Dallas Food - Legends in Lockhart (and Luling!)

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Legends in Lockhart (and Luling!)
Posted on Monday, November 01 @ 15:03:17 PST
Topic: Barbecue

Most Texans take justifiable pride in their cities' food scenes. And no foodstuff is more closely wedded to Texas identity than barbecue, often spurring personal, passionate debate among residents of the great State. So it's remarkable that, when the question arises about where the best Texas barbecue can be found, well-traveled 'cue fans are in substantial agreement: Central Texas. That's not to say that great barbecue can't be found elsewhere in the State. But most observers agree that Central Texas boasts a disproportionate, even uncanny, concentration of top-tier joints. And if Central Texas is the top-tier, Lockhart is the Ivy League of barbecue. After hearing some reports about a shift in the "balance of power" within the Lockhart scene, I decided to make the three and a half hour drive to see for myself. On to the food...

Entering Lockhart from the north, the first legend appears--Kreuz Market.

Kreuz Market has been around since 1900. Over the course of that century, Kreuz gradually evolved from a butcher's shop and market to a barbecue joint. A recent, controversial relocation took them from their original site (now the home of Smitty's, described below) to their present cavernous facility. Despite the current, more commercial digs, Kreuz still encapsulates cultural remnants of their origins, traces of which can be seen in their posted "rules."

Walking into Kreuz, you're immediately within sight and smell of the pits--long, red-brick chutes, with open fires on the end, and counter-weighted metal lids on top.

You walk up to the counter, order your meat (by weight) and watch as it's pulled from the smoker, carved on the block, and tossed onto a sheet of brown butcher paper for weighing and paying.

Since we were pacing ourselves, we ordered on the light side: one hot (i.e., cooked) link, one jalapeno cheese link, a half pound of fatty brisket, a half pound of prime rib, and one big spare rib. A few slices of store-bought white bread ensured that we got at least two food groups out of the meal.

We were off to a great start. I've experienced some inconsistency at Kreuz in the past. But, on this day, they seemed to be on their game. The brisket was fork tender, with good smoke penetration. The sausage was more finely ground and densely packed than that of the area competition, with little seasoning to distract from the smoky flavor. The jalapeno cheese sausage drew one complaint of too much heat, one complaint of not enough heat, and two expressions, ala Goldilocks, of "just right." The spare rib was tender, yet firm enough to hold to the bone; but, while the flavor was good, it wasn't as meaty as many of us would have liked. The prime rib was as good as I've had in Lockhart, which is to say as good as I've had (and am likely to have) anywhere--pink, smoky, sweet, and with a touch of saltiness in the rub. Since the purpose of this trip was to compare the Lockhart (and Luling) greats amongst themselves for an intended audience that's basically familiar with the overall quality in that area, there's some deliberate understatement in this write-up. For those who have never been to Lockhart, here's a rough translation: what you see spread on butcher paper above is the very telos of beef, the result of an alchemical transformation of smoke and cow into purest protein gold, a revelatory encounter that would turn (like Paul on the road to Damascus) your hairy-legged vegan girlfriend into a full-fledged, card-carrying carnivore.

After whetting our appetites, we headed into town for our next destination--Black's.

Black's has been family owned and operated since 1932. For some time, Black's had a reputation for having the best brisket in town, of being the tallest among these giants. And, on the basis of many of my own experiences (often on a multi-joint comparative basis, similar to this trip), I thought that reputation was deserved. Their brisket was consistently intensely flavored, well smoked, and ultra-tender, as fine a morsel as could be had in Lockhart. And, not to beat around the bush, I was troubled by some recent reports from credible sources that Black's had slipped--that, not only was it no longer the best, but was clearly inferior to the competition. Those reports are what led me to change my weekend plans and come down to investigate.

Black's is unlike its competition in several ways. They accept credit cards. They offer a traditional barbecue sauce. And they provide plastic utensils. There's a bit of local Luddite grumbling about such innovations. But, personally, I'm happy to have the convenience of a fork, the flexibility to pay with plastic, and the sauce option. (Actually, I usually go to Black's first, so I can pick up a few extra forks for the other joints.)

Black's also differs, in that most of their smokers are separated from the counter and block by a wall, with a quite literally "smoked glass" window.

While I've had some good experiences with Black's other meats (e.g., pork loin and smoked chicken), I've always found their brisket and sausage to be their strengths. So that's all we ordered here.

The sausage was very smoky, with balanced seasoning and a coarser grind than Kreuz. But it was, as some recent complaints had indicated, more loosely packed than it's been in prior visits. The brisket had a much smokier flavor than that of the competition. But the slices we had were (again, echoing recent complaints) comparatively dry. (When I say "comparatively," that's against the local competition, not against more pedestrian places where you often find biscotti-dry brisket.) The sauce, for anyone who cares, was as it's always been--a pretty good, conventional, red barbecue sauce with a mild vinegar kick. While the 'cue we got on this visit was not as bad as we might have expected based on some of the recent reports, I reluctantly admit that it looks like Black's might have slipped. Barbecue is notoriously finicky. And even the great places have better and worse days, making it unwise to judge based on a single visit. But since Black's brisket and sausage have been such consistent winners in my past experience, this day's performance--in light of the other reports--is disconcerting.

Next we headed around the corner, past the courthouse, to our next stop--Smitty's Market.

A little over five years ago, a family feud resulted in Kreuz Market's move to a new location, with another portion of the family carrying on in the original location under the name Smitty's Market. Family politics aside, this is where it all began.

And the history shows, in the high market ceilings, the antique jars in the dining room, the smoke-blackened red brick pits, and the thickly soot-encrusted walls. For atmosphere, Smitty's can't be topped.

Here we did some ribs, a link of sausage, and a half pound of brisket and prime rib. (Smitty's is well known for their pork chops, of course. But we do have our figures to look after.)

The sausage was very flavorful, coarsely ground, and with the distinct peppery note it always has at Smitty's. The ribs were flavorful, smoky, and tender, with a touch of saltiness. The prime rib looked great when it was cut, but seemed to lose a lot of its juices (and flavor) into the butcher paper. (Maybe they didn't let it rest properly.) The brisket, tender, smoky, and moist, was right up there with the best. Great barbecue in a great environment.

After hitting the Lockhart triumvirate, we jogged down the highway to Luling for City Market.

The City Market in Luling is another area legend, appearing on any short list of the "best in Texas." You walk through the former market (where you can get your sides, if you're so inclined, and drinks) to a small, smoky room in the back corner.

Opening the door reveals the pitmasters hard at work. Smoke coats the walls, the counters, slips of paper on the corkboard, and even the antique cash register. Great atmosphere.

At this (our last) stop, we ordered a few ribs, a sausage link, and a half pound of brisket. The ribs were on the dry side, perhaps in part because they were cut from the small end. The brisket was a little moister than Black's, but had less smokiness and beefy flavor than the better brisket we had on this day. The sausage was, as it usually is at City Market, less densely packed and much juicier/greasier than the others, but with good flavor. One of the first-timers in our group was surprised and delighted by the sweet, mustard-based sauce that's available for those who ask. It was all fine barbecue; but none of their meats topped its category for the day.

After polishing off the final bites at City Market, I raced back up I-35 to get back to Dallas in time to pick up my wife from the airport. But because of some construction traffic and inconveniently situated highway patrolmen, I kept her waiting a few minutes. So, when I finally spotted her standing next to her suitcase, I leapt out of the car, ran over to her, and gave her a big hug. I held her for a moment, then released, hoping to see an "I'm happy to see you, even though you're a few minutes late" look in her eyes. Instead, I saw in her furrowed brow an expression somewhere between puzzlement and displeasure. She said, "You smell like a campfire. Why do you smell like a campfire?"

Summary of Results
Here are the polling results from our little group. These aren't intended to be anything but a measure of reactions for particular cuts of meat on a particular day. Had we gotten larger ribs at City Market or a juicier cut of brisket at Black's, results may have been different. Had we gone on a different day or at a different time, who knows how it might have come out? Like I said, barbecue is finicky. Judgments have to be formed over time. A one-meal data set won't do it. But, with those caveats, here's what we thought...

Best Overall. We were unanimous that Kreuz Market was the best of the day. So many of their meats were at or near the top of their respective categories that this was an unusually easy choice for most of us. Coming in second place was Smitty's, which came at or near the top in a couple of categories. Third place went to Black's, whose brisket was favored for flavor (but penalized for dryness) and whose sausage was well-liked by a couple among us. Bringing up the rear was City Market, where the greasiness of the sausage won no fans and the skimpy ribs we got weren't representative of the best they're capable of (as I know from prior experience). [In my estimation, City Market should have taken third and Black's fourth.]

Best Atmosphere. First Place: Smitty's Market. Second Place: City Market. Third Place: Kreuz. Fourth Place: Black's. [I was a bit surprised that the commercial Kreuz came out ahead of Black's.]

Best Brisket. First Place: Kreuz Market. Second Place: Smitty's. Third Place: Black's. Fourth Place: City Market. [I would have placed City Market over Black's. But others were willing to let the dryness slide, given the bolder smoke flavor at Black's.]

Best Sausage. First Place: Kreuz Market. Second Place: Smitty's. Third Place: Black's. Fourth Place: City Market. [I agree with this ranking.]

Best Ribs. First Place: Smitty's. Second Place: Kreuz Market. Third Place: City Market. [I agree.]

Best Prime Rib. First Place: Kreuz. Second Place: Smitty's. [I agree. Smitty's prime rib is usually great, but faltered on this day. Kreuz's, on the other hand, was superb.]

Best Piece of Meat (in any category, from any restaurant). First Place: Kreuz's prime rib. Second Place: Kreuz's brisket. Third Place: Smitty's spare ribs. Fourth Place: Kreuz's sausage. Fifth Place: Smitty's brisket. [Kreuz's prime rib did deserve the top slot, by unanimous decision. But, beyond that, we had so many great individual cuts of meat that it's next to impossible to fairly rank them--a predicament I wish I encountered more often in the DFW area.]