Texas BBBQ Review. The extra B is for BYOBB.

Roman will get that title.

I was in Texas last weekend for the 4th time in 2 months. I was in and around San Antonio visiting Kait for the New Year. On Saturday, the group of youngins (Texan word) went on a countryside BBQ tour of hill country. I tell you what (Texan phrase) we had some great food and had a great time.

Kreuz Market - Lockhart, TX - After driving about 2 hours towards Austin and passing my old stomping ground of New Braunfels and San Marcos, we reached Lockhart. Kreuz Market was our first stop. The building is huge and feels like a small warehouse. The line was long which is a good sign, but also meant we had to wait in line. There were actually two lines, one to get fixins, and one to get sides and drinks. After about half an hour, everyone was at the table ready to go. Unfortunately they were out of ribs (beef and pork) but the brisket, shoulder, and sausage were great. Kreuz prides itself on a no fork and no BBQ sauce policy. They claim their meet is soooo good, that you dont need forks, and BBQ is useless since they have nothing to hide. I think their sausage was the best I had all day.

Smitty's BBQ - Lockhart, TX - Also in Lockhart is Smitty's. They are sort of Kreuz' rival. The two were once owned by the same family (a hundred years ago) but had a split. They are about a mile apart from each other, so we didn't have much time to digest our prior meal. Smitty's had a gritty entrance. The walls were black (from years of smoke) and rough old men sat in the dark hallway giving us city slickers the eye. We got our order (which was a lot of food for not much money) and grabbed a table in the more friendly and campy dining area featuring beerhall seating. I went straight for a rib and cut off some meet for everyone, so I could take the bone for myself. I literally vaccuumed the meat off the bone right into my mouth. The bone was clean in seconds. That's what BBQ is all about. Everyone liked the meat at Smitty's and there was a consensus that Smitty's was in first place. I did notice everyone getting Blue Bell ice cream on a sugar cone and figured that must be some kind of Smitty's tradition. Actually, everyone was doing it because it was just a dollar which was just the right price for me to join in.

City Market - Luling, TX - I have to say, I don't think City Market got a fair shot. We quickly dismissed it as not that great, but I think the service turned us off. The beef was very tender and the sausage was juicy. I couldn't quite suck the bone clean but it was good. I enjoyed the BBQ sauce at City Market, but I think I was alone in assessing it as good.

Rudy's - Fair Oaks, TX - This was the home site for our group's BBQ mission, and our final stop. We  were all stuffed, but insisted on finishing the day at a place near home. Rudy's had decent meat, but what I really loved was their chop. That was fantastic, and I still daydream about it every now and then. The rest of their meat was adequate.

Cooper's BBQ - Llano, TX - In early December I was in Austin for WOD IV. Tridi hosted and took us to Cooper's BBQ Pit. The 4 of us on the trip each got about three pounds of meat to eat and have for later. I had some chicken which was amazing and some ribs that had meat quivering off the bone as it got close to my mouth. I think Smitty's and Cooper's were on the same high level.