Austin’s Salty Sow and Waylon J’s Combine Forces for a Smoke Break Barbecue Lunch

Once you see something, it can’t be unseen — that’s what happened to Salty Sow owner and executive chef Harold Marmulstein, who noticed that his restaurant’s large parking lot sat unused during the day. The Salty Sow only serves dinner, and its location in Rosewood, just five blocks east of the University of Texas stadium, is a prime spot in an area without enough free parking. Marmulstein wanted to find a use for the restaurant and all that parking space during the day. When a mutual friend introduced him to Waylon J’s pitmaster Chad Deen at a barbecue tasting, Marmulstein was bowled over by what he ate, and an idea struck.

Smoke Break, a pop-up experience between the Salty Sow and Waylon J’s, was born. Deen uses a custom-made pit with a 1,000-gallon smoker on it at the restaurant and serves up what Marmulstein calls “the best barbecue I’ve tasted in Austin.” Meanwhile, the staff at the Salty Sow make all the sides and desserts. “We work together on the sandwiches, so it’s not just chopped brisket or pulled pork thrown on a bun,” Marmulstein says. 

The elevated take on barbecue sandwiches includes a prime brisket option that gets sliced, not chopped, and served with pickles, slaw, and au jus on a buttered and double toasted Martin’s Potato Roll; smoked and butter-basted white meat turkey breast, also served with pickles and slaw, in an Alabama white sauce atop a buttered potato roll; and a whole hog sandwich made with smoked pulled pork and a sprinkle of cracklin’ pork belly spayed in whiskey maple mop and gold barbecue sauce. If you’re waffling on which one to try, you’re not alone — when pressed to pick a favorite to recommend, both the chef and the pitmaster went into detail about why each is better than the next. 

There are also barbecue platters, made from those same meats, plus Psycho Sausage made by Deen, which Marmulstein describes as “moisty, juicy, not broken and dry or fatty — it’s the perfect blend.” A Sichuan bacon rib, soaked in Andalusia whiskey maple mop with Sichuan peppercorns and chili crisp, offers a fusiony riff. The duo decided to keep the sides classic, with pinto beans, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad. 

“Piggybacking on the Salty Saw, and Harold’s team, with an established restaurant that has been doing well for 13 years while we’ve been in a trailer, it’s like we won the lottery,” Deen says. “None of us have experience with going brick and mortar. These guys are making the transition easier, and hopefully in the long run, when we get our own spot, we’ll have that experience.”

Try Smoke Break Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. or when the food sells out. Marmulstein says that the team would like to expand to add on Thursdays soon, with an eye toward doing this collaboration five days a week.