Lockhart Smokehouse

“What I really loved about this place was that when you walked in, it was still the 1920s,” Jeff said. “It has the exposed walls, the wooden floors. I mean, it just had the feel already.”

The meat at Lockhart Smokehouse is served by weight and paired with a variety of sides. The downtown Plano location uses a heavier rub on its beef, pork and chicken when compared to the cuts of meat served in Lockhart.

The pitmaster at both Lockhart Smokehouse locations smokes the meat on a wood fire and serves it to patrons on butcher paper, similar to the way it is served in Lockhart. The restaurant, whose motto is, “No forks, no sauce needed,” stays open each day until all of its food is sold.

“It is the experience of eating on a butcher paper. It is very emblematic of Lockhart, Texas,” Jill said.

The barbecue served at Kreuz Market does not offer forks or sauce, but McLaughlin said they decided to make such options available in Plano.

[caption id="attachment_148081" align="alignright" width="220"] Lockhart serves brisket ($8.99/half pound) and jalapeno and cheese sausage ($5.25/link).[/caption]

“We discovered that when you tell people that they can’t have something, they want it that much more,” Jill said. “Now, we are happy when they have a little cup of sauce on the side and they are not using it.”

When the restaurant first opened, McLaughlin said it only served traditional sides, such as beans and potato salad. In order to tailor the menu to the taste buds of urban restaurantgoers, they decided to offer other sides, such as macaroni and cheese, blue cheese coleslaw and deviled eggs.

[caption id="attachment_148084" align="alignright" width="220"] Lockhart’s pit boss, Jeremy McWilliams, serves customers at the Plano location.[/caption]

McLaughlin said he learned the authentic style of barbecue from the owner of Kreuz Market, and brought back what he learned to design a menu for North Texas with a different flair.

“We use a little bit heavier rub on the beef, pork and chicken, more spices, more complex,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are still trying to recreate that feeling you get in the barbecue restaurants in Lockhart.”