Did you ride the ferris wheel?

No it was his day off

I never pass by Joel's in Flatonia. Great Q I have never been disappointed. Brisket so tender it almost melts in your mouth.

When you do the Lockhart trip, my suggestions would also be to hit up Luling's City Market in Luling. In fact, it's a must! I think it tops all Lockhart BBQ and is only 20 miles down the road.

Lockhart BBQ in preference of all my family and friends tends to be Blacks, Smitty's and then Kreuz.

Luling's has the best pork ribs and their brisket is top notch. Their sauce (sold by the gallon) is a big fan favorite. I ship some annually to friends in New England. Their sides aren't much to write home about, I mean they are decent, but their meats are what brings people in.

Blacks has all the sides, desserts, various BBQ sauces, so it tends to have something for everyone. Their Brisket and Sausage are great. Last time we had the pork and beef ribs and we were not impressed. Cole slaw is great. Cobblers are great. Sauces are great. They also have chicken and turkey, so again, a little something for everyone.

Smitty's was pretty good. I kind of forgot what their must-haves are, because they don't measure up as well to Luling's and Blacks, so we don't go there as often.

Kreauz is also good BBQ, but it again, others seems to be a bit better, so we don't hit it up as often.

Chisholm Trail is another one in Lockhart, which we hit up for friend okra (not sold at the others). They have fresh bread which is a winner. BBQ was decent, but not in the same category as the ones above.

You will likely find something you like at each place, so you'll be happy regardless. Each place should be visited, except for maybe Chisholm if you are just picking the top ones. Luling's, Blacks, Smitty's and Kreuz are worth going into to see the cooking areas and be up close and personal to the experience. Be careful when you walk into Smitty's with kids - you basically walk right by the open fire!

There's my 2 cents. Enjoy!

UPDATE: I'll add that my 6 friends and I hit up each of these places, along with Salt Lick and Franklins in Austin and brought it all back for a grand taste test at the ranch last year. We were all super pumped to try Franklins - and while it was a good brisket, it did not meat the hype. It was good, but not great. Very very salty. I'm not sure if they still offer the pre-order after they reopened back up from the fire, but if you don't want to wait in a huge line and score their BBQ, you can pre-order a week or two in advance and schedule a 30 minute window for pick up. Wish we ordered other items to also sample, so I could give a more in depth review. Next time.

Salt Lick surprised me. My buddy works there and he brought back a sampling for us to try and it was pretty darned good! It scored better than Smitty's and Kreuz for half of the group.

I have never stopped there, but always think about it when traveling that way which is often enough to warrant a stop. I once looked up the reviews and they were less than stellar.

^^^truth!^^^

No but it was running..

Lum’s in Junction is pretty dang good I never see it talked about

I eat there all the time when passing thru to San Antone. One of my top 3 bbq places. Love me some Lums

Yall are gonna hate on me. We went to Spring Creek in DeSoto. Not bad, not the best in the world but for a not so well known, fast kind bbq I couldn't complain.

I had the brisket and chicken, pretty tasty. The fresh rolls though.................Lawd!!!

The rolls are worth going for.
Spring Creek has things going on that BBQ snobs will never accept but the times I've been it was good.

Not GREAT but good. I don't go there when Hutchins is just across town, which it is when I'm home.
Even though they stopped serving rolls.

never had a bad meal there. I really like their ribs.

By far the best BBQ that I have ever had, and I'm 70, is at Naaman's in Texarkana. Their sides are no good, my opinion, so I just order 1-1/2 pounds and take it home to my own baked potato an beans. I've never been disappointed. They are in an old filling station on state-line road, but I do know that Buc-ees just bought the building that they are in.

Cross Miller's BBQ off the list. Went this morning to one of many in San Antonio.

Not bad. Hard to screw up german sausage and scracmble an egg in it. Also had a brisket taquito. Again not the best I ever had but I have had worse.

I was warned by some on here so I knew what to expect.

Looks like you are visiting here quite a bit. Try Smoke Shack for BBQ next time.

Yes sir our youngest is at UTSA and we have been going more then usual. I will try Smoke Shack out and see how that goes.

It is near the Pearl brewery. I would recommend Pollos Asados Los Nortenos for chicken and Nichas on Roosevelt for Mexican food next time you are in town. For BBQ I keep hearing about 2M smokehouse from my coworkers but I have not been out there yet.

Thanks will do.

Loco coyote west of Glen rose is amazing. Ribs are great, as is brisket and sausage. Or if its cheeseburgers you want order the super duper. That thing is huge.

If you are ever in Northeast Texas, try Big Smith's in Sulphur Springs. On Friday and Saturday, they have all you can eat beef ribs.

No..

My favorite central Texas BBQ joints in descending order:

Muellers in Taylor
Blacks in Lockhart
Blacks in San Marcos
Smitty’s in Lockhart
City Market Luling
Kreuz Market in Lockhart
Hays BBQ in San Marcos
Salt Lick

I had Hard 8 BBQ in The Colony over Thanksgiving, I must say it was pretty good. I like the chicken and shrimp lollipops that make.

If ever in Houston. Try roegels, killens, Pinkertons, corkscrew or brisket house. Then do some great seafood in between. Lots of good eats here