Lockhart Smokehouse

(Or as it will forever be known as Eating Meat with an Old Friend, a New Friend, and the Night I Gave Peas a Chance)

I have had several friends ask for a barbecue review so I decided that I might as well check out the new Lockhart Smokehouse in Bishop Arts. Now, doing a barbecue review posed a challenge to me because, well, many of my girlfriends that I usually drag on these things with me don't eat red meat or don't enjoy consuming large quantities of it in one sitting. Hmmmm, was I going to have to eat alone? Then I realized this: Boys like meat. Boys like barbecue. I like boys. So maybe I could get some boys together for dinner me? Great idea right? So I asked around and I was able to get . . . two. Which is, admittedly, 2 more than I'm usually able to find to spend time with me on any given night so I was happy.

Now don't get me wrong, I was able to get to get two stellar guys to come with me to Lockhart. First there was M. I've known M forever. He was one of the first people I met when I moved to Dallas 9 1/2 years ago. We see each other 3 to 4 times a month and he's the guy I call if I need the name of an electrician or plumber. Because we've known each other so long, we have that casual comfortableness old friends have with each other. That came in handy at dinner because Lockhart has no forks!!!! You have to eat your meat with your hands. But, no worries, eating your dinner "Flintstone style" is no big deal when you've known your tablemate for years.

I didn't have that same relationship with my second dinnermate, J. Before Lockhart, I had met J a total of twice in my entire life. Once for about 4 minutes while Boulevarding last fall and again in December at a holiday party. J and I spent most of that party talking about food and since then he's become one of my loyal followers. I had remembered he had said something about loving to grill and going to barbecue joints so I asked if he wanted to join me at Lockhart, and he said yes. But how was I going to eat with my hands in front of a guy I barely knew? Quite easily it turns out. When the meat is this good, table manners be damned.

Now Lockhart consists basically of three areas. There's the dining area (which was pretty empty) with its concrete floors, metal signs on the wall, and rolls of paper towels on the tables. Seemed a lot cleaner than most BBQ joints I've been to but, heck, they've only been open a couple of weeks. We were quite happy that the sound system was not forcing (as J put it) "that Dixie Chick country music crap" down our throats. Instead it was playing a nice mix of a bunch of different genres (I swear I heard Yellow Submarine). There's the bar, which was quite busy and well stocked with Lone Star beer. And then, in the back, is where you order.

We met Sean, our smiling pitmaster, and we ordered. Now, be careful ordering at Lockhart. They sell their meat by the pound, so you could walk out of there considerably lighter in your wallet than you had planned. I asked Sean to serve me 2 of his favorites, and he served me up some shoulder clod and 3 pork ribs on butcher paper (Plates? Who needs them? You're eating with your hands afterall). That, plus a small container of potato salad, ran me just over $21. Granted, it was way too much food for me and I overordered on purpose, but I can see where it would be quite easy to overspend if you're not paying attention.

I got to our table excited but apprehensive to try the meats contained in my now grease stained butcher paper. See, I grew up in the Midwest so barbecue to me is pork covered in tangy sauce that dribbles off your chin. There's no sauce at Lockhart either. Was I going to enjoy barbecue that I eat with my hands, off grease-stained butcher paper, with no sauce to be had? Absolutely!

I started with the pork ribs (figured I'd stick with what I know). So good. The meat was tender and well seasoned. The post oak smokiness came through but didn't overpower the meat. No sauce was necessary.

I next tried the shoulder clod. Now shoulder clod is supposed to be a leaner cut than brisket because the shoulder is a well used muscle and, therefore, has less fat (thank you pitmaster Sean for that explanation). I say supposed to be because my shoulder clod was actually quite fatty. Delicious and tender but fatty nonetheless.

I gave J a rib (M had his own but got some of my shoulder clod), and J returned the favor by throwing some sausage on my butcher paper (that's what she said). Loved, loved, loved the sausage, which is from Kreuz Market. It was compact and not too fatty with a great smokey flavor. It actually reminded me a lot of the smoked polska kielbasa Mom buys from the Euromart for Christmas Eve and Easter every year. Yum.

The potato salad was German and good, but forgettable (they do give you spoons for that). The Lone Star was cheap ($3, I think). J declared it the best BBQ he's had in Dallas. I'm not sure M was so convinced. He found the brisket to be a little too marbled for his liking. I'll have to agree with J here. I'm going to go back to Lockhart and soon. Oh, another word of warning, Lockhart closes when they're done so if you don't get there early, you might miss out. I had been given marching orders by my boss to bring back "samples" for him. I went back to the counter just before 9 to get his order and they had already closed up the meat shop. I thought I had plenty of time and we stayed for a whole other hour. Alas, I may be fired.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the peas comment above, keep wondering. I know someone laughed out loud when they read it, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

http://www.lockhartsmokehouse.com/index.html

Cheers!