Biographical information courtesy of the Austin Chronicle.
See below for Austin Chronicle BBQ Links.

Artz Rib House

photo by Kenny Braun

2330 South Lamar, 442-8283

Daily, 11am-10pm

Laid-back, comfortable Artz is known for many things. It's a live music venue that supports local singer-songwriters, it boasts an award-winning gumbo (only on Thursdays), and it has an excellent charbroiled South Austin Cheeseburger with grilled onions, jalapenos and bacon ($4.50) in addition to a full barbecue menu. That's all well and good. For the purpose of this exercise, we suggest, we implore, no, we insist that you focus specifically on Artz's ribs. They are as good as you're likely to encounter in this lifetime.

Gather up a rib-loving group of friends and prepare to enter rib heaven. Start with a platter of Artz Famous Country Style Pork Ribs ($9.25 for three, $7.25 for two), meaty wonders cut from the loin that resemble thick, delicious pork chops. Chunks of moist, flavorful pork separate easily from the hefty bones. They don't even need sauce; they're simply divine. Move on to a rack of Baby Back Ribs ($12.95 full, $8.50 half) where the pork is lean, sweet, and tender. An order of Jumbo Beef Ribs ($8.50 for three) looks big enough for the Flintstones and yields plenty of juicy beef and dark, crusty ends. Trade ribs around the table and when it's time to go home, you'll all be wearing big smiles and dabs of grease and sauce on your happy cheeks.

Artz also offers plates of smoked brisket, chicken, and Elgin sausage, which probably all have loyal followings. We couldn't tell you that because we're stuck on the ribs. Maybe someday we'll order a combo platter just for variety, as long as there are plenty of ribs All barbecue entrees come with rather unremarkable sides of potato salad, coleslaw, and beans, plus pickle spears, onions, and bread. That's really not a problem because we love the ribs. There's homemade banana pudding, very tempting sweet potato pecan pie, and raspberry peach cobbler a la mode. We might try them, too, if we don't fill up on ribs. --V.W.