5 stars from our party of 3! Stopped here after missing all the more notorious Austin/Waco locations, most of which were closed on a Sunday or too early on our drive for us to be hungry. We stopped at the notorious Czech Stop an refrained from chowing down on our kolaches to drive 5 miles further north to hit Up In Smoke.
It was delicious! My friends and I all got the combo (2-3 meats of your choice - $10.95) and got brisket, turkey, and sausage. The brisket was fresh and juicy (even at 8pm, an hour before closing). The turkey was smokey without being overly flavored/seasoned. The sausage wasn't greasy and had great flavor. We all agreed that the spicy BBQ sauce was a new favorite (and one member of our party ate 2 servings of spicy sauce, despite not typically liking sauce). It isn't super spicy, but has a nice kick.
There were a plethora of sides (new potatoes, mustard potato salad, pea salad, fried zucchini, baked and pinto beans, etc) that were all serve yourself (as much or little as you like). Potato salad was fresh made and tasty! Baked beans were amazing. Zucchini was crispy and flavorful. The new potatoes could have used more seasoning.
Service was good and friendly. Atmosphere is about what you'd expect for roadside BBQ, but the place was clean, well stocked, and the bathrooms were clean, albeit outdated. It was nice and chilly due to the kickin AC even on a 100+ degree Texas day. You can buy meats/sides/sauce in bulk and it appears the facility caters.
If you are an experienced BBQ enthusiast  with super high expectations and a palate for only the best of the best, this might not meet your standards. For the other 97% of you, I highly recommend this one of a kind BBQ stop! Thank you Up In Smoke!
This was my first stop for Texas BBQ, and while I wasn't blown away it was still a good meal. Â I was actually most surprised by the quality of the sides- the beans were phenomenal. Â
I was a little disappointed by the "spicy" brisket, not because it was bad, but it was not anywhere near what I'd call spicy. Â All in all it was a solid BBQ pit stop for us as we drove from Dallas to Austin.
Not sure what happened to the taste after they moved to the new location. Â Just bland, turkey was tasteless and basket was dry and not good. Â Before they had solid sides as well and it tasted like they opened a can and poured it out. Â I'm also thinking they added liquid smoke to the recipe as my stomach isn't a fan and later that day it told me. Â Might try again, wife says no.
Review Source:We missed the exit for West and the Czech Stop once, ended up here instead.
Not bad BBQ, but not great. Have to disagree highly with Marshall J in that, while it may be better than some places in Austin, I can list a number of places in Austin that makes this place look like microwave food.
If you have few options and you're hungry, you won't hate this place, but I think if you drive a little more you'd be happier.
Formerly the Turkey Shop and Cafeteria (which I never had the pleasure of visiting, though I admired the beautiful turkey sign on many long drives from Austin to Memphis), Up in Smoke is another place perhaps better known by its unusual interstate signage than for its food.
But all it takes is one visit for that to change. My wife and I were both impressed with the barbecue; it's better than any I've found in Austin, in fact.
Although Abbott is very near the Czech Bakery in West, they're both now on my must-stop list when traveling that horrible stretch of I-35 from Austin to Texarcana.
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