Tom Micklethwait, pitmaster & owner of Micklethwait Craft Meats. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

Last spring we wrote that Austin had replaced Lockhart as the new barbecue capital of Texas.

Now, with La Barbecue moving east of I-35, we're prepared to be even more specific.

East Austin, specifically Zip Code 78702, is the undisputed center of the Texas barbecue universe.

La Barbecue, with pit boss John Lewis, opens this week in its new location at the corner of East 6th Street and Waller.

According to Google, that puts La Barbecue about a half-mile (a 9-minute walk) from Franklin Barbecue on East 11th Street, about six-tenths of a mile (an 11-minute walk) from Micklethwait Craft Meats on Rosewood Ave., and about a mile from John Mueller Meat Co. on East 6th.

All are in the same Zip Code.

When we made our Austin tour earlier this year, Micklethwait had run out of meat by the time we arrived. We remedied that -- partially anyway -- two days after Thanksgiving. Posse member Mike Gagne ordered brisket to go from Micklethwait and we ate it a few minutes later at his East Austin home.

It was delicious, rivaling the brisket at Franklin and La Barbecue, we both thought. And the line at about 1 p.m. that Saturday was short. Only a couple of people were ahead of us.

Short lines and great barbecue. At the Posse, that's our holiday wish.

Locations of the joints:

• La Barbecue, E. 6th St. and Waller.
• Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th St.
• Micklethwait Craft Meats, 1309 Rosewood Ave.
• John Mueller Meat Co., 2500 E. 6th St.

John Lewis, pitmaster at La Barbecue in Austin. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse