Kreuz Market, a high cathedral of Texas barbecue

Kreuz Market, prices circa 2011

Editor's note: Barbecued Adventures will be relaunched in early 2014 with new posts about barbecue, pitmasters and related travel. This post dates back to Feb. 20, 2011. Thank you for reading and place come back often. 

As you might recall from my earlier article about Lockhart, Texas' Smitty’s Market, back in the late 1990s, a disagreement among family members led Rick Schmidt to construct a new home – some might say a cathedral – for his barbecue.

Mike Mills, in a profile of Schmidt in his book Peace, Love and Barbecue, retold a story related to him by a journalist. When the enormous building was going up, people would walk into Smitty’s and ask, “What denomination is that church they’re building up the street?” The staff would respond, “Why, that’s the Church of Kreuz!”

When we visited on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, it afforded us plenty of places to sit, but I understand that it is hard to find a table here on a Saturday.

Roy Perez

The sign on the door offers fair warning to traveling salesmen: “No Salesmen – Every Third Salesman is Shot & The Second One Just Left!"

Located about a quarter mile north of the old location, at 619 N. Colorado (also route 183), Kreuz Market obviously shares a lot of good DNA with those who continue to turn out tasty barbecue back in the original location at Smitty’s.

The fire pits at Kreuz Market are exactly the same as at Smitty’s. When the place opened in 1999, Schmidt and his longtime employee Roy Perez staged a ceremonial carting of the coals up the street to fire up the new pits with “authentic Kreuz coals.” 

So you know the family feud isn’t too fierce.

And they exclusively use oak. You should see the fence that surrounds the wood pile.

Along with the new building came new items on the menu, including pork spare ribs, beans, German potato salad, sauerkraut and jalapeno cheese sausage.

Because this was the third barbecue restaurant that we’d visited in Lockhart within about three hours, my wife and I opted to share some pork ribs.

We love the ribs!

While I could get into trouble ranking their beef brisket with the other haunts here, I believe we are on firm ground when I write that Kreuz’ pork ribs were the best we’d had in more than a week in Texas.

We visited with several other people who also had come from many miles away to eat at Kreuz Market, including a couple of brothers who had driven in from North Carolina (one of them took our picture seen here).

However, I am disappointed to report some false advertising about this place. In television programs and even on Kreuz’ web site, it was been reported that if you want barbecue sauce or folks, “they are missing in action from Kreuz Market to this day.” 

A sign inside proclaims, “No Barbecue Sauce: Nothing to Hide.”

Not true. As you’ll see in the picture, there is a barbecue sauce here and it is excellent. But I will agree that it also remains an optional condiment.

Another sign proclaims that they only take cash, no credit cards. Also not true, thank goodness.

Location we visited:
Kreuz Market
619 N. Colorado St.
Lockhart, Texas
512-398-2361

 
 

Smitty's -- A barbecue time machine in Lockhart, Texas

The open fire pit at Smitty's

Editor's note: Barbecued Adventures will be relaunched in early 2014 with new posts about barbecue, pitmasters and related travel. This post dates back to Feb. 14, 2011. Thank you for reading and place come back often. 



From the moment that you walk through the doors of Smitty’s Market, 208 S. Commerce St. in Lockhart, Texas, it’s like stepping out of a time machine that propels you back to the 1930s. 

There is very little light in the entry way, except for the glow from the fiery coals and logs emanating from the barbecue pits located down at the other end of the long hallway.

As you make it halfway down the hall, to your right is a doorway into a simple, more brightly lit dining area, where you can pick up sides, drinks and even ice cream and then sit with your food at long, communal tables.

But you’ll first continue down the hallway towards the brick hearth. The temperature gets higher and your anticipation for the barbecued meats and smoked sausage also rises.

Here you make your selection much in the same way they did more than 100 years ago. Smitty’s is located in the same building where Charles Kreuz opened a German grocery store for cotton pickers and other field hands who weren’t allowed in local restaurants.

You still get your food served the same way, on brown paper without sauce. Utensils are optional. Inside the much cooler dining room, you’ll also find crackers, local cheeses and RC colas.

It's somewhat hard to believe that Smitty's has a web site.

The dining room at Smitty's looks unchanged from the 1950s.

"This building has always been barbecue, and it has a great ambiance," says current owner Nina Schmidt Sells, in an article on the restaurant’s web site. "We always have repairs, upkeep and maintenance, but we do our best to preserve the building without replacing or detracting from anything."

Smitty’s is also a story of a family and a disagreement. 

In 1948, Charles Kreuz sold the business to Edgar Schmidt, who had worked there since 1936. In the 1960s, Edgar Schmidt closed the grocery but kept the restaurant going. About a quarter century later, he sold the business to his sons, Rick and Don, who ran it together until Don’s retirement in 1997.

The book, “Peace, Love and Barbecue,” by Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe, tells the story (albeit a one-sided story) of a “feud” Rick Schmidt had with his sister, Nina, which led to the opening of Kreuz Market (more to come later).

“It wasn’t a feud. It was just ‘get out’ and I got out!,” he said in the book. “After 99 years at the same location, I’m not proud of it, but family deals happen. When my dad died, he left the business to me and the building to my sister, so she wound up being my landlady.

“She decided she wanted to be in the barbecue business and I couldn’t get along with her and negotiate the lease. And I couldn’t buy the property,” he said.

Sells’ son, James Fullilove, became the pitmaster and the business was named for her father, “Smitty” Schmidt.

The smoked sausage at Smitty's brings on a smile.

I opted for their delicious sausage, which gave me a smile similar to the one you’ll see in the accompanying photo. The sign in the window proudly proclaims their “homemade wieners” for good reason.

Texas Monthly has named Smitty’s one of the top five restaurants in Texas. It is one of the four great barbecue joints here that contribute to Lockhart’s reputation as the “Barbecue Capital of Texas.”

As we left, the logs continued to burn in the old pit, giving off a warm glow that seemed appropriate for a late December day, turning out big flavored meats for those who followed us.

Location we visited:
Smitty's Market
208 South Commerce
Lockhart, Texas
512-398-9344

“Take me back to Black’s," our first stop in Lockhart, the Barbecue Capital of Texas

Black's Barbecue

Editor's note: Barbecued Adventures will be relaunched in early 2014 with new posts about barbecue, pitmasters and related travel. This post dates back to Feb. 6, 2011. Thank you for reading and place come back often.





The sign outside Black’s Barbecue says they’re open “8 days a week.”

Back in February of 1965, the Beatles released a single of the same title. Thirty-three years earlier, Edgar Black Sr. and a partner opened a little meat market in Lockhart, Texas.

In those days before refrigeration, it became necessary to cook and sell already cut meat as barbecue.

According to their web site, Norma Black, daughter-in-law to the original owner, says of the sign outside the main entrance at 215 N. Main St., "If you're here as much as we are, you find a few extra days in that time ... It's easier to remember when we're closed -- Thanksgiving and Christmas -- than when we're open."

Today, we are thankful for that. Black’s remains as popular as ever and is the oldest barbecue restaurant that has been continuously operated by the same family in the state of Texas.

Step inside and as you wait in line, you’re immersed in the history of Black’s and, to some extent, Texas.

Fresh with a degree from Texas A&M, Edgar Black Jr. and his wife took over the place in 1949 after his father died suddenly. They were going to run it until they could find another family member to take it over.

You know you're in Texas in Black's dining room.

Pictures on the wall show their life together and introduce us to a family that is now operating the restaurant into its fourth generation, after 80 years.

Also up on the wall to your right are framed photos of local visiting celebrities. There are pictures of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards and the 36th president of the United States, Lyndon Johnson, who asked the Blacks to serve their sausage on the grounds of the U.S. Capital.

To your left are windows, where you jealously watch the fortunate ones who already are digging in.

When you reach the vegetables at the salad bar and steam table, you realize that you’re here for more than a history lesson. Deviled eggs. Pinto beans. Black-eyed peas. Cole slaw. Potato salad.

It’s all freshly made. Just like the brisket.

According to the Blacks, Edgar, Jr. was one of the first barbecue places in the country to exclusively use the brisket cut of beef. They say others copied them.

While I won’t enter that debate, I will say that Edgar Jr.’s recipe to cook briskets coated in a combination of black pepper, salt and spices, over oak logs for 24 hours, is delectable.

Next time, we’ll have to try the turkey. Or the chicken. Or the ham. The only blemish on our experience was my wife’s pork ribs, which were a little dry (but then this is Texas).

In recent years, in response to “a lot of people from the North,” Norma Black created a sauce for the meat, which I tried. A young barbecue aficionado from nearby Austin recommended that I also use the Ghost Chili sauce, which I did not find as hot as expected.

I first learned of Black’s Barbecue thanks to the Travel Channel’s “Barbecue Paradise” program. But it also has received considerable national recognition in outlets such as the New York Times, Texas Monthly, Bon Appetit and Gourmet (which it has outlasted). You’ll find all the video and articles online at their web site at www.blacksbbq.com.

The bumper stickers say, “Take Me Back to Black’s.” I only wish it weren’t so far away from where we live, in Indiana.

Location we visited:
Black's Barbecue
215 North Main Street
Lockhart, Texas
888-632-8225 

Lockhart, Texas: “The Barbecue Capital of Texas”

Caldwell County Courthouse

Editor's note: Barbecued Adventures will be relaunched in early 2014 with new posts about barbecue, pitmasters and related travel. This post dates back to Feb. 1, 2011. Thank you for reading and place come back often.

According to official sources, the town of Lockhart, Texas, is home to the state’s oldest public library and the oldest Protestant church.

The Caldwell County Courthouse aptly is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

On the map, Lockhart would seem to be another small Texas town, located about 45 minutes south of Austin and about 90 minutes north of San Antonio.

On the day we visited, the downtown square resembled the sleepy Texas town depicted in the Academy Award-winning drama, "The Last Picture Show." Sadly, many shops were closed that Wednesday, including the consignment shop my wife wanted to inspect, as well as the bakery on the square. Some local teens, accompanied by an old hound dog, aimed us to a place for ice cream on this warm afternoon.

The 1996 Christopher Guest comedy "Waiting for Guffman" and the 1993 Academy Award nominated drama "What's Eating Gilbert Grape(starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp)" were filmed here, including at the historic courthouse square. The city's Wal-Mart store was used in the 2000 Natalie Portman film "Where The Heart Is."

But where I had seen Lockhart before had been on television.

The fourth episode of the Travel Channel’s “Food Wars” series featured a barbecue and family debate between two local joints, Kreuz Market and Smitty's Market. Together with Black’s Barbecue – the oldest such restaurant in the state to be operated by the same family – and Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que, the town has been dubbed “The Barbecue Capital of Texas.”

By the Texas Legislature, no less, in 1999. Until recently, that’s also what it said on the welcome sign as you entered town on Highway 183. It's what drew us here.

Although it only has a population of about 12,900, an estimated 23,000 people eat at Lockhart’s four barbecue restaurants each week – or about 1.2 million a year (as reported in the state travel guide).

Diners at Black's Barbecue

So it is no surprise that Mayor Lew White closes the deal when describing his community on the city’s web site by saying that it has, “above all, the best tasting barbecue to be found anywhere!”

His statement is debatable, but from the moment we entered town, we knew we had entered into a historic place, a destination worthy of its billing. Over the next few postings, I’ll present each one of them individually, with the exception of Chisholm Trail (admittedly an oversight), which one local told me was “the new kid on the block.”

But there was only so much barbecue we could eat in one day.

It's True: 17th Street's Barbecue = Food + Family + Love

Editor’s note: This column is dedicated to Trent Cannon, our server; and Chris Williams, assistant manager, of 17th Street Bar & Grill in Marion, Ill. Two of the nicest people we’ve met in a while, who I hope won’t been too upset that it took me eight months to write this column.

Back in 2007, I took copious notes while watching a special on the Food Network, “Bon Appétit Picks the Best.” The television program had followed the magazine’s September 2007 issue, which named 17th Street Bar & Grill as having the best ribs in America.

Those notes became the start of a “bucket list” for barbecue for me.

Coming home from a long road trip on a rainy New Year’s Eve in 2010, my wife Donna and I pulled off I-57 in Marion, Ill., to fuel up and find a satisfying meal that didn’t come in a paper bag.

We don’t have a GPS in our car, but often we are navigated to surprisingly good food when we’re traveling. On this stormy night, we stumbled upon 17th Street Bar & Grill.

As owner Mike Mills (pictured here) himself noted in his 2005 book, Peace, Love, and Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue, “Most people are a little confused when they learn Southern Illinois is a barbecue mecca.”

In 1985, Mills bought a bar in Murphysboro, Ill., which was locally known for its beverages, burgers and a little barbecue. Three years later, he and his friends formed the Apple City Barbecue Team and began competing in various competitions, both locally and internationally.

They placed third in their very first contest and have gone on to win hundreds of awards, including four times as World Champions and three times as overall Grand World Champions at the Memphis in May international event (Both are records).

Mills also was the 1992 Grand Champion of the Jack Daniel’s World Invitational Barbecue Cooking Contest and he won the Jack Daniel’s Sauce Contest that year as well.

He learned barbecue from his father, who, before grills were invented, would dig a hole in the ground and place a metal grate over it. His grandmother developed the sauce used by his family, which also has won many awards. Mills’ own contribution to the family heritage is his dry rub recipe, a blend of 18 spices that he calls “Magic Dust.”

Today, Mills is world famous. He operates four locations of 17th Street Bar & Grill restaurants – including the one we would visit – as well as three Memphis Championship Barbecue restaurants in Las Vegas. He also is a partner in Blue Smoke restaurant in New York City.

His book, Peace, Love, and Barbecue, won the 2006 NBBQA Award of Excellence and was nominated for a 2006 James Beard Foundation award. It is a great read.

Jeffrey Steingarten, a leading food writer who many will recognize as a frequent and acerbic judge on “Iron Chef America,” helped to make Mills famous in the pages of Vogue and wrote the book’s introduction.

All of this was much more than we bargained for when we pulled off I-57 at exit 54B, a few miles away from the U.S. Penitentiary that has been home to Pete Rose, John Gotti, Manuel Noriega and many other notable inmates.

Shortly after being seated, my wife and I explained to our server, Trent Cannon, how we were returning from an extended vacation where we had visited many of the places already chronicled in this blog, including those in Lockhart, Texas. We explained how fortuitous it was for us find the place that reportedly served the best ribs in America.

From that point forward – likely out of respect for all of the places we’d been – Trent treated us like famed Road Food writers Jane and Michael Stern.

Donna wasn’t terribly hungry so we decided to share a large pulled pork dinner with extra sides. But could I sample their brisket, I asked. Trent was happy to comply and then waited for my “informed” opinion about it and the pulled pork.

The brisket was on par with what we’d had earlier in the day at Whole Hog Café in Little Rock, Ark. It was succulent and tender. The pulled pork was comparable to the best we’d had in Memphis.

As Mills notes in his book, the Marion version of his restaurant has a relaxed family atmosphere, despite being more upscale than the original bar location. While sometimes it is hard to replicate the quality of an original location, we have no reason to suspect that our meals could have been much better if we’d headed 20 more miles up the road that night to Murphysboro.

This also was obviously a point of great pride for assistant manager Chris Williams. Our server Trent had described us and our culinary quest to him. As we were wrapping up, he stopped by and said we couldn’t leave until we’d tried their pork ribs.

I’m glad that he was so insistent. The meat tenderly came off the bone one bite at a time and was well flavored. No sauce was needed.

Thank you, Trent and Chris, for giving me the confidence and encouragement to write this blog. Our conversation that night about food truly reached a higher level and you helped me to realize that my opinions about barbecue could be meaningful to others.

And thank you, kind reader, for continuing to follow on this journey.

Sadly, we don’t travel often through Southern Illinois, so I’ll ask you readers to give Trent and Chris another pat on the back on your next visit to 17th Street. We hope to see them again soon and perhaps meet “The Legend” when we do.