Smitty's vs Kruezs

[wardfirefighter]

While driving home from thru the Hill country I stopped by Smitty's in Lockhart. I got my normal brisket and sausage. I was suprised that the sausage was so full of grease. The brisket was great but the sausage really bothered me. I desided to go down to Kruezs and try their brisket and sausage. The sausage was absolutely better at Kruezs but the brisket was terrible. I ordered 2 slices of fatty brisket and got the most dried out brisket I have ever seen. I threw it away. The people at the counter need to listen to the customers and stop their conversations when people request a certain type of brisket. They also need to recognize when their brisket has become over cooked. It reminded me of something I could shingle my house with. It should never have been served. I felt like I was bothering them when I came. I was the only one there and it was 11:00 am in the morning. I would have thought I would have got the best they had at that time. I love BBQ and don't have favorites but it truely bothered me that Kruezs offered such a bad product. Someone who knows them please help tell them to get their act together. It is my daughter's favorite place.

[Swamp Donkeyz BBQ]

You can probably chalk up the bad brisket, and service, to bad management. Not that the place has "bad" managers, just sometimes when people are very successful they tend to get complacent and fall into a rut and never realize it. Or sometimes they start cutting corners thinking no one will notice. I've seen it happen to a couple of what used to be good BBQ Joints here local.

[Davidtxs]

You can probably chalk up the bad brisket, and service, to bad management. Not that the place has "bad" managers, just sometimes when people are very successful they tend to get complacent and fall into a rut and never realize it. Or sometimes they start cutting corners thinking no one will notice. I've seen it happen to a couple of what used to be good BBQ Joints here local.

Agreed a lot of times its a lazy tail 7$ an hour employee o the cuttin board if its not during rush hour they have that sometimes. They know very little about how to serve meat.
I went to Spring Creek in Richardson not too long ago. I ordered ribs they had recently gone to st louis style. And it waas a big improvment. I noticed the guy cuttin was having problems cuttin the slab up lol well what should that tell ya ?? if hes having problems with a big sharp knife the customer is going too also. Well got to the table and sure enough tough as shoe leather. I waited for the bread chick to come by and asked her to call a manager over please.
Well she must have been too worried about finishing her bread handout and gettin back too her station so she could continue texting whoever she was because I never saw her ask her manager nuttin lol so chaulk it up to sorry work ethics.

[Papa Tom]

A group of friends and I visited Lockhart earlier this year and hit the big three and took notes:


Smitty’s

Brisket
-The “fat” was excellent; the lean was a little tough & not great flavor.
-Like the fat, tender – other a little dry
-Looked dry but was really tender.
-It was a thick slice, but still tough compared to competition entry, a 6 for taste, very average. Not overly smoked.
-Not as smoky as I thought it would be – mine taste better.
-Average – fatty parts best.
-Pretty average brisket. Sliced with grain, could have been more tender.

Sausage
-Good, not to hot for me.
-Thick cooked crust(?) kind of dry and mealy
-Puckered, good texture. Not as good as Chislom trail.
-Prefer pork sausage.
-Good
-Way over cooked, causing grainy texture, good flavor.

Pork Ribs
-Good flavor but nothing special.
-Good, not over the top.
-Good
-Very nice
-Very good, comp cooked
-Best of meat trio

Beans
-Ok, not my favorite type
-Good, more of a Ranch bean, not sweet
-Great, loved them, my favorite
-Great pintos, sabroso rico delicioso
-Very good beans

Slaw
-Good, creamy
-Very good! Creamy but not soopy
-Dry – Needed Texas Pete – (I love hot vinegar slaw)
-OK, vinegar based slaw is my favorite
-Really good slaw

Overall Experience
-I would recommend Smitty’s
-I would recommend the trip to Smitty’s even though it is not the best BBQ I have had
-Ambience was one of the coolest BBQ joints I ever been to
-As far as representative of true Tejas, appeared to me ( A foreigner ) bout 9.5/10 stars
-Really more like a grocery store setting. Nice (?)+

Black’s

Brisket
-Same bland taste as Smitty’s, a more pronounced smoke flavor though. Dry & mealy, not a lot of flavor w/out sauce.
-Brisket easily better then Smitty’s, cooked well, good smoke flavor.
-More smoky, very good
-Tastier/Greasier then Smitty’s Nice ring
-The fat was good, the lean was a bit dry
-Juicy but not much flavor

Pork Ribs
-Not very good, dry, too tough and not meaty
-Not as good as Smitty’s
-OK
-Not good, tough, dry, flavorless
-(One comment I just can’t make out)

Sausage
-Nothing special, nice texture
-Easily better then Smitty’s but was cold, good flavor.
-Better then Smitty’s
-OK
-OK
-A bit greasy

Jalapeno Sausage
-Good flavor, chili & cheese blended well
-Good flavor, good texture
-Excellent, love it hot
-Good
-Liked this better then the “regular”
-Not as greasy, but flavorful.

Beef Ribs
-Soo good and tender
-Good
-Good/tender
-Really, really good
-Meaty & full flavorful

Potato Salad
-Average
-Tasted like store bought, not bad, but nothing special
-Ordinary
-Ordinary
-Com si, com sa
-Ordinary, like store bought

Beans
-Good, just like I would make and serve w/cornbread
-Good, but not as good as Smitty’s
-Very good, as good as Smitty’s
-Good/ A type pintos (?)
-Again, not my favorite type but good, better then Smitty’s
-Bowl of beans, nothing special

Overall Experience
-Enjoyed both Smitty’s & Blacks thoroughly
-Both are good, Blacks wins though
-Black’s was OK, beef rib was great but like Smitty’s better
-Better sides and more of them, great sauces, family friendly

Kreuz Market

Brisket
-Really good, moist, tender, flavorful
-Good, tender
-Best of the three, moist, flavorful
-Best brisket in Lockhart, tender, moist, tastie
-Best of the 3, still mealy in the flat, but tender
-OK
-Tied w/Black’s IMHO – Tastie and greasy

Sausage
-Bad
-Ugh – didn’t like
-Jalapeno was in 8 Regular was a 2
-Regular was not very good
-Horrible, good mouth feel & texture, but the flavor was indescribably bad
-Best of the bunch
-Couldn’t eat any more

Jalapeno Sausage
-A touch hot for me but excellent
-Good flavor
-Jalapeno sausage was excellent
-The best sausage of the day
-Best of the three
-Couldn’t eat any more

Pork Ribs
-Very good rib, moist, tender, nice flavor, w/no sauce
-Good little “peppery” - - juicy
-Moist but greasy
-Very good, moist, just salt & pepper
-Interesting cracked black pepper rub, heavily applied, worked well
-Excellent, best of the day
-Couldn’t eat any more

German potato salad
-Good
-I liked it. Dill was good, added something
-Good, surprised at the dill, but good
-Not bad, if it was not homemade, they sure fooled me
-Not bad, if you like tepid potato salad
-Delicioso – want the recipe
-Liked it

Mac n Cheese
-Really poor
-Not good
-Pretty bland
-Baaaad Kraft box is better
-This was ridicules, the owners have NOT tasted this or it would be removed immedialty from the menu
-Didn’t try, looked very cafeteria like

Overall Experience
-Like this place the best
-Good brisket & jalapeno sausage
-Kinda like eating at Sams
-Easily the best of the three
-Best of the bunch
-Love it, also put the jalapeno banana peppers(?) in & chocolate ice cream
- If I was gonna recommend BBQ in Lockhart, this is the one I would pick

[RWBTEX]

At 11 am it was provably yesterdays left over reheated, it dont make no money in the trash can.

[wardfirefighter]

You can go to any of these places and have completely different score cards each time you go. I have been to all of them many times. The only reason I go to Smitty's is they are open on Sunday (the day I am always heading home) and seem to be more consistant. The brisket at Kruez was terrible but it was the service that struck me more then anything. That has not been the case before. The peice of brisket I was serve should never have reached a plate. Also don't ask the customer to choose lean or fatty if you are just going to cut the first thing you grab. Kruez use to be my favorite in Lockhart but they have become very inconsistant. I hope they get it together. When they do it right they have a great product.

[3 star redneck]

Neither one for me....YUCK!

[Swamp Donkeyz BBQ]

As anyone knows, great service can make a mediocre meal awesome. And bad service can make a great meal terrible. Nuff said.


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[eltex]

Truthfully, none of the Lockhart joints are 'top 5' material anymore. They are way too inconsistent. Sometimes the brisket is awesome, sometimes it's like leather. If you have a few extra minutes, head to Luling. It's not always perfect, but it's usually better than Lockhart, and more consistent.

For my money, pick Franklin's, Snow's, LM in Taylor, Vencil's in Taylor, and until recently, John Muellers. But like you said, most aren't open on Sundays.

[wardfirefighter]

Snow's always has great service. The lady's there are super nice. I will always tell friends to go there.

[cowboydon]

I am just the other way around I hit all my favorite places going so that on Sunday I can just drive home, while drinkinking some coffee.

Friday before last, the flag was out so we had to stop

outsideLM.jpg

[WestCoastSmoke]

At 11 am it was provably yesterdays left over reheated, it dont make no money in the trash can.

Yup but they are going to lose money (business) if they don't put it in the trash.
Best to cut up leftovers and throw into the beans.