The new Lockhart Smokehouse location in Plano had an unannounced opening to the public today (it got leaked this morning and then they formally announced it on FB a few hours later). I got there a couple of minutes after open at 11:00. There was one person in front of me at the counter and a couple of folks had already got food (so I guess I was about the 5th person served). The guy in front of me was Daniel Vaughn. We each sat down at the bar and started unwrapping or paper. He glanced over at my paper and immediately carved off a chunk of his pork chop and said "here, take some of my pork." I noticed he didn't have and clod or sausage on his paper, so I offered him some clod (which he gladly accepted) and cut him off a piece of sausage. He then passed me some turkey. We both had ribs and brisket already. Between the two of us, I think we both got to try all of the meats. Neither of us had ordered any sides, so the only other thing there was some complimentary white bread for both of us. Some quick introductions while we were eating... then we spent the next hour or so talking about BBQ, cooking, restaurants, a bunch of the local joints and surrounding joints and the national craze that is sweeping. Daniel is originally from OH, and I am from PA so we had the whole rust belt transplanted to Texas thing in common. We talked about his job as BBQ Editor for TMBBQ as well as what I do for a living along with what I do for fun. We both joked about staying away from the restaurant business and competition. I commented about how he is "living the life." He definitely knows how lucky he is getting to do what he does for a living. After lunch, we toured the location inside and out continuing our conversation and passing personal email addresses and such. I will honestly say that I never would have expected him to be such a nice guy (gracious, engaging and truly interested in listening to me as much as I was interested in his stories - He had just interviewed Vencil Mares yesterday because another interview cancelled). Had Will (the pitmaster from the other location who is working this location for a while) not said "hey Daniel" to him while we were in line, I might not have even noticed that it was him. He wasn't even there to do a review or article. He had no idea until the same time I did this morning that they were opening and just jumped in the car on the same whim as me. So, to make a long story short... we live in a small world (of BBQ). This morning, the world was made even smaller and in the best possible way.
As for the food, it was outstanding. It had a little bit more of a small batch feel to it than what they normally do at the Bishop Arts location (since it was a soft opening for lunch with a close between lunch and dinner). We both agreed that it was the best brisket we had ever had from Lockhart (the bark was perfect), and the clod was as good as any I have had there. Ribs were a touch soft, but that is pretty much true of all Texas restaurant spares unless you catch them at exactly the right moment. The sausage (Kreuz original) was great as always. You almost have to have it to know what it is like. It is very different than most of the other brands of German Texas sausage. It is juicier, lighter in color, milder and [possibly] sweeter. The turkey was moist and had just the right amount of smoke. The pork chop (which I had never had at the other location) was a big old juicy, smokey chop. I could probably convince my wife to go just for that. By the time we finished talking, the line (again unannounced) was about 30-40 deep.
