Welcome to the BBQ Capital of Texas!!  Hansell, Dickie and I went on a mini-roadtrip to Lockhart, Texas on Friday for a little best of the best research.  We decided to hit up three of the most talked about BBQ places in town and document our favorites at each place.  After 45 minutes of driving and discussing strategy, we arrived at our first stop.

We walked into Smitty’s completely starving, but agreed to stick to the plan of not over-eating at our first stop and ordered 1/2 lb of brisket, 1/2 lb of pork ribs, 1 sausage link, and a few sides.  After we finished eating, I fired up the Notes app and the discussion began.

We finished off every bit of styrofoam and brown paper and, still feeling hungry as planned, headed to our next stop: Black’s.  We ditched every ounce of plan we had when we stepped into Black’s and Dickie saw a two pound cow rib (single, one rib) and I saw mac and cheese and nanner pudding.  The boys got primal and ate some meat straight from the bone.  We jotted down a few more notes and left feeling full.

Our last stop was Kreuz, where I had visited during SXSW.  I didn’t feel like I could possibly eat one more bite, but we ordered very similarly to our first stop: 1 jalapeño sausage link, 1/2 lb of brisket, and 1/2 lb of pork ribs.  We didn’t do nearly as much damage as we did at the other places, but ate enough to document our final decisions.

Smitty’s

– Best pork ribs

– Best sausage texture

– Best tasting sides

– Best Dickie quote “atmosphere is banging!”

Black’s

– Best beef ribs

– Best selection of sides

– Best BBQ sauce

– Best Dickie quote “best beef rib in the entire history of the world (even better than caveman days)!”

Kreuz

– Best brisket

– Best sausage flavor

– Best Dickie quote “no sauce given, no sauce needed!”

I couldn’t believe how easily we came into agreement on everything.  But I think it’s safe to say that what we agreed on most was the experience.  If you’re an Austinite, I highly suggest taking your next visitor on an unofficial BBQ tour!