Franklin Barbecue Auctions Off First Backyard Pit

Franklin Barbecue Pit Auction
Ahead of the Les Dames d’Escoffier Austin chapter’s grilling event at Franklin Barbecue (featuring only female chefs next week), the barbecue joint began the auction of pitmaster Aaron Franklin’s first prototype of a backyard-appropriate pit online on eBay this week. There are about eight days left in the auction, and as of publishing time, the current bid was up to $7,800. The money raised will go towards Les Dames.

Hot Sauce Winners
Chronicle hosted its annual hot sauce festival over the weekend. Among the numerous winners were Tacodeli for best restaurant red and restaurant special variety, Serranos for restaurant green, Aunt May’s Bajan Red Pepper Sauce for commercial red, and Mikey V’s Foods for its restaurant-style green under commercial green.

Yeti Expansion
Texas’s favorite cooler company Yeti is opening a second Austin store up in the Domain Northside. Unlike the South Austin flagship, the forthcoming store won’t feature a bar. It’s expected to open in early November with limited retail items.

New Downtown Happy Hour Restaurant
Downtown hotel Hilton Austin opened a new happy hour-only restaurant within its 500 East 4th Street space. Belle’s Backyard features $4.50 dishes from the hotel’s other two restaurants — Austin Taco Project and Cannon & Belle — which means barbecue shrimp tacos, short rib fundido sliders, and two-bone ribs. Plus there are also cocktails and happy hour. It’s open from 4 to 6 p.m. during the weekdays.

Austin Whiskey Goes West
Austin whiskey distillery Nine Banded Whiskey is now the official whiskey of football team the Los Angeles Rams. The booze will be featured at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, as well as selected local breweries. The whiskey distillery still hasn’t opened that tasting room out on Fitzhugh Road in Austin.