In a state where county courthouses tend to be spectacular, this German-style courthouse on the Lockhart square was still something special. Still, when I think of Lockhart, I think of barbecue. The first stop on our three-restaurant tour: Smitty’s Market.

Smitty’s Market took over the old location of Kreuz Market after a rent dispute forced the previous tenant to relocate down the street after 99 years in the same location.

The walls surrounding the smokers are black. This isn’t a surprise, since the room has endured over 100 years of being perpetually pelted by smoke, dating back to the beginning of the Kreuz stay.

Smitty’s menu hasn’t been up for long, but it’s already yellowed from smoke. Whatever happened to ventilation?

The high tin-ceilinged dining hall featured enormous picnic tables and old-fashioned signs, a bowlful of fresh avocados and a well-stocked freezer of Blue Bell ice cream.

A three-way combo of brisket, sausage link, and pork chop, served on butcher paper. There were no forks, just knives. It’s pretty common to eat ‘cut with just your hands in central Texas. The meats were all incredibly greasy. It didn’t take long for the grease to bleed through the butcher paper onto the picnic table. Still, with grease comes flavor, and there were certainly some excellent bites of meat, especially of the big chop, but overall, it was too greasy for me.

Related Posts

1. Kreuz Market – Lockhart, TX – Friday, April 7, 2006
2. Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart, TX – Friday, April 7, 2006
3. City Market – Luling, TX – Friday, April 7, 2006
4. Cooper’s Pit Bar-B-Q – Mason, TX – Saturday, April 8, 2006
5. Southside Market – Elgin, TX – May 12, 2007

This entry is filed under Barbecue, Hill Country, Texas.