Review: Lockhart is reclaiming its crown for Barbecue Capital of Texas — 3 crowns, to be exact

Barbecue-loving friends visiting Austin used to regularly ask, “What’s your favorite barbecue joint in Lockhart?”

I would describe how each of the town’s three most legendary spots (Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Market and Black’s) all had their own aesthetic charms and would recommend a must-order at each spot (end-cut pork chop, sausage and beef rib, respectively).

That was years ago, before Austin had an embarrassment of exceptional new-school options born in the wake of the success of Franklin Barbecue and the bar raising of John Mueller back when he sniped and sliced on Manor Road.

The Texas House of Representatives declared Lockhart the Barbecue Capital of Texas in 1999, and with good reason: The three previously mentioned spots have a combined history of about 300 years.

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But Austin has been the undisputed home of the best barbecue in Central Texas for more than a decade. So, on the rare occasion hungry travelers pose that question to me now, I say something akin to, “Lockhart is charming; the people are friendly; the courthouse is a historic marvel; and new blood has infused the small town with some great new businesses. But you don’t need to go to Lockhart solely for barbecue unless you want a unique nostalgia fix.”

Time to update my answer.

You need to go to Lockhart solely for barbecue.

Because there’s a new king in town. And that king is actually three queens.

Chuck Charnichart, Alexis Tovías Morales and Haley Conlin opened Barbs-B-Q on the historic town square in the shadow of the 130-year-old Caldwell County Courthouse on Memorial Day weekend. The three women have done what seemed unthinkable and, probably to some, unnecessary: They have reframed and refreshed the barbecue scene in a town with a century-old legacy, updating the old-school smoke meat mecca with new flavors and energy.

Creative entrepreneurs have opened a cafe (Commerce Cafe), Texas bistro (Little Trouble), fried-chicken-serving dive bar (Old Pal), boutique grocery (Good Things Grocery), and a wine bar for bibliophiles (Best Little Wine & Books) in recent years, so Lockhart was already humming with change. But a new-school barbecue restaurant in a town with more post oak smoke in its DNA than almost any other in Texas?

Huh? Who? Why? How? What?!

The three women met while working in the front-of-house at Franklin Barbecue about six years ago. Charnichart, a native of Brownsville, went on to serve as pitmaster at Goldee’s in Fort Worth, overseeing the cooking of some of the best brisket in the state (Texas Monthly named Goldee’s the state’s best barbecue joint in 2021); and Conlin, who moved to Texas from North Dakota about a decade ago, served as a pitmaster at Micklethwait Craft Meats, one of Austin’s best, for more than three years.

Charnichart started Barbs, the name both a celebration of women and a nod to rapper Nicki Minaj’s fanbase, as a pop-up a couple of years ago. She was looking for a location for a possible trailer when Travis Tober, owner of the aforementioned Old Pal and partner in Austin bar Nickel City, told the pitmaster about the vacant building on the town square that previously housed Market Street Deli.

The small space, with its vintage tile floor and pressed tin roof, gives some worn authenticity to the new operation. But outside of its building and location, Barbs’ generally veers from tradition as evidenced in its unique sauce and rubs.

The onyx-crusted brisket, its fat rendered into the sumptuous meat, is better than any in Lockhart and can stand up proudly with the best in Austin. Charnichart made her bones by smoking exemplary brisket at Goldee’s, and her reputation is reinforced with the brisket here.

But that cut isn’t even the finest example of long, slow smoking at Barbs. That honor goes to the gargantuan beef rib that jiggles to let loose its handle of a bone. The beef is ringed with a deep, hot pink that matches signage and décor that feels part thrift store kitsch and part set of “Grease.” I’ve never eaten a better beef rib and never seen something so imposing be so gentle; it was like finding out the Incredible Hulk is ticklish.

Modern Texas barbecue has been telling the story of its individual creators, giving personal backstory to fresh spins on old classics. At Barbs, those personal stories appear throughout the menu, starting with that rub on the brisket and beef rib.

Women-owned, operated: Barbs-B-Q creates safe space for Lockhart barbecue lovers

Charnichart and Morales are both from the border town of Brownsville, and you can taste the influence of neighboring Mexico in the ground guajillo and chile de arbol peppers that blend a mild fruitiness and earthiness into the salt and black pepper rub. The supple brisket doesn’t need sauce, but you don’t want to skip Barbs’ original concoction, a complex mustard-base blend that takes on added smokiness and grip from lapsang tea.

More peppery kick emanates from candied pork ribs that are lacquered with a tomato-and-vinegar based sauce dialed up with serrano-steeped simple syrup and finished with a shower of lime zest for a sweet-spicy-tangy finish.

House-pickled cucumbers and red onions supplant the industrial variety pickles and white onions you might find at nearby joints, and the standard white bread takes a back seat to loamy corn tortillas made with masa from Nixta Taqueria in Austin. Even the desserts — a pudding that relies on cinammony Mexican hot chocolate and a bread pudding from Conlin’s North Dakota grandmother’s recipe that incorporates concha — pull inspiration from the Valley.

The story gets even more personal with Barbs’ trademark side dish of “green spaghett,” firm twirls of electric green spaghetti awash in cream cheese, milk and sour cream and colored with roasted poblano peppers that imbue the dish with a grassy sting.

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The pasta, the best of a roster of otherwise forgettable sides, is a staple of the holiday and birthday celebrations Charnichart attended in her Brownsville youth. Barbs investor Joanne Irizarry, whom I saw greeting customers and bussing tables at each of my visits, swears it makes a perfect snack sandwiched between cinnamony slices of Barbs’ spelt bread, though your mileage may vary.

Irizarry used to own Black Board Bar B Q in Sisterdale, and, after a career spent working in the male-dominated world of barbecue, was looking to invest in a woman with a drive and passion who wanted to make barbecue her future. She reached out to Charnichart on Instagram and within a week the two had decided to create something together.

“I invested in Chuck because she is truly magic,” Irizarry told me. “Her food is as good as any chef’s food, and her passion for barbecue is strong. At the end of the day, I just wanted to support women in barbecue. I want for them to feel respected.”

The staff of women (all of the partners work service) likely led to much of the pre-opening press for Barbs, which has been featured in everything from Southern Living to The New York Times (full disclosure: I contributed reporting to that story).

A barbecue joint run by women in a business almost monopolized by men is impressive. Equally impressive: Tender lamb chops rubbed with a blend of thyme and rosemary and smoked to a medium rare glow that make you rethink your power rankings of best proteins for the smoker.

The names and faces of the female ownership team at Barbs may have created some lines, but dishes like those exceptional lamb chops, inspired by Charnichart’s time consulting in Egypt, will keep people coming back again and again.

And it’s not just out of towners who are queuing (some with frozen adult beverages from Old Pal thanks to a recently changed Lockhart law).

“We thought it would take awhile for the locals to start coming in, but they have been in consistently every week,” Conlin told me by phone. “We already have regulars. Everyone has been lovely in town.”

As for that line, it starts a little before 10 a.m. most Saturdays, the only day of the week Barbs is open. I expect it’ll only get longer as word continues to waft across the state and beyond.

The owners will probably add another day of service eventually, according to Conlin, but for now they want to stay focused on quality and consistency while staving off burnout and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Talk about a paradigm shift.

If you go: Barbs-B-Q in Lockhart, Texas

Where: 102 E. Market St. in Lockhart.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Hours: 11 a.m. until sold out. Saturday

Price per half pound: brisket ($18), beef rib ($19), pork ribs ($15), turkey ($15). Sides are $6 for singles, $12 for pint and $18 for quart. Desserts, $8.

Highlights: Beef rib, brisket, lamb chop, pork ribs

Expect to pay: $30 (Price per person before drinks, tax and tip)

Information: barbsbq.com

Notes: Free street parking. Line times vary. I arrived at 10:15 a.m. and was eating within an hour, and I arrived at 10:35 a.m. and waited about 75 minutes. Pre-orders are available up to a month in advance but at least a week ahead, with Saturday morning pick up before doors open.

The Bottom Line: The brisket, beef and pork ribs at women-owned Barbs-B-Q are the best in Lockhart and can challenge Austin’s top spots, and the lamb chops are as nice a surprise as I’ve had at a barbecue joint in the past two years.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Barbs-B-Q brings new eyes, flavors to historic Lockhart barbecue scene