Terry Blacks Barbecue
Texas BBQ · 900 N Colorado St, Lockhart, Texas 78644
★★★★★ 1 review(512) 668-4617
Menu Items
Reviews
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Amazing Brisket & Fall Off The Bone Ribs. True Texas Style BBQ.
I just recently heard about Terry Blacks BBQ, and learned it was an offshoot of the original Blacks BBQ restaurant located in Lockhart TX. Terry Blacks is owned and operated by a member of the same family that has run the original Blacks BBQ location for more than 90 years. He decided to open his own chain of restaurants, putting his sons who had worked at the Original Blacks in charge of the pits.
It took about an hour to get there from San Antonio, but on arrival I noticed the presence of multiple city vehicles in the parking lot, an assortment of police, sheriff and game warden vehicles were parked outside. I figured with all the local BBQ options in Lockhart , this was a promising site, that locals were picking this one over the rest. As I exited my vehicle, the location of the entrance was a bit confusing. What appeared to be the main building was labeled Exit, and a pavilion building with pits was labeled Entrance.
A pathway to the restaurant past an open pavilion with several 20' long smokers, being tended to by staff, filled with all sorts of meat was just under the entrance sign. The pathway then continued past several cages of split wood, making a turn and heading up a few steps or a ramp to a door marked Entrance.
**Side Dishes**
Upon entry, railings guided me to a corner counter, where the side dishes were located. A sign explaining the order process was hanging above the area you area, but was not visible until I was already eating.
A menu board detailing portion sizes and prices listed all the items. On the menu was mac & cheese, pinto beans, cream corn, Mexican rice, green beans, potato salad and coleslaw. Individual serving sizes were priced at $3.98 each. Also on the menu was desserts, which included banana pudding, peach cobbler and mini pecan pies, all priced at $3.75. Prices for larger portions were also available.
It was apparent right away from the pricing of the sides there were no plates here, which has become pretty common over the last couple years, and that the total price for the meal was probably going to be a bit on the higher side as far as BBQ goes.
I decided to go with some cream corn, and mac and cheese, as I tend to find these 2 items can vary quite a bit place to place, but still be decent. Pickles, onions and bread were also provided at this counter at no charge. Once an employee prepared my tray we were off to the next counter.
**Meat Counter**
While waiting to be served, I saw a guy who was trimming meat, slicing some burnt ends, dividing it up and putting some on the tray before me, and then on mine. Shortly after, I was sent down the row to a register where I could place my meat order. The menu board listed Brisket, Chopped Beef, Pork & Beef Ribs, Turkey and Sausage.
The menu stated [Meat Sold By 1/3, 1/2, 3/4 or 1 lb]
[Beef Ribs Are Sold By The Bone & Weigh 1-2 1/2 Lbs Each]
Also listed were sandwich options for all the meats, and combo options for the sandwiches which included chips and a drink. Optional upcharges for sides, bottled drinks, or beer were also available on these combos.
I ordered 1/3lb of Brisket, and 1 Rib. As I write this, I now realized they had pork and beef ribs, I didn't specify which and ended up with a pork one. The employee pulled a brick of brisket from a warmer behind him, sliced off 3 large pieces of brisket, and weighed them. He asked if I wanted to keep all 3 or just get 2 as it weighed just over a 1/3 lb. I opted to keep all 3, but I was somewhat concerned about appearance of the brisket.
He didnt ask if I wanted lean or moist, I didnt see the meat labeled in any way in the warmer, no signage specifying if different cuts were available was present, and after seeing them trimming brisket, I figured maybe the burnt ends were the fattier brisket. The piece he cut from didnt appear to have any fat on it.
**Drink Options**
There were tons of drinks to choose from, bottles were lined up in ice coolers. Big Red, sodas, juices, tea, and about a dozen kinds of beer were all present. I decided to go with a local beer, and grabbed a Karbach Love Street Blonde to go with my meal.
**Price Of Meal**
Total price for .4lbs Brisket, 1 Pork Rib, 1 serving cream corn, 1 serving, mac & cheese, a piece burnt end pieces & a bottled beer was $34. A little more than I was expecting to spend, but this was turning into a bit of a day trip, and I was just enjoying getting out of town.
**BBQ Sauces**
Once I arrived at my table I noticed a wooden crate, with 3 bottles of sauce. They were labeled Spicy, Sweet and Original. I gave all of them a try. I started with the spicy first which had a strong mustard flavor to it, cracked black pepper and a darker red color. The sweet was also mustardy, with a lighter yellow color, less pepper and less spice. The original was your typical vinegar based bbq sauce, with good flavor, not too watery, but not extra thick either. I rotated between them throughout my meal, but I think the original and spicy were my favorites. The pork rib seemed to go well with the spicy, while the brisket was better with the original.
**Cream Corn & Mac & Cheese**
The very first item I tried was the cream corn. It had good flavor, was semi-sweet, very creamy, not runny and was some of the better cream corn I've had, but felt it fell short of Rudy's cream corn which I still think is some of the best. Next up was the mac and cheese. Again, decent flavor, but average, not as impressive as the cream corn. It had nothing to set it apart, no crust on top, no jalapeno, no cracker crumbs or anything, it was your basic mac and cheese.
**Burnt Ends**
While eating the side dishes, I stabbed into one of the burnt ends I was given for free. This was the first piece of meat I was going to try. The flavor was great, it was moist, the bark had good flavor and texture, it wasn't overly peppery or salty, and if this was any indication of how the brisket was going to be, this was going to be a great meal.
**Pork Rib**
I grabbed hold of the pork rib, and it nearly fell apart. I grabbed my phone and took a video (attached) showing just how tender this rib was. The bark and top layer peeled off, I was able to record and tear it apart using 2 fingers, and what I forgot to photograph was the bone that was left over. It was perfectly clean, not because I cleaned it off, but because the meat slid right off leaving nothing behind. This rib had excellent flavor, it was super tender, juicy and upon finishing it, I had to wonder if I should have just ordered a few of these.
**Lean Brisket**
I grabbed my plastic knife and cut into the brisket, right away I became concerned. My plate moved, and I had to make several passes to slice thru the brisket. I took a bite and the concern was well founded. The brisket was very dense, semi-moist, not dry but not juicy. It could have been torn with some force, but was a solid enough piece of meat, added to the fact it was sliced semi-thick, that I was concerned my plasticware would break cutting it. The flavor was maybe half of what the burnt ends had. I ate 2 of the 3 slices, cut the last one into pieces placed it into the to go container, and added some sauce.
**Game Changer**
I thought this was the end of the meal. The star item had let me down.. Signs outside and in, boasted "Where Brisket is King". I opened some reviews on my phone as I contemplated the meal as a whole, and how I was going to rate everything. People were commenting on Google, how moist and tender the brisket was, how it nearly fell apart. So at this point I stopped an employee who was passing by.
The person I stopped happened to be a busboy, who didnt speak English. He waved down a server, who then came over. I showed him a piece of my brisket and asked. Do you have different cuts of brisket? or is this average for what is served? He replied "we have lean, and moist, it looks like you got lean". Then he said "they should have asked when you ordered". I explained that I didnt see mention of any options, no one had asked, and when I watched the employee pull it from the warmer, it was 1 uniform piece that didnt appear to have any fat on it. He quickly stopped the manager who was passing by.
I told him "I was just asking about the brisket, mine was very lean, almost hard to cut, I tried the burnt ends I was given and they were great" and he repeated what the other guy had said "they should have asked you if you wanted lean or moist, we have moist brisket which is a lot like the burnt ends." Without saying anything more, he says "let me get you 2 slices of moist brisket" he saw my tray was already gone, and added "and wrap it to go for you". A few minutes later he comes back to the table with a bag, and says "theres also some burnt ends in there.. sorry about that".
**Moist Brisket**
Several hours later I'm back at home, and before letting the brisket sit overnight in the fridge I decide to open up the package and reheat a piece. I unwrapped the foil to find the butcher paper sealed shut by oil and grease that had cooled. Upon peeling back the wrapper I found 2 slices of brisket as promised and 2 strips of burnt ends. I immediately noticed the brisket was totally different looking. It was marbled, had a strip of fat under the bark running down its edge, and when I tried to separate the slices it nearly fell part in my hands despite being cool. This was totally different from the lean meat I had been served, which was not shiny at all, had no cracks in the meat, and no fat on the edge at all. I put some in the microwave and only heated it about 30 seconds, as I didnt want to overcook it. The flavor on this brisket was amazing. It was tender, juicy, the bark had a little crunch, the meat was packed with smoke flavor and had fully soaked up the rub as well as the smoke in a way that permeated the entire slice. Compared to the lean brisket, this stuff had at least twice the flavor. But now I had a delima, how do I score my meal? I left underwhelmed, but this turn around was totally unexpected.
**Final Score**
Had I reviewed this place based on the lean brisket I received in the restaurant, the score would have placed them towards the bottom of the top 10, but the moist brisket I received was the saving grace for this review. How much of a difference, I struggled to not give them the #1 spot on my brisket list, despite the side dishes being good but not amazing.
I've never gone into detail about how I score restaurants, but since this one was tricky and the system I use actually made it pretty easy, I decided to reveal how I come up with my scores. First I score all the items I ate individually, side items are scored and counted once, entrees and scored and counted twice. Then I add them all together and divide by the total number of items. Total score for meal with lean brisket (8.9). Total score for meal with moist brisket (9.4). I then score additional things like menu options, price, atmosphere, and customer service.
**Final Thoughts**
I've tried most the BBQ restaurants in Lockhart, and this one is now my #1. The pork ribs were the best I've ever had. The moist brisket was better than any I've had in Lockhart, and was better than my top picks, as their brisket has been inconsistent lately. Even though the prices were a bit on the higher side, I feel like a small premium was warranted since the quality of the BBQ here seems to exceed other places. I didnt have as much an issue with the meat prices as I did the side orders which I felt were a bit high.
The manager Mike went above and beyond, replacing the 2/3 of
my brisket and even tossing in some burnt ends despite me having
already eaten most of it. He took responsibility for staff not asking about the cut of brisket, and resolved the issue without me even asking anything other than why it seemed dry compared to the burnt ends. As far as the customer service on Mikes part, it was a 10/10. Had the original cashier asked me, my whole experience would have been changed. The sides would have been the only thing preventing a perfect 10 score. I do take some of the blame as well, after eating at as many BBQ places as I have and only seeing a handful that offer a single type of brisket I should have known better, and asked at the counter.
I highly recommend Terry Blacks, as I'm awarding it the #1 position on my BBQ Brisket at the current time of this review. I feel the sides could be improved some, but having only tried 2 of them, I cant speak as to the others. I'll have to make a return trip. But the ribs and brisket were enough to bring me back.
Terry Blacks BBQ - Street Signage
Brisket & Rib
Terry Blacks BBQ - Brisket Is King
Brisket
Brisket Being Sliced.
Smokehouse Building.
Lockhart - BBQ Capital of the World.
Cream Corn & Mac & Cheese
Side Dish Counter.
Side Menu
Lean Brisket
Terry Blacks BBQ - Drink coolers.
Drink Coolers.
Smokehouse Pits
Meat Counter.
Split Wood Cages.
— Paul