Credit where Credit is Due: A Testament that Whole Foods BBQ is Legit.

Being from Southern California I had the audacity to claim I knew what good BBQ was. That changed when I went to Lockhart, Texas known to be the “BBQ capital of Texas” according to the Travel Channel. While there I sampled BBQ and side dished from no less than three BBQ establishments.

The Highly publicized and highly touristed Black’s BBQ

IMHO The hands down winner: Smitty’s BBQ 

…and Kreutz BBQ which served as a random sample as it was not featured on the travel channel but was located in a spacious building with a spacious parking lot to accommodate tour buses. 

I told you all that to tell you this: Whole Foods is Legit! Not an advertisement, just my culinary opinion with my experiences in Texas serving as a reference point. The factors that make it legit is that they do smoke their meats and it comes at a tremendous value to the consumer. Case in point are these two plates:

Brazen in San Diego (and yes I do slip-up and call it Brazzers more often than I’d like)

Pictured Items: Collared Greens, Toast, Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Sausage and Brisket

And Whole Foods

Pictured Items: Brisket, mashed potatoes, pork belly and baked beans.

Relatively the same meal but the price to portion ratio is staggering.

Brazen meal cost $19.99

Whole Foods meal cost $8.99 (or $7.99 if you get it on special…either Wednesday or Thursday if I remember correctly). While value is not a term usually associated with Whole Foods, I was surprised at the number of things one can purchase that do indeed illustrate that term correctly. Namely the coffee offerings at the coffee bar and a whole pizza that costs two dollars more than it would at CostCo but is light years better in quality and taste.

My yardstick is generally Tri-Tip or Brisket, but I tend to go with Brisket whenever it’s available because I usually smoke Tri-Tip on my own. Yes, I will admit that the Brazen Brisket and sides were a tad bit better than those at Whole Foods, but not enough to justify the cost difference.

In conclusion: You be the judge! Because after all, you know what tastes good, right? As for following your taste buds…there isn’t a single bad restaurant listed in this post. Oh and by the way, I am going to make your mouth water with three words: Smoked Prime Rib. (Procured at both Smitty’s & Whole Foods at Hastings Ranch)

Writers Notes: 

* Don't order the Sausage at Blacks BBQ. I would say that their sausage is greater than 65% fat. (no joke it's disgusting)

* If you're going to Smitty's go in through the screen door at the front. This will take you into a dark, dank area that feels like the gates of hell as it leads you to the smoking area. After that head inside to the completely air conditioned restaurant area which has a florescent lit room painted in a flat white and green motif. I love variation when I explore and, going from the "gates of hell" to a Veterans Administration Hospital deli in the same building certainly fulfills that desire.