Kreuz Market and Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart, TX

April 28, 2014August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

“The Lockhart Showdown”

Rudy: Lockhart, Texas, is a small town (population around 12,000) just outside of Austin that is known all over the country for producing some of the best barbecue in the world. The Huffington Post recently listed it as the #1 best city for barbecue in America.

Speedy: I made a visit to San Antonio, so Rudy and I decided to take in 2 of the big 4 barbecue places in town.

Rudy: I don’t want to say there is a trend, but Speedy has come twice to taste some of Texas’ best barbecue, yet no signs of Monk.

Monk: Hey now! I mean I’d love to have been able to come one or both times, but such is the life of a new dad. Not that I need to tell you…

Speedy: Rudy solved that problem by bringing his son with. More on that later…with so many great spots so close together, we figured this would be a good time to try a barbecue showdown and see which place was the best. We chose Kreuz’s Market and Black’s Barbecue. Both were ranked in Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ Joints in ~~Texas~~ The World!

Monk: …uhhh

Rudy: …Don’t blame me or get territorial, that’s the name of the article. Anyway, this would be some great eating.

Speedy: So let’s break it down into the different categories, give a winner for each category, and then we’ll crown the overall champion.

Atmosphere:

Rudy: This one isn’t even close. Kreuz Market looks like an old barn from the outside, and has a great barbecue joint feel to the inside. Even though they moved into a new building in 1999, lots of old photos and memorabilia hangs on the walls to give it a historic feel. They have plenty of signs around stating their slogan “No Sauce, No Forks, No Kidding.” After standing in line for 15 minutes, we walked into the smoker. That’s right, you walk right into the room where they are smoking the meat and they cut your order right in front of you.

Speedy: Black’s looks more like a cafeteria line, where you come through and spoon your own side. Like Kreuz’s, they do cut the meat right in front of you, and throw it on the scale to price out. There’s a fair amount of seating indoors that feels very “diner-ish” (as opposed to the plethora of long picnic tables at Kreuz’s) and very minimal seating in an outside area that, frankly, isn’t well kept up. Like Rudy said, from an atmosphere standpoint, we have a blowout.

Winner: Kreuz’s Market

Brisket:

Rudy: Kreuz is serious about their slogan that they don’t offer any sauce or any forks. And it really doesn’t matter, because neither is needed. I had the fatty brisket, which had great flavor, a good smoke ring, and a good amount of tug. While I liked it, the bark had no crunch to it and seemed to have little pepper in the seasoning. The brisket was good but not great.

Speedy: Agreed. One of the guys I was visiting in San Antonio ordered the lean brisket (amateur…) and it was very dry. Kreuz’s advertises that they don’t carry sauce because their brisket doesn’t need it, but this lean brisket most certainly did. With that being said, I was not disappointed at all with the moist brisket – it seemed to be cooked perfectly, but I think Kreuz’s takes the “let the meat speak for itself” thing a little too far. Rubbing on a little black pepper before the smoke never made anything taste worse.

As for Black’s brisket, I have no suggestion for how the brisket could be improved. It was perfect. It had just the right amount of tug, a good smoke ring, excellent flavor, and the right amount of bark. Being the brisket novice that I am, eating Kreuz’s and Black’s brisket back to back really let me see the difference between good brisket and great brisket.

Winner: Black’s

Sausage:

Rudy: Kreuz is famous for their sausage and ship them all over the world. They serve 2 different types of sausage, plain and jalapeno cheddar. I had both and thought, while both were very good, the jalapeno cheese was much better. Both had great flavor and a good amount of snap to the casings. The spice from the jalapeno, combined with the creaminess of the cheese was fantastic.

Speedy: I only had the plain sausage, which I thought was fine. I wouldn’t place an order to have it delivered to NC or anything, but I did enjoy my link. As Black’s was the second stop on our BBQ tour, neither Rudy nor I had the stomach room to try the sausage there.

Winner: Incomplete

Ribs:

Rudy: At Black’s I opted for the giant beef rib. When they weighed it and brought it to me, they said “Congrats, you got the 2 pound rib!” Getting the large portion is a normally a good thing, except when you are buying meat by weight and have already eaten the equivalent of two full meals. This rib was unbelievable. The meat was tender and flavorful. There was a great bark, and the fat was rendered evenly throughout the rib, resulting in every bite being tender and juicy. The only complaint that I have about it is the same one that I had about the brisket: I would have liked a little more pepper in the seasoning and a crunchier bark. But even without it, this rib was great.

Speedy: I had a similar rib, though mine was only one pound (which was still more than enough). I have no complaints. I thought it was perfect. Members from our group also got pork spare and baby back ribs. The baby backs were awesome – perfectly cooked and super tender. The spare ribs were good, but not great.

At Kreuz’s, the only ribs they serve are pork spare ribs. Honestly, I thought these were better than the spare ribs at Black’s, but not as good as the baby backs. And I don’t think anything on Kreuz’s menu could touch the glory of the giant beef rib we had at Black’s. It was that good.

Winner: Black’s

Sides:

Speedy: Since I knew we were visiting two joints in the span of a couple hours, I didn’t waste any stomach room on sides, save for a couple of bites of jalapeno corn bread at Black’s. But I’ll tell you who did: Rudy, Jr. RJ went to town on some mac and cheese at Kreuz’s. He must’ve eaten a pound of that stuff. When offered brisket, he would just throw it aside and dive right back in to the mac and cheese. What’s up with that, Rudy? Your son can’t eat some meat like a man? How are you raising this kid? I’m really starting to question your parenting skills…

Rudy: I can’t really explain it either. I was a bit ashamed of him turning away the brisket, but I guess it was good because that means there is more meat for me. However, if he loved barbecue, that would give me more ammo for taking him to more places. This was his first experience eating barbecue, so hopefully he’ll pick up on how it’s done before next time.

Monk: Well, congrats guys. Well done. You’ve officially made me even more jealous of the trip than I was before. Really wish I could have been there.

Winner: Who cares?

Overall:

The group consensus is that we all liked Black’s better. There was a noticeable difference in the quality of the food, which more than made up for the lesser atmosphere.

Winner: Black’s BBQ

Ratings:
Kreuz Market:
Atmosphere – 5 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs (docked for lack of variety)
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

Black’s Barbecue:
Atmosphere – 2 hogs
Brisket – 4.5 hogs
Ribs – 5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

Kreuz Market

Black’s Barbecue

Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen (food truck) – Charlotte, NC

April 14, 2014August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 3 Comments

Name: Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen
Date: 4/3/14
Order: Hand pulled NC pork shoulder plateful with Sis Gibson’s baked beans and Aunt Faith’s homemade chow chow and sweet tea (link to menu)
Price: $19.58 (don’t worry, I got 2+ meals out of it)

Monk: If you’ve eaten some of Charlotte’s best barbecue in the past decade, chances are it is in some way owed to Dan “Boone” Gibson. Along with his friend John “JD” Duncan, he helped start the original Mac’s Speed Shop on South Blvd (which in my opinion has gone downhill since they both left) in 2005 as well as more recently a Barbecue Bros favorite Queen City Q in 2012. Now, he has struck out on his own and started Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen, a food truck that has popped up in various south Charlotte office parks in recent months.

Boone’s family recipes, which don’t necessarily follow eastern or piedmont barbecue traditions, were the basis for Queen City Q and remain the basis for his food truck. So while they do have an eastern NC vinegar sauce, a SC mustard sauce, and a rib sauce (called “PoPo,” the same name used at Queen City Q), the signature pork sauce is apparently a mixture of the rib and mustard sauces. While it is referred to as a “Piedmont” sauce, you wouldn’t find anything like it at Lexington #1. The family influence is also evident in the names of the sides (again, some of which share names with sides at Queen City Q) – Sis Gibson’s baked beans with Neese’s, Aunt Nell’s mac-n-cheese, Aunt Faith’s homemade chow chow, etc.

You can choose either a “big sandwich” with one side or a “plateful” which comes with two. I ordered the hand-pulled NC pork shoulder plateful with baked beans and chow chow. And since it would likely be a while until I made it out again, I decided I also wanted to try the brisket and sausage. Thankfully, they obliged me with a couple of slices and a link for $6 extra. After a bit of a wait, the lady who took my order handed me two heavy boxes packed pretty well with smoked meat. I opened the boxes to a very strong waft of smoke, which was heavenly. The pork was moist, tender, and smokey and pulled with large chunks of bark. It. Was. Great. I mean, really, really great. I tried the Piedmont sauce with it but really, the meat didn’t need it at all.

The brisket was smokey, sauced, and had a good tug to it. The sausage link was slathered with the mustard sauce and it complemented it well. Both were really good. So at this point, Boone is 3-for-3. The beans and chow chow were reminiscent of the same dishes from Queen City Q, which I liked back then and liked on this day. There was also a small side of chow chow that I didn’t realize came with the pork (I wouldn’t have ordered a side of it if I knew).

Some minor nitpicks – the sweet tea wasn’t sweet at all and the ordering process could have been more efficient. A few folks who had ordered before I got there grumbled about the wait, and mine took maybe 7-8 minutes. Also, some hush puppies on the menu would have been nice – although logistically that might be tough in a food truck.

So does Charlotte’s best barbecue come from Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen? That’s hard to say, and I want to be careful not to romanticize too much simply because it comes from a food truck and everything can seem like it tastes better from a food truck. I can say that it is up there in terms of pork in Charlotte, and that I haven’t tasted too much better. I highly recommend you to track it down and try for yourself; as of this writing, Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen is available on Tuesdays at Coliseum Center Building 6, Wednesdays at Carmel Crossing office park at 51 and Johnston Road, and Thursdays at 5032 Parkway Plaza (near the Farmer’s Market off Yorkmont). (Update: apparently they are also at some Sizzlin’ Saturdays at the same lot that hosts Food Truck Friday – Camden at Park Avenue in Southend)

Speedy: Monk – I’ve read the entire review and I must say I’m skeptical. I’ve never sampled the food at Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen, but I just find it hard to fathom that it’s better than current Charlotte favorite Midwood Smokehouse. (Editor’s note: Speedy is not on board with the food truck revolution)

Rudy: In Texas I have seen some great barbecue come from food trucks (i.e. Franklin’s started in a truck). But the problem I have with them is, where is the pit and how are they cooking the meat? The two best barbecue trucks in Austin have permanent locations, so they have their pits right there, but what about this one that drives around between locations? Do they cook it at a pit located at one of their other restaurants and then just serve it from the truck? I’ll be interested to hear Speedy’s review to see if Boone’s stands up.

Monk: Good questions, and ones I’ve actually been thinking about since last week. Could Boone’s simply be a rebranded Queen City Q food truck with food that he cooks at the restaurant, or has he really started off on his own? The food and sauces are similar (down to the names in some cases), but I want to believe that the meat was higher quality barbecue than the restaurant – I don’t recall the meat at Queen City Q having this much smoke. Again, I have to be careful that I’m not looking at it through food truck-colored glasses. I guess I could ask next time I go…

Speedy: Speaking of Midwood Smokehouse, I think it’s time to go re-review it. Our original review is nearly two years old, and very early in our lives as Barbecue Bros (I mean we ordered smoked turkey for Chrissakes). I think I’ve grown to love it even more since that time.

Out of respect for our bro-ness, I have to respect this review and believe that Boone’s is something special, but I will be on the lookout for this truck in order to verify the review sample some of that ‘cue.

Monk: That’s fair, and maybe if you are ever in Charlotte during the week and can take some time off for lunch we can check it out. As for Midwood Smokehouse, I’ve been thinking a re-review of it was in order anyways. I mean, c’mon – smoked turkey!?!? Yeesh.

Speedy: So then it’s settled, a re-review of Midwood Smokehouse is in order. A gentleman’s agreement…

Monk and Speedy: Huzzah!

Ratings:
Pork – 4.5 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4.5 Hogs

Q Barbeque – Richmond, VA

November 22, 2013August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Q Barbeque
Date: 11/15/13
Location: 2077 Walmart Way, Midlothian, VA 23113
Order: Three meat plate (pork, brisket, ribs) with two sides (collard greens, hush puppies), Cheerwine (link to menu)
Bill: $20.53

Speedy: So the other weekend, I went up to visit the bro in DC. As I was driving up, I thought this was a great opportunity to stop by Q Barbeque, a small Richmond based chain owned and operated by pitmaster Tuffy Stone. As a big fan of BBQ Pitmasters (and because of Tuffy’s recent win at the Jack Daniels barbecue contest), I was super excited to try it out.

Due to some pre-meal research, I had read about what a Q Barbeque restaurant looks like, but I can’t say that seeing a barbecue restaurant in a strip mall that basically looks like a Chipotle instills much confidence that it will be any good. I will say that Q Barbeque is EXTREMELY clean and organized. After placing your order and paying at the counter, you’re given a number and a cup to get your drink and find a seat.

In order to try as much as possible, I ordered the three meat plate with two sides and got a drink to go with it. When filling my drink, I was pleasantly surprised to find Cheerwine in the fountain – the meal was off to a good start. After a short wait, the food was brought out to my table.

Monk: Nice touch to have Cheerwine available, and in the fountain no less. Definitely unexpected for a joint in Richmond.

Speedy: I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of portion, but the sizes were decent. The three meat plate was too much for one person, but probably not enough for two. The plate came with three rib bones, a small portion of pulled pork, and a small portion of chopped brisket. Along with the sides, a bun and a pickle spear were also included. Everything looked really appetizing – the ribs were cut perfectly and the pork and brisket were both uniform in color and pull/chop. The only thing left to do was dig in.

Monk: Over $20 for one person with no beers seems pricey, but I guess if you get more than a meal’s worth of food it’s not so bad.

Speedy: I agree with that, but there was no reason for me to order that much food for just myself except for the fact that I owe it to the readers to sample everything. Well everything except the chicken. Hopefully none of our readers would even think about ordering chicken here.

I first tried the pork without any of the optional sauce on the table. I was worried that it would be dry, but it really wasn’t at all. It had a bit of smoke flavor, but lacked the tanginess that I like that comes along with a vinegar based dip. Overall though, I was pleased with the flavor. I did add some of the spicy sauce to see what it tasted like, and I didn’t think it really added much.

Next I tried the ribs. They were lightly sauced and cooked almost perfectly. The ribs were tender, but not so much that they fell off the bone. Whatever rub was used was fantastic. I think these ribs were probably the third best that I’ve ever tried – behind only Rendezvous and 12 Bones. The ribs didn’t need any additional sauce at all. In the end, I was disappointed that I only had three bones.

Monk: Wow, that is some high praise.

Speedy: The final meat on my plate was the beef brisket. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no brisket expert, but I have eaten brisket at several places in Texas. And maybe I don’t know what beef brisket is “supposed” to taste like, but I can’t say I’ve ever had better brisket than the portion I had a Q barbeque. It was tender, perfectly seasoned, and required no additional sauce. In fact, I didn’t want to put sauce on for fear of affecting the taste. I just can’t say enough about how good this brisket was. It is literally so good that I will likely play a role in my fly or drive decision next time I head up to DC. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Usually, we just glaze over the sides here, which is appropriate for the hush puppies (which were fine, but not worth talking about). However, the collard greens were superb. They tasted more of pork than greens thanks to the bacon cooked in. I’m sure these collards are terrible for you, but it’s really what barbecue sides should taste like.

My first thought after the meal was to text Monk to tell him how good it was.

Monk: …which I can confirm he did. Thanks for thinking of me, Speedy!

Speedy: My second was that of fear. Q Barbeque looks like a place that would cook with gas (based strictly on appearance), so I was concerned that my credibility would come into question for gushing so much over not true barbecue. However, I drove around the side of the building to check it out as I was leaving and was very pleased to see a large pile of wood, which I’m assuming was for cooking. I definitely tasted a good amount of smoke in my meal, so it tasted wood smoked.

Monk: If this is true (and it sounds like there is no reason to believe otherwise), I am glad to learn that Tuffy isn’t taking any shortcuts. Now, off to plan my next trip up to DC via Richmond…

Speedy: Overall, I was very pleased with my meal at Q Barbeque. I knew Tuffy Stone was a great competition pitmaster, but I’m happy to report that it definitely translates to the restaurant. If you’re in the Richmond area, Q Barbeque is not to be missed.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 5 hogs
Ribs – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

Scott’s Bar-B-Que – Hemingway, SC

October 28, 2013September 9, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Scott’s Bar-B-Que
Date: 10/9/13
Address: 2734 Hemingway Hwy, Hemingway, SC 29554
Order: Pulled pork plate with baked beans and cole slaw (link to menu)
Price: ~$10

Despite the state’s reputation for mustard-based barbecue, South Carolina is actually home to 4 distinct styles of barbecue sauce – mustard, vinegar and pepper (a la Eastern NC), light tomato (a la Lexington), and heavy tomato (a la Georgia) – a point of pride for South Carolinia, who also claims to be the birthplace of barbecue (I’ve read differently but that’s for another post).

Scott’s Bar-B-Que cooks whole hog over wood coals (there was a huge wood pile out back next to the smokehouse) and uses a vinegar and pepper sauce, very similar to eastern NC barbecue likely due to the town’s proximity to NC (just over an hour’s drive). Both the joint and it’s pitmaster Rodney Scott have received a lot of plaudits and praise in recent years, between stories in major outlets like Time and the New York Times as well as food personality Andrew Zimmern calling it his favorite barbecue joint in the US. So lucky for me, on the way home from a recent mini-vacation in Charleston, Mrs. Monk was game for taking the scenic route back home and making a stop into Scott’s.

Scott’s was started in a convenience store/gas station in 1972 by Rodney’s dad just a year after his birth and has since been taken over by Rodney, who cooked his first hog at age 11. The current setup is still part convenience store, part barbecue joint. Scattered among the shelves of convenience store items and walls are various framed magazine articles and awards for Scott’s, but in a “I guess I’ll just stick this over here” manner. There are a couple of plastic tables and a small bar at which patrons can eat, but it was empty when we arrived at 11:30am on a Wednesday.

Once seated, our food orders were brought to us in no-frills styrofoam to-go boxes with a side of barbecue sauce. The pulled pork was coarsely chopped strands with visible pepper flakes and only slightly warm, but it still had a nice texture and tasted fantastic. I have to say, the barbecue at Scott’s certainly compares very favorably with the best eastern NC joints I’ve had, albeit a little spicier (especially if you add the table sauce also brought out with the boxes).

There was not much to talk about when it came to the sides. Both the baked beans and the coleslaw were nothing special. My plate came with two slices of white bread, which you don’t see all the time but was kind of a nice touch and I gladly used them to make sandwiches (they also helped cut the spiciness of the barbecue). Really, the pork was the star of the show here.

Even as a NC barbecue diehard, I have to admit that Scott’s was a true roadside barbecue experience. Speaking of experiences, the bathroom situation around back and upstairs was certainly one that Mrs. Monk won’t soon forget – I think “scary” was a word used to describe the ordeal – but at least she was a fan of the barbecue. In any case, its location in Hemingway (pop. 573) , about an hour east west of Myrtle Beach and an hour forty-five north west of Charleston, doesn’t make it the most convenient joint to try but Scott’s Bar-B-Que is well worth any detour if you are in the coastal plains of South Carolina. Highly recommended.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4.5 Hogs
Pork – 4.5 Hogs
Sides – 2 Hogs
Overall – 4.5 Hogs