First called Plum Creek, this town was renamed for pioneer surveyer Byrd Lockhart. Today, this community is a barbecue capital of Texas, due to the praise its restaurants have received from prominent state, national, and international media. In fact, the Texas Legislature has designated Lockhart as the “Barbecue Capital of Texas” for its collection of barbecue restaurants including Blacks BBQ, Kreuz Market, Smitty’s, and Chisholm Trail.
Lockhart’s small-town charm has landed it in several Hollywood movies including What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Waiting for Guffman, The Faculty, Where the Heart Is, and many others.
Table of Contents
Lockhart Barbecue Joints
You won’t find an article on Texas barbecue without mention of this little town which is home to four well-known BBQ joints:
Kreuz Market
If you want to sound like a real Texan, you have to know how to pronounce Kreuz. No, don’t say “Cruise.” It’s “Krites,” rhyming with “lights.”
This smoky barbecue joint is known by Texans around the state who make regular pilgrimages to feast on this meat.
And meat is about all that’s on the menu. Don’t look for side orders here. No potato salad. No coleslaw. Not even any banana pudding. Only beans, crackers, and bread to accompany the main show: meat, meat, and more meat, some of the best central Texas has to offer.
Kreuz also exhibits a well-known Texas fact: barbecue is worth fighting about, even with your own family members. Brothers Rick and Don Schmidt had a fiery difference of opinion with sister Nina Sells, who had inherited the Kreuz building from their father. Eventually the brothers took the Kreuz name and started their own place at 619 North Colorado.
Smitty’s Market
Since 1900, this location was the home of Kreuz Market, a no-frills barbecue joint that was a legend in Texas. Barbecue shoulder clod, a cut that’s leaner than brisket and also cooks faster, was the specialty of the house; brisket, pork loin, and prime rib were also for sale here.
No matter what kind of meat you ordered, it was cooked in the huge pits system devised by “Smitty” Schmidt, who bought the restaurant from its original owner in 1948.
Today the original brick building is home to Smitty’s Market, which still operates much as the original. Two brick pits burn oak logs, and a 35-foot chimney draws smoke over the meat, which does not sit directly over the fire. The specials include brisket, pork chops and sausage with ribs on the weekends. Unlike the original, side dishes are sold here including potato salad, cole slaw, and beans.
To escape the heat of those pits, Kreuz’s now features two air-conditioned dining rooms. Some of the locals still like to sit in the old section, filled with smoke and heat. Give it a try and feel like a real Texan.
Black’s BBQ
Black’s claims to be the oldest barbecue house in Texas continually owned by the same family. Since 1932 the Black family has been firing up these brick pits every day for lunch and dinner. Today, Norma and Edgar Black tend the post oak fires to provide Lockhart meat eaters with the stuff this town is famous for.
Black’s has also had its share of presidential attention. During LBJ’s term, the President called on Black’s to provide barbecue sausage for a function at the Capitol building. Under the watchful eye of the Secret Service and the Department of Agriculture, this Lockhart operation cooked up some tasty links that were flown directly to DC.
This is a sit-down restaurant, a little prettier than most smoky joints. Decorated with Texas paraphernalia and photos of high school football teams, Black’s is a comfortable place to enjoy some of Lockhart’s finest.
You can select from brisket, pork ribs, chicken, and ham, or try Black’s own homemade beef and pork sausage with a ladle full of caramel-colored sauce on the side.
Chisholm Trail
It’s not easy to open a barbecue restaurant in Lockhart — how do you compete with the likes of Kreuz Market and Black’s? With great prices and great food, that’s how. For just a few dollars, you can enjoy a big meal at this joint, open daily for lunch and dinner. The folks are friendly, the barbecue is tasty, and the side dishes are reason enough to make this a regular stop.
Those side dishes are a unique aspect at Chisholm Trail. The restaurant boasts a hot and cold food bar stocked with a dozens of items: potato salad, coleslaw, broccoli salad, macaroni and cheese, corn, green beans, black-eyed peas, jello salad, pinto beans — the list goes on and on.
But the best reason to stop at Chisholm Trail is the barbecue, tender smoke-filled meat that holds up the Lockhart tradition. Brisket, sausage, ham, chicken, pork and beef ribs, and even fajitas are house specialties here.
Barbecue Picnic, Anyone?
Lockhart State Park. Many of this park’s rustic facilities were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The 263-acre park is a great place for hiking, fishing, picnicking. Other attractions include a swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course and trailer and tent campsites. From Lockhart, south on US 183 to FM 20, then two miles to Park Road 10.
Other Attractions
Caldwell County Museum. County history unfolds at the museum housed in the cells of the former 1910 jailhouse. Pioneer furnishings, farm equipment, and artifacts fill the museum. 315 E. Market St.
Dr. Eugene Clark Library. This red-brick Classical Revival landmark (pictured above) was built in the style of the Villa Rotunda in Vicenza, Italy in 1889. It features ornate architectural touches and stained-glass windows. It is said to be the oldest continuously operating library in the state. 217 South Main St.
Festivals
MARCH:
Al Hopkins/Tolbert Texas State Chili Championship. This cookoff combines both chili and barbecue competitions as cooks from all over the state vie for prizes and bragging rights. Lockhart City Park, 504 East City Park Rd.
JUNE:
Chisholm Trail Roundup. On the second full weekend in June, Lockhart is the place to be as over 10,000 visitors converge for this major event. Festivities include barbecue and chili competitions, a carnival, parade, and live entertainment. Lockhart City Park, 504 East City Park Rd.
DECEMBER:
A Dickens Christmas. Lockhart celebrates the holiday season with a lighted parade around the courthouse square and yuletide activities at the Eugene Clark Library including costumed characters from the Charles Dickens Christmas book, arts and craft vendors, holiday food and the appearance of Father Christmas. Downtown Lockhart.