Day 7: Dallas to San Antonio
Miles: 350
Roadfood: West, TX: Ole Czech Bakery, Wildwest Steakhouse
Lockhart, TX: Black’s Barbecue, Kreuz’s Market, Smitty’s

This is why I have driven all the way from New Jersey. You cannot find barbecue like you get in Lockhart anywhere else. But before I write about Lockhart I must tell you about West, TX.

I am of Czech extraction. Having lived and traveled in many areas of the country, I have rarely found Czech cuisine. Stopping in West at breakfast time, I did not expect to find a full Czech meal, but I did find some kolaches and a great new (to me) dish for breakfast. I also found some places to check out in the future when I am in West for lunch or dinner.

My first stop was at the Ole Czech Bakery for kolache. These are a traditional Czech pastry that are similar to a Danish. As a child, my Czech grandparents always had them in the kitchen. I remember that they were prepared slightly differently than they way they were at the Ole Czech. However these were still very good and close enough to be kolache as I remember them.

Next, I went to the Wild West Steakhouse for breakfast. Everyone there just called it "the steakhouse." I got there a little after the time that breakfast was in full swing and the place was almost empty. Very quickly the waitress brought me a huge cup of coffee with the spoon already in it. This reassured me a bit.

I ordered something called a "Red Eye Gravy Platter". This was described as bacon, sausage, onions, peppers, and tomatoes in a red eyed gravy and served over biscuits. Being one of the few people in the restaurant, I thought the dish might be served relatively quickly. It was not. However I discovered that this was because my biscuits had been baked to order. I do not remember when the last time was that I had a breakfast where the biscuits were made to order, other than when I have been cooking for myself.

The Red Eye Gravy platter was served hot with the fresh biscuits. I broke the biscuits open and took a piece of one to taste before I smothered the rest of them in the Red Eye gravy and it’s contents. It was light and fluffy and tasted as only a fresh baked biscuit can.

This dish is a treat. As you eat it you get little bits of perfectly spiced sausage, bacon, onions, peppers, and tomatoes in random order. Each bite is different because it has a different mix of these items. The underlying gravy is very good and has a little spice of it’s own.

If you are driving down I-35 stop in West, TX for breakfast.

Next, it was on to Lockhart and barbecue for lunch.

My first was Black’s Barbecue.

I knew I was in the right place because I could smell the barbecue before I got out of my car. Black’s has been a landmark in Lockhart forever. I arrived just before lunch and found the place almost empty. I ordered the chopped brisket sandwich with pickles and onions on the side. The chopped brisket is mixed with barbecue sauce and placed on a sesamee seed bun. I found the meat to be tender and nicely smoked. The barbecue sauce added a deeper and subtly tangy flavor. As opposed to other barbecue places in Lockhart that do not use sauce, I agree with the use of sauce on this sandwich. I put the raw onion on part of the sandwich and that added a nice flavor to the sandwich.

Off to Kreuz’s Market.

The first thing that struck me about Kreuz’s was the size of the place. There are two huge eating areas, only one of which was open during my visit. There are eight smoking pits in the back where you order your meat. ,21,203894.028,1,7586,66.239.79.2
203921,203894,203894,2006-05-22 23:44:13,RE: NJ to TX In Search of TX BBQ”