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New Austin Food Truck Fuses Central Texas BBQ With Cajun Roots

Parish Barbecue, a new food truck from Interstellar alum Holden Fulco, is now open behind Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches

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A plate of smoked meats and sides is served at Parish Barbecue in East Austin. The new food truck offers Central Texas barbecue with Louisiana-inspired flavors. (Photo courtesy of Parish Barbecue)

A new food truck in the East MLK neighborhood is putting a Louisiana-inspired spin on Central Texas barbecue. Parish Barbecue, now open behind Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches on Manor Road, combines traditional smoked meats with ingredients and techniques drawn from owner Holden Fulco’s Louisiana roots.

Fulco spent the past five years at Interstellar BBQ and previously worked at Franklin Barbecue and Pinkerton’s in San Antonio. He began testing the Parish concept in 2023 with a series of sold-out pop-ups before officially launching the trailer in late March. 

Holden Fulco slices smoked meat during a Parish Barbecue pop-up in Austin. (Photo courtesy of Parish Barbecue)
Holden Fulco cuts smoked meat during a Parish Barbecue pop-up in Austin. (Photo courtesy of Parish Barbecue)

Parish Barbecue’s meats and fixin’s

The menu features brisket, pork ribs, and sausage alongside unique offerings like pulled duck with spiced cracklins and house-cured ham glazed with Louisiana cane syrup.

“The best way to describe what we’re doing is, I want it to be familiar to people, yet something different that they can’t get anywhere else,” Fulco said.

Most of the meats are seasoned with a Cajun spice blend and smoked using hickory, rather than the region’s more typical post oak. Fulco said the choice was personal—hickory was the wood he grew up cooking with at home in Louisiana.

The sides reflect the same influence. Acadiana-style potato salad is boiled in crawfish-seasoned water, mac and cheese comes topped with crushed Zapp’s Voodoo Chips, and the crawfish cornbread dressing—loaded with cheese, spices and crawfish tails—has quickly become a customer favorite, according to Fulco. For non-meat eaters, the smoked vegetable muffuletta is available, and several of the sides are vegetarian.

A medley of smoked meats and Southern-inspired sides from Parish Barbecue. (Photo courtesy of Parish Barbecue)
A medley of smoked meats and Southern-inspired sides from Parish Barbecue. (Photo courtesy of Parish Barbecue)

From scratch and sourced seasonally

Everything on the menu is made from scratch, including sauces, dressings and rubs. Prep is done on-site in the trailer, a rarity in Austin’s food truck scene. Fulco credits the team at Batch for helping make that possible by providing a walk-in cooler.

Fulco said rotating specials will highlight seasonal produce, with plans for items like Creole tomato salad and maque choux. He aims to keep side dishes and desserts flexible, using ingredients such as Fredericksburg peaches and Texas strawberries when in season. The current dessert is a pecan pie brownie, with icebox pies and fruit-forward cakes expected later this summer.

“It’s been a long journey to get here where I’m at, and honestly, this is kind of just the beginning,” Fulco said. “I have a lot of goals for this whole thing, and I hope one day that we have the opportunity to be in a brick and mortar.”

Parish Barbecue is open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until sold out. A grand opening celebration is planned for Saturday, April 19, and will include a crawfish boil, live music and guest appearances from other local pitmasters.

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