Triple Bypass Tour (Lockhart’s Black’s Barbecue, Kreuz Barbecue, Smitty’s Market)

The city of Lockhart has been called the “Barbecue Capital of Texas” by the Texas state legislature (1999). A tour of three of Lockhart’s great barbecue places—Black’s Barbecue, Kreuz Barbecue, and Smitty’s Market—has been called the “triple bypass tour” (or “triple heart bypass tour”).
 
More conventionally named tours are the Texas BBQ Trail and the Texas Sausage Trail.
   
   
Wikipedia: Lockhart, Texas   
Lockhart is a city in Caldwell County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Caldwell County. The city of Lockhart is named after Bryd Lockhart, an assistant surveyor and reportedly the first Anglo to set foot in Caldwell County. Byrd Lockhart is survived by James H. Lockhart and his family, who currently reside in Dallas. Lockhart was the site of a victory of the Texans over the Comanche, at the Battle of Plum Creek in 1840. The Texas Legislature proclaimed Lockhart as The Barbecue Capital of Texas. Lockhart has four major barbecue restaurants: Black’s Barbecue, Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Barbecue, and Chisholm Trail Barbecue. The local style of barbecue cooking does not use barbecue sauce. The 1996 Christopher Guest comedy film Waiting for Guffman was filmed partly in Lockhart, including the historic courthouse square. Lockhart’s Dr. Eugene Clark Library is the oldest operating public library in Texas.
 
City of Lockhart: BBQ Capital of Texas
There are four BBQ restaurants in Lockhart. The restaurants estimate that about 5,000 people visit their establishments each week. This would be roughly 250,000 people a year who eat BBQ in Lockhart. 
 
Blacks Barbeque
Located at 215 N. Main Street is internationally known and was established in 1932. It is one of the oldest barbecue restaurants in Texas that has been continuously owned and operated by the same family. (Blacksbbq.com) Black’s has been recognized in various publications such as the New York Times and Texas Monthly magazine. The May, 1997 issue of Texas Monthly selected Black’s BBQ as one of Texas’ fifty best barbecue restaurants. During President Lyndon Johnson’s term in the 1960’s, the President asked Black’s BBQ to provide barbecue sausage to be served on the grounds of the U.S. Capital in front of the Smithsonian Institute. With Secret Service and Department of the Agriculture personnel supervising the operations, the sausage was prepared and flown directly to Washington, D.C. for this Presidential affair.
 
Chisholm Trail Barbeque
Located at 1323 S. Colorado, is a young upstart as things go in the Lockhart barbecue business. The restaurant was opened in 1978 by Floyd Wilhelm who sold his fishing boat to raise enough money to open a restaurant. According to Wilhelm, ‘sometimes I look back and think I must have been crazy. Starting a barbecue place here was like putting a ballpark across from Yankee Stadium since Kreuz Market has been in business since 1900 and rated by some as best in the nation, and Black’s Barbecue started smoking in 1932 and advertises itself as the ‘Oldest in Texas-Same Family.’
 
Kreuz Barbeque
Kreuz Market (pronounced “Krites”) located at 619 North Colorado Street might be the most unique dining experience you’ve ever had. The beef, sausage or pork is served on brown butcher paper. No side dishes here. But you can enjoy a slice of cheddar cheese, chunk of onion, fresh tomatoes, avocado and your favorite beverage. Don’t ask for barbecue sauce. They don’t have it and quite honestly are offended if anyone asks. The owners say, ‘good barbecue doesn’t need sauce.’
 
Smittys Market
Located at 208 S. Commerce. When you’re the Barbecue Capital of Texas, and you already have three of the best barbecue joints in the state, what do you do when another one comes along? You loosen your belt and settle in for some more great eating ‘cause there’s no such thing as too much good barbecue!
 
jen messes with texas
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
in case you’re looking for me on friday afternoon
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COMMENTS
At 2:23 PM,  Anonymous said…
haha.. one my friends has something he calls the triple-heart-bypass tour of 3 bbq places in lockhart. Good stuff.. and of course, you know that everything in Texas is bigger and better right? 😉
 
City Market - Luling, TX (yelp)
bign
4 star rating
01/21/2008
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P.P.S.  I know there’s the “triple bypass tour” in Lockhart that people mention doing.  We only went to Kruez, but we did go into Black’s and didn’t order. Black’s had no people, but were really good about putting signs everywhere. Like I said, I do think Lockhart invests a lot in advertising BBQ, but don’t be distracted!  It’s like the devil tempting you to stray you know?  Keep on the freeway, and on your way to Luling, so you can taste a little bit of heaven.  *wipes saliva off mouth* 
 
Black’s Barbecue - Lockhart, TX (yelp)
Scott L
3 star rating
05/14/2008
If you can make time to spend a day outside of Austin, I’d suggest that you strongly consider what others have dubbed the Triple Bypass Tour in Lockhart: Kreuz, Smitty’s and Black’s.