The plan was simple: As soon as we landed in Austin, we’d Lyft to our hotel and immediately head out in search of barbecue. The thought was that if we timed it right—arriving mid-afternoon, right before closing time—we’d be able to nab whatever was left at the holy grail of grilled meats, Franklin Barbecue, without an hourslong wait. My coworker had gotten lucky with that approach earlier in the year and walked right in, but it wasn’t in the cards for us. The line was out the door, with about 50 people waiting for the goods.

Not wanting to spend the first part of our short vacation standing in line, we opted to pursue our backup plan and headed down the street a bit to Micklethwait Craft Meats, which many people say is just as good and less of a scene.

Fortunately, we arrived right before what appeared to be a very extended family and managed to order and snag a picnic table without a problem. From the compact menu, we chose the brisket Frito pie and the 2-meat plate, with pulled lamb and pork ribs plus jalapeño cheese grits and potato salad. The Frito pie was good—a flashback to childhood—but the real winner was the pork ribs. The meat slipped right off the bone, and the flavor! They didn’t need any extra sauce (but I slathered it on anyway—I love my ribs saucy). And because all that wasn’t enough, we capped off the meal with a slice of pecan pie (great flavor, okay crust).

And then it started to rain, which it would do for the rest of the weekend. But what better excuse to do a tour of the town’s best indoor eating joints? Here are some of the greatest hits from the weekend:

1. Boozy milkshakes with homemade ice cream at Prohibition Creamery (their mascot is a sloth—adorable
2. Burgers dripping with queso at Dean’s One Trick Pony at the Line hotel
3. An assortment of tacos—my fave was the fried avocado—at Torchys Tacos
4. Tiki drinks in cat mugs and some yummy skewers and Texas ramen (they use brisket) at Kemuri Tatsu-ya
5. The namesake sweets at Churro Co.
6. Amazing sweet potato pancakes with candied pecans at Better Half


Fortunately, on our last morning, the sun came out and we were able to enjoy walking off our breakfast along the river, indulging in some much-needed summery weather before heading back to the perpetual snow globe that is Minnesota in February.