A New Barbecue Table-Service Restaurant With Smoked Crispy Duck and Brisket Tacos Opens in Austin

The pitmaster of now-shuttered Austin food truck Wünder Pig is opening his new barbecue restaurant this month. Black Gold is opening in Crestview at 1521 West Anderson Lane starting on Saturday, November 9.

Owner, chef, and pitmaster Mems Davila sees Black Gold as “a casual barbecue joint and a refined dinner and cocktail destination,” per the press release. This means table-service with smoked meats and plated dishes based on his upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley and Mexican heritage. The former includes the Texas classics like brisket and jalapeño-cheddar sausages. The latter spans higher-end dishes, such as candied pork belly burnt ends; smoked crispy duck served with a poblano cream sauce; brisket tacos, wagyu smash burgers; and botana plates with tortilla chips, guacamole and fajita meats. Sweets include takes on churros and ice cream made with soft drink Big Red.

The full bar will include bourbons, house-infused tequilas, and other spirits. There are cocktails like the Oaxacan Old Fashioned, the Black Gold margarita made with golden sugar flakes, and the spiked hibiscus agua fresca. There’s also Texas beers.

Randi Reding

Randi Reding

Randi Reding

Davila was intentional about opening a table-service, sit-down barbecue restaurant rather than a counter-service smoked meats joint with cafeteria-style trays. He moved to Austin in 2001 to venture into the music scene. He ran his underrated food truck Wünder Pig Barbecue from 2014 through 2022. “Being a fourth generation Texan, I wanted to create a concept that combines my upbringing in South Texas and what I’ve learned here the last 20 plus years with an elevated approach culinarily,” he tells Eater earlier this year. “I didn’t want to open another smokehouse-style spot where you gorge down on a tray of barbecue.”

The restaurant’s name is a two-fold reference. First, it’s the nickname for petroleum and the whole Texas oil boom. And then it refers to the description of properly-applied dry rub on meats to be smoked.

The physical restaurant used to be an an auto body shop. With interior design firm 3 Fold Design Studio, the space is revamped with a subtly elegant aesthetic. There are three patios, and indoor views of the smokers (custom-built by metal fabrication company Cen-Tex Smokers in Luling, Texas). The indoor dine-in room will have table service. The back patio will have counter-service served out of a covered school bus structure, offering meats by the pound.

Randi Reding

Randi Reding

Randi Reding

Rounding out the Black Gold team is Clay Garrison as the daily operations manager; he previously managed barbecue restaurants Terry Black’s and LeRoy & Lewis. Then there’s beverage director Wally Sanchez, who general managed Dripping Springs Cajun barbecue restaurant the Switch and bartended at New Orleans-ish restaurant Uptown Sports Club.

Black Gold’s hours will be from 11 a.m. to midnight, Wednesday through Sunday. It’ll be open for walk-ins only at first, with reservations being available at a later date.