Super thrilled to write about one of the best barbecue places in the country making huge moves from their food truck to a brick and mortar after seven years of operation.

NOTE: I’m a current employee at LeRoy and Lewis as of January 2024… helping them open the new spot.

LeRoy & Lewis first started in their space, before Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden existed off Pickle Road, seven years ago. This central Texas barbecue truck was opened by couples Evan LeRoy & Lindsey LeRoy and Sawyer Lewis & Nathan Lewis.

My connection with L&L came about back in 2015 when I first visited Freedman’s BBQ and fell in love with the food, the atmosphere, the smoked banana pudding, and smoked old fashioned. This was a place that I loved so much I brought all of my visiting friends to ruin barbecue for them forever. haha! After my fiance proposed to me, he brought all of my friends and myself to Freedmen’s directly afterwards to celebrate. It truly is such an important part of our lives.

All of this to say that the head pitmaster of Freedmen’s was….. Evan LeRoy.

After that place closed, I kept my eyes peeled for that iconic name and then out of nowhere, LeRoy & Lewis popped up.

The most recent iconic Texas Monthly BBQ List placed them as number 5 and this year we’re hoping for higher!

One reason L&L differs from other barbecue joints is their interest in always trying new things and pushing against the classic Central Texas barbecue menu. Offering their housemade kimchi as a side, steers away from baked beans and serving refried beans instead, and possibly the biggest shock of all… offering brisket and (bacon) ribs only one day a week. (As of July 2024, L&L serves brisket both days of the weekend!)

What also sets L&L apart is the crew's importance of sustainability. They butcher the locally raised animals in-house, and these animals are from local farms where Evan and Sawyer know the handlers’ names. It’s truly incredible.

Why don’t they have brisket or beef cheeks every day?

Well… there are only so many breasts and cheeks on a cow.
Instead, they’ve pivoted and offer cuts like flatiron and tri-tip, plus chopped beef daily. But as of July 2024, they’re giving us beef cheeks Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday along with Brisket on Saturday and Sundays!

As of July 2024 the meat specials are:
Wednesday: Beef Cheeks & Pork Chops
Thursday: Beef Cheeks
Friday: Beef Cheeks
Saturday: Brisket & Bacon Ribs
Sunday: Brisket, Beef Barbacoa & Lamb Barbacoa

Food Trailer - Big Blue II

Their upgraded food truck is still up and running at 121 Pickle Road, offering a smaller menu and hours that are posted as 11am to 5pm but they sell out of food around 3pm or so. Thankfully the brick and mortar is only about 2 miles away so if that’s the case, you don’t have to go too far to get your L&L fix.

As of July 21st, Big Blue II, LeRoy & Lewis’s second trailer (technically the first trailer, since the first Big Blue was a truck… but that’s just punctilious. lol) has officially closed. Since it wasn’t making the team any money to justify the labor costs, the smart decision was to close operations at Cosmic Pickle.

As someone who has been eating at L&L since 2018 and working on the trailer since March, this was a tough goodbye. I have so many incredible memories there… even hiding under umbrellas to avoid the blazing sun in those long lines. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to work on one of the Big Blues, which has taught me a lot about food truck ownership I’ll have with me forever.

Here are your ATX FYIs:
- Get to the restaurant early if you’re wanting something in particular, ESPECIALLY if it’s a meat special!
- BBQ Line is where you’ll get your plates and sliced meats.
- There’s a separate menu you can order from the bar without having to wait in the BBQ Line since these things come from the kitchen… this menu includes the iconic L&L burger, the insanely good onion rings, new porkburger, other handhelds and others.
- Don’t park in the spots with the don’t park here signs lol — street parking will probably be best

Don’t miss out on:

• Flat Iron OR TRI-TIP sliced beef

• Onion Rings

• Pork burger

• Direct Smoked Chicken

• Miso Glazed Carrots

• Banana Pudding Tiramisu

L&L is trying to also host some fun events/parties since now they have the space… they’ve hosted crawfish boils, a fish fry, oyster event, steak nights, and many more to come!

Comment below when you decide to make it out to the new brick-and-mortar!

LeRoy and Lewis | 5621 Emerald Forest Drive Austin, TX 78745
W - Sun 11am to 9pm