Podcasts
August 29, 2018
Is Lockhart Brisket Actually Overrated?
'Austin American-Statesman' food critic Matthew Odam defends his recent article questioning the quality of the smoked brisket in Lockhart.
Lockhart
The Culture
August 2, 2018
Capturing the New Soul of Lockhart
Behind the scenes of our August cover shoot.
The Culture
July 25, 2018
How a New Generation Is Reviving Small-Town Texas
Dismayed by sky-high rents and yearning for a slower-paced lifestyle, a new generation of Texans is ditching the big city and fostering a Rural renaissance across the state.
BBQ Joint Reviews
June 1, 2017
Kreuz Market (Top 50)
We didn’t see pitmaster Roy Perez and his famous muttonchop sideburns on our last visit to the Lockhart institution, but the rest was reassuringly familiar. Rows of picnic tables ushered us back to a long, hallowed hall, and we soon found ourselves in a happy haze of post oak smoke.
BBQ
January 29, 2015
Keep The Kreuz Fires Burning
A new Kreuz Market doesn’t come along very often. They opened their doors in Lockhart as a meat market in 1900. In 1924 they moved to a new building, currently occupied by Smitty’s Market. They moved once again in 1999, thanks to a well publicized family…
BBQ
January 13, 2015
Houston Wright, a Butcher
Houston Wright cut meat, made sausage, and cooked barbecue at Kreuz Market in Lockhart for sixty years. He was tying sausage there before the brick building that housed the market (and is now home to Smitty’s Market) was built in 1924. He was deaf and mute by then—former Kreuz Market…
BBQ
October 22, 2014
Interview: Rick Schmidt of Kreuz Market, Part II
Former Owner: Kreuz Market; Opened 1900 (current location 1999) Age: 69 Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired Pit Wood: Post Oak It’s the most famous family feud in Texas barbecue. A disagreement between Nina Sells and her bother Rick Schmidt caused a rift that sent the historic Kreuz Market packing. After ninety-nine years…
BBQ
October 15, 2014
Interview: Rick Schmidt of Kreuz Market, Part I
Former Owner: Kreuz Market; Opened 1900 (current location 1999) Age: 69 Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired Pit Wood: Post Oak Rick Schmidt owned Kreuz Market from 1984 to 2011. He bought it from his father Edgar “Smitty” Schmidt, and sold it to his son Keith. Rick took a momentous step in moving…
BBQ Joint Reviews
August 1, 2014
Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack
A pulled pork sandwich with slaw and sauce in between a honey bun and served in a Styrofoam container – it doesn’t get much further from the barbecue you’d expect to get in Lockhart, Texas. That’s precisely why Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack has been successful over the past year. Instead of trying…
BBQ
July 30, 2014
Interview: Nina Sells of Smitty’s Market
Owner: Smitty’s Market; Opened 1999 Age: 64 Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired Pit Wood: Oak There’s plenty more to Smitty’s Market in Lockhart (formerly Kreuz Market) than the family split that occurred fifteen years ago. Nina Sells grew up in…
BBQ
December 24, 2013
Interview: Kent Black of Black’s BBQ
Photo provided by Black’s BBQ Pitmaster/Manager: Black’s BBQ, opened 1932 (current location since 1936) Age: 60 Smoker: Wood-fired offset smokers and gas-fired rotisseries Wood: Post Oak Black’s BBQ is a family affair. After starting in 1932, they now have the fourth generation, Barrett Black, working at the restaurant. Three of those generations recently…
BBQ
December 18, 2013
Interview: Roy Perez of Kreuz Market
Pitmaster: Kreuz Market, opened 1900 (current location since 1999) Age: 51 Smoker: Wood-fired offset smoker Wood: Post Oak The following is reprinted from the January 2014 issue of Texas Monthly, and also includes additional material from the interview taken on October 5, 2013. Kreuz Market is the most famous name in the…
Food & Drink
December 6, 2013
The Soul of a Pitmaster
For more than a quarter century, Roy Perez has been tending the fires at Kreuz Market and posing for photos with barbecue aficionados. It’s given him a lot of time to think.
Eat My Words
May 28, 2013
VIDEO: NBC News With Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn
Also, over at TMBBQ.com, Vaughn has a new review of Smitty's in Lockhart, perhaps the most surprising joint to not make the Top 50. …
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 16, 2013
Kreuz Market
We wanted to keep this renowned spot at the top of our list, where it’s been since our very first barbecue story, in 1973. But after repeated visits by various staffers, we had to be honest: we couldn’t. The brisket was consistently disappointing. The scanty fat on the “fatty” was…
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 16, 2013
Black’s Barbecue
Black’s has little in common with the more publicized Kreuz or Smitty’s other than that they are all in the same town. Instead of a mesmerizing encounter with a picturesque fire blazing at the end of an ancient brick pit like you’ll find at Smitty’s, at Black’s you’re funneled through…
Food & Drink
January 21, 2013
“Bizarre Foods” in Austin and Lockhart
The season premiere of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods came to Central Texas, with Andrew Zimmern hitting Kreuz, Lambert's, Black's, Pig Vicious, Contigo and more. …
The Culture
January 20, 2013
101–125
From John Warne Gates peddling barbed wire in San Antonio to a group of cowboys and ranchers holding the first rodeo in Pecos…
The Culture
January 20, 2013
101–125
From John Warne Gates peddling barbed wire in San Antonio to a group of cowboys and ranchers holding the first rodeo in Pecos…
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Smokin’
Don’t miss your ’cue: We pick the top joints in Texas for brisket, ribs, sausage, and all the sides. Plus, the godfather of barbacoa, the biggest free feast in the state, and more.
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
The World’s Best Barbecue Is in Taylor, Texas. Or Is It Lockhart?
A Cityslicker's Guide to the Pits.
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Lockhart: Kreuz Market
The old Kreuz Market was like a one-room chapel. The humble brick building off the courthouse square in Lockhart had turned out divine smoked meat since 1900. But just as churchgoers nowadays worship in larger halls, so too does the visitor to the new Kreuz Market, which opened in 1999…
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Lockhart: Smitty’s Market
Don’t bother going in the front door. You’ll end up in the parking lot behind the boxy brick building anyway, doing the Smitty’s shuffle: At peak hours, the lines invariably stretch out the back door. Patiently, you inch your way forward, passing the waist-high brick pits and perusing the list…
Eat My Words
October 29, 2011
TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days:” Smitty’s Market
Editor’s Note: Just one more day until the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival! As you surely know by now, we’ve been interviewing all the featured pitmasters, with questions from TM staffers, esteemed BBQ experts, Twitter followers and you, the readers of this blog. Today we’re featuring John A. Fullilove, 38 , of Smitty’s Market…
Eat My Words
October 27, 2011
Second fiddle barbecue
The luminaries of Texas barbecue are justly revered—from Lockhart's century old Kreuz Market, to Taylor's estimable Louie Mueller Barbecue to the ever-popular Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ in Llano. For the BBQ dabbler these names are familiar, but their pitmasters may as well be Hollywood celebrities…
BBQ Joint Reviews
February 11, 2011
Kreuz Market
Two years ago, I took a road trip with two friends and stopped at ten joints in a single day. Our final stop was Kreuz, and it did not disappoint. I was hoping to strike gold on this trip where Kreuz was again the tenth stop on a…
BBQ Joint Reviews
November 11, 2010
Black’s Barbecue
This was the morning where instead of discovering another great barbecue joint in Texas, Smokemaster1 and I were taking my friend Rob to the heart of barbecue country to find out what all the fuss was about. A stop at Chisholm Trail for excellent sausage and brisket but no…
BBQ Joint Reviews
November 9, 2010
Smitty’s Market
Smitty’s is just too good to dock it a star based on one mediocre visit, but this last one wasn’t up to the level I’m used to at Smitty’s. [After some poignant review of the last few visits, I must reconsider the high rating of five stars. Of…
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 16, 2009
Black’s Barbecue
Some joints are known for how well they do one meat or another, but Black’s does them all well. Brisket, ribs, sausage, and turkey were piled on top of our small plate, and they were all picture perfect. The brisket had a dark crust and deep-red smoke line.
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 14, 2009
Kreuz Market
On two previous trips to Lockhart, Kreuz was solid, but it has never been otherworldly. I assumed this trip would be no different, but it turned out to be one of my best barbecue experiences. I’ve eaten mounds of barbecue in my time, but this day was different. Two companions and…
The Culture
March 31, 2009
Ghosts Of War
Happy Texas Independence Day! Read five stories about our state's history, including this piece about the battlegrounds of Texas, which tell an incredible story of struggle, sorrow, triumph, and terror.
BBQ Joint Reviews
January 17, 2009
Smitty’s Market
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.
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 21, 2008
Smitty’s Market
Don’t bother going in the front door. You’ll end up in the parking lot behind the boxy brick building anyway, doing the Smitty’s shuffle: At peak hours, the lines invariably stretch out the back door. Patiently, you inch your way forward, passing the waist-high brick pits and perusing the list…
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 21, 2008
Kreuz Market
The old Kreuz Market was like a one-room chapel. The humble brick building off the courthouse square in Lockhart had turned out divine smoked meat since 1900. But just as churchgoers nowadays worship in larger halls, so too does the visitor to the new Kreuz Market, which opened in 1999…
Food & Drink
May 31, 2000
The Meating
Three friends, seven years, untold pounds of barbecue pork chops and prime rib, and a single tradition that elevates the experience above mere food.
Food & Drink
February 1, 1999
Pit Split
A family feud threatens to close the best barbecue joint in Texas.