5 hours ago, cmk4pres said:

Pinkerton's in SA is one of my favs. Grant does an awesome job. Love Corkscrew in Spring. Snow's still one of my favorites. 

I should've mentioned that the Pinkertons that I tried and enjoyed was in SA. The candy-painted ribs aren't for everyone I guess but I really liked them.

6 hours ago, GQ03 said:

I should've mentioned that the Pinkertons that I tried and enjoyed was in SA. The candy-painted ribs aren't for everyone I guess but I really liked them.

Grants smoked ham is unreal. 

10 hours ago, HuntFishTexan said:

That’s not what happened at all.  Terry isn’t a distant relative, he’s the other son of the owners.  He ran the original restaurant for many years before his brother came back to town to get involved with it.  Family fallout occurred and they went their separate ways.  
 

I’ve lived in Lockhart for 42 years and know both sides well.

It's so sad to see Kreuz and Smittys be reduced to below average BBQ. But most of the dinosaurs of the industry have fallen off including Louie Mueller and most especially Coopers.  

7 hours ago, BurntOrangeMD said:

1. When in Austin, Terry Blacks.   ...and Franklin's for only the brisket and pork ribs, and if you like waiting in line.

One could make the argument Terry Black's isn't even top 3-5 in Austin.

Edited April 4, 20251 yr by Hashtag

Must try is Brisket and Rice in Houston, get the brisket and rice(brisket cubed up in fried rice).  Also get the regular sausage and ribs, thanks me later for this order.

11 hours ago, horns96 said:

Thorndale Meat Market is a great place to walk up and get a spread without standing in line if you ever find yourself on US 79.  Also have great dry-aged bone-in ribeyes in the meat case some days, but call ahead.

Completely disagree with this....skip the BBQ there and go to Rockdale to 7 Bar BBQ(the pit master there trained under another top 50 BBQ pit master from the latest rankings. I do agree about their ribyes and I'd also recommend getting their sausage and smoking yourself.

City Market in Luling fan. In Dallas I went to Hard Eight and thought it was good. Took my Italian friends to Hard Eight, who always order sausage and introduced them to brisket. Game changer. They run a wine shop and we end up discussing wine pairings with BBQ.

Edited April 4, 20251 yr by Itsamystery

7 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Do any of you guys do your own barbequing? Reminds me of when I was in Athens, Georgia back in the day as a recent high school graduate and some guy asked me the most one should pay for companionship. I said zero.

Just about every weekend I have smoker or Big Green Egg cooking something 

1 hour ago, HuntFishTexan said:

Just about every weekend I have smoker or Big Green Egg cooking something 

You're more manly than these guys who buy BBQ.  I've never bought BBQ in my life. I mean, if a guy can't BBQ his own brisket and ribs, what is he doing?

15 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Terry Black’s was tremendous in Austin last week, again 

Head to Lockhart and the original Blacks. 

15 hours ago, TXFF said:

TB's can be excellent. It also takes the prize for worst I've ever had (brisket that was so salty it was inedible), and I've had a lot of Central Texas BBQ over the past 45 years. It also ticks me off that Terry stole the Black's name from his extended family who are the owners of the original smokehouse in Lockhart without permission (he was their accountant). The owner of the original apparently didn't want to start a family feud so they didn't press it, but you know they had to be pi$$ed.

Exactly the original is legit. Terry’s CPA office is right across the street. 

11 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

You're more manly than these guys who buy BBQ.  I've never bought BBQ in my life. I mean, if a guy can't BBQ his own brisket and ribs, what is he doing?

Oh shut up Lincoln.

14 hours ago, Alex Butler said:

kruetz, blacks, Schmit’s in Lockhart are all worth the trip. House Park BBQ is the real gem but you they only do lunch. It’s been there forever at 12th and Lamar right behind the tavern. Love some Bert’s BBQ too, we used to crush turbo guts in high school. Also Brown’s BBQ trailer at corner bar on S. Lamar is legit and the only place outside of Kruetz that does beef shoulder clod!

My dad is from Lockhart so I grew up on that BBQ. 

1 minute ago, Hashtag said:

Oh shut up Lincoln.

Mrs. Lincoln didn't like the play,

15 hours ago, TXFF said:

TB's can be excellent. It also takes the prize for worst I've ever had (brisket that was so salty it was inedible), and I've had a lot of Central Texas BBQ over the past 45 years. It also ticks me off that Terry stole the Black's name from his extended family who are the owners of the original smokehouse in Lockhart without permission (he was their accountant). The owner of the original apparently didn't want to start a family feud so they didn't press it, but you know they had to be pi$$ed.

He’s passed away but his wife is still alive. The son comes out often to talk to customers. He has no problem talking about that feud. 

Terry Black's in Waco is also very good.  For an out of the way place try Smoke Sessions in Royse City.

I live out of state but every March my dad, brothers and I play a 42 tournament in Hallettsville so we try different BBQ spots. My thoughts 

Top tier- Franklins, Goldees, Interstellar, Burnt Bean Co, 2M

2nd tier- Leroy and Lewis, La BBQ, Micklethwait, Stiles Switch, Corkscrew, Terry Blacks, Kreuz Market, Hutchins, Hurtado, Zavala

3rd tier- Baker Bros, Southside, Hays BBQ

Go for the history but not as good as those above - Blacks, Smitty's, City Market Luling, Coopers

Breakfast - Briscuits

What happened??? - Valentina

Not very good- Chisholm Trail

Haven't been to Pinkerton, Truth, Snows

4 hours ago, HuntFishTexan said:

Just about every weekend I have smoker or Big Green Egg cooking something 

This.  It’s how I spend my pastime.  Watching fire and listening to Townes or Robert Earl 

3 hours ago, harveycmd said:

You're more manly than these guys who buy BBQ.  I've never bought BBQ in my life. I mean, if a guy can't BBQ his own brisket and ribs, what is he doing?

I live right in the middle of 6 well known or local spots…but I don’t eat out often.  I learned a lot of tips over the years hanging out with those BBQ families, so I use those tips at hone

18 hours ago, GQ03 said:

 

I'll also say my buddies and I used to make it a yearly deal to go to the state basketball tournament and hit all of the best bbq spots in the Austin area. One year we decided to do the Lockhart tour and it was easily the worst experience of the 10 years we did it.

Where did you go in Lockhart??  Tough to find even any middling BBQ there.

11 minutes ago, Burnt Orange Horn said:

Where did you go in Lockhart??  Tough to find even any middling BBQ there.

This was nearly 10 years ago so I might be off on one of them but we hit Blacks, Smittys (I think), Kreuz, and Chisholm Trail (they were by far the worst). We might've hit one more but I'm not sure. Each of them at least had one solid item except for CT but I wouldn't call any of them good. I had to make a pit stop at the Blacks in San Marcos just so I wouldn't feel like it was a completely wasted bbq experience. 

17 hours ago, HuntFishTexan said:

That’s not what happened at all.  Terry isn’t a distant relative, he’s the other son of the owners.  He ran the original restaurant for many years before his brother came back to town to get involved with it.  Family fallout occurred and they went their separate ways.  
 

I’ve lived in Lockhart for 42 years and know both sides well.

Thanks for adding to the Black's story. You being a local, I trust your understanding is likely more accurate than mine. My report came from a media story I read at the time which may not have been completely accurate...you know how sketchy reporting can be these days. Regardless, the general point appears to be consistent...Terry took the awesome reputation of the Black family name and business as his own to compete with his family without permission. The story I read goes back many years so I can understand if the fallout eventually resulted in a feud despite early efforts to avoid it. Because of Terry's unethical behavior toward his family I will no longer spend money at his restaurants...it's not like he'll miss me with long lines routinely out the door. On the other hand, I take every opportunity to stop in at the original smokehouse in Lockhart which is still outstanding and among my favorites in Central Texas.

Accidentally repeated posting.

Edited April 4, 20251 yr by TXFF

Accidentally repeated posting.

Edited April 4, 20251 yr by TXFF

14 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Do any of you guys do your own barbequing? Reminds me of when I was in Athens, Georgia back in the day as a recent high school graduate and some guy asked me the most one should pay for companionship. I said zero.

I bought a Big Green Egg last year with a ton of accessories for temperature control, etc.  It makes spectacularly good brisket and is so easy.  I’ve done traditional salt and pepper rub and Salt Lick rub with great  success.  I never had any luck with pork ribs on my old Weber bullet, so I’ll be interested to see how they turn out on the egg.