Texas Barbecue Reviews

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 6.5 to 7/10. A hesitant yes, but only for the history connection, as they began back in 1900, and for their unique coffin smokers. This was easily the largest barbecue restaurant I’ve ever been to in terms of square footage and seating options, as the place was absolutely massive with multiple seating areas inside. Similar to Black’s Barbecue down the street, they seem to have gotten complacent on their previous successes of the past for far too long and are no longer dishing out the best of the best in smoked meats. While the coffin smokers are a really cool sight to see, and the place smells fantastic with a pleasant smoke smell being emitted throughout the entire building, it fails to deliver much of anything other than a low price and traditional aesthetics. Beyond coming in to check out the pits for a quick picture, there really isn’t a need to come here, as the food falls far short of others in Texas

Date Visited: 1/28/2021

Address: 619 N Colorado St, Lockhart, TX 78644

Day of the Week: Thursday

Time of Day: 10:30 AM. Open at 10:30 AM

Owner: Keith Schmidt, 5th generation owner (Grandson of Edgar” Smitty” Schmidt and son of Rick Schmidt)

Website: https://www.kreuzmarket.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 1900 (121 years)

Number of People in Line: 2 people in front of me and 4 came in behind me after about 10 minutes

Regional Style of BBQ: Central Texas

Total Cost: $22. Brisket, burnt ends, spare ribs, sausage, coleslaw, & Shiner Bock

Type of Wood: Post Oak

Type of Smoker: Coffin Smoker. Indirect-heat brick pit

Type of Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Best Dish: Burnt ends

Best Sauce: Didn’t have any, need further review

Best Side: Sauerkraut

Interior Description: Massive country store. Room for hundreds of people with two different eating areas. Really cool experience to see due to the sheer size, with vaulted ceilings and a great smoke smell running through the whole place

Pro Tip: Bring silverware as they only serve the food on butcher paper with no utensils offered. It might be a good place for a family with the large space and cheap food options

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 7.5/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: Served as fatty or shoulder clod. Both were good, but nothing special, as they have minimal seasoning and opt to lean more on the smoke flavoring as the main taste, similar to Black’s Barbecue

Burnt Ends

0/10 Ranking: 8.5/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: Melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, with strong smoke and minimal seasoning flavors coming through each bite. They were very fatty burnt ends, and I found I could only eat maybe two of the pieces due to their richness and them being slightly too salty

Pork Spare Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 5.5/10

Description: The rib was chewy and had minimal meat on the bone, with a not great flavor overall. Would not order this again

Sausage

0/10 Ranking: 6/10

Description: Casing had a nice snap to it. This sausage was nowhere near as greasy as Smitty’s was. That said, I could handle one bite as this was the fattiest blended, and most over-seasoned sausages I’ve ever had. The internal meat blend also had a very loose hold to it, which led it to crumble apart rather easily compared to other sausages. Wouldn’t recommend this one

Sides – Sauerkraut

0/10 Ranking: 6/10

Description: This one reminded me of my Grandma Jill’s version of kraut, which had a 50/50 rate of actually being good. This one had an okay flavor, but I couldn’t fully decide on if I actually liked it or not

Interior & Menu Photos

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 7.5/10 and maybe. Might be worth a stop for the history of the region and its place in barbecue lore, but not for the barbecue itself. If you want some great barbecue that is still made by the family, hit up the younger generation’s location over at Terry Black’s in either Austin or Dallas for a better experience. As far as the original location, they get points for having the traditional barbecue vibes present and accounted for, such as old school signage on the walls and country legends such as Marty Robbins and Willy Nelson playing over the speakers; it’s definitely a call back to another time. Combined with the reasonable prices and the slices of white bread given with each order, they hold true to Texas tradition of being an affordable and filling option for its customers. That said, the love and dedication to the barbecue itself seems to have fallen by the wayside as the generations have passed it down. From my time engaging with the staff, it seems like this is simply a job and nothing more to them, with no love or excitement about the food emanating out at all, both in the experience and the taste of the meat. While this is one of the originals in Central Texas barbecue history, the standards and quality that made them famous appear to no longer be there, and as such, your time and money should be spent at other pits that are kicking out far better food and experiences

Date Visited: 1/28/2021

Address: 215 N Main St, Lockhart, TX 78644

Day of the Week: Thursday

Time of Day: 10:00 AM. Open at 10:00 AM

Owner: Kent Black (3rd generation owner after Edgar Black Sr & Jr)

Website: https://www.blacksbbq.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 1932 (89 years)

Number of People in Line: 0 when I got there and had 2 people come in by the time I finished up eating

Regional Style of BBQ: Central Texas

Total Cost: $20 with tip. 1/4lb brisket, 1 pork spare rib, 1 baby back rib, 1 small piece of burnt end, 1 Shiner Bock

Type of Wood: Oak

Type of Smoker: Steel & red brick pits

Type of Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Best Dish: Brisket for its smoky flavor

Best Sauce: Original

Best Side: Didn’t have any during my visit, needs review

Interior Description: Old school feeling with some modern updates along the way. From the red and white checkered picnic table cloths, to the wood paneled walls and floor, it creates a cozy, clean, and comfortable environment that any family would feel comfortable taking their kids to, but could also be enjoyed by the enthusiasts working their way from one pit to the next

Pro Tip: Skip making the trip down to Lockhart in general, as none of the originals have the quality they might have had at one point. Unless you are a history nerd for Central Texas barbecue lore, your time and money are better spent in other locations

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: I got a slice of the lean and a slice of the fatty. The lean was very juicy with good flavor and smokiness, but had little to no seasoning coming out of the bark. The fatty option was good as well, but it really didn’t provide an improvement from the lean. While they were both tasty and juicy overall, the lack of outer seasoning kept them from having a higher rating

Burnt Ends

0/10 Ranking: 7/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: When I placed my order, I wasn’t expecting to find burnt ends as an option, as they had offered me the choice between lean and fatty for my brisket. That said, the guy behind the counter cutting my brisket, heard my question and said he could cut me off a burnt end, which, I’ll be honest, sounded a little odd to me. He proceeded to cut me the very tail end of the flat, the complete opposite side of the point that he had just cut my fatty piece from, and handed it over to me. When I bit into it, the burnt end had the most intense smoke flavor I had ever come across, which I enjoyed, but being the end it was overdone and too tough to fully enjoy. Can’t say I would call this a true burnt end, as I think the guy was just trying to please me and my request, but I would be down to order again and see what round 2 has to offer, as that smoke flavor was no joke on intensity

The small dark piece in the middle was the “burnt end”

Pork Spare Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 7.5/10

Description: Similar to the baby back ribs, they had minimal seasoning to them, but had great smoke flavor running through them. The ribs themselves were tender, but not quite to the level of falling off the bone. They were a good rib overall, but nothing special

Pork Baby Back Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 7.5/10

Description: The ribs had minimal seasoning on the exterior, but had good smoke flavor to it. The texture wasn’t falling off the bone, but it was tender overall. Compared to the spare ribs, these had a lot more meat to them, so I’d opt for the baby backs between the two