Cranky Frank's Barbecue Company - Fredericksburg, Texas

Cranky Frank's Barbecue Company
1679 US-87
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
http://www.crankyfranksbbq.com/

Right in the middle of the pack of Texas Monthly's 50 Best Barbecue Restaurants in the World, is Cranky Frank's.  I've spent quite a bit of time in the Hill Country but had never heard of Cranky Frank's so I had to check this place out.  

 
They use all mesquite wood for a thick and flavorful smoke which blackens the outer layer of each piece of meat.

And like many good Texas barbecue joints, they close when they run out of food.

They serve brisket, chicken, sausage, pork roast, pork ribs and they claim to be famous for their chopped beef.  I find this interesting as chopped beef is not something that is commonly emphasized in this part of the country.  They have sandwiches a plenty and stuffed potatoes but their plates include all you can eat sides that are served up buffet style.  They offer pinto beans, green beans, potato salad, cole slaw, corn, and chocolate pudding for desert.  

I chose ribs, brisket and pinto beans.  I can't emphasize enough the importance of the Central Texas barbecue tradition of having onions and lite bread available on the table.  
The offer two different barbecue sauces. Original and a German style barbecue sauce.  The original was fine.  The German was....well...just foreign.  It wasn't like anything I've had before.  It was watery and sharp. Not what I'm looking for.

However, the meat was worthy of the Texas Monthly rating.

  Notice the moist pinkness on the ribs and the spice covered bark.  The ribs were just about perfect and the moist brisket was definitely moist, flavorful and well marbled.

It pulled apart very easily but didn't fall apart under it's own weight.

This was a wonderfully perfect Central Texas barbecue meal.  Just what the doctor ordered.

Black's Barbecue - Lockhart, Texas

Black's Barbecue
215 N Main St
Lockhart, TX 78644
https://www.blacksbbq.com/

Black's has been serving up some of Texas' finest barbecue since 1932 here in the "Barbecue Capital of Texas". They are family owned and operated for four generations and that tradition can be tasted in every bite.

From the moment you walk in, the wood floors and walls guide to down the aisle to the catering line where the sides and deserts are selected. Then you head to the ordering counter where the server at the butcher block fills your deepest barbecue wishes from the offering of 9 different meats.  They offer beef brisket, pork spare ribs, smoked turkey breast, chopped beef brisket, giant beef ribs (and I do mean giant), pork baby back ribs, barbecue chicken, pork chop, and home made sausage (original, garlic or jalapeno cheddar).  Their sides are potato salad, cole slaw, pinto beans, green beans, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, Mexican rice, sweet potatoes, and sweet pickles. For desert they have peach cobbler, pecan cobbler banana pudding and ice cream.

I selected a typical Central Texas offering of pork ribs, original sausage and brisket with a side of black eyed peas.

From the moment I sat down, after serving myself iced tea, lite bread (what I grew up calling white bread) and raw onion, I knew I was in a place that I could call home.

The jukebox was playing and at the very moment that I took my first bite I heard...

"There's no place that I would rather be than right here." 

That's the opening line of an old country song that I grew up listening to and at that moment, I knew that I had come to the right place...at the right time.

The ribs were perfectly smoked and cooked.  The sausage was classically home made.  If the casing were removed, the meat would crumble on the plate to be scooped up with the nearest utensil.  The brisket was also well smoked and a little on the lean side.  After the first bite, I actually was a little disappointed.  Feeling that it lacked a bit of flavor. I felt like the sauce was a little thin and without any punch. However, about half way through the meal, I felt it change.  Yes. There it was.  It was all gelling together at that moment.  The texture, the flavor, the sauce, the bread, onions, atmosphere...all of it. It was congealing into a very well rounded and balanced barbecue experience.   It was a gentle reminder to slow down.  That it takes time not only to make greatness but to enjoy it.  

By this point, the jukebox was on to the next redneck song.  I didn't mind one little bit. I was in my Zen space.  Enjoying each bite of rib, brisket (sandwiched between two fingers of bread heavily sauced) and sausage.  It was then that I realized that I was going through a lot of sauce.  That it was balanced just right for heavy use.  Something that many establishments miss.  They make it too heavy.

 While I didn't try the beef rib (something that I'm questioning now), I felt that I received a very exceptional and traditional Central Texas barbecue experience. So if you want to know what Central Texas barbecue is all about, you can start your journey right here.

"No we don't fit in with that white collar crowd
We're a little too rowdy and a little too loud
There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red-necks white socks and blue ribbon beer".