Something about watching a man in a grease stained white jacket and a large knife portioning out my lunch, makes me crave it even more with every slice. Service is curt and efficient at this Lockhart legend, but the only niceties I need were piled on that butcher paper.

An order of fatty brisket, lean shoulder clod, ribs, sausage and a large pork chop were tantalizing atop the greasy butcher paper. The sweet glaze on the ribs adds a great flavor to the meat, but the smokiness was missing. The fatty brisket had too much unrendered fat, but the flavor from the rub was great. The smokiness was better than the ribs, so it surprised me that the shoulder clod was missing the smoke factor. It was good enough, but not to the level that I’ve come to expect from Smitty’s.

The pork chop and the sausage were the best. The sausage was fatty with a good snap, and a great smoky flavor, while the pork chop was equally good. It could have been a little more moist, but the delicious crust made up for it.

On our way out we noticed this older man taking a smoke break in this historic corridor, and something about the picture just oozes Smitty’s.

While they didn’t get the coveted sixth star, this is still a must on any BBQ trip in this region, and I fully expect them to come back into exemplary form on my next visit.

(This review originally appeared on Full Custom Gospel BBQ.)