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John Mueller's new joint in Granger (Williamson County)


Jim Thompson

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On 12/12/2019 at 5:06 PM, bluto said:

What happened to the one in Georgetown (Black box or something?)

His trailer was 2 blocks from my office. I started there in March and we usually all go to lunch at 11:30ish. I could probably count on one hand the number of times it was open. Half the time it was just outright closed and the other half had the sold out sign up. 

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There are a lot of good Neapolitan style pizza places because it's easy to make as long as the place has a good wood-burning oven. Via 313 is really good. But good NY style thin crust pizza options in this city are dogshit. Little deli is pretty good. Home slice is fine but not as good as its reputation. I've heard great things about Saccone's but I'm not driving to fucking Leander for a slice of pizza. 

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Is it or is it not heresy to eat at jmueller place?  what i can gather is that a bunch of shag/surlyites have lost money in his ventures.

on the pizza subject, i have never seen anyone here or the old site mention Austin Pizza Garden on the north side of 71 in Oak Hill.

There was a place in Dallas in an old Dairy Queen at Greenville and Forest called Lido Ragazzo, that changed it's name to Lone Star Pizza Garden, which then dissappeared and I have been told the owners moved to Austin and I suspect the Austin Pizza Garden is the descendant.  Crunchy almost cracker-like crust with massive amounts of an incredible variety of vegetables on every recipe, and oh by the way was the best day-after microwave pizza i've ever had.

Austin Pizza Garden.  Anyone.  Bueller?  Bueller?

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2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I do miss buying whole briskets for $50 from JM when he wasn't allowed to be opened due to permitting fiascoes.  You'd text him your order a day in advance and show up to Kellie's Place at 10am. He'd be drunk with a dozen empties in front him but the brisket was always top notch.  

Pro tip:  buy a whole brisket from wherever and take it to Bert's.  They'll smoke it for $1 per pound, and it doesn't suck.  You'll probably be out $40 or so, all in.  Sure beats retail if your smokers are all rusted out (like mine).

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3 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Is it or is it not heresy to eat at jmueller place?  what i can gather is that a bunch of shag/surlyites have lost money in his ventures.

on the pizza subject, i have never seen anyone here or the old site mention Austin Pizza Garden on the north side of 71 in Oak Hill.

There was a place in Dallas in an old Dairy Queen at Greenville and Forest called Lido Ragazzo, that changed it's name to Lone Star Pizza Garden, which then dissappeared and I have been told the owners moved to Austin and I suspect the Austin Pizza Garden is the descendant.  Crunchy almost cracker-like crust with massive amounts of an incredible variety of vegetables on every recipe, and oh by the way was the best day-after microwave pizza i've ever had.

Austin Pizza Garden.  Anyone.  Bueller?  Bueller?

driven by it about a million times, looks like there is a super cool  back yard/patio area but i have never seen it busy from a number of cars parked there standpoint any time ive driven by...no matter what time of the day/week

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3 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Is it or is it not heresy to eat at jmueller place?  what i can gather is that a bunch of shag/surlyites have lost money in his ventures.

on the pizza subject, i have never seen anyone here or the old site mention Austin Pizza Garden on the north side of 71 in Oak Hill.

There was a place in Dallas in an old Dairy Queen at Greenville and Forest called Lido Ragazzo, that changed it's name to Lone Star Pizza Garden, which then dissappeared and I have been told the owners moved to Austin and I suspect the Austin Pizza Garden is the descendant.  Crunchy almost cracker-like crust with massive amounts of an incredible variety of vegetables on every recipe, and oh by the way was the best day-after microwave pizza i've ever had.

Austin Pizza Garden.  Anyone.  Bueller?  Bueller?

I like it every now and then. Don't know if they moved from Dallas or not but it was there for quite a while and then closed for several years and then came back.  The cracker-like crust is a good description and the colossus is loaded with toppings as you describe.

 

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3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Pro tip:  buy a whole brisket from wherever and take it to Bert's.  They'll smoke it for $1 per pound, and it doesn't suck.  You'll probably be out $40 or so, all in.  Sure beats retail if your smokers are all rusted out (like mine).

Pit BBQ on Burnet will do this for you as well.  Had them smoke my briskets for a few fundraisers before I stepped up to bigger pits that could handle the number of briskets I needed. 

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4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Pro tip:  buy a whole brisket from wherever and take it to Bert's.  They'll smoke it for $1 per pound, and it doesn't suck.  You'll probably be out $40 or so, all in.  Sure beats retail if your smokers are all rusted out (like mine).

It used to be a 6-pack of Coors light.  Given inflation, $1/lb. is probably about right.

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On 12/17/2019 at 9:37 PM, Whatever said:

My grandmother was from Friendship (now in the middle of Granger Lake), and I'm from Taylor. If ever something hit close to the casa...

Mrs. Brat was from Taylor (Fightin’ Taylor Duck, Class of 1963), and most of a friend’s ranch is now under Granger Lake. We had our engagement BBQ out there in the spring of 1966.

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2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Mrs. Brat was from Taylor (Fightin’ Taylor Duck, Class of 1963), and most of a friend’s ranch is now under Granger Lake. We had our engagement BBQ out there in the spring of 1966.

It was a seafood buffet.  Actual footage of AB's engagement BBQ:

InsistentGranularDuckbillcat.webp

 

Edited by utee94
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Mrs. Brat was from Taylor (Fightin’ Taylor Duck, Class of 1963), and most of a friend’s ranch is now under Granger Lake. We had our engagement BBQ out there in the spring of 1966.
Need pics of hot bridesmaids from the 60s or I won't believe you.

I was born in '82 so I'm a generation later, but I'll bet my life savings Mrs. Brat knows some of my family.
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18 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

Is it or is it not heresy to eat at jmueller place?  what i can gather is that a bunch of shag/surlyites have lost money in his ventures.

Oh I think there are still a few diehard JM apologists floating around.  Always found that particular subject of Shaggy groupthink to be one of the strangest.

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19 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Oh I think there are still a few diehard JM apologists floating around.  Always found that particular subject of Shaggy groupthink to be one of the strangest.

Champ is in John's corner.  And I'm happy to eat wherever he's willing to cook.  But of course, I also never invested in his ventures, either.

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12 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

Is there an O/U on the date this joint either shuts down or is no longer affiliated with stabby?

The "joint" has been there for over 2 years, and they already offered food.  JM is just adding to their menu.  He'll either get tired of it eventually or he'll piss them off and they'll kick him out, but the brewery ain't goin' nowhere.  

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1 hour ago, Whatever said:

Need pics of hot bridesmaids from the 60s or I won't believe you.

I was born in '82 so I'm a generation later, but I'll bet my life savings Mrs. Brat knows some of my family.

She went off to college in 1963 and never lived there full time after that. But she probably does know some of your family if they have been around there in the 1950s - 1960s. Or maybe went to schoolwith some of them.

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She went off to college in 1963 and never lived there full time after that. But she probably does know some of your family if they have been around there in the 1950s - 1960s. Or maybe went to schoolwith some of them.

My family has been there since the 1910s or so and there are a lot of us, most of which went to Taylor HS beginning in the 30s and 40s.

 

There's a great chance she knew some of us in HS.

 

And your pics of hot 60s bridesmaids isn't showing up.

 

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2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Same here, plus Mrs. Brat is a classmate of his mom’s from Taylor HS.

Back then it was Louis Mueller's Complete Food Store.

Here's a The Mallard from 1962.  I'm sure you'll find Mrs. Brat looking young and hot.  http://www.taylortx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9327/Taylor-HS-Yearbook-1962

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19 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Pro tip:  buy a whole brisket from wherever and take it to Bert's.  They'll smoke it for $1 per pound, and it doesn't suck.  You'll probably be out $40 or so, all in.  Sure beats retail if your smokers are all rusted out (like mine).

never knew that, thanks.  

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I've never been supportive because the guy was a dick.  But it is true that he was the tutor to Franklin and that Franklin's pit came because of the demise Mueller's demise. 

Investing in restaurants is a big ass risk. Investing in a restaurant with a mean ass drunk who likes to drink is well... more risky.

You think about the difference between Franklin's success and Mueller's demise(s).  In the end both put out a great product, but one guy was a nice guy.  One guy viewed himself as a BBQ evangelical, the other?  Well... hell you were just lucky to be getting a few slices!  I'm also a person willing to give a guy a second chance and for fuck's sake if I am sitting in the thriving metropolis of Granger I might just give a mean drunk's cue another chance.  I doubt I would become an investor. 😉

 

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9 minutes ago, Jim Thompson said:

Those Shaggy parties at Mueller's old food truck down on south first street were a lot of fun.

Yeah, some of us had a whole table or two when Anthony Bourdain taped his international travel/tv show there.

John provided a keg and I poured some shots of Garrison Brothers for the shaggsters. Then set the last few ounces on the celeb’s table to sample.

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Maybe tutor is too strong a word, but I bet Aaron would say he learned a lot from Mueller.  He's a link to a Texas Monthly piece from a few years ago on the two men, the photos say everything about why one is a success and the other a surly legend. (not this surly). https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/of-meat-and-men/

Whose business would you want to give your money to? Looks like a lot of folks voted for the smiling guy too.

spacer.png

 

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1 hour ago, horn4life said:

Maybe tutor is too strong a word, but I bet Aaron would say he learned a lot from Mueller.  He's a link to a Texas Monthly piece from a few years ago on the two men, the photos say everything about why one is a success and the other a surly legend. (not this surly). https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/of-meat-and-men/

Whose business would you want to give your money to? Looks like a lot of folks voted for the smiling guy too.

spacer.png

 

aaron's already said many times all he did at john's was ring people up.  he learned how to smoke from his dad, not from john.  

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4 hours ago, horn4life said:

You think about the difference between Franklin's success and Mueller's demise(s).  In the end both put out a great product, but one guy was a nice guy.  One guy viewed himself as a BBQ evangelical, the other?  Well...

I ran across Aaron at austin homebrew many years ago, while he was still running the trailer off 35.  We only exchanged a few words. I asked him about the trailer, and how business was going, and told the guys working behind the counter that "this dude makes the best brisket going in the state right now". They had no idea. Shit, I didn't really at the time either.  But he struck me as a very genuine and sincere guy, to the extent you can judge such a thing in a short exchange.  Mueller, OTOH, can't get out of his own way and is just incapable of realizing success even when he draws a flush. 

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