Michelin-starred Austin barbecue restaurant opening sister spot in Portland

The Pacific Northwest will soon get to taste part of what makes Central Texas so great. Michelin-starred La Barbecue will open an outpost of its award-winning (and celeb-endorsed) restaurant, called Lil Barbecue, sometime later this year in Portland, a town that many consider one of the best food cities in America.

The new restaurant will be a partnership between La Barbecue owner Ali Clem and longtime La Barbecue general manager Ben Vaughan, who will move to Portland to serve as the restaurant’s operating partner.

Vaughan and his wife decided last year that they wanted a change of scenery. When Vaughan told Clem that they were moving to Portland and that he hoped to open a barbecue joint in Oregon with Clem as his partner, Clem did not hesitate.

"I said, ‘Absolutely,’" Clem, who first made the announcement on Instagram last week, told the American-Statesman. "He’s been so good to me for so many years. Every recipe I test out, he’s the first one to try it and give me notes."

Portland spot to feature 'holy trinity' of Texas barbecue

Vaughan has worked for La Barbecue, which Clem and her late wife, LeAnn Mueller, originally started as a trailer in East Austin in 2012, for seven years, moving from meat cutter to general manager in short order. He previously worked at Via 313 and attended culinary school, with externships that landed him in Texas.

Clem says Vaughan’s Lil Barbecue will feature the "holy trinity" of Texas barbecue — pork ribs, sausage and brisket, with the latter cooked on an off-set smoker from Mill Scale in Lockhart. Vaughan will also smoke chicken and create a menu of side dishes unique to the Portland restaurant.

"I think it’s gonna be killer. Ben’s cooking is incredible," Clem said.

La Barbecue was one of three barbecue restaurants in Austin (and four in Texas) to earn a coveted Michelin star in 2024. This will be the first time the brand has planted roots outside of the state.

"I don’t think I could ever recreate La Barbecue. It’s my baby. But this being kind of an extension is exciting," Clem said. "This is Ben’s baby."

The beginning of a nationwide expansion?

Clem and Mueller, the famed Louie Mueller’s granddaughter, who died in 2023, previously flirted with the idea of opening a La Barbecue restaurant in Los Angeles, but logistics and costs squashed that idea.

Clem said she had not given any thought to expanding the brand until Vaughan came to her. If the offshoot is a success, she could potentially see trying to replicate the idea in other cities.

The partners have not settled on a space or neighborhood for their new venture, but Clem says they have received helpful input from people like Birdie’s Arjav Ezekiel, who grew up in Portland, along with guests from Portland who have visited La Barbecue.

Though she hasn’t yet spent time in Portland (she will head up soon to scout locations), Clem knows the two cities share similar attitudes, laid-back vibes and a love of music and food.

And she has a relationship with the popular independent Portland Pickles baseball team of the West Coast League. Clem, who serves a spicy pickle on the La Barbecue menu, is friends with team co-owner Jon Ryan and his wife, comedian and actress Sarah Colonna. They have already discussed Lil Barbecue pop-ups with the fun-loving Pickles.

Portlanders have 'high BBQ IQ'

Portland resident Mike Thelin co-founded the now-defunct and massively popular Feast food festival in Portland and Hot Luck Fest with James Moody and Aaron Franklin in Austin. Franklin’s hosted many Portland cookouts through the years, and thanks in part to that connection, and a growing number of great local spots like Matt’s, Bark City, Podnah’s and Grasslands, Thelin says Portlanders have developed a "high BBQ IQ."

"Our city is a warm and welcoming place, so everyone will definitely wish them the very best," Thelin told the American-Statesman.

Michael Russell, the restaurant critic at the Oregonian in Portland, echoes Thelin’s praise of the growing scene in Rose City but thinks Vaughan coming should raise the bar.

"Most of our pitmasters were trained on cookbooks and YouTube tutorials, meaning Vaughan arrives with a different caliber of experience altogether," Russell told the American-Statesman. "What that means, and whether locals will accept a Texas transplant, won’t be clear for a while, but there is a lot of excitement here about La Barbecue choosing to open a sister restaurant in Portland."