I'm a dump-***. Just saw the six-page long thread on this subject. Please do not respond and let this post die a natural death.
Actually, I think that it is kind of funny that 5 of the first 6 threads on this Board are about restaurants when it is suppose to be a cooking/recipe/no restaurant Board.
Rudy's brisket is actually pretty darned good. I'm not surprised to see one in Colorado Springs as a number of years ago I ate some BBQ in NM, possibly ABQ. At least you have a Bubba Gump in Breckenridge. I'd love to see a Bubba Gump in that restaurant black hole building next to Hula Hut on Lake Austin. Bubba Gumo would be a natural fit there without competing with Hula Hut.
I like Rudy's. Are there some better in Central Texas? Yes. Are they likely to open up multiple locations outside of the Austin area? Probably not. Of all the BBQ franchise chains I've tried, Rudy's and Bill Miller are pretty much the only ones I've had that were acceptable. They actually had a Salt Lick location in Red Rock Casino when it opened up, and it was pretty good, but certainly not legendaary quality level that you would expect. It closed after about a year.
The one thing I have found with Rudy's and to some extent Bill Miller's is that while not the best bbq, they tend to be consistent. I too like the Rudy's moist brisket. There is a Rudy's near the OU campus. I eat there when I travel to OK on business. In addition, Bill Miller makes a damn good brisket and egg breakfast taco and a sausage and refried bean breakfast taco. Bill Miller makes (or has someone make) their own sausage, but back in the day they used polish sausage from the Kiolbassa Provision Company down in the stockyards on the southside of San Antonio.
Grabbed a couple of pounds of brisket at the Colorado Springs Rudy's while on vacation. The only negative experience I had was not getting to fill my own container with BBQ sauce.
Living in Atlanta for the last year I miss : Even halfway decent Tex Mex Beef Brisket that wasn't done in a pressure cooker
