. I think if I lived in Austin this would be a regular late night haunt. Where else are you going to find late night BBQ?