Heads-Up: Black's vs. Kruez Market

[Chefdavis]

On Friday July 3, a friend and I made the hallowed drive to Lockhart. BTW I know there are passions about tollroads in Texas, but 45 made it a much easier trip between I35 and 183.

The reason I specifically listed the day is that BBQ more than almost any food can vary day to day. So my observations are based solely on that day. Unless you were sitting at the table with me and my buddy on that afternoon please don't make comments like oh this location is always the best.......

IMO the reason brisket is perfect for BBQ is that it takes either a great deal of skill (or a long slow simmer, *shudder*) for it to be tender. For years it was considered a "less desirable cut" based upon consumer demand and consumer skill. "inferior" is not an accurate measure of meat, it can only be used to compare two cuts. The grade of beef is the only true measure of "quality" that is universally used and trust me no one that does BBQ in Lockhart is using Commerical or UCC grade meat. Sorry to rant, but if you have questions about meat grades follow the link below. It is really useful and it is several clicks down the page.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/i...

Other factors such as feed and type of cow do affect the flavor/ fat ratios

Back to the BBQ

We ordered and split at both places

1/2 lb of brisket (we did not specifiy what type on purpose as this is how the majority of people experience it

)

2 links of sausage (1 standard, 1 jalapeno)

4 pork ribs (unless I am wrong I would guess that they were both regular spareribs and not St. Louis style)

pickles, onion, bread

1 adult beverage each followed by water

Blacks:

I have been at least three times before and I was excited to return. Our first stop and we were freaking hungry.

Brisket: 1/4 in to 1/2 in smokey exterior and very tender interior with a bit of shine to it that indicated fat from the exterior had done its job and worked its way into the meat. Unfortunately despite the fact it had a nice smokey ring the brisket was truly lacking flavor. It was very disappointing because it looked perfect, but REALLY lacked smoked flavor and to some degree seasoning.

Regular Link: the coarse grind that Black's is known for, did not disappoint. "Crispy" skin and flavoral delight inside

Jalapeno Link: the grind was so coarse that the sausage fell to pieces with EVERY cut. The flavor was good, but it looked like crumbled sausage that might go on a pizza.

Pork Ribs: the color was VERY different from my last visit. it was a very light brown (khaki even) with almost NO smoke flavor and tough. I do not like "fall off the bone" ribs because generally this means steam or something else, but Black's pork ribs BATTLED to keep the meat to themselves. Beyond testing the tenderness of my other rib, I took only one bite of it and did not need to continue.

I do appreciate Black's use of wheat bread. Obviously a few slices of wheat bread do not counteract two meals of BBQ, but I like to tell little lies to myself. They also offered red onion which I wanted to like, but had lost some of its moisture and "snap"

Kruez (I had been to Smitty's last time)

Brisket: it was tender with a thick, rich, and tasty smokiness (it was approximately 25% less tender than Black's. After finishing our brisket my friend immediately wanted to go get more, but I said it would upset the balance, etc and he waited

Regular Link: (To be upfront, Kreuz's links are some of my favorite) This link did not disappoint in the flavor department, but was much greasier than last visit and my bread had a little difficulty keeping up

Jalapeno Link: a bit spicier than normal but for us that was not an issue and it was gone very quickly.

Pork Ribs: Smokey and "firmer" than the ribs at Black. More flavorful and and more tender so that on this day, they blew Black's away.

This review was based upon the food, not the staff, environment, families involved, etc

I feel sad that I will need to continue this type of work again and again :)

[rkaylor]

I recently started a job in Lockhart and have been frequenting the big 3 and have even made the trip to Luling for a taste of City Market. I really liked your review and found it to be fairly accurate and you are so correct about it being different everytime. The first few months I was a huge Blacks fan but the more I visited the more I started to see flaws. I have since backed off and am only going once every month or so. If you want to try some great southern cooking other than bbq in Lockhart, I highly recommend Sunshine Cafe. Which is right around the corner from Blacks and has some great daily specials, which usually include everything from drink (tea), salad, entree with 2 sides, and dessert, all for 5.99.