Kreuz Market, Lockhart

The hamlet of Lockhart, located about 30 miles outside of Austin bills itself as either the Barbecue Capital of Texas or the Barbecue Capital of the World, depending on what sign you're looking at and what time of day it is. The title comes to the town for good reason. There are three or four BBQ joints in Lockhart which consistently rank among the top places in the state and Kreuz Market is one of them.

Started around the turn of the 20th century, Kreuz has been serving its smokey meats for well over a century and while nothing has been cooking that long, they do have a nice way with a brisket. In fact, their sausage is top notch as well and so are the ribs. In fact, I can offer no complaint about any meat I've ever eaten at Kreuz - it's as good as, if not better than, pretty much any BBQ you're going to eat, save the truly special places. You see, despite it's rank as one of the top 5 this past year, the Kid's not bestowing such accolades on Kreuz this time.

Like I said, the meat was delicious. You can go in and feel secure that whatever you order from the old ladies who operate the chopping block is going to be delicious. The trouble starts when you head into the next room to get the rest of your meal. When I first heard of Kreuz I was told there were no sides. All you got was meat and bread and a couple slices of cheese if you were so inclined. I believe this is the way they should have stayed. On a recent afternoon I tested their german potatoes and beans and was disappointed in both. So often a side can make or break a BBQ place and I feel like the bad sides at Kreuz really ruined the place for me.

There was one more gripe - the place offers no sauce. Well, they do have hot sauce, which the Kid was forced to pour on his brisket, but that's not really the same as BBQ sauce - is it? The story goes that the meat at Kreuz is so good it does not need the indignity of sauce. I wish this were the case. As I said before, the meat was good, but it's a rare cut indeed that does not benefit from a bit of flavor that BBQ sauce adds and the meat here certainly could have used that little pick me up.

If you find yourself in Lockhart I will go ahead and recommend stopping at Kreuz. The building itself is enourmous and if you go on a weekday you will find it mostly empty. You can then try to imagine how it is on a Saturday when the place is packed. I suppose it's a bit like Disney Land for the BBQ crowd - folks will wait in line to ride on Space Mountain and they will wait in line to dine on what they are told is the best 'cue in the state. Also, the cutting room is something I've never seen before and like I said, the meat won't let you down. Perhaps the key is to sneak a little bottle of sauce in with you. Then you can really enjoy the meat the way God intended - sauce and all.