Iron Works BBQ

Food aside, Iron Works BBQ—located in the heart of the Red River District, a madhouse every year during SXSW—is worth a visit solely for its history. A family of actual ironworkers constructed the building in 1922 using materials from the original State Capital building left in an onsite landfill. The family of pitmaster Aaron Morris opened the restaurant there in 1978 and has since gained notoriety for their recipe, “a traditional Central Texas blend of salt and pepper with paprika and few other secret ingredients.” Those flavors are best experienced by sampling the beef ribs, which are back ribs instead of the much-more-common short ribs. If you go for the brisket, get the fatty—the lean cuts are salty to the point of drymouth. They cook enough each day to avoid selling out, but purists may resent the use of rotisseries for the ribs.