Austin's La Barbecue Claims It Will Smoke Up Smorgasburg in the Fall

One of Austin’s most beloved barbecue options is talking about coming to Los Angeles soon, with La Barbecue circling early fall on their arrival calendar. The famed trailer makes some of that city’s best smoked meats, but now likely has their sights set on Downtown LA.

According to an interview with Wide Open Eats, LeAnn Mueller will be operating her fully finished smoker at Smorgasburg, the Sunday-only Arts District food fair on the grounds of The Row. That’s the long-rumored first landing point for Mueller and partner Alison Clem, and now it appears as though there’s some level of official confirmation.

The alleged September arrival can’t come soon enough for fans of Mueller and co. After all she’s part of a long family barbecue lineage, and has been hard at work finishing equipment and staffing up for months now. That includes new pitmaster Brendan Lamb, since former lead John Lewis departed Austin last year for South Carolina.

Yelp

What’s more, there’s a lot of new competition to compare to these days. The Los Angeles barbecue has more recently been overcome by underground options like Trudy’s in Studio City, the popular Ragtop Ferns, and others like Bartz Barbecue in the South Bay. None come with quite the pedigree of La Barbecue, but when smoked meat has a moment in Los Angeles, everyone wins.

If all goes well, expect an arrival in September, though Eater did reach out to Smorgasburg and the La Barbecue team and has yet to receive official confirmation back.

• Delight Over La Barbecue’s Entire Menu in 60 Seconds [ELA]