UYE: BBQ Crawl

Wonderful event, one of the most inspirational events of all time. Everyone had a great time. Boy, that BBQ tasted great.

This was a great idea of having two official cities, and several unofficial cities, participate in an epic BBQ UYE, but the execution was a complete fail. There was so much hype being put on this event that I was beyond excited to make the long drive to Lockhart to participate in a UYE of this magnitude. However, when I showed up with another Houston Unilocaler, we looked around and saw no Unilocal crowd. We happened to ask two people sitting at a table if they were Unilocalers, and by chance, they were. Granted, it turned out to be a small intimate group that I very much appreciated, but none of the organizers showing up or posting that they weren’t coming was pretty inexcusable.
I love UYE’s probably more than the average Unilocaler, so much so that I have planned half a dozen of them myself. When I found out about the BBQ UYE in Lockhart, I was in! I had to plan for this event because I work Saturdays and Lockhart is a two and a half hour drive from Houston. Yes, it was moved once, but I made it work for my schedule. The problem is that it was rescheduled for the same day that I was having my birthday party. I was on a time crunch, but I wasn’t going to miss out on some seriously great Texas BBQ.
Lockhart is the unofficial birthplace of Texas BBQ, and is centered around several family rivalries that extend back generations. I was excited to try two new BBQ places that I hadn’t yet had the pleasure to try. Of course I knew Black’s would be amazing. I can’t not make a stop at Black’s whenever I’m in Lockhart. Who am I kidding, I’m never in Lockhart, I only go there to get a Black’s BBQ fix. Smitty’s was first on the list. Very interesting place that had a lot of history, but the staff was not friendly and other than the prime rib, the BBQ was not worth returning for. Kruze’s was last on our list, and again, nothing amazing, but the staff was a lot more friendly and we were able to get the history of the rivalry between Smitty’s and Kruze’s.
The best part of this trip was truly sharing in on the fun of BBQ with some pretty awesome Unilocalers, and especially the comradery that we were able to form in our three short hours together. I walked away with about 5 lbs. of BBQ leftovers, and several new aprons, bags, and cups as souvenirs. I never regret getting to take a trip to Lockhart, but a more organized UYE would have been preferred.

Five stars because…
–it’s BBQ in the BBQ capital, and, this BBQ was awesome!
–BBQ that made people’s mouths water and quiver
–proved that a host doesn’t always have to be present
–Yelpers showed up and got their crawl on
–Yelpers stuffed themselves silly
–Yelpers had a great time
–it brought a grown man to his knees
–it made a grown man lose it
–it was the most controversial of my UYE’s
–it proves that true Unilocalers know how to get together and make the best of any situation
UnilocalER’s ROCK!

Despite the low turn out, this UYE was a blast! Got to meet up with 4 new Unilocalers I had never met before, ate some awesome prime rib, ate WAY more than I should have and got myself into a most serious BBQ coma :)
I know some people were disappointed in this UYE: Hey, its a UYE– some people just can’t make it. Despite the lack of a coordinator, it still was a good time! If its one thing, good Unilocalers make the best of the situation and just EAT :)
Smitty’s was just okay BBQ — I wouldn’t make this a stop, other than to get seriously close to those pits and get the prime rib. Otherwise, it was just okay. There is MUCH better in Lockhart and elsewhere.
Then it was off to Blacks — anyone who has been to Blacks will tell you that this is the standard of Texas BBQ. The side buffet is amazing and the beef ribs will remind you a Flintstones episode — seriously HUGE beef ribs. Fantastic!
Then it was off to Kreuz — despite the line, it was just okay Q. Nothing really here to write a good review (maybe a 3 star) — lots of smoke in here. This is due to the open pits. Excellent parking as well — a GIGANTIC lot :)
All in all, it was a fantastic event — a great road trip for BBQ. And as always, got to meet some new people on Unilocal!True foodies unite!

I was the first to arrive at Smittys and rounded up 4 other Unilocalers! We were pumped and ready to eat some BBQ and boy did we. Two words: BBQ coma!
Let’s start with Smittys! We ordered the brisket and the prime rib. The brisket was dry but that prime rib was mind blowing! It was like butter in your mouth. After we had our fill we waited for anybody who may have been running late then headed on down the road to Blacks!
Blacks was the diamond of the day. Loved the side item buffet! The jumbo beef rib was smoked to perfection! As a side not Olivia is dangerous to sit by. She almost thre a rib bone at me and then a knife thank god it was plastic lol. She was a hoot! We most definitely should have stopped there but were determined to finish the tour!
At kruez it was hot hot hot waiting in line but I sweated out my wine from the night before lol. We were lucky enough to grab a seat in the air conditioned portion of the restaurant. I opted to have strawberry blue bell ice cream so I cant comment on the bbq!
We laughed, we ate and had some hysterical and probably inappropriate conversations!
After that we said our goodbyes and everyone said how much fun they had and with a small group it was easier to find seating and get to know each other!
My friend and I decided to check out the Caldwell County museum. It was unique and I was happy we decided to go. It was very informative and I’m a history junky.
What a great event and probably one of the best UYE’s that I have been to.
Great job eveeyone who helped to plan this and make it happen! I wouldn’t have changed a thing! BRAVO!