la Barbecue
Ali Clem was hired as help on a South First food trailer by John Mueller. Fourteen years later the room she built holds a MICHELIN Star.9
Why go
The pit lineage here runs through Taylor. LeAnn Mueller was the granddaughter of Louie Mueller, whose barbecue joint took a James Beard award in 2006. She and Clem turned that 2012 trailer into the brick-and-mortar on East Cesar Chavez. LeAnn died in June 2023 at 51, and Clem has run it alone since.7 The MICHELIN Guide came to Texas for the first time in November 2024. It gave la Barbecue One Star, filed under Alison Clem. The room kept it in the 2025 selection. There is no 2026 Texas edition, so that is where the standing sits.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: brisket. Nicolai McCrary, reviewing for The Infatuation in 2022:
once you make it through the inevitable line, you'd be hard pressed to find a more beautiful piece of brisket.
2 - Then: the saucy pork ribs and the short ribs. Daniel Vaughn rates the short ribs and the brisket neck and neck, and he sends anyone avoiding the heavy cuts to the turkey breast.5
- Avoid: arriving late in the day. The counter sells until the meat runs out.9
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary scored it 8.0 for The Infatuation:
The seasoning here leans heavy on the pepper
, in the meat and in some of the sides, which he calls a make or break for some people. Worth dating: that review was last updated in April 2022, two and a half years before the star.2 - MICHELIN Guide Texas, One Star, 2024, retained 2025. Awarded at the inaugural Texas ceremony in Houston on 11 November 2024 and held on 28 October 2025. KUT's report of the night listed it as
la Barbecue, Alison Clem
. The guide is funded by Travel Texas and the five city tourism boards under a three-year deal reported at about $2.7M, and 2026 is its final contract year.4 - James Beard Foundation, 2026: Ali Clem, semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas, announced 21 January 2026. She did not advance, and Austin took no finalists that year.11
- Texas Monthly, 2025: on the Top 50 BBQ Joints list. Only the top ten are ranked and the other forty run alphabetically by city, so this is a place on the list and not a number. Daniel Vaughn's team visited 319 joints for the edition.5
- Daniel Vaughn, Texas Monthly's barbecue editor, in that list:
The saucy pork ribs were as good as that classic gets: moist pink meat under a bright, lightly sweet crust that didn't dominate.
5 - la Barbecue, in its own words on how Clem got in:
she was hired by barbecue royalty, John Mueller, to help open a food trailer down on South First Street.
9
Good to know
- The wood: Daniel Vaughn reported in Texas Monthly in 2024 that la Barbecue buys its wood from Chief Firewood in Smithville, the yard that also delivers post oak to Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor.1
- Lunch trade, and it sells out. Treat it as a get-there-early stop.9
- Where: 2401 E Cesar Chavez St, 78702, in the Holly neighborhood east of downtown. Franklin Barbecue is about a mile northwest on East 3rd.9
- Hygiene: Austin Public Health scores it 84, inspected 13 June 2025, on a 100-point scale where 100 is clean and anything under 70 fails. Earlier inspections ran 89 in November 2024 and 91 in September 2023. Not a safety finding.10
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Michelin star 2024."
Verdict
must-visit — Walk in, and get there well before the counter opens; on a weekday morning after the star the line ran as long as it typically is on a slammed Saturday. Nothing is bookable except catering and private parties. The pepper is the argument at this pit. If you love black pepper I would send you to this counter before any other in Austin, and if you do not, this is a starred pit where the seasoning can lose you.