CM Smokehouse (Valburn)

The kitchen smokes baby back ribs, deep-fries them until the edges crisp, then sauces them like chicken wings.1

Why go

Cade Mercer grew up between Seguin and New Braunfels, got a call from Reid Guess at Lambert's that started him in modern barbecue, helped open EastSide Tavern, then built menus at Guess Family BBQ in Waco and Koko Ramen before leaving in November 2020 to run his own pit.2 This door opened on West Braker Lane in 2023 and it is the north Austin end of the operation, which the operator now describes plainly: CM Smokehouse is the kitchen inside every Bouldin Acres.1 2 One correction to have before you set off: nothing called CM Smokehouse trades on Valburn. The north Austin door is at 1806 W Braker Ln, inside Bouldin Acres.2

Order this / avoid

The baby back rib wings. Smoked, then fried crisp at the edges, then sauced from the chicken-wing list. Vaughn takes the Hot Honey Lemon Pepper.1
The beef-fat brioche cinnamon roll, weekend brunch only, and the state's barbecue editor calls it a must at this location.1
The CM Crunchwrap or the pork crispito tacos if you want the rest of the argument about where brisket can go.2
Avoid: assuming this is the South Lamar door. Nothing here describes that one.3

What locals & experts say

Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor, Texas Monthly, My Favorite Texas Barbecue Bites of 2024, 26 December 2024, on this specific door, verbatim: During weekend brunch, the beef-fat brioche cinnamon roll is a must, but at any time of day, you can get smoked baby back ribs that have been deep-fried until they're crisp around the edges. He opens the entry by dating the branch: A second location of CM Smokehouse opened on West Braker Lane, in North Austin, in 2023.1
The operator's own account of the format, verbatim: The kitchen behind every Bouldin Acres location. That is the group's answer to what CM Smokehouse now is, and it is the reason there are three addresses on the group's landing page.2 3
Not in the MICHELIN Guide. Absent from Austin's 2024 and 2025 selections.6

Good to know

Hygiene: no score exists for this kitchen. The bar you sit in holds its own permit: Bouldin Acres, 1806 W Braker Ln, scoring 90 in August 2025 and 79 in October 2024, which is missing data rather than a finding.4
Hours at this door: 11am to midnight Thursday through Saturday, from 11am the rest of the week. Walk in and order at the kitchen.2
Three doors now. Bouldin Acres publishes South Lamar, Braker and Menchaca, and you can order CM Smokehouse food at all of them. This is Braker, and nothing is claimed for the other two.3
Getting there: 1806 W Braker Ln, 78758, in Quail Hollow.

Jeff's take (his words)

Note: Saved with no note; the note on my list belongs to the other door.

Verdict

could-visit — The north Austin CM Smokehouse, open since 2023 inside Bouldin Acres on West Braker Lane, cooking Cade Mercer's argument that a Central Texas pit does not have to end at a tray: baby back ribs smoked and then deep-fried and sauced like wings, and a beef-fat brioche cinnamon roll at weekend brunch. Daniel Vaughn put both on his favorite Texas barbecue bites of 2024 and picked the Hot Honey Lemon Pepper. It is a kitchen window inside a large bar with a patio, the brisket work that made the name is better documented at the South Lamar door, and no inspection score exists for the kitchen itself. Go if you are north and hungry.

CM Smokehouse (Valburn).