Their food critic had this to say after sampling barbecue in 11 states from the east coast to the west coast.
Hell, yeah! Lockhart BBQ freakin' RULES!!! Take that, you punk-assed Kansas City, North Carolina, and Llano *******!
I went to Gonzales with my parents last weekend and had my first Lockhart BBQ in a long time on the way back. It does indeed pwn hard.
It would take years just to do Texas BBQ justice, so I give the reviewer credit for not only finding a place like Smitty's but recognizing it for its greatness.
The best Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina barbecue joints all suck *** compared to the average stuff in Texas.
as i read this thread i am eating 2 ribs, half a link and a slice of brisket leftover from my lunch yesterday at city market in luling. it dominates all. i should have gotten 2 racks to go.
Can I get an "Amen" to Texas pretty much kicking *** on everything else everywhere? As someone funny once remarked, "It's GOOD to be The King."
GakFoo, I have only eaten at one BBQ place in Llano: Coopers. Dried out meat is all I have ever gotten there (eaten there twice). I find the place to be very over rated and not near the level of Q produced in Lockhart. Is there some where else I should be trying?
theu, i was definetely refrering to cooper's. i have been there dozens of dozens of times, and i have only experienced dry 'que once or twice, late in the day, which i wrote up to me showing up later in the afternoon after swimming in the river all day (and who doesn't have a bad day now and then, i know i do). enough folks have posted about dry 'que from cooper's to make me wonder if they have a bad pit man some days or what. however, that's not my experience. at its best, cooper's is my #2 spot in central texas. far and away #1 is city market in luling. i would drive for days to eat it. thank god i am only an hour or so away. i keep stopping at kreuz and smitty's over the past few years and am just unimpressed. i used to go to kreuz regularly years ago before the split, and kreuz and smitty's are still passable, nothing special, but with city market just 10 minutes down the road, why even bother?.
I went to Blacks about a year ago, amazing. I went to Taylor the other day, it was good, but no Lockhart!
Memphis & KC BBQ would be better if everyone from around there would STFU about it. I get worn out on yankees and southerners in Dallas telling me how our BBQ sucks, yet they've only tried Dickey's or Sonny Bryans'. Haven't even heard of Lockhart & Luling.
I love KC & Memphis BBQ. I'm not as much of a fan of vinegar- and mustard-based sauces like you get in the eastern US, but Memphis, KC, and St. Louis know how to do ribs (in particular). Texas rules all when it comes to brisket, though.
I read and re-read the paragraphs in the WSJ story about Texas Q in general and Smitty's in particular over and over. Man, that is some of the best prose I've read since "Cold Mountain." Mailed a copy to my brother-in-law in KC, who's a Q head like the rest of us and doesn't make a trip down here without demanding a roadie to Lockhart, Luling, Llano, Taylor, Elgin, hell or combinations of the above. While he likes his KC barbecue, he acknowledges that Central Texas Q rules. The Wall Street Journal recognizes value, for sure.
