New York > NYC: Hill Country Barbecue Market

I'd given up any and all hope of finding decent restaurant barbecue in this part of the country until I tried Hill Country. This is beef barbecue at its very best. The brisket is utterly superb, ribs are big'n'beefy, the sides are great and the atmosphere is wonderful. It was modeled after Kreutz' market in Lockhart. You get a meal ticket when you walk in and everything you order is added to it. Meats are sold by the pound. They do whole-hog one night a week (Thursday, IIRC), and they also have saussage, but we weren't as impressed with it as we were with the brisket.

I got a tour of the smoke room in back, which you can see through glass windows/doors. Their big black custom smokers are signed in white paint by all manner of famous folks and the aroma in the smoke room is heavenly, beyond description. Their recipe is simple. Full packer briskets, not trimmed whatsoever, rubbed down with a simple dalmation rub (50% salt, 45% coarse black pepper, 5% cayenne), 200 degrees for about 18-20 hours, until tender....and MAN are they tender! Those smokers are fired by gas (NYC regulation), but they use genuine Texas post oak for smoke wood (it's trucked up monthly they're saying).

They separate flat and point and you can ask for lean or moist when you order. I prefer the moist point meat. Since they serve both point and flat, they don't do traditional burnt ends, but if you ask for burnt ends and the cutter at the back table is one of their better guys, you'll get all the outside flavourful barky edges. Order up 3/4 of a pound of moist (Texas toast bread thrown in for free), a side or two and you'll be waddling out full and happy!

My rating is as high as there is on the scale. This is positively wonderful brisket. If what I'd get in Lockhart is as good as this (or better), I think I'll move there. A+++

I had a similar experience there (pics might be around here somewhere). Ask a few questions and next thing you know they are showing you the smokers. Q aint half bad either.

Just a followup. One week ago today I made the pilgrimage to Lockhart. First going to Blacks, then Smitties then Kreutz' Market. All three were good (visited each on a typical weekday right at lunchtime), but I hate to say it, Hilll Country's product on any given day is significantly better than what I ate in Lockhart, although Kreutz's was awfully close. After gorging myself in TX, I can categorically state that Hill Country's flavour and tenderness are as good as I've ever had in a restaurant, though I vastly prefer Black's atmosphere.