Local food radio show guy broadcast from Lockhart today. He must have been a yankee because he kept going on about sauce and sides. He went to four places, Black's, Kreuze's, Smitty's and some other place I've never been to. He tried to get them to talk about why Smitty's and Kreuz's split, but they wouldn't go there. I guess the wounds run deep, even though the split has to be a decade old or more.
If I remember the story right, it's a good lesson in how not to bequeath a business to your kids. Daddy Schmidt left the building (the place now called Smitty's) to his daughter, but had sold the actual business to his sons. Sometime after their father's death they had a falling out over rent and repairs. I think the daughter's husband did competitive barbecue on the side, maybe he had a hankering to run a restaurant. in any event the Schmidt brothers opened up Kreuz's (they had a parade and drug a bucket of coals from the old pit to the new place), and the old Kreuz's became Smitty's and is run by the Fullaloves (sp?).
I did learn one thing from yankee boy's broadcast today. I've always felt that Kreuz's brisket tended to have a lot of fat, while at Smitty's I just order it lean and it comes like I like it. Apparently, if you want lean beef at Kreuz's the thing to order is Shoulder Clod. Learn something new every day.
I eat at both places, and Black's as well. But the atmosphere at Smitty's is very historic. If Texas had a cathedral of barbecue, Smitty's would be the place.
My next barbecue pilgrimage will have to be to Lexington (east of Austin) to Snow's. Open only on Saturday, all they sell is brisket, and they close when they run out. I've heard that they open early and almost never make it to lunch time before they've run out.
