Let's Eat...And Eat Again...Okay Now Let's Eat One More Time

    Hyperbole comes with the territory in Texas. There is a lot of space down here, so towns work hard to set themselves apart. It seems each has its own thing for which it’s “famous.” Fredericksburg has antique shops, hill country towns are dotted with wineries, while Lockhart has a different distinction. It is recognized as the BBQ capitol of Texas.

                This is not disputed by too many people seriously. While Austin has some amazing BBQ joints such as Franklin’s and Salt Lick, Lockhart’s small size compared to the accolades sent the way of its three primary BBQ providers (Smitty’s, Black’s and Kreuz) make it a destination for anyone who loves brisket, ribs, sausage and other smoked tasties. The only real question was which of those three titans of the smoke is truly the best.

                Clearly, this needed closer investigation.

                A recent Saturday provided perfect weather. It was warm, but not hot, with a few scattered clouds in the sky. So a small group of us decided to roll down the road a bit (Lockhart is a half hour from south Austin) with the idea of trying two places. We picked out Smitty’s and Black’s. We figured we’d grab some food at Smitty’s first, then walk across the quaint town square to Black’s, try their food and head back to Austin with the intention of getting to Kreuz another day.

                We arrived at Smitty’s and immediately saw the line extending out of the building. That was a good sign. It moved fairly quickly though, which was not a surprise. All three places had similar setups: You get in a line, order your meat by the pound and an employee chops what you wanted right behind the counter and serves it up on a sheet of paper. Only Black’s used the same line to get your sides. The others had a whole separate line for sides and drinks and kept the main line “meat only.” My kind of people.

                So as the line progressed we moved closer and closer to the pit.  Smitty’s had their fire next to the pit and a chimney system that funneled air over the burning wood, sucked it into the pit and then up the chimney. What surprised me was that the fire was right next to the line. Literally right next to it. There was no rail or any of those pesky safety measures, you just waited in line right next to the open blaze. I like that everyone’s attitude there seemed to be, “Don’t want to get burned? Don’t walk into the fire, dumbass.” Again, my kind of people.

I was in line waiting to walk past the fire pit when I took this pic.

A nice sampling of Smitty's menu

                The restaurant itself is as informal as its line. The tables consist of long communal wooden rectangular tables with benches on either side. You share with whoever else is there. Decorations are sparse at best, with mostly bare walls. Smitty’s is nothing if not utilitarian. It’s a joint to get good BBQ, then to sit down and eat it. That’s it. They are also expanding, so the lack of ambiance isn’t hurting business. From what I could see the place will more than double in size once it’s done.

                We grabbed some brisket , pork ribs and sausage. I mentioned the meat is served on paper. There are no plates at Smitty’s. There are also no forks and no sauce. The food stands on its own. You can grab a plastic spoon from a tray by the napkins (there are plenty of those) but that’s as far as it goes. You can use the bread they give you to make a sandwich, or just get primal and eat with your hands.  We tried some of both.

                The pork ribs were delicious. The meat was moist and flavorful, the rub working well with the fat. On the other hand, the brisket (despite having a decent amount of fat it in) was actually rather dry.  It just didn’t pop like what I’ve had from Franklin or Salt Lick in the past. The sausage tasted good, but the texture left a bit to be desired. It crumbled in the mouth a bit.

                Keep in mind, we are grading on a curve here. Any of these things would be the absolute best ribs, brisket or sausage in either of the large towns in which I’ve previously lived (Indianapolis and Louisville). But in Texas, well, you play in a faster league.

                We knew we had another place to hit, so we gathered up our leftovers (which consisted of rolling it up in two paper bags) and chucking it in the trunk.

                It was a few blocks over to Black’s. The walk involved going through the sleepy town square, which is dominated by its rather spectacular courthouse, which screams out about the area’s Bavarian-heritage population.

See what I mean?

                Once again, the line went outside the building, and this was mid-afternoon. I can’t imagine what a dinner-time rush looks like at Black’s. The inside is welcoming and comfortable. There are more booths and tables designed for one party, giving it more of a restaurant feel than Smitty’s church social atmosphere. The walls are filled with pictures of local football teams, Black family photos and of course signed photos from the celebrities who have eaten there. Just about every place in Central Texas seems to have been visited by Matthew MacConaughey, Mack Brown and Willie Nelson.

That rib made the day worth it all by itself

Classic BBQ Joint

                We loaded up on brisket and ribs again, but Black’s has another special cut that Smitty’s didn’t: Beef ribs that weigh 2-3 pounds each.  This Flintstone-esque rib was quite easily the best thing we ate that day.  Black’s was the only place to give us a plate (Styrofoam) and forks (all plastic of course), but all we needed to do was stick that plastic fork into that beef rib and the meat fell away from the bone. It was tender, flavorful and absolutely heavenly. Black’s uses some coffee in its rub, but the beef rib had the least flavor added and the slow-cooked meat’s savory flavor was featured perfectly by Black’s cooking methods. It was perfect.

                The brisket was also juicier, the rub complimenting those juices nicely. It was the best brisket of the day. The banana pudding was also the tastiest side we had on the trip. Overall, Black’s was head and shoulders above what we had at Smitty’s. We pondered that for a bit as we sat at our table, taking deep breaths and doing what we could to fight off the meat comas that were setting in after downing a combination of 2-3 pounds of brisket, a couple pounds of pork ribs, a yard of sausage and something that looked like it came from a woolly mammoth. We all agreed we had our fill. We were stuffed. Couldn’t eat another bite.  

                Thankfully we had to walk back to the car at Smitty’s, which gave us a combination of fresh air and time to let the food settle and for us to make the only decision we could.

                We had to go to one more place.

                We figured since we were here, we would by Kreuz and get a small amount of food, just to complete the triangle.

The Big Barn

Where the magic happens

Maybe not so much brisket this time

                Kreuz is close to the highway and in a much larger and newer  building than the others.  Also, we noted it is directly across the street from a graveyard, which is handy since we thought there was a decent chance we would die if we ate any more food. This way the staff could just roll us across the road and kick us in an open hole without disrupting the dinner rush too much.

                Kreuz is enormous. They use the same system as Smitty’s  for the most part. The building looks like a giant barn, and inside the walls are lined with classic 4H pictures of people showing cows, sheep and pigs at fairs. The size of the place combined with having tables for four and six rather than all long, communal tables made this my favorite dining area of the three.

                The food was excellent as well. Despite being stuffed to the gills, Kreuz had sausage I felt was the tops of the trip. Not dry but also not greasy, it held it’s structural integrity well and didn’t crumble as soon as you cut it. The casing was thick and had a satisfying snap when bitten into or cut. I loved it. The brisket more than measured up and approached Black’s quality, although the rub didn’t quite get it to the top of the list.

                By the end of our time in Kreuz we were looking for a set of cots to lay down and take a nap, alas there were none to be found. We packed up what leftovers we had in another paper wrap and it went into the (now very pleasant-smelling) trunk with the others. We got back in the car and headed north to Austin, content it would be a long, long time before any of us would be hungry for BBQ again, no matter how good.

                Until we had the leftovers the next day, of course.

                Here’s the final Lockhart scoreboard:

                Best Brisket: Black’s

                Best Pork Rib: Smitty’s

                Best Sausage: Kreuz

                Best Thing in the History of Anything: Black’s Beef Rib

                So it’s a slight edge to Black’s, but really it is impossible to go wrong in Lockhart. Sometimes a slogan on a “Welcome To…” sign rings true. This is the case in Lockhart, the BBQ Capitol of Texas.