http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm Food journalism out of Austin, Texas. en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 20:18:19 -0700 Thu, 23 May 2013 09:10:00 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss russell@scrumptiouschef.com russell@scrumptiouschef.com russell@scrumptiouschef.com no http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/23/Franklin-Barbecue-To-Pop-Up-In-New-York-City Maybe Robert Sietsema had a point? When he was breathlessly proselytizing over the current state of affairs (http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/13/Robert-Sietsema-Shits-The-Bed-Texans-Hail-The-New-King-Of-USA-Barbecue-New-York-City) of New York City barbecue, maybe he had the inside scoop that Texas pit boss Aaron Franklin was heading to town? The recent winner of the Texas Monthly Top 50 barbecue survey is rolling into Hill Country BBQ to take over the gasser for an Austin-style smoked meat pop up. It happened once before, way back in November of 2011. We had coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/10/Aaron-Franklin-Takes-New-York-City-By-Storm-Guest-Pit-Boss-At-Hill-Country all the fine points on how to gain access to the wingding right this way http://www.tmbbq.com/events/tmbbq-popup-nyc/ Barbecue Thu, 23 May 2013 09:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/23/Franklin-Barbecue-To-Pop-Up-In-New-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/22/Free-Meat-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Vending-Free-Barbecue-At-BookPeople-For-Prophets-Of-Smoked-Meat Tonight, Micklethwait Craft Meats will be at the Daniel Vaughn book signing party at BookPeople on North Lamar with a trailer load of free barbecue for attendees. BookPeople plays hardball so be aware that if you bring a pirated copy of Prophets of Smoked Meat on their property, a few of their rangy book sellers will drag you out back and give you a good old fashioned Texas dry-gulching. Barbecue Wed, 22 May 2013 13:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/22/Free-Meat-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Vending-Free-Barbecue-At-BookPeople-For-Prophets-Of-Smoked-Meat http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/16/Crimes-Against-Texas-Barbecue-Top-5-Smoked-Meat-Joints-That-Missed-The-2013-Texas-Monthly-Top-50 The hue and cry of Smitty's in Lockhart, Texas being left off the Texas Monthly Top 50 is baffling. If you eat with your eyes then yes, the old smokehouse would be in the number one position. There is none finer. But the meat is routinely tough, underseasoned and rushed off the pit before it even approaches being servable. Dodging the big fire on the floor in the meat room is easily the best part of the experience at Smitty's. Barbecue Thu, 16 May 2013 12:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/16/Crimes-Against-Texas-Barbecue-Top-5-Smoked-Meat-Joints-That-Missed-The-2013-Texas-Monthly-Top-50 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/16/2013-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Top-Fifty-Franklin-Barbecue-Is-Number-One We expect Alto Shaam sales to skyrocket in the wake of Franklin Barbecue's victory in the battle for ascendancy in the world of Texas barbecue. You got to keep the meat hot for service, and there is no finer way to accomplish this than through the use of the almighty kitchen appliance, the Alto Shaam. Put to good use each day at Franklin. Barbecue Thu, 16 May 2013 12:16:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/16/2013-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Top-Fifty-Franklin-Barbecue-Is-Number-One http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/15/Could-Larry-McGuire-Shepherd-Lamberts-Barbecue-Into-The-Number-One-Spot-On-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-List Weathered old pit boss Larry McGuire's Lambert's Barbecue's inclusion on the Texas Monthly BBQ Top 50 list comes as a surprise to no one. The little smoke shack down on Guadalupe is the destination of barbecue pilgrims from around the globe, and you'll find McGuire down there 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing what he does best: quietly tending the fires, reading old Louis L'amour novels and wallowing an old cud of Redman around amidst the ruined pegs of what were once perfect teeth. Barbecue Wed, 15 May 2013 14:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/15/Could-Larry-McGuire-Shepherd-Lamberts-Barbecue-Into-The-Number-One-Spot-On-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-List http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/15/2013-Texas-Monthly-Top-50-Barbecue-Joints-In-The-World Some of the omissions on the list are so glaring we wonder if the authors have ever even broken bread in Texas. We'll have a more detailed analysis up later. For now, here's the list: Alamo The Original Willie's Amarillo Tyler's Austin Franklin, John Mueller, LA Barbecue, Lamberts, Stiles Switch. Google map of all 50 after the jump Barbecue Wed, 15 May 2013 13:16:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/15/2013-Texas-Monthly-Top-50-Barbecue-Joints-In-The-World http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/14/Spoiler-Alert-Busy-Bee-Says-Its-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Astride-The-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Top-50 Busy Bee, East Austin's most famous bookie has seen it all in his 40+ years on the East Side. We sat down with him for a few minutes recently at the Cesar Chavez watering hole where he plies his trade, taking bets on everything under the sun. The Bee had called us up on the phone, and wanted to let us know he's taking book on the big Texas Monthly top 50 barbecue list. Then he dropped a bombshell. Barbecue Tue, 14 May 2013 22:42:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/14/Spoiler-Alert-Busy-Bee-Says-Its-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Astride-The-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Top-50 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/2/One-Year-Ago-Today-Sheps-Barbecue Has it really been a full year since we gassed up the Econoline and hit Shep's Barbecue for some of the best pork ribs in Texas? http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/2/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sheps-Barbecue-in-Palestine-Texas?adminview=true Barbecue Out Of The Past Thu, 02 May 2013 11:22:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/5/2/One-Year-Ago-Today-Sheps-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/30/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Lee-Hays-Chambers-Of-Luling-BarBQ-Is-Dead Born February 18, 1932 Died April 28, 2013 Lee Hays Chambers opened Chambers Grocery and Market in downtown Luling, Texas in 1969. He would remain open, vending green groceries, meats, and sundries til retirement in 1994. After 8 years of wool-gathering, Mr. Chambers stepped back into the meat world by opening Luling Bar-B-Que in 2002. His smokehouse was recognized by Texas Monthly as being one of the top 50 in the great state. Quite the accomplishment considering there are 1000s of pit rooms across Texas. Hico native Chambers had previously operated Chambers Bar-B-Que in Wimberly, Texas. Sadly, we have written dozens of obituaries for this site http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/RIP-Rest-In-Peace RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:41:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/30/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Lee-Hays-Chambers-Of-Luling-BarBQ-Is-Dead http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/26/Brilliant-Piece-From-The-Austin-Chronicle-On-LA-Barbecue This is article number 2000 on the Scrumptious Chef site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Just when we'd given up hope on the Austin Chronicle, the old dowager reaches deep into her battered purse and issues an excellent article from the pen of Kenny Pailes. We have no idea who Pailes is, but he's crafted a very fine example of barbecue journalism with his "La Barbecue Turns Up the Heat With Secret Pit Technology" John Lewis is one of the top young gun pit bosses in Central Texas, and he's also a part-time welder who has constructed a brand new pit for his south Austin meat joint. Read the narrative http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/food/2013-04-26/la-barbecue-turns-ups-the-heat-with-secret-pit-technology/ and please hire Kenny Pailes full time so we won't have to put up with the over hyped and breathless prose from Virginia "fangirl" Wood http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/22/Read-Virginia-Woods-Over-Hyped-And-Breathless-Press-Release-For-Doug-Gullers-Trailer-TruckOff Barbecue Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/26/Brilliant-Piece-From-The-Austin-Chronicle-On-LA-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/9/RibORama-Barbecue-Benefit-For-Robert-Grubb-At-Giddy-Ups One of our favorite Austin honkytonks, Giddy Ups down near Manchaca, is hosting a barbecue party/benefit for Robert Grubb this Saturday at 2pm. It's a combination bake sale, barbecue and cheap beer party to raise money for one of their patrons who is ill. The poster has all the details. Giddy Ups is one of the last of the old timey Central Texas honky tonks and is our all time favorite bar to watch the Kentucky Derby in in Austin. It's called Giddy Ups for a reason y'all. Barbecue Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/4/9/RibORama-Barbecue-Benefit-For-Robert-Grubb-At-Giddy-Ups http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/31/Austin-Texas-Brisket-Wars-Part-2-The-Stallion-vs-Stiles-Switch When was the last time you had brisket so bad it threatened to put you off barbecue for a minimum of one year and potentially a lifetime? If you want to relive that feeling, motor on up to The Stallion, the venerable Airport Blvd meat n 3 that recently served me a brisket sandwich so bad I wanted to bring in Terry Funk from Amarillo to wipe the floors with their sorry excuse for a pit boss. Barbecue Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/31/Austin-Texas-Brisket-Wars-Part-2-The-Stallion-vs-Stiles-Switch http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/21/Robert-Sietsema-Spanked-Like-A-Fussy-Toddler-By-Daniel-Vaughn-Sent-To-Bed-Without-His-Brisket Lots of blather coming out of New York City. Robert Sietsema had clown suit makers scrambling across the USA last week when his issued a broadside claiming that NYC barbecue is easily on par with traditional centers of smoked meat like Kansas City, Memphis and Central Texas. Barbecue Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/21/Robert-Sietsema-Spanked-Like-A-Fussy-Toddler-By-Daniel-Vaughn-Sent-To-Bed-Without-His-Brisket http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-Texas-Hot-Guts Mise en place for yet another batch in our Texas Hot Guts sausage project. At the 18 month mark we've achieved world beating status; as is evidenced by our link of the day invariably winning "best in show" at our ongoing Scrumptious Chef pop up restaurant series. birthplace of the genre http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/central-texas-hot-guts-project-part-one-southside-market-in-elgin-texas/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-Texas-Hot-Guts http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-East-Avenue-Lounge-Goes-Into-The-Barbecue-Business It was only a matter of time. The red hot Rainey Street district has everything you could want or need-except barbecue. Sure Iron Works is right near but let's face it; the glory days of that old shed are long gone. Enter East Avenue Lounge. The friendly, no frills bar has carved itself a nice little niche (http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/texas-daily-photo-east-avenue-lounge-in-downtown-austin/) and that niche is about to get a lot more prosperous with the addition of smoked meats to go with the cold beer. We were on non-barbecue business when we snapped this photo but will venture down that way soon and report back. a staggering multitude of Texas BBQ articles http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-East-Avenue-Lounge-Goes-Into-The-Barbecue-Business http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-SLAB-BBQ-Slow-Low-And-Bangin-Barbecue-Food-Truck-At-Paul-Quis-SXSW-Court No website. One tweet. But here's physical proof that SLAB: Slow, Low and Bangin BBQ food truck does exist. We were on an ice cream mission at the time and did not have one moment to spare so we neglected their meat. Any readers get a chance to sample SLAB? Please comment below. full Texas BBQ coverage with full color photos! http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/category/texas-barbecue/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-SLAB-BBQ-Slow-Low-And-Bangin-Barbecue-Food-Truck-At-Paul-Quis-SXSW-Court http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/16/Austin-Texas-Brisket-Wars-Part-1-Sams-Barbecue-vs-Hoovers-Texa-Mexi-Que-BBQ-Trailer Preface: New series on the Scrumptious site; we're fanning out across Austin and pitting rival barbecue establishments against one another in the most humble of categories: the brisket sandwich. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Texas ain't the South. Walk up to a meat man at a barbecue counter in Alabama, and ask for an outside slice sandwich, and he will nod sagely and begin expertly slicing the charred, outer-zone of a pork butt, then assemble your sandwich. Ask the same thing at Sam's Barbecue and you'll get a "huh?" Barbecue Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/16/Austin-Texas-Brisket-Wars-Part-1-Sams-Barbecue-vs-Hoovers-Texa-Mexi-Que-BBQ-Trailer http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/13/Robert-Sietsema-Shits-The-Bed-Texans-Hail-The-New-King-Of-USA-Barbecue-New-York-City Robert Sietsema spent his college years in Texas and he has some late breaking news for all of us: "Laugh if You Like, Texas, but New York is Now a BBQ Capital." Brooklyn is the new Lockhart. The Bronx is the new Taylor and we should all probably consider moving to Manhattan; cause that's where the real deal barbecue is nowadays. the piece: good for a few laughs and that's about it http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-03-13/restaurants/fat-and-happy/ Mssrs White and DeLaney, y'all got yr ears on? Please comment Texas barbecue, down a dirt road, cooked by Texans http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/category/texas-barbecue/ Barbecue Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:04:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/13/Robert-Sietsema-Shits-The-Bed-Texans-Hail-The-New-King-Of-USA-Barbecue-New-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/10/Austin-Daily-Photo-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats It's good to see young cats like Tom Micklethwait carrying on the ancient Texas tradition of grinding animals up and stuffing the meat into hog intestines. It's an art form and it's fading fast. Field report http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/10/Field-Report-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-In-East-Austins-Brisket-Is-The-Real-Deal?adminview=true Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/10/Austin-Daily-Photo-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Johnny-Ts-Barbecue We made plans to have a business lunch at the North Austin Trailer Yard earlier this week. Foiled. After discovering all the attendant trailers to be closed we looked at the website for the concern and read that weather conditions were "too windy". To eat food. Johnny T's food truck is the Austin location of the Round Rock brick and mortar. BBQ coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Johnny-Ts-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/8/FinallyA-National-Food-Writer-Gets-Texas-BBQ-RightTim-Walker-The-Independent-On-Blacks-Barbecue Brilliant history piece on Lockhart barbecue from Mr.Walker, the LA correspondent for the venerable Independent. Dozens of national writers descend on Central Texas annually to write about our smoked meat houses and inevitably fuck it up. Hot link http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-barbecue-grill-seekers-8525297.html Now go to Black's Barbecue and report back. Barbecue Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/8/FinallyA-National-Food-Writer-Gets-Texas-BBQ-RightTim-Walker-The-Independent-On-Blacks-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/6/Austin-Daily-Photo-Akaushi-Beef-From-Heartbrand-Out-Of-Yoakum-Texas Proper sourcing is one of the most important steps you can take when it comes time to hit the kitchen. Commodity meat is cheap, and if treated properly can certainly be delicious, but there is no substitute for high grade protein that came off a well-tended steer. At our most recent Scrumptious Chef pop up restaurant event, we went all-in and ordered the finest beef available in the great state of Texas; Akaushi via Heartbrand located down in Yoakum. Y'all responded in a big way, and we fed a monstrous crowd of hungry eaters who gathered at Tamale House East to celebrate our good lives in the Great State. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/6/Austin-Daily-Photo-Akaushi-Beef-From-Heartbrand-Out-Of-Yoakum-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/1/Words-From-The-Pit-Boss-John-Avila-XFranklin-Barbecue-Meat-Man-Responds-To-Scrumptious-Chef Howdy, thank you kindly Mr Reeves for mentioning me in your article. I am a proud Texan and hope to represent well, our state, and its culture. Having grown up in my grandparent's restaurant in Bryan, Texas: A.C. Saenz Tamales and BBQ, I also hope to carry on the tradition of proudly serving rustic, handmade Texas recipes in the way my Grandfather did until his 93rd Birthday. Barbecue Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:12:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/3/1/Words-From-The-Pit-Boss-John-Avila-XFranklin-Barbecue-Meat-Man-Responds-To-Scrumptious-Chef http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/28/Field-Report-Franklin-Barbecue Back in the arms of an old lover. When Franklin Barbecue fled French Place, I was left out of sorts and spent a couple months moping around and hopping into the sack with whatever pit boss I could round up for roll in the smoker. Our love was dashed on the rocks of commerce. But Franklin's move to a big, nice brick and mortar also mean the lines, barely tenable, would quickly simulate the times when Waylon would hand out free sheets of acid outside the men's room at the Armadillo. Barbecue Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/28/Field-Report-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/26/Franklin-Barbecues-John-Avila-Sets-Up-Shop-In-Park-Slope-Brooklyn-NYC John Avila, a Franklin Barbecue alumnus, has migrated to New York City to open a Texas BBQ joint on Flatbush Avenue. Avila had previously toiled under legendary Austin baker Melissa Brinkman of Cake & Spoon. New York's barbecue world in in blazes right now with Daniel Delaney anchoring BrisketTown and native Texan Ari White running the kitchen of Hakadosh BBQ. That's alright, we've still got it good in Texas. Texas BBQ http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/category/texas-barbecue/ celebrate Texas Independence Day http://bigbeefpopup.eventbrite.com/ Barbecue Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:57:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/26/Franklin-Barbecues-John-Avila-Sets-Up-Shop-In-Park-Slope-Brooklyn-NYC http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/24/Austin-Daily-PhotoNew-Barbecue-Alert-John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Is-Open-For-Business-In-East-Austin John Mueller is back! John Mueller Meat Company is open and serving brisket, beef ribs, Texas hot guts, pork ribs and side dishes for people interested in that sort of thing. Yesterday was the grand opening and we noted block long lines at Kellee's Place, the bar where his new food truck is parked at the corner of E.6th and Pedernales. Unfortunately we had other affairs to attend to so we were not able to brave the 2 hour wait for a plate of meat. Read the thread on Shaggybevo http://www.shaggybevo.com/board/showthread.php/126184-John-Mueller-Meat-Co-update-To-open-Feb-23rd The Redemption of John Mueller http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/the-redemption-of-john-mueller/ celebrate Texas Independence Day http://bigbeefpopup.eventbrite.com/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 24 Feb 2013 13:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/24/Austin-Daily-PhotoNew-Barbecue-Alert-John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Is-Open-For-Business-In-East-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/21/Finally-National-Writer-Andy-Staples-Eats-At--Barbecue-Legend-Snows-In-Lexington-And-Gets-It-Right We had just about given up. Non-Texas based writers routinely come to the Great State to eat their way across the Republic and file reports for publications like Bon Appetit, New York Times and/or others of their ilk. They invariably get it wrong. Barbecue Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/21/Finally-National-Writer-Andy-Staples-Eats-At--Barbecue-Legend-Snows-In-Lexington-And-Gets-It-Right http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/21/Daniel-Delaney-Wins-Declared-Brisket-King-Of-NYC-Brutal-Reign-Of-Meat-Set-To-Begin John Brown Smokehouse failed to defend their Brisket King title in New York City last night as surging powerhouse BrisketTown (Daniel Delaney) took home the prize: a Cartier encrusted Akaushi brisket dripping with gold leaf infused beef tallow. Wonder if any of the pitbosses rolled out brisket "shabu shabu" style like Richter's joint last year? And we would've loved to mow down on a plate of El Paso native Ari White's barbecue that saw block long crowds lined up in the Bronx last summer. Barbecue Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:21:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/21/Daniel-Delaney-Wins-Declared-Brisket-King-Of-NYC-Brutal-Reign-Of-Meat-Set-To-Begin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/19/Foodways-Texas-Symposium-April-46-2013-Meat-Party-Our-Barbecue-Ourselves-At-University-Texas Got an extra 280 bucks in your pocket? Foodways Texas is coming to town and throwing a meat party April 4-6th. Join the gentry as they "eat, think and talk our way from pasture to pit to plate." Sounds like a good time, but we're having a hard time reconciling that the list of pit masters and chefs: Barbecue Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/19/Foodways-Texas-Symposium-April-46-2013-Meat-Party-Our-Barbecue-Ourselves-At-University-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rural-Pit-Boss Ran across this ol country hoss up in Bosque County Texas last fall. He was participating in the invitation-only National Championship Barbecue Cook-Off 25th Anniversary Celebration in Meridian, Texas. Texas BBQ coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rural-Pit-Boss http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Chase-Palmer-At-Blue-Ox-Barbecue We missed our midnight deadline for our Austin Daily Photo last night by 90 minutes. Broke into the beer cellar while we were crying our eyes out over Valentine's Day, and lost track of time. Young pit boss Chase Palmer's doing good work down in southeast Austin at his Blue Ox barbecue trailer. Here's our field report http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/25/Field-Report-Blue-Ox-Barbecue-In-Southeast-Austin-Texas Hundreds of "breathlessly over-hyped" Texas barbecue articles right this way http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue we don't need cardio paddles to breathe life into our prose-it just comes natural. and read our feature on Virginia Wood's erroneous Texas barbecue article http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/14/Virginia-Wood-Gets-It-All-Wrong-As-John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Prepares-To-Open-In-East-Austin Barbecue Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Chase-Palmer-At-Blue-Ox-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/14/Virginia-Wood-Gets-It-All-Wrong-As-John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Prepares-To-Open-In-East-Austin Scanning the morning Austin Chronicle for articles from Mick Vann and MM Pack, the two headed hydra that keeps the local alt weekly relevant in these busy times, we noticed the following statement from Ms. Virginia Wood: "The Feb. 20 opening of the John Mueller Meat Company was announced in an official press release rather than a breathlessly overhyped blog post" Laughably wrong. Barbecue Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/14/Virginia-Wood-Gets-It-All-Wrong-As-John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Prepares-To-Open-In-East-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff-In-Brady-Texas The finest barbecue party thrown all year long in Texas. This is how the good folks of Brady Texas get down on Labor Day Weekend each year. Texas Barbecue coverage. Strong style http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff-In-Brady-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/11/Winner-Announced-Top-5-Barbecue-Beef-Chuck-Rib-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas To many people the grand champion of Texas Barbecue is the beef chuck rib. It's also a vanishing menu items as many people are loathe to pay between 15-20 dollars for a single rib no matter how much meat is clinging to it. Man Up Texas BBQ released their Top 5 Barbecue Beef Chuck Rib Joints In The State Of Texas this morning and it's disappointingly brief. Only 5 restaurants made the list. 20 years ago we would've had, at minimum, a dozen. Barbecue Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:12:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/11/Winner-Announced-Top-5-Barbecue-Beef-Chuck-Rib-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/8/John-Mueller-Invades-Houston-Texas-Eat-For-A-Cause-Barbecue-Party-At-Cottonwood Love him or hate him (and there are plenty people in both camps) John Mueller will be doing some good work this weekend in Houston, Texas. Details: February 9, from 12:00 to 4:00 PM Cottonwood - 3422 N. Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas 77018 Benefiting Housing Houston's Heroes, a charity for homeless veterans. Live music: The Palisades. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Housing Houston's Heroes, a local agency that assists homeless veterans in finding permanent housing. I spoke to Mueller a couple days ago about the food party and he informed me that he will be manning 5 massive smokers filled with 1,000 pounds of meat! more Texas bbq coverage http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/category/texas-barbecue/ Barbecue Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/8/John-Mueller-Invades-Houston-Texas-Eat-For-A-Cause-Barbecue-Party-At-Cottonwood http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/6/Winner-Announced-Top-12-Barbecue-Hot-Guts-Sausage-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas Man Up Texas Barbecue polled their readers on the topic of Texas Hot Guts Sausage recently. We eat a lot of hot guts at the Scrumptious house. While there are plenty good sources in Central Texas we've been making our own for a year and a half and we've got the formula down pat. Barbecue Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/6/Winner-Announced-Top-12-Barbecue-Hot-Guts-Sausage-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/5/John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Prepares-To-Open-Brand-New-Barbecue-Food-Trailer-In-Austin-Texas The old bull of Texas barbecue, John Mueller, is set to open John Mueller Meat Co. in East Austin, Texas. We've been running by Kellee's Place for the past few weeks to notate the progress taking place at the trim and tidy drinkery at the corner of east 6th and Pedernales. This past weekend smoke was rolling out of the iron pit in the food trailer so we decided to venture inside, and see if the fiery tempered pit boss was up for some conversation. He was. Barbecue Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/5/John-Mueller-Meat-Company-Prepares-To-Open-Brand-New-Barbecue-Food-Trailer-In-Austin-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Coopers-BarBQ-In-Mason-Texas The original Cooper's Barbecue in Mason, Texas. Pictured: beef rib, slab of brisket and goat sausage. Out on the Edward's Plateau part of Mason County you start to run into the lip of the biggest goat farming area of the United States: McCulloch County; hence the hot guts featuring goat instead of beef. The old boys working in the frac sand plants out that way need sustenance and Cooper's is more than happy to oblige. Quality-wise they're coasting on past glory. The beef chuck rib is chewy and needing more time on the smoker; the brisket would make a nice companion for the trip, it's tough. There are not a lot of smoke houses in the region so Cooper's does steady business vending barbecue that would get the boots put to you in Travis County. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Coopers-BarBQ-In-Mason-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/1/Winner-Announced-Top-12-Barbecue-Brisket-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas In a stunner, Franklin Barbecue, the obscure East Austin smoke shack that's been flying under the radar for years, has been deemed best brisket in Texas by the readers over at Man Up Texas Barbecue. Way back in 2009, the men at the Man Up site discovered Franklin and began ranting and raving over Aaron Franklin's smoked meat output. I could throw a rock from my French Place manse and hit the food trailer that Franklin then called home. Austin Texas Food Blogs Barbecue Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:52:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/2/1/Winner-Announced-Top-12-Barbecue-Brisket-Joints-In-The-State-Of-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/29/Texas-Takeover-El-Paso-Pit-Boss-Ari-White-Prepares-To-Do-Battle-In-NYC-For-Title-Of-Brisket-King Brisket is enjoying a sustained moment in the sun in New York City. While it's true that the glorious cut has been a life force for the Jewish community for decades, it's only been in the past couple years that the Texas tradition of barbecuing the breast of the steer has come into the spotlight. Barbecue Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/29/Texas-Takeover-El-Paso-Pit-Boss-Ari-White-Prepares-To-Do-Battle-In-NYC-For-Title-Of-Brisket-King http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/25/Field-Report-Blue-Ox-Barbecue-In-Southeast-Austin-Texas Forward: Last year when we were making our barbecue predictions for 2012 we spoke of the rise of the young pit bosses in Austin who had yet to be turned loose on the commercial front. This is the second in a series on these young bucks: Blue Ox Barbecue pit boss Chase Palmer estimates he was 6 years old the first time he ever struck a match. The John Mueller alumnus comes by his art naturally; his granddaddy LeRoy Palmer is a celebrated barbecue man who's fed thousands of people at the Canton Texas First Monday Trade Days. In business since the 1800s, this festival is considered the largest flea market in the United States. Barbecue Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/25/Field-Report-Blue-Ox-Barbecue-In-Southeast-Austin-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brady-Texas-Goat-Cook-Off Picture taken right before this Texas pit boss started passing around a jar of moonshine and firing off a Civil War-era cannon. High times in Brady Texas. more on the cook off plus Andy Cook of Cook n Company. Super Bowl Champ! http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/texas-barbecue-photos-world-championship-bbq-goat-cook-off-in-brady-texas/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:45:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brady-Texas-Goat-Cook-Off http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/23/Texas-Pit-Boss-Ari-White-Sets-To-Cooking-Meat-In-NYC-Hakadosh-BBQ Last summer 2 New York City pit bosses sent waves through that town's smoked meat community; Daniel Delaney and Ari White brought Texas-style brisket to a city that historically had sought sustenance from a multitude of gas-powered cookers at places like Hill Country. Delaney and White were operating without a net. Running big smokers, both of Texas provenance, and neither hooked up to Con Edison utilities. This was barbecue the old fashioned way: hunks of wooden embers, salt, pepper, brisket, and that's about it. Delaney's social media savvy led to a frenzy at his sold-out Brisketlab parties while White's kosher meats were met with long lines at his Texas Smokehouse BBQ pop up events. Barbecue Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/23/Texas-Pit-Boss-Ari-White-Sets-To-Cooking-Meat-In-NYC-Hakadosh-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Old-Pit-Room-At-Eurestes-Grocery-In-Waelder-Texas Gone but not forgotten. Dan Eureste had a multi-decade run down in Waelder, Texas where he oversaw the grocery and smoked meat needs of the community. Spent many an afternoon down here eating handmade hot guts sausages and wool gathering with Dan on a bench on the front porch. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Old-Pit-Room-At-Eurestes-Grocery-In-Waelder-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/18/Austin-Daily-Spy-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-At-Kellees-Place-In-East-Austin Rolling through East Austin on a hot tip from an old school barbecue hound who lives on Pedernales Street. He swore up and down that he'd seen John Mueller at Kellee's Place, the ramshackle old tavern at the corner of East 6th and Pedernales. Only one thing left to do. Jump on the bike and see if this could be verified. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/18/Austin-Daily-Spy-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-At-Kellees-Place-In-East-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-A-New-Life-For-Aaron-Franklins-Barbecue-Smoker-At-Buzz-Mill-Coffee-Blue-Ox-BBQ We ran down to Buzz Mill Coffee and Blue Ox BBQ in southeast Austin this morning to see if they'd flung the doors open yet. We had no luck but the crew running the joint could not be nicer and gave us a quick tour of the joint. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:36:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-A-New-Life-For-Aaron-Franklins-Barbecue-Smoker-At-Buzz-Mill-Coffee-Blue-Ox-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/17/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Woodpile-BBQ-Austin-Texas-FoodTrailer Hot off the Woodpile BBQ food trailer website comes some sad news. They're shutting down the food trailer to reform the business into a 3 pronged barbecue model Mail order Supper Club Private lessons We never made it out there. RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:19:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/17/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Woodpile-BBQ-Austin-Texas-FoodTrailer http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/15/Pit-Boss-John-Mueller-Set-To-Bring-His-Barbecue-To-Houston-Texas Via national food site Eater's Houston page: John Mueller barbecue is to be served on Sat Feb 9th 2013 at Cottonwood. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Housing Houston's Heroes, a charity for homeless veterans. 12:00pm until 4:00pm Menu: Ribs, Brisket and sausage Could this be a possible spring board toward Mueller opening a Houston location? Barbecue Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/15/Pit-Boss-John-Mueller-Set-To-Bring-His-Barbecue-To-Houston-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Meridian-TX-National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff-25th-Aniversary-Celebration Pitboss. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 15 Jan 2013 01:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Meridian-TX-National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff-25th-Aniversary-Celebration http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/10/Field-Report-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-In-East-Austins-Brisket-Is-The-Real-Deal I abhor take-out. I never, ever get food to-go. It defeats the purpose of dining out; getting out of the house and enjoying a nice meal in a nice restaurant or even (most of the time) sitting on a diesel fuel-stained blacktop curb and eating a taco off a greasy wrapping paper. Some of the greatest conversations I've ever had were with rank strangers eating in weird places that nobody else considered dine-worthy. I take my pleasures where I find them. Barbecue Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:21:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/10/Field-Report-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-In-East-Austins-Brisket-Is-The-Real-Deal http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blue-Ribbon-Barbecue . Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 08 Jan 2013 00:38:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blue-Ribbon-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/5/Austin-Texas-Chowhound-Power-Poster-Tom-In-Austin-Speaks-On-Where-To-Find-The-Best-Barbacoa We had to retire our "Chowhound Junior" feature due to the Austin food board's dormancy. But once a week we still like to spend a good 30-45 seconds going over the ol gal to see if anything of relevance is posted. One of their best writers "Tom In Austin" weighed in this morning on barbacoa...and a few other topics. It'll be gone by the end of the day, moderated into oblivion. So we're sharing it here: "My favorite barbacoa is Tacos Rico. Give it a shot. I don't think this is a very controversial opinion. Barbecue Sat, 05 Jan 2013 12:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/5/Austin-Texas-Chowhound-Power-Poster-Tom-In-Austin-Speaks-On-Where-To-Find-The-Best-Barbacoa http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/1/Austin-Daily-Photo-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas It's important to have traditions. When I'm coming home to Texas from such far flung locales as New Orleans, Cincinnati or Tuscaloosa, I always point my bike toward Ellinger, Texas so I can dust off my taste buds at Peter's Barbecue. It's a quintessential roadside shack-style smoked meat joint. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2013/1/1/Austin-Daily-Photo-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/29/Learn-The-Art-And-Science-Of-Cooking-Texas-Barbecue-John-Lewis-Of-LA-Barbecue-Is-Hiring Interested in learning the art and science of cooking Texas barbecue with wood fires? Pit boss John Lewis is hiring a cook. Lewis was at the center of a firestorm earlier this year when he (famously) migrated from Franklin Barbecue, the nationally prominent meat house on East 11th street to (then) JMueller BBQ. Barbecue Sat, 29 Dec 2012 15:50:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/29/Learn-The-Art-And-Science-Of-Cooking-Texas-Barbecue-John-Lewis-Of-LA-Barbecue-Is-Hiring http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/28/One-Year-Ago-Today-We-Issued-A-Sprawling-Opus-On-2011-The-Year-In-Barbecue That year went by a mite fast. One year ago today we looked at the top 21 articles we'd written on Texas barbecue in 2011. It was article number 1000. Not a stone was left unturned as we examined: Aaron Franklin, Randall Stockton, Taylor Cafe, Louie Mueller, Davis Grocery, Black's Barbecue, Gidding's Meat Market, Vrazel's, John Mueller, R&G, Amber King and Lance Kirkpatrick. All for the love of meat. Barbecue Fri, 28 Dec 2012 22:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/28/One-Year-Ago-Today-We-Issued-A-Sprawling-Opus-On-2011-The-Year-In-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Mesquites-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas Wild times in Lubbock. We loaded up the Econoline earlier this year and headed west to do a catering at a big fancy party out on the plains of West Texas. After a long day of grocery shopping and prep we hit the town for a night of drinking, barbecue eating and frivolity. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Mesquites-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/27/2012-Year-End-Review-The-Hottest-Scrumptious-Chef-Article-Of-The-Year Gazing back over our site analytics for 2012, one thing quickly stands out: nobody moves the needle like firebrand pit boss John Mueller. The old barbecue cook from Taylor, Texas was the subject of the hottest story we penned this year (and we wrote over 700 articles in 2012) In a media world where the word "pitmaster" is routinely ascribed to anyone who's ever put a hamburger patty on a Weber grill-Mueller noisily put out barbecue that had local scribe Mike Sutter of Fedman Walking saying "Put the fatty brisket in the next Voyager space probe to show how the Earthlings do brisket in Texas, with the fat in a pearled state of suspension between liquid and solid, held together by a crusted layer of salt and black pepper that crunches like hard beef candy." Barbecue Austin Food Scene Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/27/2012-Year-End-Review-The-Hottest-Scrumptious-Chef-Article-Of-The-Year http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/24/One-Year-Ago-Today-A-Row-Of-Briskets-On-The-Smoker-Of-John-Mueller We're about to crest 2,000 articles on the Scrumptious Chef site. As we near this august moment we're peering backwards in time and looking at favored posts from our 3 year history. Behold, a row of mammoth briskets smouldering over American hardwoods on the smoker of John Mueller, Texan. Legend. Pit boss. http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Texas-Barbecue-Legend-John-Mueller-Briskets-On-The-Smoker-In-Bouldin-Creek?adminview=true Barbecue Austin Food Scene Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:24:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/24/One-Year-Ago-Today-A-Row-Of-Briskets-On-The-Smoker-Of-John-Mueller http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/22/Is-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Banned-From-Austin-Texas-Chowhound-Board Gone with the wind. We were rambling around the internet yesterday reading up on Micklethwait Craft Meats when we noticed there had been an Austin Chowhound report posted. Gone with the wind. Clicking on the link led us to the infamous "that page does not exist" message from the puritans who run the moribund local extension of Chow. Some things never change. Chow uses local members of each respective town's boards to do their internet policing. Who knows what was contained in what was certainly a wildly offensive field report of a new barbecue trailer that had the audacity to try to earn a living in Austin, Texas? Looking for an alternate food board to post on regarding Austin's food scene? We recommend www.roadfood.com and read our field report on Micklethwait Craft Meats right here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/21/2012-Year-End-Review-The-Best-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-You-Never-Heard-Of-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats?adminview=true Barbecue Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/22/Is-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats-Banned-From-Austin-Texas-Chowhound-Board http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/21/2012-Year-End-Review-The-Best-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-You-Never-Heard-Of-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats What started as a roving outlaw barbecue food party has settled into a food trailer home on Austin's East Side: Micklethwait Craft Meats is the best barbecue in Austin you never heard of. Owner and pit boss Tom Micklethwait is doing Texas barbecue the old fashioned way: hand grinding and stuffing his sausage, building post oak fires and slowly smouldering his meats til they're good and ready. Micklethwait makes everything from scratch. We ran by earlier today and had sliced pork shoulder and kielbasa hot links (the brisket wasn't going to be ready til 4pm) Barbecue Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/21/2012-Year-End-Review-The-Best-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-You-Never-Heard-Of-Micklethwait-Craft-Meats http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/17/Happy-Birthday-Stiles-Switch-BBQShane-Stiles--Louie-Mueller-Alumnus-Lance-Kirkpatricks-Joint-Is-1 And then there were 3. Austin's always had good barbecue. Old timer's had The Shanty, which is still spoken of in hallowed terms, while new bucks queue up at Live Oak down on 2nd street for Saturday afternoon specials off the pit of Tom Spaulding. Debate rages on a daily basis in our fair city over who's putting out the finest smoked meat in town. Folks with time to kill like to stand in line for a few hours at Franklin to eat what many reckon is the best barbecue in the nation. Barbecue Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:01:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/17/Happy-Birthday-Stiles-Switch-BBQShane-Stiles--Louie-Mueller-Alumnus-Lance-Kirkpatricks-Joint-Is-1 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/14/Birth-Notice-Freedmens We had a great time at the friends and family, soft opening at Freedmen's in West Campus last night. No matter that we are neither, there were plenty folks who were none the wiser. Freedmen's is a barbecue restaurant and craft cocktail bar. Let's hope University Texas students are thirsty for well made pre and post-prohibition cocktails as that is the slant of the drinkery part of the establishment. Birth Notice Barbecue Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:33:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/14/Birth-Notice-Freedmens http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/10/12-Days-Of-Smoked-Meat-Animal-Consumption-Festival-Begins-At-Stiles-Switch-Barbecue Nothing says the Holidays like hoisting a wide variety of animals onto wood burning barbecue pits. The good folks up at Stiles Switch are throwing animal consumption parties during the 12 days of Christmas this year. Austin is awash in bad barbecue. The number of outlets where you can eat smoked meat has quadrupled in the last couple years but most range in quality from terrible to barely edible. Masters of wood fire based cooking are few and far between. John Lewis, Aaron Franklin and Lance Kirkpatrick are leading the charge in Austin proper with x-urb pitbosses like Scott Morales and Tony White doing good work outside our city limits. Barbecue Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/10/12-Days-Of-Smoked-Meat-Animal-Consumption-Festival-Begins-At-Stiles-Switch-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Taylor-Cafe Business carried us to Taylor, Texas last week. As we hammered up 973 from Austin we began fantasizing about what we were going to eat and where we were going to eat it. Ferrari's for a plate of lasagna; Ed's Place for a hamburger; Davis Grocery for pork ribs; Moe's Lounge for a sandwich; Lafayette for a bowl of gumbo-the options are endless in the garden spot of Williamson County. We went to Vencil's joint down near the railroad tracks. Best $1.50 lunch in Taylor. Walking in to the old beer joint on a sun-drenched afternoon Vencil Mares is holding court, as is his custom, in his roost at the end of the bar. A few drinkers are sitting around swapping lies while some Johnny Bush is playing in the background. Time is precious so we ask for a link of Bohunk sausage and set back to soak in the scene. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Taylor-Cafe http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/3/Birth-Notice-Schmidt-Family-Barbecue-From-Owners-Of-Kreuz-Market-And-Smittys-In-Lockhart Brace up Bee Cave Texas. 512 Foodie is reporting that Schmidt Family Barbecue will be opening at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave in summer 2013. No mention of how big the restaurant will be but we'll be stunned if it seats less than a 1000 people. Kreuz Market arches upward toward a cap of 700 in tiny Lockhart Texas so we expect the new venture to dwarf that operation. hot link right this way http://impactnews.com/articles/schmidt-family-barbecue-to-open-in-hill-country-galleria/?utm_source=Community+Impact+Newsletter,+Fri+Nov.+30&utm_campaign=Nov+30,+2012+NL&utm_medium=email premium Texas barbecue coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue We're on Twitter https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Birth Notice Barbecue Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/12/3/Birth-Notice-Schmidt-Family-Barbecue-From-Owners-Of-Kreuz-Market-And-Smittys-In-Lockhart http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/27/Field-Report-Shiner-Restaurant-And-Bar-With-Pit-Boss-John-Mueller I can only speak from experience. Years ago, a very hung over, wallet-forgotten, and anonymous me-was well fed by John Mueller at his barbecue shop on Manor Road-no questions asked. Until his departure, his particular hospitality at his food trailer on South First Street seemed to center primarily on the business at hand, and included an occasional free beer. Despite Mr. Mueller's brusque reputation for directness, the only shiner I received on a visit to his new Saturday-only residency in Shiner, Texas was a Bock, in a bottle, and crafted at the Spoetzl Brewery right down the road. Barbecue Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/27/Field-Report-Shiner-Restaurant-And-Bar-With-Pit-Boss-John-Mueller http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/24/Birth-Notice-Shiner-Restaurant-And-Bar-Welcomes-John-Mueller-On-The-Pit Rumors came floating on the Texas wind last weekend. Our buddy Duane who lives down in Yoakum, Texas made an auspicious claim. He'd eaten a fresh plate of brisket from the pit of John Mueller. We didn't know what to make of it. A conflagration in the world of Texas barbecue erupted {http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/31/Explosion-In-The-World-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-John-Mueller-Out-Of-JMueller-BBQ?adminview=true}when Mueller was ousted at his eponymous barbecue trailer in South Austin. Barbecue Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/24/Birth-Notice-Shiner-Restaurant-And-Bar-Welcomes-John-Mueller-On-The-Pit http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Daniel-DeLaney-Prepares-To-Open-BrisketTown-Barbecue-In-New-York-City Tomorrow, November 16th 2012 New York City will welcome a new and major player in the city's barbecue game. Daniel DeLaney of BrisketLab will fling the doors open of BrisketTown. The world will never be the same. An American flag from Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas will fly sentry over the affair giving inestimable street cred to the operation. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Daniel-DeLaney-Prepares-To-Open-BrisketTown-Barbecue-In-New-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Marty-Marak-Declared-Grand-Champion-Of--National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff Pit boss Marty Marak capped a stunning year on the competitive barbecue circuit in the great state of Texas by winning the National Championship Barbecue Cook-Off in Meridian Texas recently. It was the 25th year of the competition. Full coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-2012-Results-National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff-In-Meridian-Texas and last year Texas crowned a lady http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Results-Are-InAmber-King-Is-Grand-Champion-2011-National-Championship-Barbecue-Cookoff-In-Meridian Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:22:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Marty-Marak-Declared-Grand-Champion-Of--National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-BarBQue-Shack Field report http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gil-Vrazels-Czech-Barbecue-Shack-Wednesday-July-27th-2011 Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-BarBQue-Shack http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/3/Meet-The-New-Boss-X-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Takes-The-Main-Stage-At--LA-Barbecue The line was 75 fanatics deep. The brisket quivered under a mantle of a heavy dose of cracked black pepper and the hot guts sausage glowed like the Texas sun. It's day one at LA Barbecue, LeAnn Mueller's new outfit in the former south Austin home of JMueller BBQ. Bloodlines. Barbecue Sat, 03 Nov 2012 12:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/3/Meet-The-New-Boss-X-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Takes-The-Main-Stage-At--LA-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/2/Birth-Notice-Brand-New-South-Austin-Barbecue-From-LeAnn-Mueller-With-John-Lewis-On-The-Pit I sat down at lunchtime today with LeAnn Mueller, daugher of Texas barbecue icon Bobby {RIP} and sister of John Mueller, the pit boss ousted from JMueller BBQ earlier this week. Ms. Mueller was busy, busy, busy as she prepares to re-open the barbecue business that has been shuttered for the past 48 hours. The name of the new venture is still up in the air but Mueller Barbecue and 78704 Barbecue are both being considered. UPDATE-The name of the new venture is LA Barbecue. Austin-Texas-the United States'-and the world's barbecue community have all been in a state of turmoil since Wednesday's earth shaking announcement that John Mueller would no longer be part of the food trailer that was the epicenter of central Texas barbecue. Barbecue Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:36:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/2/Birth-Notice-Brand-New-South-Austin-Barbecue-From-LeAnn-Mueller-With-John-Lewis-On-The-Pit http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/2/Pre-Order-The-Prophets-Of-Smoked-Meat-By-Bbq-Snob-Daniel-Vaughn-On-Bourdains-Ecco-Imprint Finally some good news from the world of Texas barbecue. Daniel Vaughn, the Dallas architect who moonlights as the BBQ Snob-traveling across the state of Texas and ingesting mammoth quantities of smoked meat-has a brand new book coming out that you can pre-order via Amazon. Looks like a must read for those interested in Texas barbecue. http://www.amazon.com/Prophets-Smoked-Meat-Daniel-Vaughn/dp/0062202928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351870027&sr=1-1 Texas bbq coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/2/Pre-Order-The-Prophets-Of-Smoked-Meat-By-Bbq-Snob-Daniel-Vaughn-On-Bourdains-Ecco-Imprint http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/Texas-Monthlys-Katy-Vines-Weighs-In-With-Gravitas-On-JMueller-BBQ-Saga Katy Vine got famous earlier this year with her magnum opus on John Mueller Barbecue and Franklin Barbecue titled "The Greatest Barbecue Story Ever Told," the article garnered wide acclaim across the US as being a splendid example of long form journalism. Now, Ms. Vine has spoken on the Mueller scandal {http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/31/Explosion-In-The-World-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-John-Mueller-Out-Of-JMueller-BBQ} that has gripped the world of Austin, Texas smoked meat for the past 24 hours. Barbecue Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/Texas-Monthlys-Katy-Vines-Weighs-In-With-Gravitas-On-JMueller-BBQ-Saga http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/New-York-Times-Alex-Witchel-Takes-A-Look-At-Daniel-DeLaneys-Brooklyn-Barbecue-Outfit-BrisketTown Finally some good news to report from the world of barbecue. Daniel DeLaney, burgeoning pit boss of Brisketlab and now BrisketTown, made the paper of record this morning. One of our all time favorite writers Alex Witchel got caught up with DeLaney as he prepares to open a brick n mortar bbq joint in Brooklyn. Barbecue Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:22:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/New-York-Times-Alex-Witchel-Takes-A-Look-At-Daniel-DeLaneys-Brooklyn-Barbecue-Outfit-BrisketTown http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-JMueller-BBQ Just got back from JMueller BBQ. The giant, custom-built smoker has gone cold. This is an obituary that we never envisioned penning in a hundred years. The barbecue joint of the moment-for the past year-has shuttered. John Mueller, the polarizing son of Texas icon Bobby Mueller {RIP}, is out at the restaurant that bore his name. Signs indicate that the business will be back in operation this Saturday November 3rd 2012. Young pit boss John Lewis is reportedly going to be manning the massive pit. Lewis made his name as the man putting out world class briskets at Franklin Barbecue before migrating to John Mueller's joint in South Austin in September of this year. We broke the scandal down when it erupted yesterday; changing the face of Texas barbecue forever. http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/31/Explosion-In-The-World-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-John-Mueller-Out-Of-JMueller-BBQ Rest In Peace JMueller BBQ twitter https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/1/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-JMueller-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/31/Explosion-In-The-World-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-John-Mueller-Out-Of-JMueller-BBQ This is hard. I just got off the phone with LeAnn Mueller, daughter of the icon Bobby Mueller {RIP} and sister of legendary Texas pit boss; John Mueller. John is no longer part of the business that bears his name. Barbecue Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:24:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/31/Explosion-In-The-World-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue-John-Mueller-Out-Of-JMueller-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-2012-Results-National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff-In-Meridian-Texas The garden spot of Bosque County, Meridian, Texas, hosted the 25th annual National Championship Barbecue Cook-Off this past weekend. As is our custom we took the 2 hour drive up from Austin for the event. 200+ teams converged on the Bosque Bottoms fairgrounds for the preeminent barbecue battle in the United States. Unlike barbecue cook-offs in other, lesser-states, the competing teams are more than happy to feed you as you make your way around the grounds. 20k is on the line for these dueling teams. Barbecue Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:30:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-2012-Results-National-Championship-Barbecue-CookOff-In-Meridian-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/24/Finally-Camp-Brisket Got $550 burning a hole in your pocket? Foodways Texas, in partnership with the Meat Science Section in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, will hold a 2 day brisket symposium in January of 2013. What does the tariff get you in return? * Access to debates over which grade beef makes for the best brisket * What type of smoker you should be using * Butcher paper wrapping of brisket advisability * Presumably more Professors and pit bosses will be delivering the lectures at the symposium dubbed "Camp Brisket" Sounds like a lot of money to us but there are plenty well heeled folks who'll regard this as a sound investment. Tickets go on sale on December 1st to the general public. Link to the Foodways Texas website http://foodwaystexas.com/ Barbecue Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:13:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/24/Finally-Camp-Brisket http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/17/Man-Up-Texas-BBQs-3rd-Annual-Gettin-Sauced-Festival-October-27th-2012-At--Hops--Grain-Brewing A don't miss for Texas barbecue fans, Man Up Texas BBQ is about to roll out the 3rd edition of their monstrously popular barbecue sauce competition/party. 150 sauces from the United States, Canada, and Australia will be available for sampling along with food from Louie Mueller, Opies, and Black's and plenty cold micro brew from Hops and Grains brewing. Barbecue Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:40:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/17/Man-Up-Texas-BBQs-3rd-Annual-Gettin-Sauced-Festival-October-27th-2012-At--Hops--Grain-Brewing http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/8/Out-Of-The-Past-A-Year-In-The-Life-Of-John-Mueller-Barbecue When he dies he probably wants to be crusted over with kosher salt and coarse black pepper, loaded on his big iron smoker, cooked through the night, then fed to the crew over at Shaggybevo's GM Steakhouse. It will be a fitting end for a man who has given his life to Texas barbecue. He's got enough brimstone in him that you won't need to apply any cayenne. Today is the 1 year anniversary of John Mueller opening his eponymous food trailer down in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of South Austin, so we thought we'd take a look back at the man who's once again left a giant, fist-shaped imprint on the world of Texas smoked meat. Barbecue Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/8/Out-Of-The-Past-A-Year-In-The-Life-Of-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tom-And-Bingos-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas As good a reason as any to pay a visit to Lubbock, Texas: Tom and Bingo's Barbecue, bright and early in the morning under the glare of the headlights of the Econoline van. We have no doubt that owner and pit boss Tom Clanton was out back, loading hickory wood onto the smoker but we were absolutely starving after the long drive from Austin and couldn't wait for him to fling the doors open. A visit to Josie's Burritos #4 quickly remedied that. We're spoiled for Tex Mex in Austin and Josie's could not open around these parts and keep beans and greens on the table. Our review http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/texas-daily-photo-josies-burritos-4-in-lubbock-texas/ And more on Tom and Bingo's http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/texas-daily-photo-tom-and-bingos-barbecue-in-lubbock-texas-est-1952/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 07 Oct 2012 00:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tom-And-Bingos-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/3/KLRU-And-Franklin-Barbecue-Team-Up-In-Indiegogo-Funded-YouTube-Barbecue-Series KLRU-TV, Austin PBS and Aaron Franklin are teaming up. They've started a fund raiser on Indiegogo to raise money for a web series on how to cook Texas barbecue. Sounds like it could be a Prague Spring for burgeoning pit bosses. Head on over to http://www.indiegogo.com/bbqwithfranklin to learn how you can help. They're looking to raise 16k which sounds pretty modest by current standards. We'd love to see Franklin offer "stroll to the front of the line for one year" as a donor reward for a contribution of the full 16k. With the stroke of a pen the whole fundraiser could be realized for one lucky, deep pocketed meat lover. previous Franklin BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/22/Seismic-Shift-In-Texas-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Joins-Forces-With-John-Mueller-BBQ Barbecue Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:30:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/10/3/KLRU-And-Franklin-Barbecue-Team-Up-In-Indiegogo-Funded-YouTube-Barbecue-Series http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/24/Danielle-Dimovski-Jack-Daniels-World-Barbecue-Champ-Releases-Sizzle-Reel-Featuring-John-Mueller-BBQ We love Danielle Dimovski, the Jack Daniels World Barbecue Champion is loud, bawdy and as talented a pit boss as you're ever likely to meet. After a recent visit to Austin, Texas her production team released a sizzle reel of some of the highlights of her barbecue trek across our fair city. 11 states, 32 cities, 5 barbecue competitions and visits to countless smokehouses must have made for some interesting times. Check out the highlight reel in advance of her TV show set to debut in the Spring of 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMrEQPF1D4 and how in the world did John Mueller coax Franklin BBQ's pit boss to switch camps? http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/22/Seismic-Shift-In-Texas-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Joins-Forces-With-John-Mueller-BBQ https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr This is barbecue article number 250 Barbecue Austin Food Scene Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/24/Danielle-Dimovski-Jack-Daniels-World-Barbecue-Champ-Releases-Sizzle-Reel-Featuring-John-Mueller-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Line-Standers-Raise-Their-Voices-In-Song The scene from outside the Long Center For The Performing Arts as Franklin Barbecue line-standers experience a long, slow, thunderclap of a line-standing orgasm. After a week of no line-standing due to Franklin's vacation, the experience of a good two hour wait for a plate of barbecue had to be sweet relief. Full report coming on the Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival where the above photo was taken. Part One: A Modest Proposal Concerning Franklin Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/18/Part-One-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue Part Two: A Modest Proposal Concerning Franklin Barbecue. Line Standers Edition http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/17/Part-Two-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue-Line-Standers-Edition https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:05:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Line-Standers-Raise-Their-Voices-In-Song http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/22/Seismic-Shift-In-Texas-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Joins-Forces-With-John-Mueller-BBQ Preface. John Mueller is out at JMueller BBQ. Details http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/11/3/Meet-The-New-Boss-X-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Takes-The-Main-Stage-At--LA-Barbecue ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stunner. Ran by John Mueller Barbecue this morning to grab a link of hot guts for breakfast and damn near went apoplectic. John Lewis, former pit boss at Franklin Barbecue and national competition bbq cook has joined forces with the fiery Taylor, Texas native. Unbelievable. Barbecue Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:59:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/22/Seismic-Shift-In-Texas-Franklin-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-John-Lewis-Joins-Forces-With-John-Mueller-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/18/Daniel-Delaney-To-Open-Brick-And-Mortar-In-Williamsburg-Brooklyn-The-Rise-Of-BrisketTown Florence Fabricant is reporting that Daniel Delaney, who famously transported one of Aaron Franklin's smokers to New York City, is moving forward from his Brisketlab concept to open BrisketTown, a brick and mortar in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. Projected date is October 31st 2012. Every report we've read on Mr. Delaney's brisket claims that it's full Texas quality, so we have no doubt that this restaurant will be a major player in New York City's smoked meat game. Previous Daniel Delaney coverage: We interviewed the pit boss here http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/daniel-delaney-of-brisketlab-sits-down-with-rl-reeves-jr/ and breaking down the BrisketLab http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/5/Brisketlab-Debuts-A-New-Life-For-Aaron-Franklins-Smoker-In-The-Bright-Lights-Of-New-York-City https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Barbecue Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:08:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/18/Daniel-Delaney-To-Open-Brick-And-Mortar-In-Williamsburg-Brooklyn-The-Rise-Of-BrisketTown http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/17/Part-Two-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue-Line-Standers-Edition The simple pleasures of standing in a line are not to be easily dismissed. New iphone? Form a queue. Comic book turned into a motion picture? The line starts here. Band you've never heard of booked into the Parish at SXSW. Happy to attend as long as there's at least a 2 hour wait. Humans love lines and the simple pleasures wrought by standing in them. There is no denying it. The hard reality of this simple truism came crashing down years back at a Mexican cannibal movie being screened at midnight during SXSW at the old Drafthouse. Colorado Street was under attack. Lightning crashing, driving sheets of rain and booming thunderclaps with the end times clearly upon Austin, Texas. Barbecue Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/17/Part-Two-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue-Line-Standers-Edition http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/9/Austin-Texas-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-Aaron-Franklin-Wins-Grand-Champion-At-New-York-Citys-Meatopia Details are trickling in as New York City carnists recover from a protein overload courtesy of Josh Ozersky's Meatopia event yesterday. Congratulations to Aaron Franklin who was crowned Grand Champion of the affair. He bested a murderers row of some of the top talent in the country. Under threatening skies, the meat lover nation united under de facto ruler Josh Ozersky as dozens of the top chefs in USA manned big fires and cranked out thousands of pounds of animal flesh cooked over open flames on Randall's Island in New York City. Then the rain came. Barbecue Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:50:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/9/Austin-Texas-Barbecue-Pit-Boss-Aaron-Franklin-Wins-Grand-Champion-At-New-York-Citys-Meatopia http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tom-And-Bingos-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas Out of all the West Texas barbecue we sampled on our trip out to Lubbock a few months ago, Tom and Bingo's was the only one selling brisket of the caliber you routinely get in Austin, Texas. Juicy, well seasoned and rich with hickory smoke, it was easily our favorite joint we visited. a report http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/texas-daily-photo-tom-and-bingos-barbecue-in-lubbock-texas-est-1952/ Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:44:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tom-And-Bingos-Barbecue-In-Lubbock-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/5/Hard-Day-In-BastropDickeys-Barbecue-Restaurants-Inc-To-Hand-Out-100-Free-Pulled-Pork-Sandwiches Bastrop is one of the most scenic towns in all of Texas. There's a lovely opera house, an historic downtown area, a thriving American Legion post that is also a live music venue, a riverwalk along the Colorado, a museum stuffed to the rafters with historic artifacts and numerous parks where one can camp, fish, swim or just relax under the starry Texas skies. Barbecue Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/5/Hard-Day-In-BastropDickeys-Barbecue-Restaurants-Inc-To-Hand-Out-100-Free-Pulled-Pork-Sandwiches http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/4/Drinking-Moonshine-And-Firing-Cannons-At-Brady-Texas-39th-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff It was a hundred and three degrees in the shade out in Brady, Texas Labor Day weekend as thousands of cabrito lovers gathered in the garden spot of McCulloch County; Richards Park. Barbecue cook-off teams from all over the country competed in the 39th Annual World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off as thousands of people ate smoked meat, drank beer and socialized at the best barbecue party held all year long in the great state. It was a typically wild affair. Tarzan yells rang out as judging began and shortly thereafter cries for a medic erupted as one poor attendee found the heady combination of cold beer and hot park to be altogether too much. For the first time in the history of the cook-off, the organizers auctioned off an "11th Place" banner and one high roller walked off with it after paying a cool thousand bucks. Barbecue Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/4/Drinking-Moonshine-And-Firing-Cannons-At-Brady-Texas-39th-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/4/Meat-Fight-Dallas-Pit-Bosses-Set-For-Barbecue-Battle-With-Aaron-Franklin-and-Daniel-Vaughn-Judging Update: The Daniel Vaughn/Aaron Franklin connection paid off as Meat Fight is SOLD OUT. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multiple Schlerosis has a new and formidable foe. Alice Laussade, The Dallas Observer's "Cheap Bastard" food columnist, is organizing a barbecue battle featuring area pit bosses who will be competing against one another with proceeds going to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The competition has been dubbed Meat Fight. Battlers: Barbecue Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/4/Meat-Fight-Dallas-Pit-Bosses-Set-For-Barbecue-Battle-With-Aaron-Franklin-and-Daniel-Vaughn-Judging http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/3/Gasping-And-Wheezing-In-Final-Bid-For-Relevance-Chowhounds-Corporate-Master-Issues-Austin-BBQ-List In an article titled "Austin's Best Barbecue: Chowhound Lists," writer David Pistrang has peered through the dusty, cobweb laden corners of the dormant Austin Chowhound food board and scavenged up a list of "Austin's" best barbecue. Of course this being a Chow/Chowhound production the list is riddled with inaccuracies. While the prim maiden aunts who run Chowhound will never be known for their intellectual vigor, this article is especially pitiable. Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Mon, 03 Sep 2012 00:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/3/Gasping-And-Wheezing-In-Final-Bid-For-Relevance-Chowhounds-Corporate-Master-Issues-Austin-BBQ-List http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/2/Austin-Daily-PhotoRoss-Farms-Wins-Best-Rig-At-39th-Brady-Texas-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff Brady, Texas was the center of the barbecue universe this weekend as the 39th Annual World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off took place in verdant Richards Park on the outskirts of town. We'll be providing much more coverage as the week progresses but we'll get things started with a quick photo of the winner of the much coveted "Best Rig" title: Ross Farms. In the foreground is one of 3 local beauty queens who competed in the cabrito cookoff beauty pageant. previous http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/30/39th-Annual-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff-Saturday-Sept-1st-2012-Brady-Texas Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/9/2/Austin-Daily-PhotoRoss-Farms-Wins-Best-Rig-At-39th-Brady-Texas-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/31/Danielle-Bennett-Dimovski-Jack-Daniels-World-Barbecue-Champion-Visits-Austins-John-Mueller-Barbecue Danielle Bennett Dimovski aka Diva Q is down in Austin's Bouldin Creek neighborhood hanging out at John Mueller Barbecue and losing her mind over the Taylor, Texas native's smoked meat. Choice quotes: Barbecue Food Trucks Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/31/Danielle-Bennett-Dimovski-Jack-Daniels-World-Barbecue-Champion-Visits-Austins-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/30/39th-Annual-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff-Saturday-Sept-1st-2012-Brady-Texas Duty calls. We'll be loading up the bike this Saturday morning to ride out and judge the 39th Annual World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off in verdant Brady Texas just twenty miles from Mercury, the geographical center of the great state. We go to a lot of barbecue cook-offs over the course of a year in Texas but there is none finer than the cabrito party thrown by the Brady Chamber of Commerce. Two hundred and six teams from all over the United States will be competing this year in Richards Park with attendance in the thousands. Barbecue Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/30/39th-Annual-World-Championship-BBQ-Goat-CookOff-Saturday-Sept-1st-2012-Brady-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/29/RIP-Rest-In-Peace--Jrs-Texas-Style-Barbeque Sometimes this job hurts. Back in the summer of 2006 Ben Dukes, father of Dawnna Dukes, lent a helping hand to Katrina refugee Joseph Rogers and the two of them combined forces to open VII J's, a soul food haven housed at the corner of Rosewood Avenue and Chicon in East Austin. RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/29/RIP-Rest-In-Peace--Jrs-Texas-Style-Barbeque http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/29/Video-Anthony-Bourdain-Freaking-The-Fuck-Out-Over-John-Mueller-Barbecue Here's a sneak peek of Tony Bourdain, hanging out with Daniel Vaughn at John Mueller Barbecue in South Austin. Premium beef chuck rib porn alert: http://www.travelchannel.com/video/austins-jmueller-bbq Vaughn's Texas bbq site http://fcg-bbq.blogspot.com/ and even more Texas barbecue http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress It's pronounced Meller, by the way y'all. Barbecue Food Trucks Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/29/Video-Anthony-Bourdain-Freaking-The-Fuck-Out-Over-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/22/Man-Up-Texas-BBQ-And-Stiles-Switch-Are-Throwing-An-Aurora-Colorado-Shooting-Victims-Benefit Tomorrow, Thursday August 23rd 2012, Stiles Switch Barbecue will be hosting a benefit for the Aurora Colorado Batman movie massacre victims. A madman went crazy in a suburban movie theater and shot the place up, killing and wounding dozens before being captured by the police. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the victims and their families. Details on the benefit Thursday August 23rd 5:30 pm Stiles Switch Barbecue 6610 N. Lamar Blvd Austin, Texas St. Arnold's Brewery will be there with plenty cold beer and Shane Stiles will be serving up hot barbecue from one of the top smokehouses in central Texas. Man Up Texas Barbecue put this event together http://manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com/2012/08/aurora-benefit-at-stiles-switch-bbq.html Barbecue Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/22/Man-Up-Texas-BBQ-And-Stiles-Switch-Are-Throwing-An-Aurora-Colorado-Shooting-Victims-Benefit http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue We can't keep track of all the national media crews that have descended on John Mueller Barbecue down in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood in South Austin recently. Bourdain, Zimmern, Richman, Raichlen et al have all stopped in at Mueller's barbecue trailer to eat from the table of the foul tempered Taylor, Texas native. Surprisingly enough Mueller has yet to launch a missile dropkick out of the order window but we've got faith he's just biding his time for now. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/18/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Ana-Janelles-Smokehouse That was quick. Ana Janelle's Smokehouse, which opened in March of this year, has shuttered. Our field report from our sole visit: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Ana-Janelles-Smokehouse-Has-Opened-In-The-Former-Nuernberg-Brauhaus RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:33:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/18/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Ana-Janelles-Smokehouse http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/15/WGU-Texas-Online-University-Launches-Tour-of-Texas-BBQ-For-Students-And-Alumni In spite of boasting three thousand students scattered across Texas, Western Governor's University still tolls anonymously in the halls of higher learning. That's about to change. The raw, unflinching power of Texas barbecue has been enlisted by WGU and we expect attendance to skyrocket. The school has begun sponsoring barbecue tours for students and alumni and has visited Dallas, San Antonio and most recently Houston. If that doesn't boost enrollment we don't know what will. Of course it is a bit mystifying that the brain trust in charge of the promotion would leave Austin out of the barbecue touring business but maybe that's why the institution is online instead of residing on a leafy campus near Lockhart or maybe Taylor? Feel like beefing up your education? Here's their website http://texas.wgu.edu/ https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Barbecue Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/15/WGU-Texas-Online-University-Launches-Tour-of-Texas-BBQ-For-Students-And-Alumni http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/14/Birth-Notice-Barbecue-Mercantile We haven't made it by the brand new barbecue outfitter shop that just opened up on Burnet Road but Man Up Texas has a photo gallery and plenty info. http://manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com/2012/08/barbeque-mercantile-opens-in-austin.html https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Birth Notice Barbecue Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/14/Birth-Notice-Barbecue-Mercantile http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/9/A-Challenger-Strides-Forth-Daniel-Delaneys-Ascension-To-Throne-Of-NYC-BBQ-Challenged-By-Ari-White update 8/13/12:Reports trickling in from New York on Texas pit boss Ari White's pop up restaurant last week in NYC. Long lines, packed events, meat sell-outs daily. Congrats Mr. White. ---------------------------------------- That didn't take long. Daniel Delaney's mind-bogglingly rapid rise to the peak of the NYC barbecue world is being met with a challenge. By a Texan. From El Paso. Barbecue Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/9/A-Challenger-Strides-Forth-Daniel-Delaneys-Ascension-To-Throne-Of-NYC-BBQ-Challenged-By-Ari-White http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/8/RL-Reeves-Jr-Looks-At-Austins-Top-Ten-Barbecue-By-Mike-Sutter-Of-Fed-Man-Walking Like an orchid kept in the closet, it took Mike Sutter taking his leave from his food critic's post at the Statesman to flourish. The brass at Austin's daily did a terrific job of keeping his best work bottled up as is evidenced by his post-daily newspaper output. He's blossomed. Barbecue Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/8/RL-Reeves-Jr-Looks-At-Austins-Top-Ten-Barbecue-By-Mike-Sutter-Of-Fed-Man-Walking http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/8/Attention-Barbecue-Historians-Steve-Raichlen-Set-To-Speak-At-Bob-Bullock-Museum I wear the man's gloves. Steve Raichlen will sell you a nice pair of brisket gloves for less than $20. When you're on the pit and handling a hundred pounds of brisket, a pair of thick, thermal brisket gloves are like manna from heaven. You can reach into a hot, smoky pit and grab ahold of all the meat and scoot it around without worrying about tearing the flesh or singing the fur off your forearms. Definitely a worthy investment. Apparently Raichlen is an author too. He's touring the US right now to support his latest book "Best Ribs Ever: 100 Killer Recipes Including Slaws, Baked Beans & Finger-Lickin' Sauces." Hence his appearance at Bob Bullock Museum, Tuesday August 14th at 7pm. Event is free. credit http://www.austin360.com/food-drink/steven-raichlen-to-give-free-lecture-at-bob-2430147.html Barbecue Wed, 08 Aug 2012 08:52:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/8/Attention-Barbecue-Historians-Steve-Raichlen-Set-To-Speak-At-Bob-Bullock-Museum http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/7/St-Arnold-BreweryLow--Slow-An-Evening-of-Smoked-Food--Film-wKeeley-Steenson-and-Foodways-Texas By now we're all familiar with Keeley Steenson from her documentary "Good Better Best" which details the lives of the Anderle family down in Mt. Olive Texas. They're earning a living the old fashioned way, raising cane and converting it into molasses. We detailed Steenson's film here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/4/Foodways-Texas-Film-Good-Better-Best-Short-Doc-By-Keeley-Steenson-On-Texas-Sorghum-Family and y'all went buck wild. The article was one of our most popular way back in the Fall of 2011. Foodways Texas, St. Arnold's Brewery and Ms Steenson have teamed up to throw a party tomorrow night {Thursday August 9th, 2012} from 7-10 pm at the brewery over in Houston. This is a Texas party so expect plenty barbecue-esque foods from Down House, Haven, Himalaya, Hugo's, The Grateful Bread, The Pass & Provisions, Reef and Revival Market. That's a full team of Houston heavy hitters. Keeley Steenson will be on hand, signing autographs and presenting her latest works documenting the foodways of Texas barbecue. Tickets http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e66gwol353735d2b&llr=fhrfcudab Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/7/St-Arnold-BreweryLow--Slow-An-Evening-of-Smoked-Food--Film-wKeeley-Steenson-and-Foodways-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/4/Birth-Notice-Donns-Barbecue Temporary sign up in the parking lot and construction underway on the building that formerly housed a Kettle Restaurant on I-35 frontage near Oltorf. This is where I found out that Princess Diana died. I lived right behind the restaurant and walked over there for my Sunday morning fried eggs and bacon only to see the screaming headline on that morning's Statesman. Birth Notice Barbecue Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/4/Birth-Notice-Donns-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Maria-Pit-Boss-At-Fiesta-Mart The past few days have been odd. 99% of my grocery money goes to Fiesta Mart as it's the finest source I've found in Austin for what does a body good {fresh meats and produce.} But with a staggering list of provisions for the soul food pop up, I've had to branch out and visit some of their competitors. Which has really made me appreciate Fiesta Mart. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Maria-Pit-Boss-At-Fiesta-Mart http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/3/Birth-Notice-Its-All-Good-Barbecue-In-Spicewood-Texas We'll gather more information as warranted but for now It's All Good Barbecue is open for business out in Spicewood Texas. I just realized this business is located inside the former RO's Outpost who shuttered back in the Spring of this year. http://www.itsallgoodbarbq.com/ Birth Notice Barbecue Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/3/Birth-Notice-Its-All-Good-Barbecue-In-Spicewood-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/30/Ride-Along-With-Daniel-Vaughn-The-Barbecue-Snob-Rips-Into-New-York-City-Barbecue Vicarious thrills. This past weekend, Dallas architect and smoked meat lover Daniel Vaughn ventured into the no man's land that is the New York City barbecue circuit. His appetites are enormous so he was able to eat at nineteen joints in 3 boroughs during his weekend feeding frenzy. We followed his adventures on Twitter as he bravely ate off the pits of countless gassers before finally reaching the pure fire nirvana of Brisketlab, the brainchild of Daniel Delaney. Arcane New York City laws apparently forbid honoring the Texas tradition of utilizing pure wood fires without the assistance of a gas fired cooker. Hitch up your smoker to a municipal gas line and everything's cool. Build an honest fire to cook your meat and somebody's going to jail. Just another reason to live in the Great State. No idea how Brisketlab gets away with their old school technique but we hear Mayor Bloomberg is in Aaron Franklin's pocket. The East Austin pit boss says jump and little Mike starts doing his best impersonation of a New York Knick trying to grab a rebound. That's the word on the street over here in East Austin. Here's a link to a re-telling of the Barbecue Snob's tour across New York City. Lots of brisket porn for y'all: http://storify.com/helencho/bbqsnob-aka-daniel-vaughn-s-nyc-bbq-tour?awesm=sfy.co_e17N&utm_content=storify-pingback&utm_campaign=&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter and plenty more tales from the Texas bbq trail http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/30/Ride-Along-With-Daniel-Vaughn-The-Barbecue-Snob-Rips-Into-New-York-City-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Is-The-Finest-Smokehouse-In-Lockhart-Texas Black's supremacy has not been disputed in these quarters for some time. Yes, you can get good barbecue from Smitty's...on occasion. Kreuz has its acolytes but the enormity of the building stands as testament to many things, least of which being the desire to put out top flight Texas barbecue. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 29 Jul 2012 23:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Is-The-Finest-Smokehouse-In-Lockhart-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/27/Birth-Notice-Back-Porch-BBQ-In-LaGrange-Texas We haven't made it down there yet but Back Porch BBQ has opened down in LaGrange Texas. They've got some stiff competition in the century-old Prause Meat Market but Fayette county is growing and there's a huge traffic count that rolls through by the hour on Hwy 71. Birth Notice Barbecue Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:07:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/27/Birth-Notice-Back-Porch-BBQ-In-LaGrange-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/26/Holy-Shit-Franklin-Barbecue-Is-Hiring-A-Meat-Cutter Aaron Franklin is hiring a meat slicer y'all! Huge, huge news coming out of East Austin. This would be a perfect opportunity for someone who wants to work at one of USA's best barbecue outfits. Details: "Looking for someone who has skills slicing smokey meats. This is a very FAST paced environment and this person would be dealing directly with customers. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:41:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/26/Holy-Shit-Franklin-Barbecue-Is-Hiring-A-Meat-Cutter http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/26/The-Rise-Of-The-Landed-Gentry-VIP-Barbecue-Passes-At-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-Are-SOLD-OUT That was quick. Yesterday we predicted that the tickets for the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival would sell out quick but we didn't realize it would be THAT quick. The VIP, the cattle barons, Chupacabra bartenders, Dell execs and Austin Chronicle brass have descended upon the Long Center's website and snapped up every single seat at the meat festival. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/26/The-Rise-Of-The-Landed-Gentry-VIP-Barbecue-Passes-At-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-Are-SOLD-OUT http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/25/Birth-Notice-Brand-New-West-Austin-Barbecue-Hills-Barbecue-Market Fresh off the tipster button: there is a brand new West Austin barbecue house preparing to open on Steck Avenue called Hill's Barbecue Market. The email did not contain any other information but we'll post more information as it becomes available. more Texas bbq http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Birth Notice Barbecue Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:13:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/25/Birth-Notice-Brand-New-West-Austin-Barbecue-Hills-Barbecue-Market http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/25/The-Best-Barbecue-Party-In-The-USA-Is-The-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-In-Austin-Texas Brace up y'all. It's going to take some serious diligence to get in on this event. Tickets for the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival go on sale tomorrow and you better have some hot ass wi fi and or good speed dialing ability or you will be left in the dust. Looks like the best value is in the VIP ticket due to the booty that comes with the stub: From the website: Barbecue Austin Food Scene Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/25/The-Best-Barbecue-Party-In-The-USA-Is-The-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-In-Austin-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/19/D-Magazine-Awards-Best-Blog-In-Dallas-Title-To-Daniel-Vaughn-Of-Full-Custom-Gospel-BBQ D Magazine just announced their winners in the Best of Big D "top picks from the worlds of entertainment, arts, and media in Dallas." Architect, meat lover and blogger/writer Daniel Vaughn emerged with the victory for Best Blog for his Full Custom Gospel BBQ website. Bear in mind that the man won while being two hundred miles north of the most fertile ground of barbecue in the United States: Central Texas. Barbecue Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/19/D-Magazine-Awards-Best-Blog-In-Dallas-Title-To-Daniel-Vaughn-Of-Full-Custom-Gospel-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/18/The-Rebirth-Of-Berts-BarBQ-In-West-Campus Bert's Barbecue, est. 1970, is primed for a University of Texas comeback. The old school Texas barbecue house's original location burned down back in January of 2007 due to the gross incompetence of a 911 operator who responded to a concerned citizen's emergency call thusly: "Dispatch: Yeah, yeah it's probably from their smoker, like where they cook the brisket." Then a second caller rang 911. Birth Notice Barbecue Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:07:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/18/The-Rebirth-Of-Berts-BarBQ-In-West-Campus http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/17/Louie-Mueller-Barbecues-Wayne-Mueller-Hits-The-Big-TimeIn-New-York-w-Daniel-Delaneys-Brisketlab Novice pit boss Daniel Delaney has a guest from Taylor, Texas in town up in New York for a few days. Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue is in the city and "Preaching the gospel of beef & smoke." Despite his beginner status, Delaney is knocking 'em dead with Texas-style briskets via his Brisketlab meat company. Maybe some of the ju ju from the smoker he purchased from Aaron Franklin has found its way into his briskets as they are, by all accounts, first rate. We'll see if we can get any first hand reports from our moles scattered about the Big Apple. These are interesting times in the world of smoked meat. Brisketlab, as near as we can tell, is the only barbecue business in the whole of New York City cooking with a 100% wood-fired pit. Interesting times. an interview with Daniel Delaney http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/daniel-delaney-of-brisketlab-sits-down-with-rl-reeves-jr/ Barbecue Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:45:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/17/Louie-Mueller-Barbecues-Wayne-Mueller-Hits-The-Big-TimeIn-New-York-w-Daniel-Delaneys-Brisketlab http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Mobile-Barbecue-Pit-That-Toured-With-Willie-Nelson-And-ZZ-Top The commissary kitchen looks like an abattoir with giant briskets and pork shoulders laying all over the gleaming prep counters. 12 quarts of smoked pigs feet pork stock are boiling and we've got enough cabbage chopped up to feed the crowd at DKR on a busy Fall Saturday. We're getting ready y'all. Hope to see everybody out at- The Barbecue Pop-Up Restaurant at Three Little Pigs tomorrow. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 14 Jul 2012 10:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Mobile-Barbecue-Pit-That-Toured-With-Willie-Nelson-And-ZZ-Top http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/13/Happy-National-French-Fry-Day-Austin-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas Barely made it in under the wire. I'm celebrating National French Fry Day by peering all the way back to June of this year when I rejoiced over my return to Texas {after 3 weeks on the road} by eating brisket and french fries at Peter's Barbecue down in Ellinger, Texas. It was a hard earned meal. The normal 8-9 hour trip from New Orleans to Central Texas took 23 due to some hand of God level rainfall that had me biking it at 5 mph on I-10. Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/13/Happy-National-French-Fry-Day-Austin-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/12/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brisket-Party-Barbecue-Pop-Up-At-Three-Little-Pigs--East-End-Wines-Sun-July-15 Brand new pop up restaurant Sunday August 5th 2012. details http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/8/1/Scrumptious-Chef-Pop-Up-20-Soul-Food-Edition-Three-Little-Pigs-Sunday-August-5th-At-Noon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We received some stunning news yesterday. We'd planned on using the ancient brick pit at Three Little Pigs to smoke the briskets for the party on Sunday, but we got a better offer. Back when Home Grown Catering had the touring contracts with ZZ Top and Willie Nelson, they had to be able to cook large amounts of brisket, sausage and ribs for the hungry musicians. They carted along a giant mobile pit so they could cook Texas-style barbecue for Willie, Billy Gibbons and the rest of the crew{s}. Barbecue Food Trucks Austin Daily Photo Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/12/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brisket-Party-Barbecue-Pop-Up-At-Three-Little-Pigs--East-End-Wines-Sun-July-15 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/11/Austin-Texas-Barbecue-Reigns-Supreme-In-USA-Man-Up-Texas-BBQ-Blog-Poll-Results-Are-In The results of Man Up Texas BBQ's NCAA-style barbecue brackets are in, and now that the dust has settled, what we knew all along has been confirmed: Austin, Texas is the king of USA barbecue towns. Our sentimental favorite; Northport, Alabama was not the victor. Anyone who's ever eaten at George Archibald's table might dispute this poll. If you're ever near Tuscaloosa it would definitely behoove you to pay the man a visit. His joint seats 6 and Mr. Archibald has logged over a half a century on the mammoth pit that dwarfs his child's playhouse sized restaurant. Read the poll results on one of the best barbecue blogs in Texas http://manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com/2012/07/usa-bbq-bracket-champion-austin-texas.html real deal Austin food news and reviews: https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr Barbecue Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:52:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/11/Austin-Texas-Barbecue-Reigns-Supreme-In-USA-Man-Up-Texas-BBQ-Blog-Poll-Results-Are-In http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/9/John-Mueller-Barbecue-Is-NOT-Closed After a week at the beach, the old pit boss was a mite peaked, but please ignore reports that John Mueller Barbecue is closed. Monday and Tuesday are always days given to other pursuits and JMueller BBQ will honor normal hours this Wednesday from 10:30 am til the meat runs out. Can't get enough John Mueller? Barbecue Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:04:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/9/John-Mueller-Barbecue-Is-NOT-Closed http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/6/Birth-Notice-VooDoo-BBQ--Grill-Prepares-To-Open-In-Round-Rock-Texas Voodoo BBQ & Grill has invaded our northern neighbor Round Rock. Remember this guy y'all? Voodoo BBQ & Grill's Tony Avila? Take it away Mr. Avila. "It's great for us because at a lot of barbecue places you walk in and there's pigs on the wall, a Texas-style country western feel. There's nothing wrong with that, but we just wanted to separate and have a different-style feel than those. The ambiance has a New Orleans feel," Avila said. "We have said we're a New Orleans-style barbecue. There's a little extra spice and flavor to our food and extra emphasis on side items." Barbecue Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:45:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/6/Birth-Notice-VooDoo-BBQ--Grill-Prepares-To-Open-In-Round-Rock-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Robert-Reid-Pit-Boss-At-Millers-Barbecue-In-Belton-Texas Casting a wary eye. Robert Reid is in the kitchen at Miller's Smokehouse in Belton, Texas. Top Fifty barbecue in the Great State? You better believe it, and from where we sit, a strong contender for a lofty ranking in next year's Texas Monthly's much vaunted barbecue issue's rankings. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 05 Jul 2012 22:44:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Robert-Reid-Pit-Boss-At-Millers-Barbecue-In-Belton-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/5/Brisketlab-Debuts-A-New-Life-For-Aaron-Franklins-Smoker-In-The-Bright-Lights-Of-New-York-City By the time we read that the smoker from Aaron Franklin's barbecue joint in East Austin had been bought by a yankee and was being towed to New York City for some kind of yankee brisket party, it was too late to round up the posse and see if we could head em off around Cincinnati or some shit. There's bound to be some sort of law against it, but we'll be damned if we know what it is. This past Friday night, Franklin's old smoker was pressed into service for a new fangled way they've got of selling barbecue in New York City; it's a subscription service called Brisketlab. You buy your meat in advance and are then notified when and where the barbecue will be made available. It's the inevitable, and unholy, marriage of social media and smoked meat. It had to happen eventually. Barbecue Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:42:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/5/Brisketlab-Debuts-A-New-Life-For-Aaron-Franklins-Smoker-In-The-Bright-Lights-Of-New-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sausage-From-Southside-Market--Boudin-From-Johnsons-Boucaniere Modest. Unlike some of my previous, gigantic 4th of July fetes where the smoker is groaning under the weight of a plenitude of brisket, ribs, mutton, chicken, pork and anything else I can lay my hands on-this year's fete was confined to a few pounds of spicy beef sausage from Elgin and boudin from Lafayette Louisiana. Hope y'all's 4th of July meat intake was good and hearty. Johnson's Boucaniere http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Road-Trip-Edition-Johnsons-Boucaniere-Saturday-January-15th-2010 Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 04 Jul 2012 22:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sausage-From-Southside-Market--Boudin-From-Johnsons-Boucaniere http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/2/Four-Seasons-Austin-And-Chef-Grant-Macdonald-Tackle-Texas-BarbecueIndependence-Beer--Brisket Texas barbecue hoedown at Four Seasons Hotel? Canadian Chef Grant Macdonald is set to show and prove that you don't have to be a leathery old Texas pit boss to put out top flight brisket. Macdonald has probably been out back of the hotel since late last night, carefully tending the fires in the old brick pit that first put Four Seasons on the central Texas barbecue map decades ago. We'll bet the good chef will have worked his way through most of a case of Pearl beer and damn near finished a Louis L'amour novel by the time the party goes down at 6:30 tonight. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:29:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/2/Four-Seasons-Austin-And-Chef-Grant-Macdonald-Tackle-Texas-BarbecueIndependence-Beer--Brisket http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/1/Austin-Daily-Photo-New-Barbecue-Joint-At--Intersection-Of-Airport-And-Manor-Road-In-East-Austin We're not sure if they're affiliated with Reggie's, their nearest neighbor, but there is a brand new barbecue outfit located on the southwest corner of Airport and Manor Road. They're touting brisket and sausage and the appeal of the broke down, gone to ruin, setting is undeniable. Will report back with further intel soon. more barbecue coverage http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/category/texas-barbecue/ https://twitter.com/#!/RLReevesJr Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 01 Jul 2012 23:51:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/7/1/Austin-Daily-Photo-New-Barbecue-Joint-At--Intersection-Of-Airport-And-Manor-Road-In-East-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Beef-Marrow-Bones-From-The-Smoker-Of-John-Mueller-Barbecue Fergus Henderson was nowhere in sight and St. John, his infamous house of offal in the UK, may as well have been a million miles away, but there we were; eating a giant tray of beef marrow bones, hot off the smoker at John Mueller Barbecue last week. We had no toast points, no parsley shallot salad and no capers, but we still managed to get by quite nicely. There we were standing in the dirt, hoisting hot steer bones and suckling the marrow from within-washing everything down with ice cold St. Arnold's beer. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Beef-Marrow-Bones-From-The-Smoker-Of-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Conjures-Texas-Barbecue-From-1890 A 104 degree afternoon in south Austin proved to be the perfect setting for another John Mueller / Shaggybevo food party. A big crowd of cooks and eaters showed up at this semi-private event to celebrate our good lives here in the great state of Texas. Ice cold Saint Arnold's Beer and Deep Eddy Vodka flowed like water till the crowd got rowdied up and ready for the coup de grace: an enormous steer that had been gutted and split, then splayed out over an open fire since bright and early this morning. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Conjures-Texas-Barbecue-From-1890 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-PatrickPit-Boss-At-Wileys-Old-Fashioned-BarBQue-And-Burgers-In-Lubbock-Texas Wiley's Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que and Burgers is a relative youngster in the world of Texas smoked meat at not even twenty years of age. But with some of owner Buford Wiley's pits clocking in with thirty plus years of service, you'd never know it. It takes decades for a pit to attain the proper patina of soot, smoke and grime, and Wiley's collection {there are 5 of them} is good and seasoned. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 20 Jun 2012 23:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-PatrickPit-Boss-At-Wileys-Old-Fashioned-BarBQue-And-Burgers-In-Lubbock-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-On-The-Drag-The-Kings-Of-Blues-Have-Eaten-Here An Austin treasure, Ruby's Barbecue has been quietly putting out some of the best smoked meat in town since the 1980s. Take a look at all the framed, autographed photos the next time you visit. The kings of blues have broken bread in this old rib joint. Unlike most barbecue houses, Ruby's pays careful attention to their side dishes. The salad dressings {!} are all made from scratch, the beans have genuine fire in them and even a vegetarian can get well fed in this venerable meat house. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-On-The-Drag-The-Kings-Of-Blues-Have-Eaten-Here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas Coming off almost 3 weeks without a bite of Texas barbecue, I knew I needed to make the most of being re-baptized in brisket, fat, salt and smoke. After a long hard slog out of Louisiana {it took 21 hours to get to Fayette County, Texas} I was utterly famished, but I punched through one final thunderstorm and wheeled into Peter's Barbecue a half hour before they closed. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:52:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-Peters-Barbecue-In-Ellinger-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/11/Win-A-Free-Louie-Mueller-Brisket-The-Icon-Of-Taylor-Texas-Barbecue-Joins-Forces-With-Roadfood The superb food website Roadfood is holding a contest and the prize is an entire Louie Mueller brisket delivered to your doorstep! Details: For the past 4 years Michael Stern, one of the preeminent men of American food letters, has hosted a festival in New Orleans celebrating the culinary backroads of USA. He cajoles numerous, off-the-beaten-path restaurants to come to Louisiana for a food party unlike any other. But he has a problem. Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:22:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/11/Win-A-Free-Louie-Mueller-Brisket-The-Icon-Of-Taylor-Texas-Barbecue-Joins-Forces-With-Roadfood http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/24/Meatpaper-Issues-Stark-Reminder-Of-Why-We-No-Longer-Contribute-To-Other-Sites Dear RL, Thank you for submitting to Meat Up! There were many fine submissions this quarter. Your piece was not selected for inclusion, but we very much appreciate your work, and your interest in Meatpaper. Best wishes, The Editors Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Thu, 24 May 2012 17:58:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/24/Meatpaper-Issues-Stark-Reminder-Of-Why-We-No-Longer-Contribute-To-Other-Sites http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Stop-Barbecue-In-Temple-Texas We've written about the meat wizardry of Hyun Sun [Kim], the lady pit boss at Pit Stop Barbecue in Temple, Texas, before. You know you've reached a certain level of mastery when you become an instructor. Sun teaches classes on the art of smoking meat. One imagines she's quite the maestra. In the photo, Hyun Sun is placing the Kalbi beef ribs on a red hot bed of pecan wood coals. This is the first barbecue restaurant we've ever visited where the ribs were cooked per-order. Thankfully, Pit Stop is a small enough operation to actually be able to pull this off. If you want "fresh aromas", Kim maintains, you have to cook the Kalbi per order. We're not arguing. Her beef ribs are divine. Previous Texas Barbecue coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Previous Austin Daily Photos http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Austin-Daily-Photo Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 22 May 2012 11:21:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Stop-Barbecue-In-Temple-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brady-Texas-Goat-Cook-Off From our archives. We attend, and judge, a lot of barbecue cook offs in Texas each year but only one is the ruler of our heart. The grande dame of them all: The Brady Texas Goat Cook Off. Hundreds of cook teams vector in on Brady on Labor Day week-end each year to compete, do a lot of drinking, and renew old bonds from the year before. We wouldn't miss it for the world. Poring over some old photos via our brand new software, we stumbled upon this old gem: A Texas girl hovering over the carcass of well-smoked goat. This was from 2009. If you love barbecue and camaraderie, then pencil in Brady, Texas on your calendar for Labor Day week-end; it's one of the best barbecue parties you could ever hope to attend. previous goat party tales http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/?p=464 Texas Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 17 May 2012 23:44:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brady-Texas-Goat-Cook-Off http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/13/Austin-Daily-Photo-Live-Oak-Barbecue-In-East-Austin-Texas They're starting to get the smoker dialed in down at Live Oak Barbecue on e. 2nd street. The barbecue on our first few visits was unlikely to divert anyone from making runs to Taylor or Lockhart, but as of late, the meat coming off the pit is showing some real gains. Particularly the brisket. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 13 May 2012 22:59:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/13/Austin-Daily-Photo-Live-Oak-Barbecue-In-East-Austin-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Hickory-Smoked-Brisket Sometimes if you want your brisket done right you got to do it yourself. Pictured: Roughly half of a 12 pound brisket, hot off a big hickory fire built out back. The other half of the brisket is off camera, in the fridge, waiting to be seasoned, ground and converted into brisket sausage. Brisket sausage. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 09 May 2012 23:50:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Hickory-Smoked-Brisket http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/7/Food--Wine-Honors-Texas-Barbecue-Pit-BossesJohn-MuellerAaron-FranklinTim-Love--Nicole-Davenport It's barbecue season year-round in the great state of Texas but national media deem late spring and early summer to be the time of year they roll out all their meat-y weapons in a never-ending pursuit of eyeballs and subscribers. Who can blame them? The death of print media has been well noted and if paper magazines can keep their lights turned on and reporters fed via smoked meat then more power to them. Barbecue Mon, 07 May 2012 15:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/7/Food--Wine-Honors-Texas-Barbecue-Pit-BossesJohn-MuellerAaron-FranklinTim-Love--Nicole-Davenport http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/2/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sheps-Barbecue-in-Palestine-Texas We got word that Shep's Barbecue up in Palestine, Texas was putting out some good smoked meat so we figured the best thing to do would be to gas up the Econoline and hit hwy 79 running full-bore. It's only 200 miles up there, so 2.5 hours later we were pulling into Shep's parking lot. The buzz was palpable and the dining room was filled with eaters, most of them the man-mountain-style, lifelong barbecue lover types. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 02 May 2012 22:30:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/5/2/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sheps-Barbecue-in-Palestine-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Family-Tradition-Barbecue-In-Waelder-Texas-Is-Gone-But-Not-Forgotten Rolling through some old photo archives, I found this image of Family Tradition Barbecue down in Waelder, Texas. As we all know, this smokehouse shuttered back in October of last year. Jerry Fogle, pitboss, underwent surgery last year and had to shutter the operation so that he could recuperate. When we last spoke to Fogle, he mentioned that he was looking to reopen a meathouse near Lake McQueeney sometime this Spring. If this comes to pass, and I pray that it does, a roadtrip will surely be in order as Mr. Fogle put out some of the best brisket and handmade sausage I had the pleasure of eating last year. I'll post further details as events warrant previous Texas bbq coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Family-Tradition-Barbecue-In-Waelder-Texas-Is-Gone-But-Not-Forgotten http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Boss-Monroe-Schubert-Of-Prause-Meat-Market-In-LaGrange-Texas With roots running all the way back to 1904, Prause Meat Market is one of the oldest barbecue houses in the great state. We've been riding down there to eat for years and always have ourselves a time in beautiful LaGrange, Texas. Old-school pit boss Monroe Schubert has been manning the pits since he was a young buck way back in the mid 1960s. He's one of the finest meat men our state has ever known. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Boss-Monroe-Schubert-Of-Prause-Meat-Market-In-LaGrange-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/22/Top-5-Austin-Texas-Food-Stories-This-Week It was a week filled with barbecue. Which is similar to most weeks in the life of a Texan. Yes, we take a break from the brisket from time to time and eat an enchilada or sip from a bowl of queso but it seems like our day to day eating has steadily become more focused on smoked meat. It will be interesting to see how long barbecue can enjoy its moment in the sun before the nigh religious zeal begins to taper down. We were weaned on it so it's unlikely to ever become anything less than a central tenet of our diet but we're keeping an eye on the zeitgeist. Without further ado. Our weekly top 5. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:40:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/22/Top-5-Austin-Texas-Food-Stories-This-Week http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jim-Towers-Pit-Boss-Of-Happy-Hillbillies-Cooking-Team The competition barbecue circuit is about to be under full blaze in the great state. Reflecting back on last years series we're still struck by Jim Towers, the Happy Hillbilly, whom we met at the National Championship in Meridian, Texas. We sat around drinking beer with Jim for an hour or so while he spun yarns and told tall tales. We swapped a few lies amongst ourselves. It was a good time. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jim-Towers-Pit-Boss-Of-Happy-Hillbillies-Cooking-Team http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/21/Austin-Daily-Photo-15-Pounds-Of--Barbecue-Sausage-From-Johnsons-Boucaniere When you've got to feed a crowd it's wise to bring out the big guns. To wit: 15 pounds of sausage hot off the smoker from Johnson's Boucaniere. 12 quarts of burgoo. 12 quarts of red beans and rice. 12 quarts of crawfish etouffe. Giant cheese platter from Antonelli's cheese shop. A few bushels of crawfish. Full bar plus keg of Live Oak Pilz. Crowd left satisfied. We'll do it again next year. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/21/Austin-Daily-Photo-15-Pounds-Of--Barbecue-Sausage-From-Johnsons-Boucaniere http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/17/Aaron-Franklin-Hits-The-Big-Time-Named-Judge-On-New-Season-Of-BBQ-Pitmasters Austin Texas pitboss Aaron Franklin has been named as a judge on the upcoming season of BBQ Pitmasters, Jim Shahin is reporting in his new Smoke Signals column. When's Franklin going to find the time to tend the fires at his Franklin Barbecue over here in East Austin? Barbecue Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/17/Aaron-Franklin-Hits-The-Big-Time-Named-Judge-On-New-Season-Of-BBQ-Pitmasters http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/5/Field-Report-Millers-Smokehouse-In-Belton-Texas How would you like to start your work week grinding three hundred pounds of sausage and stuffing it into hog gut casings? That's how Robert Reid, pit boss at Miller's Smokehouse in Belton, Texas gets his week going. We're standing around the tiny kitchen in an old brick building off Penelope Street in downtown, just running through the normal procedure of quizzing everybody we can get stopped when we're at a new barbecue joint. Robert and owner Dirk Miller are good natured. They're putting out Austin, Texas caliber barbecue in a town that up til 3 or so years ago had to make do with what they had. Barbecue Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/5/Field-Report-Millers-Smokehouse-In-Belton-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Stop-Barbecue-In-Temple-Texas "I grew up hungry." We're sitting in the tiny dining room [seats 8] of Pit Stop Barbecue in Temple, Texas talking to Hyun Sun [Kim] the diminutive pit boss of this Korean/Cajun/Texas barbecue restaurant. Kim is in the process of putting out a feast worthy of the 3 nations. We've sampled almost everything on the menu when she mentions that she had a poor childhood in Korean and in fact, grew up hungry. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/4/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Pit-Stop-Barbecue-In-Temple-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/27/Kent-Black-Pit-Boss-At-Blacks-Barbecue-On-Cover-of-Schreiner-University-Scene-Magazine Our love of Black's barbecue knows no bounds. Since way back in the 90s we've been leading our friends to this little barbecue house down in Lockhart, Texas and with good reason. Yes, there are other joints that put out equal level meat but Black's is the kingpin due to one very important feature. Barbecue Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:57:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/27/Kent-Black-Pit-Boss-At-Blacks-Barbecue-On-Cover-of-Schreiner-University-Scene-Magazine http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Ana-Janelles-Smokehouse-Has-Opened-In-The-Former-Nuernberg-Brauhaus We've landed another writer for the scrumptious team: Jake, Travis, Chuck, Rhonda, RL and Shawn welcome Ron to www.scrumptiouschef.com Ron's an old school hound who was eating barbecue in Central Texas when briskets regularly sold for under a dollar a pound and Broken Spoke was a brand new bar in South Austin. He was old school when they built the school. RL Reeves Jr coaxed him into penning a review of a brand new smokehouse up in Pflugerville; Ana Janelle's. As names for barbecue joints go this one doesn't exactly inspire confidence but we'll let y'all read the review and decide for yourself. Take it away Ron: Barbecue Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Ana-Janelles-Smokehouse-Has-Opened-In-The-Former-Nuernberg-Brauhaus http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/10/Just-In-Time-For-SXSW-Austin-Chronicle-Looks-At-The-Young-Guns-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue We read Virginia Woods article on Austin's barbecue scene with great interest. The old gal's been around for years and we reckoned she might have some good input from the perspective of an old school Austinite. Wrong. On Wood, tackling the topic of sausage: Barbecue Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/10/Just-In-Time-For-SXSW-Austin-Chronicle-Looks-At-The-Young-Guns-Of-Austin-Texas-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/9/John-Mueller-Throws-Down-The-GauntletChallenges-Aaron-Franklin-To-Battle-For-Barbecue-Supremacy Over on the Texas Barbecue Posse website Marshall Cooper is reporting that firebrand pit boss John Mueller has challenged Aaron Franklin to a barbecue cook off to determine, once and for all, who the king of Austin, Texas smoked meat is. Should be interesting. Barbecue Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/9/John-Mueller-Throws-Down-The-GauntletChallenges-Aaron-Franklin-To-Battle-For-Barbecue-Supremacy http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Thorndale-Meat-Market In the lovely Milam County town of Thorndale, Texas sits a very well stocked fresh meat market that is also putting out some good quality barbecue. I made a run up that way a few weeks ago and picked up some smoked sausage for the fridge, took a few pictures and garnered some information for the Texas barbecue book. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Thorndale-Meat-Market http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/1/Emily-H-Bratcher-Of-US-News-And-World-ReportPlease-Book-A-Flight-To-Austin-For-Your-Dry-Gulching Whenever we need guidance on where to find the best barbecue in the US we always head straight to a newsstand and pick up the latest copy of US News And World Report, unofficially known as the barbecue bible. There, Emily H. Bratcher, one of the foremost authorities on the subject, weighs in with extreme gravitas on the subject of barbecue and the best places in the United States to find it. Like Rudy's Country Store. Take it away Ms Bratcher: "Where to Try? Many visitors say Franklin Barbecue's brisket is the best they've ever had. Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q also has praise-worthy brisket and a fun dine-in atmosphere." Barbecue Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:19:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/3/1/Emily-H-Bratcher-Of-US-News-And-World-ReportPlease-Book-A-Flight-To-Austin-For-Your-Dry-Gulching http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/2/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brian-Mays-Of-Sams-Barbecue-East-Austin-Smokehouse-Has-Weathered-The-Storm July 28th of 2011 will go down in Austin barbecue folk lore as a dark day in our town's history. This was the day that "Operation Meat Locker", a covert sting operation ran by Austin Police Department, came to a head with arrests at 3 area restaurants. La Morenita, Willie's Barbecue and Sam's Barbecue were all implicated in the affair with police alleging that the 3 restaurants were engaging in black market meat purchases from brisket bandits who were smuggling foods out of area HEB Supermarkets. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:29:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/2/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Brian-Mays-Of-Sams-Barbecue-East-Austin-Smokehouse-Has-Weathered-The-Storm http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/31/Hard-Times-In-Spicewood-Texas-ROs-Outpost-Has-Lost-Their-Lease Hot off the tipster button we have some bad news out of Spicewood Texas. R.O's Outpost, the western Travis county barbecue restaurant, has lost their lease. We've been eating here for years. The barbecue is plenty good but as we've said before they have a pie lady worth her weight in gold. This restaurant was the first place we ever sampled deep fried corn on the cob which serves as a very fine side for their classic take on chicken fried steak. Here's the contact information for R.O's Outpost. I've noted the fact that some real estate folks check in on the scrumptious site from time to time and if one of y'all has a storefront that this restaurant could move into you could save central Texas from losing one of our finest barbecue houses. http://www.rosoutpost.com/ Barbecue Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/31/Hard-Times-In-Spicewood-Texas-ROs-Outpost-Has-Lost-Their-Lease http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/31/A-Voice-In-The-WildernessShaggybevo-Eater-Bernard-Goes-Against-The-GrainHates-Franklin-Barbecue We never saw that one coming. The boys over at Shaggybevo's GM Steakhouse are ardent lovers of Franklin Barbecue. They post moment by moment, day by day updates of what's happening in the Franklin dining room and they are elated with the quality of meat coming out of the Franklin smokehouse. Barbecue Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/31/A-Voice-In-The-WildernessShaggybevo-Eater-Bernard-Goes-Against-The-GrainHates-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/30/The-Future-Of-Texas-Barbecue I read Jim Shahin's recent piece in the Washington Post concerning possible future trends in the world of barbecue in 2012. The writers over that way made some good points and it inspired me to peer inside the crystal ball at headquarters in East Austin to see what the future of barbecue in Austin, Texas looks like. Barbecue Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/30/The-Future-Of-Texas-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/28/Angels-Are-Crying-In-South-Texas-Wild-Blue-Barbecue-In-Los-Fresnos-Prepares-To-Shutter Texas Monthly Top 50 barbecue house Wild Blue is preparing to close its doors. Pit boss and professional chef Abraham Avila reported that while business was strong at times the weak quarters were ultimately too poor for the joint to surmount. Can't get enough Wild Blue? You have until February 4th to get your fix. That's the day the business ceases to exist. Avila does offer a lifeline of sorts. He hopes to re-open his outfit in the next year or so but this time he'll be selling meat in Brownsville. obit out of Brownsville http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/avila-136319-barbecue-blue.html More on Wild Blue http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-30641932R-wild_blue_barbecue-i http://www.yelp.com/biz/wild-blue-barbecue-los-fresnos all barbecue coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue all restaurant obituaries http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/RIP-Rest-In-Peace RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/28/Angels-Are-Crying-In-South-Texas-Wild-Blue-Barbecue-In-Los-Fresnos-Prepares-To-Shutter http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Perez-Barbecue-In-Bartlett-Texas-25-Years-Of-Homemade-Sausage We ran up to Perez Barbecue in Bartlett Texas this weekend to get another chapter written in the book on Texas barbecue. Armando Perez has been running this little roadside joint for 25 years in the fading town of 1500 or so people located an hour north of Austin. We've been hearing about their homemade sausage links for awhile now and with good reason. They're incredible. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Perez-Barbecue-In-Bartlett-Texas-25-Years-Of-Homemade-Sausage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-Railroad-Barbecue-In-Manchaca-Texas Fatty brisket and house cut fries [the best in the Austin area ] are what compel us to repeatedly drive down to Manchaca to eat at Railroad Barbecue. Established in 1982 this old beat up barbecue house will always have a special place in our heart. It's one of the few smokehouses we've ever been to that is able to use mesquite wood properly. It must be some very old stock that they're working through as the signature creosote-esque unpleasantness is simply not present. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/11/Austin-Daily-Photo-Railroad-Barbecue-In-Manchaca-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Man-With-An-Axe-Lance-Kirkpatrick-At-Stiles-Switch-Barbecue Reports are starting to come into our inbox from readers who've sampled the barbecue from former Louie Mueller pit boss Lance Kirkpatrick at Stiles Switch Barbecue on North Lamar. The consensus is good. Yes there are kinks to be worked out but it seems everyone is being fed well if not yet at the level of the output from John Mueller and Aaron Franklin. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:41:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Man-With-An-Axe-Lance-Kirkpatrick-At-Stiles-Switch-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Big-Boys-Barbecue-Sweetwater-Texas Heard good things about Big Boy's Barbecue in Sweetwater Texas but unfortunately they had not flung the doors open for service when we passed through earlier today. Smoke was rolling off the big pit and the sky over Sweetwater smelled like brisket but we were out of luck. Who's been to Big Boy's Barbecue? How was the meat? all Austin Daily Photos http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Austin-Daily-Photo Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Big-Boys-Barbecue-Sweetwater-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/28/A-Year-In-Texas-Barbecue This is the 1000th article we've posted on the scrumptiouschef site. We thought long and hard about what the topic should be before putting pen to paper. Simply put, there is no subject more near and dear to the bosom of the scrumptious team than barbecue. Barbecue Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/28/A-Year-In-Texas-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Reverend-James-A-Davis-Of-Davis-Grocery-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas Man of God. It's rare but we occasionally meet a man whose charisma is so profound we feel the need to get up bright and early on Sunday morning and carry ourselves to church. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:36:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-Reverend-James-A-Davis-Of-Davis-Grocery-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Texas-Barbecue-Legend-John-Mueller-Briskets-On-The-Smoker-In-Bouldin-Creek Ran down to John Mueller Barbecue the other day for a brisket lunch and made this photo of a row of briskets slowly smoking over Texas oak wood. Food was typically great with a big pork chop surprisingly stealing the show. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Texas-Barbecue-Legend-John-Mueller-Briskets-On-The-Smoker-In-Bouldin-Creek http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Vans-Barbecue On a roadtrip down to the Rio Grande Valley this past summer we popped into a little roadside barbecue house in Three Rivers Texas. Not expecting much we grabbed a half pound of brisket for a pittance and motored back up on the highway. Once we tore into the packaging we realized we'd made a mistake in ordering such a small amount. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Vans-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/15/Trained-At-Louis-Mueller-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Craig-White-Opens-White-Smoke-In-Tokyo-Japan Former Austinite and University Texas grad Craig White recently flung the doors of his Texas smokehouse; White Smoke, open in Tokyo Japan. We've been wanting to get over that way for awhile and it's looking like we've got a good excuse now. White had his custom smoker built in Houston and shipped to Japan where he hired David Schlosser and Jamie Williams to man the kitchen. Barbecue Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/12/15/Trained-At-Louis-Mueller-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Craig-White-Opens-White-Smoke-In-Tokyo-Japan http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/29/Turns-Out-Aaron-Franklin-Is-Not-God-Hes-Jesus-Austin-Pit-Boss-Hits-Twitter-Running-Wide-Open Has Aaron Franklin gone all in on Twitter? We'll leave that debate up in the air but the internet is buzzing over Austin Texas' latest entry in the Twitter-sphere. Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus. Do you believe that Aaron Franklin was Heaven sent? If you find these topics interesting then you should probably check out BBQ Jesus over on Twitter. Barbecue Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:36:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/29/Turns-Out-Aaron-Franklin-Is-Not-God-Hes-Jesus-Austin-Pit-Boss-Hits-Twitter-Running-Wide-Open http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tariqs-Barbecue-In-East-Austin-Texas Rolling through the east side of Austin on the way to pick up some barbecue from Sam's, Tariq's Barbecue food trailer is spotted parked alongside San Saba st. between 8th and 9th. It's quite mysterious. The area is pure residential with no other business within a couple blocks. A ferocious dog goes completely bonkers from a nearby yard and there is no one to offer a query to. It's a good looking little cart, nice and homely and rustic. Lord knows it might be some good barbecue too. Update coming as events warrant. all barbecue coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue all Austin Daily Photos http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Austin-Daily-Photo Barbecue Food Trucks Austin Daily Photo Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:42:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Tariqs-Barbecue-In-East-Austin-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Wayne-Ging-Williamson-County-Pit-Boss-Reserve-Grand-Champion-Meridian-Texas We had ourselves a good visit with veteran pit boss Wayne Ging up in Williamson County earlier this year. We're always on the lookout for handmade Texas hot guts and Mr. Ging's were something else. In addition to superb sausage, his pork ribs ended up being the best bite of barbecue we put in our mouth at the cook-off. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Wayne-Ging-Williamson-County-Pit-Boss-Reserve-Grand-Champion-Meridian-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/18/Got-500-Burning-A-Hole-In-Your-Pocket-Learn-How-To-Be-A-Pit-Boss-At-Foodways-Texas-BBQ-Summer-Camp These tickets are going to go fast. Foodways Texas and the Texas A&M Meat Science Department just opened ticket sales today, Friday, November 18th 2011, for their 2012 Barbecue Summer Camp. Tickets are only available to Foodways Texas members at first. If these don't sell out the great unwashed [non-Foodways Texas] folks will be allowed to buy in on the sessions. Barbecue Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:00:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/18/Got-500-Burning-A-Hole-In-Your-Pocket-Learn-How-To-Be-A-Pit-Boss-At-Foodways-Texas-BBQ-Summer-Camp http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/13/Bright-Lights-Big-City-Aaron-Franklin-Takes-The--Barbecue-Main-Stage-In-New-York-City We'll be burning the midnight oil gathering intel on Austin Texas pit boss Aaron Franklin's New York City debut tonight at Hill Country Barbecue but for right now we could not resist putting up a quick picture snapped on the streets of New York by Mike Thelin over at http://www.boltedservices.com/ Barbecue Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/13/Bright-Lights-Big-City-Aaron-Franklin-Takes-The--Barbecue-Main-Stage-In-New-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/11/Today-Is-The-Day-Franklin-Barbecue-Set-To-Reopen-After-Hiatus-But-Where-Is-Aaron-Franklin The show must go on. Franklin Barbecue reopens today Friday November 11th 2011 after an interminable [to their eaters]vacation. However, one crucial element is missing. Pit boss and owner Aaron Franklin, who has reportedly been whisked to New York City on Eater Austin's corporate jet, surely a Dassault Falcon 7X. Barbecue Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/11/Today-Is-The-Day-Franklin-Barbecue-Set-To-Reopen-After-Hiatus-But-Where-Is-Aaron-Franklin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/10/Life-Is-Good-At-Texas-AM-Texas-Barbecue-Class-Taught-By-Two-Meat-Science-Experts Texas' future as the premiere place on planet earth for barbecue is secure. Generations of young, would-be pit bosses are learning the art and science of Texas barbecue through classes at Texas A&M. Jeff Savell, who holds a doctorate in Animal Science and Davey Griffin, an Extension meat specialist, are the men leading 20 students per semester into their future careers as hard living, leathery old barbecue joint workers. Barbecue Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/10/Life-Is-Good-At-Texas-AM-Texas-Barbecue-Class-Taught-By-Two-Meat-Science-Experts http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/10/Aaron-Franklin-Takes-New-York-City-By-Storm-Guest-Pit-Boss-At-Hill-Country Over on Grub Street, the food blog of New York magazine they're reporting that Aaron Franklin, pit boss of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas is going to be serving up his barbecue at Hill Country Barbecue Market this weekend in New York City. New Yorkers will be able to eat brisket like they've never had before, this Sunday Nov 13 2011 from 6-9 pm. Barbecue Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:05:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/10/Aaron-Franklin-Takes-New-York-City-By-Storm-Guest-Pit-Boss-At-Hill-Country http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jim-Towers-The-Happy-Hillbilly-Of-Groesbeck-Texas Tell us this guy doesn't know his way around a brisket. Jim Towers is the pit boss of The Happy Hillbillies barbecue team out of Groesbeck, Texas. He's a loquacious gent, happy to sit back with a stranger and share a plate of barbecue and a few minutes of ribaldry. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jim-Towers-The-Happy-Hillbilly-Of-Groesbeck-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/7/DustUpNew-BarbecueStiles-Switch-From-XLouie-Mueller-Pit-Boss-Lance-Kirkpatrick-Under-Storm-Cloud When John Mueller left his grandfather's barbecue joint in Taylor Texas in 2001, John's dad, Bobby, hired Lance Kirkpatrick as a helping hand. Kirkpatrick had been a manager at Hanover's Draught Haus prior to his entry in the Taylor barbecue world. Barbecue Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/7/DustUpNew-BarbecueStiles-Switch-From-XLouie-Mueller-Pit-Boss-Lance-Kirkpatrick-Under-Storm-Cloud http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-CoonBilly-Cookers-Barbecue-Team-Beaumont-Texas Ol boys with ties to Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas landed in Meridian, Texas at the National Barbecue Championships a few weeks back. We ate like country kings during the competition and Coon-Billy Cookers was right at the top of the heap for brisket and hospitality. Competing on the Texas barbecue circuit since 2003 the boys in the cook team have managed prestigious victories at events in places like Groves and Vidor which is how they secured an invitation to Meridian's big-deal affair. all barbecue coverage here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-CoonBilly-Cookers-Barbecue-Team-Beaumont-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/5/Dustup-Texas-Barbecue-Owner-John-Nonmacher-Tells-Racist-Poster-Protestors-Go-Back-To-Iran John Nonmacher is sitting in the hot seat. He's got everybody all riled up over a poster that's been hanging quietly in his barbecue joint in Katy Texas for thirty years. The poster is a mite edgy what with depicting a lynching of an Iranian by a group of men in cowboy hats and all. Barbecue Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/5/Dustup-Texas-Barbecue-Owner-John-Nonmacher-Tells-Racist-Poster-Protestors-Go-Back-To-Iran http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/5/Blacks-Barbecue-Bon-Vivant-Owner-Edgar-Is-86-Today-Happy-Birthday-Mr-Black We've longed championed Mr. Black's barbecue as being the finest in Lockhart Texas. There was a time 20 or so years ago that we held Kreuz in the number 1 spot but those days have long since passed. There's something about the Cracker Barrel nature of the new Kreuz building that puts us on edge. We don't like to eat in Wal Mart sized restaurants. We've written about Black's quite a bit over the years and if it wasn't for R&G over in nearby McMahan then we'd go ahead and declare Black's the finest in the whole of Caldwell County. Barbecue Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/5/Blacks-Barbecue-Bon-Vivant-Owner-Edgar-Is-86-Today-Happy-Birthday-Mr-Black http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/1/Birth-Notice-Rollin-Smoke-BBQ-Chuckwagon The counter worker has little interest in conversing. His eyes rest steadily off toward the horizon as we inquire as to what the provenance of the barbecue trailer is [Houston], who the pit boss is [a shadowy figure known only as Tony ] and what sort of wood is being burned [ oak]. It's akin to a good old fashioned tooth pulling. Birth Notice Barbecue Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/1/Birth-Notice-Rollin-Smoke-BBQ-Chuckwagon http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/31/Texas-Monthly-Peoples-Choice-Best-Brisket-Winner-Franklin-Barbecue-Shuttered-Til-November-11th-2011 While many folks in our towns eating community assume Aaron Franklin was bitten from the thigh of Zeus the truth is he is not a Greek God, he is a mortal man who has needs and desires outside of the world of barbecue. Not unlike a postal delivery worker, a barista or a state legislator, Franklin must bend so that he does not break. Ergo, his taking of a much needed vacation. Barbecue Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/31/Texas-Monthly-Peoples-Choice-Best-Brisket-Winner-Franklin-Barbecue-Shuttered-Til-November-11th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/30/Texas-Monthly-Barbecue-Festival-2011-Peoples-Choice-Award-Winners-Announced We had ourselves a grand time right across the street from the Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival today October 30th 2011. Like the kid in Jukebox Hero, the epic Foreigner song from a while back we couldn't get a ticket.....it was a sold out show. No matter, we lounged back, drank some Pearl Beer, listened to some Doug Sahm on our tape deck and ate a picnic lunch from Sam's Barbecue and it was just like being there. Just like. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/30/Texas-Monthly-Barbecue-Festival-2011-Peoples-Choice-Award-Winners-Announced http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Top-5-Texas-Barbecue-Blogs-Scrumptiouschef-Looks-At-The-World-Of-Texas-Barbecue-Letters During the run up to this article we really began to wonder if we were going to be able to fill all 5 spots. Yes, there are lots of Texas barbecue blogs but we wanted high value, high signal to noise ratio websites filled with articulate writing and good quality photography. It's a tough world when you walk down the path with all these factors in mind. In no particular order we give you our top 5: Barbecue Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Top-5-Texas-Barbecue-Blogs-Scrumptiouschef-Looks-At-The-World-Of-Texas-Barbecue-Letters http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Saturday-October-29th-2011 We keep waiting for the hot headed John Mueller to launch a missile drop kick out of the window of his white hot barbecue trailer down in Bouldin Creek but apparently the man hasn't had his buttons pushed just right, just yet. The new John Mueller is going to be known as the barbecue Santa Claus if he's not careful what with handing out free beer and having a "no standing in line" take out window and all. That's fine by us. The old anxious days of standing in line at the Manor Road location and wondering whether the cranky Taylor, Texas native was going to serve us the black and fatty we requested or just level a baleful glare our way are apparently gone. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:58:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Saturday-October-29th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Rest-In-Peace-Texas-Barbecue-Pioneer-Huey-Nash-aka-Little-Bob 1964 Dallas, Texas looked a lot different than the current state of one of America's great cities. Jim Crow laws were just starting to relax enough to allow Black folks entrance into business endeavors that the white community had had access to since the dawn of the Great State. RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:05:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/29/Rest-In-Peace-Texas-Barbecue-Pioneer-Huey-Nash-aka-Little-Bob http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Three-Little-Pigs-Friday-October-28th-2011 What if he would have chosen the field of barbecue instead of fine dining? Raymond Tatum is one of Austin's iconic chefs. When fine dining came to Austin in the 70s Tatum was the leader of the new school. Now, nearly 40 years later Tatum is still working in the world of gourmet food, he's just doing it a mite different. Instead of presiding over the kitchen at Jeffry's or Backstage or any number of Austin's gilded halls of high dollar cuisine, he's quietly honing his chops from a trailer in East Austin. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:19:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Three-Little-Pigs-Friday-October-28th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blue-Ribbon-Barbecue-Thursday-October-27th-2011 The Mikeska's are one of the most talked about families in Texas barbecue but we've never been overly impressed by their work. To be fair, we've only sampled the meat at the one in Taylor, Texas that has long since changed hands and been converted into a Mexican restaurant. It's probably an improvement over the barbecue that Rudy Mikeska was putting out. The connection of the Mikeska clan to Blue Ribbon is this; Bobby Cavo is the owner, his mom Mopsie Mikeska is the daughter of Rudy, one of a multitude of Mikeskas scattered about Texas all of whom are seemingly in the barbecue trade. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:13:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blue-Ribbon-Barbecue-Thursday-October-27th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/26/Blacks-Barbecue-In-Lockhart-Texas-Tackles-The--Indian-Ghost-Chile-To-Create-New-Sauce Now they've gone and done it. Black's Barbecue, the king of Lockhart Texas smoked meat houses, has reached deep into their bag of tricks to create a new barbecue sauce for their top flight brisket and beef ribs. We're picturing octogenarian Edgar Black venturing deep into the mountains of Kashmir, perhaps seeking a spiritual enlightenment that was missing from his life in Caldwell County. Over an open air barbecue of yak or bearded mountain goat, a native Indian concocts a simple sauce featuring the Bhut Jolokia, the infamous Ghost Chile of Asian culture. Barbecue Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/26/Blacks-Barbecue-In-Lockhart-Texas-Tackles-The--Indian-Ghost-Chile-To-Create-New-Sauce http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/26/Birth-Notice-Big-Brothas-Smokehouse-BBQ We've long maintained that what Pflugerville really needs is a barbecue house. The old days of Tuff's are long gone and the newer, old days of Trail Boss? Well, they're long gone too. Sure there's Cele Country Store on the eastern fringe but they're hardly ever open and the quality is only passable. Which brings us to our prayers being answered. Pflugerville now has barbecue. Big Brotha's Smokehouse BBQ, which apparently has been flying under the radar for at least a little while on the edge of downtown has now set up shop on 12th street and [we hope] doing booming business. Business [drinking and carousing] will carry us up there this weekend so we'll get photos, eat some brisket and report back long about Monday or so. all birth notices http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Birth-Notice all barbecue coverage here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Birth Notice Barbecue Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:30:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/26/Birth-Notice-Big-Brothas-Smokehouse-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Smokehouse-BBQ-Tuesday-October-25th-2011 Right under our noses. All this time. Austin Cinematheque has magnetized us to the University of Texas student union for the last 6 years. If it wasn't for Chale Nafus at Austin Film Society's outright mastery these kids would stand alone at the top of the booking mountain in Austin. They've done so by consistently showing the best and often most hopelessly obscure films of the past 80 or so years. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:05:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Smokehouse-BBQ-Tuesday-October-25th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Who-Will-Win-Peoples-Choice-Awards-At-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-October-30th-2011 We must have been living under a rock a year ago when Texas Monthly threw their big barbecue party at the Long Center. It smooth skipped right by us and never garnered so much as a glance. We were probably hunkered down at a tar paper shack out in Gonzales County eating hot guts that the pit boss's great aunt makes from an old family recipe. At least that will be our story from here on out. Last year's people choice awards: Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Who-Will-Win-Peoples-Choice-Awards-At-Texas-Monthly-BBQ-Festival-October-30th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-Barbecue-Sunday-October-23rd-2011 One of our favorite under the radar barbecue joints in the state of Texas is Gil Vrazel's little spot down in Ellinger, Texas. We ride through there a few times a year on our way to New Orleans, Northport Alabama or Knox County Kentucky and we always make sure we do so on the weekend so we can stop in and visit with the pit boss, Mary. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-Barbecue-Sunday-October-23rd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Results-Are-InAmber-King-Is-Grand-Champion-2011-National-Championship-Barbecue-Cookoff-In-Meridian The culmination of a years hard work came down to the $20,000 pay-off yesterday in Meridian Texas at the 2011 National Championship Barbecue Cookoff. We rolled up there with high hopes for a full day of championship calibre eating and camaraderie and our visit did not disappoint. As the week goes by we'll be putting up some pictures and ephemera from the event but for now here's a list of the winners and a note to barbecue lovers: we go to a lot of these cook offs and while all are a good time there are certain ones that shine like stars in the Texas sky. Barbecue Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/23/Results-Are-InAmber-King-Is-Grand-Champion-2011-National-Championship-Barbecue-Cookoff-In-Meridian http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/22/The-National-Championship-Barbecue-Cookoff-Meridian-Texas-October-22nd-2011 Today is the day. The invitation only National Barbecue Championship Cook Off is set to go off in Meridian Texas. This is the 24th year for the competition and the winners will walk away with duffel bags filled with cash to the tune of $20,000. Over 200 teams will be in the shootout and the skies over Bosque county will be filled with blue smoke as thousands of pounds of meat sizzle on the rigs. We'll update this post later.It's time to get on the road. Barbecue Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:41:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/22/The-National-Championship-Barbecue-Cookoff-Meridian-Texas-October-22nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/22/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Family-Traditon-Barbecue Hearts are heavy across Gonzales County, Texas tonight. Family Tradition served their final plates of brisket, hot guts sausage and pork ribs today. Operating decidedly under the radar over near the railroad tracks down in Waelder, Texas, Family Tradition was quietly putting out Lockhart/Taylor quality smoked meat from a 100 year old converted service station. RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Sat, 22 Oct 2011 06:51:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/22/RIP-Rest-In-Peace-Family-Traditon-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/20/Austin-Daily-PhotoCould-This-Be-A-New-And-Major-Player-In-Austins-Barbecue-Scene-Barbecue-Heaven We were on the dead run the other day when we spotted a new, pending, barbecue operation up in North Austin. We're hawk-like as we make our way around town to ensure nothing of importance escapes our scrutiny. New barbecue houses will always find us vectoring in with great interest and this one looks quite promising. We wrote a brief piece here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/17/Birth-Notice-Barbecue-Heaven-Monday-October-17th-2011 and hope to have more information soon. We don't know if this little joint is affiliated with the Barbecue Heaven people that set up a trailer at 7th and Red River downtown but we'll run by there this weekend to find out. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/20/Austin-Daily-PhotoCould-This-Be-A-New-And-Major-Player-In-Austins-Barbecue-Scene-Barbecue-Heaven http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/20/Big-City-Lights-Scrumptiouschef-Hits-The-Big-Time-Check-Out-Texas-Monthly We knew the day would come. We've toiled quietly for years, just keeping pen to paper, practicing our craft and waiting. Well, the wait is over. http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=4579 Scrumptiouschef has hit the big time. We recently sat down for a couple hours with Kerry Bexley, owner and assistant pit boss of Snow's Barbecue out in Lexington Texas. Mr. Bexley proved to be an interesting barbecue man and he extended us a pretty compelling offer. Barbecue Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/20/Big-City-Lights-Scrumptiouschef-Hits-The-Big-Time-Check-Out-Texas-Monthly http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/17/Birth-Notice-Barbecue-Heaven-Monday-October-17th-2011 Rolling through North Austin earlier today we noticed that the Northfield/Ridgetop neighborhood is set to get a new barbecue joint. Barbecue Heaven is to be located on the Northeast corner of 53 1/2 st and Airport Blvd just north of House Pizza and Stallion Grill. For the last few years this structure, which is approaching tumbledown, has been the host to an absolutely filthy convenient store. One of our Txoko brothers lives in the area so we've had occasion to pop in to the little mart from time to time and have always been mortified as to the general air of malaise. Hopefully the owners of Barbecue Heaven can renovate the building that formerly held one of the old Holiday Houses, the legendary Austin mini chain founded by Ralph Moreland [RIP]. At any rate we're hard pressed to name a barbecue joint anywhere in the neighborhood so perhaps this outfit will be able to make a go of it. all birth notices http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Birth-Notice Birth Notice Barbecue Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:42:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/17/Birth-Notice-Barbecue-Heaven-Monday-October-17th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Skip-Hill-Country-Shoot-Out-Barbecue-Cook-Off-Sunday-October-16th-2011 We're still hammering out the final report but we had ourselves a good ol time out in Leander Texas yesterday at the Hill Country Shoot Out Barbecue Cook Off. Here's a snap shot of Skip, one of the organizers of the event. Tell us this man doesn't know his way around a brisket. Time was when you could walk down the street in Austin and see plenty Texas men that looked about like this. Pure Texas, proud and true. Nowadays these gentleman are a vanishing breed in our increasingly urbanized city. relevant http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Austin-Daily-Photo Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:33:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Skip-Hill-Country-Shoot-Out-Barbecue-Cook-Off-Sunday-October-16th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Waco-Boys-Cooking-Team-Saturday-October-15th-2011 One of the top barbecue teams in Texas. Waco Boys Cooking Team brought home the coveted hospitality award at The Brady Goat Cook Off this year. They did it by setting up a full commercial kitchen, a fully stocked bar and an air conditioned rv. They then commenced to handing out full platters of crispy fried catfish with all the trimmings along with sides of barbecue, burgers, sausages and for the coup de grace; smoked, line caught salmon brought straight from Alaska. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:16:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Waco-Boys-Cooking-Team-Saturday-October-15th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/12/Hill-Country-ShootoutLeander-Tx-Hosts-Final-Barbecue-Test-Before-Meridians-National-Championship This is one of the big ones y'all. If your barbecue cook team expects to rack up enough points to be invited to the National Championship in Meridian Texas this is your last chance to show and prove. This Saturday October 15th 2011 we'll be judging this event so we're going to go ahead and stop eating now [it's Wednesday]. This is so we can power through all the categories: Brisket, Pork Ribs, Chicken, Chef's Choice, Sauce and Beans. Barbecue Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/12/Hill-Country-ShootoutLeander-Tx-Hosts-Final-Barbecue-Test-Before-Meridians-National-Championship http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/9/Results-Are-In-2011-State-Championship-LULAC-4876-Barbecue-Cookoff-San-Marcos-Texas We had ourselves a time down in San Marcos Texas yesterday. Walking around the old Hays County Civic Center where 80 barbecue cook off teams were scattered around, the air filled with blue smoke and laughter. We ate like kings with no worry of judging the event to cloud the enjoyment. It's nice to just be a patron with zero responsibilities other than drinking ice cold beer and eating championship brisket. Barbecue Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/9/Results-Are-In-2011-State-Championship-LULAC-4876-Barbecue-Cookoff-San-Marcos-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Saturday-October-8th-2011 This is a shrine that the May's family, owners of Sam's Barbecue, call "the graveyard". It's an homage to the family members that have passed on in recent years. We've discussed the hard times at Sam's recently quite a bit on this site. For those uninitiated here are some links to give you some background information. We rolled by Sam's on Franklin Barbecue's opening day http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Sunday-March-13th-2011 Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Saturday-October-8th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/7/Is-A-New-Era-Set-To-Begin-In-Texas-Barbecue-Brisket--Hot-Guts-John-Mueller-Opens-Sat-Oct-8th-2011 Barring Providence smiting the man down as he stands on the precipice of a comeback five years in the making, John Mueller is set to get back down to the business of cooking meat with fire this weekend in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of Austin Texas. Out of deference to the University of Texas football team JMueller BBQ will open to the public on Saturday October 8th 2011 at the late hour of 2pm. Barbecue Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:04:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/7/Is-A-New-Era-Set-To-Begin-In-Texas-Barbecue-Brisket--Hot-Guts-John-Mueller-Opens-Sat-Oct-8th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/5/The-Rise-Of-The-Barbejews-Jewish-Pit-Bosses-Reinvent-Brisket We just read a nice piece in Jewish Daily Forward on the new breed of Jewish cooks rehabilitating their culture's tired old take on brisket. We've never had much access to the Jewish style of brisket. We know it to be a big part of their food culture but when it comes brisket time for us it always means one of two things: Build a big fire out back and wrestle the brisket out of the fridge or fire up the bike and head out to Taylor or Lockhart and buy some off the pit of one of the old masters. Barbecue Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/5/The-Rise-Of-The-Barbejews-Jewish-Pit-Bosses-Reinvent-Brisket http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/5/Theres-Fire-In-The-Sky-On-South-First-Street-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Is-Burning-Out-Their-Pit No, they're not open but the sky is filled with smoke as the brand new pit is undergoing the crucial burn out stage. This is where hundreds of pounds of wood [oak] is blazed through the firebox to rid the apparatus of the metallic taste. Usually when this happens the new joint is pretty close to being open. Who knows when this will happen but our scouts down in Bouldin Creek are keeping us up to speed as we trek toward the brisket. Barbecue Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:33:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/5/Theres-Fire-In-The-Sky-On-South-First-Street-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Is-Burning-Out-Their-Pit http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/4/The-Clouds-Have-Parted-JMueller-BBQ-aka-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Has-Passed-Inspection The Austin restaurant world has been besotted with bad news of late. Multiple restaurant closures have dimmed the bright bulb that is our food scene so we offer this news as a beacon of hope. Barbecue Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/4/The-Clouds-Have-Parted-JMueller-BBQ-aka-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Has-Passed-Inspection http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/1/Reinforce-The-Civic-Center-State-Championship-LULAC-4876-Barbecue-Cookoff-San-Marcos-Oct-8th-2011 There's only one official Barbecue State Championship in the Hill Country and this is it. The winners at the State Championship in San Marcos will qualify for the Meridian National Championship, the prestigious barbecue cook off that's taken place in Meridian Texas for the past 23 years. Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/10/1/Reinforce-The-Civic-Center-State-Championship-LULAC-4876-Barbecue-Cookoff-San-Marcos-Oct-8th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Dirty-Barbecue-Granger-Texas-Friday-September-30th-2011 Matt Perez heads up the Dirty Barbecue team out of Granger Texas. We ran into them when we were judging the SPJST barbecue cook off up in Taylor Texas last weekend. Here's a photo of his competition brisket. It ate real good. They have a facebook page if you're of a mind check them out over there too. This team won first place in the brisket category at the Taylor International Barbecue Cook off a few weeks back. http://www.facebook.com/Dirty.Barbque?sk=wall&filter=2 All Barbecue coverage here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue All Austin Daily Photos here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Austin-Daily-Photo Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:39:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Dirty-Barbecue-Granger-Texas-Friday-September-30th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/29/Big-Android-BBQ-Sunday-October-2nd-2011 Details are sketchy but apparently a bunch of telephone enthusiasts are converging on Austin to throw a telephone-centric party at Fiesta Gardens down by Lady Bird Lake this weekend. Saturday October 1st 2011 a group of people who have traveled from all over the world will attend panels relating to the Android telephone system capped by a bar crawl across downtown Austin. Barbecue Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:07:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/29/Big-Android-BBQ-Sunday-October-2nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/27/The-Results-Are-In-11th-Annual-SPJST-Barbecue-Cook-Off-In-Taylor-Texas We had an incredible weekend. Rode out to Taylor Texas to have a good time hanging out with the Slavs of the SPJST and eat a few pounds of competition barbecue. We must have barbecue judge written all over us at this point as one of the organizers strolled right up and asked us if we could judge the brisket part of the tournament. Barbecue Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/27/The-Results-Are-In-11th-Annual-SPJST-Barbecue-Cook-Off-In-Taylor-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/22/Bad-News-Out-Of-South-Austin-JMueller-Barbecue-Fails-Inspection The spanking new, massive food trailer that will, hopefully, one day, house the barbecue joint of Louie Mueller's grandson John Mueller has failed City of Austin inspection. Barbecue Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/22/Bad-News-Out-Of-South-Austin-JMueller-Barbecue-Fails-Inspection http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/22/Austin-Daily-PhotoSpy-EditionFirst-Look-JMueller-BBQ-aka-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Thu-Sept-22nd-2011 Fifteen years ago Willie Lane had a good job tending the overnight fires at Green Mesquite barbecue over on Barton Springs Road. He had lived in South Austin since 1949 and his brother was the manager of the old barbecue joint. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 22 Sep 2011 01:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/22/Austin-Daily-PhotoSpy-EditionFirst-Look-JMueller-BBQ-aka-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Thu-Sept-22nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/21/AttnCentral-Texas-Pit-Bosses-and-Barbecue-Cooking-TeamsSPJST-Barbecue-Cookoff-Sept-2324-Taylor-Tx Received the following from The Taylor Texas Chamber of Commerce: Regarding the SPJST barbecue cook off being held this weekend in Taylor Texas Attn Barbecue Cooking Teams: Barbecue Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/21/AttnCentral-Texas-Pit-Bosses-and-Barbecue-Cooking-TeamsSPJST-Barbecue-Cookoff-Sept-2324-Taylor-Tx http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-Andy-CookPit-Boss-Superbowl-Champion-Cook-n-Co-Barbecue-Team-Sept-152011 Tell me this guy doesn't know how to smoke a brisket. Andy Cook has been building fires and smoking meat since the early 70's when he got hitched. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/17/Austin-Daily-Photo-Andy-CookPit-Boss-Superbowl-Champion-Cook-n-Co-Barbecue-Team-Sept-152011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/12/Spy-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-aka-JMueller-BBQ Rolling down South First Street this morning something looked a mite different in the 1500 block. We circled back to see if there'd been any movement in the big vacant lot where John Mueller is slated to open his new barbecue joint this month. A big stack of oak is tucked away under guard of a group of hobos drinking tall boys, hustling their balls and spitting. They looked a little rough and tumble but since this is the first concrete evidence we have of the barbecue to come we figured we'd hop off the bike and make a picture. No dustup. They looked us over and figured easier pickings might come along later. Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/12/Spy-Photo-John-Mueller-Barbecue-aka-JMueller-BBQ http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/11/More-Barbecue-Brawls-Taylor-Texas-11th-Annual-SPJST-BBQ-CookOff-September-2324th-2011 We're always looking for an excuse to ride up to Taylor Texas, the buckle in the Central Texas barbecue belt. Barbecue Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:59:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/11/More-Barbecue-Brawls-Taylor-Texas-11th-Annual-SPJST-BBQ-CookOff-September-2324th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/What-Kills-Live-Oak-Barbecue Is that it's in Austin. If they opened in Shreveport or Lexington or Pensacola they'd be treated like conquering heroes. Pit boss Tom Spaulding would be carried to work each morning on a litter like Cleopatra heading to a soiree. Barbecue Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:04:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/What-Kills-Live-Oak-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/Unpaid-Volunteer-Moderator-Tell-Iconic-Texas-Barbecue-Legend-To-Stop-It We reckon you get what you pay for. Anytime we've needed work to be done that we weren't capable of we figured it was a good idea to shell out some decent money and get the job done right the first time. Apparently that's not how they do things at CBS/Cnet corporation. The billion dollar businesses like to keep things good and cheap at the outfit that used to be called the "Tiffany network". Can't Be Categorized Barbecue Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:37:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/Unpaid-Volunteer-Moderator-Tell-Iconic-Texas-Barbecue-Legend-To-Stop-It http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/Austin-Daily-Photo-Kyle-Walton-of-Waco-Boys-Cooking-Team-Friday-September-9th-2011 Tell me this guy doesn't know his way around a barbecue pit. We like our pit bosses to look like pit bosses and Mr. Walton fills the bill. He heads up the Waco Boys Cooking Team, a group of men from Waco Texas who live for barbecue, Texas and cold beer. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/10/Austin-Daily-Photo-Kyle-Walton-of-Waco-Boys-Cooking-Team-Friday-September-9th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Coopers-Pit-BarBQue-Mason-Texas-Thursday-September-8th-2011 Established in 1953, Cooper's barbecue is one of the most revered of the Texas barbecue canon. We allow the icon a pass on our recent visit. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Coopers-Pit-BarBQue-Mason-Texas-Thursday-September-8th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/8/Texas-Is-Burning Texas is on fire. Tens of thousands of acres have been immolated by hundreds of wildfires sweeping across the state. Thousands of homes have been lost. Incinerated with little left save for the occasional stone chimney or cement planter. Texas needs major help and we need it right now. Barbecue Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/8/Texas-Is-Burning http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/2/Timeline-Of-Events-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Announces-Official-Open-Date-For-JMueller-BBQ-In-S-Austin September 26th 2011 is the officially announced date as the opening for the new smokehouse of one John Mueller of the legendary Mueller barbecue family of Taylor Texas. It's been a long,hard road that Mueller's walked down the past five years since he shuttered his Manor Road restaurant and walked off into the sunset. Barbecue Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/2/Timeline-Of-Events-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Announces-Official-Open-Date-For-JMueller-BBQ-In-S-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/2/Nathan-Myhrvold-May-Be-The-Only-Man-In-History-To-Take-A-Limo-To-Snows-Barbecue-in-Lexington If being chief strategist at a fortune 500 company establishes your barbecue bona fides then Nathan Myhrvold is made out of gold. He was the chief of technology at Microsoft for a number of years where, in spite of the company being ruthlessly pummeled by Apple, they still managed to turn a decent enough profit. Now he's turned his attention to barbecue. Barbecue Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/2/Nathan-Myhrvold-May-Be-The-Only-Man-In-History-To-Take-A-Limo-To-Snows-Barbecue-in-Lexington http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/1/Brady-Texas-38th-Annual-International-Goat-CookOff-September-23-2011 We'll get the particulars up in a bit but for right now we'd love to hear from anybody going to the big goat cook-off in Brady Texas this weekend. We go every year and always leave with one thought: This is the best food party in the state of Texas. Scores of cook teams set up camps in a big park [Richards] just outside of downtown. As you walk through the park you can't make it 15 feet without somebody trying to give you a beer or a plate of food. We've made dear friends out of total strangers. It's the bonding power of barbecued goat and cold beer we reckon. The party starts on Friday night, September 2nd 2011 and the competition is on Saturday September 3rd. It takes about 2 hours to get out there from Austin. Here's a writeup of last years event complete with pics of the Goat Queen: http://chowpapi.com/?p=464 more particulars relevant to the event are here http://www.bradytx.com/7659091_75200.htm all barbecue coverage here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:53:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/9/1/Brady-Texas-38th-Annual-International-Goat-CookOff-September-23-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/31/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-Wednesday-August-31st-2011 This is the first barbecue house in Texas we heard tales of from friends with first hand experience. During one of Texas' endless cycles of boom and bust, a hard hat buddy came to Austin looking for work wiring houses and found it. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/31/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-Wednesday-August-31st-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/28/Breaking-NewsGettin-Sauced-Barbecue-Sauce-Competition-Winners-Announced Over on the Twitter we've harvested a list of winners of yesterday's Gettin Sauced Barbecue sauce competition run by the folks behind http://manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com/: Barbecue Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:45:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/28/Breaking-NewsGettin-Sauced-Barbecue-Sauce-Competition-Winners-Announced http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/28/Blacks-Barbecue-Best-Brisket-In-Lockhart-And-Now-Gettin-Sauced-Champs-Too Our love of Black's Barbecue in Caldwell County is boundless. We've long maintained they put out the best brisket, best sausage and best beef ribs in Lockhart, the little town that rivals Taylor for Texas kingpin status. Now they've waded into the fray that is the Gettin Sauced Barbecue sauce competition and emerged victorious. Barbecue Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:50:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/28/Blacks-Barbecue-Best-Brisket-In-Lockhart-And-Now-Gettin-Sauced-Champs-Too http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/26/Breaking-News-New-Video-Released-By-KVUE-News-In-Black-Market-Brisket-Case A quick thinking Capitol Metro bus driver may provide clues to the capture of the men behind the organized ring of meat thieves pursued by Austin Police Department in "operation meat locker". The driver felt one of her passengers was behaving in a manner unbecoming a young gentleman in addition to carrying large quantities of meat and hopping off and on the bus near Sam's Barbecue on E.12th street on a regular basis. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/26/Breaking-News-New-Video-Released-By-KVUE-News-In-Black-Market-Brisket-Case http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rays-Barbecue-Thursday-August-25th-2011 Back in the 90's when we started driving down to Montopolis to eat at Ray's Barbecue the neighborhood was quite a bit different. We love the rough and tumble part of any town whether it be Birmingham or Istanbul. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rays-Barbecue-Thursday-August-25th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/25/Late-Breaking-NewsAttention-Central-Texas-Pit-BossesTexas-Wildlife-Association-Barbecue-Cookoff We just got wind of another barbecue cookoff this weekend. It's down in San Antonio at Freeman Coliseum, the legendary venue where certain Texas old timers will recall Wahoo McDaniel winning an epic battle royal in the early 80's. The barbecue cookoff is being held in tandem with the Texas Hunting and Outdoor Classic, a huge annual hunting and boating show that 1000's of San Antonians pencil into their calendars each year. Barbecue Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/25/Late-Breaking-NewsAttention-Central-Texas-Pit-BossesTexas-Wildlife-Association-Barbecue-Cookoff http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/23/Shootout-In-Wilco-34th-Annual-Taylor-International-Barbecue-Cookoff Walking across the turf at Murphy Park just north of downtown Taylor, Texas is like walking across a bowl of potato chips. The brutal Texas sun has deep fried the grass. Rolling into the park entrance we notice a very fetching swimming pool replete with leggy Williamson County beauties frolicking in bikinis. This 34th Annual Taylor International Barbecue Cook off is off to an auspicious start. Barbecue Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/23/Shootout-In-Wilco-34th-Annual-Taylor-International-Barbecue-Cookoff http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-RG-Barbecue-Monday-August-22nd-2011 The fable of Roy Jeffrey is one of the great stories of Texas barbecue. The pit boss who became legendary in first Luling then Houston has been settled down in McMahan Texas for awhile now but his barbecue, if anything, is actually better. This is how a Texas barbecue house should look. Sitting on the side of a quiet road in a rural county, gravel parking lot, ice cold, dirt cheap beer, maybe some George Strait playing off in the background. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:45:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-RG-Barbecue-Monday-August-22nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/22/John-Mueller-Barbecue-To-Be-Available-Sat-Aug-27-2011-At-Gettin-Sauced-Party-At-Independence The second in what's become an annual barbecue sauce competition is on tap in Austin Texas this coming weekend Saturday August 27th 2011. The festival is called Gettin' Sauced and is the brainchild of the man behind Man Up Texas Barbecue, a Texas barbecue website run by Drew Thornley. Barbecue Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:48:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/22/John-Mueller-Barbecue-To-Be-Available-Sat-Aug-27-2011-At-Gettin-Sauced-Party-At-Independence http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/22/Nightmarish-News-Austin-Texas-More-Corporate-Barbecue-Is-ComingSouthern-HospitalityNew-York-City Round up the posse. We just got wind of more corporate barbecue coming to our fair city. This time we wonder if it's just a bad joke. An outfit from New York City called "Southern Hospitality" has announced an Austin invasion. These days we're feeling a mite prickly. Barbecue Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/22/Nightmarish-News-Austin-Texas-More-Corporate-Barbecue-Is-ComingSouthern-HospitalityNew-York-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/19/The-Sun-Is-Shining-In-East-Austin-Once-Again-Sams-Barbecue-Has-Reopened We've been on the high lonesome these past few weeks. Sitting around the house listening to Bukka White and Hank Sr and pining for the good old days when we could run down to Sam's at 2 in the morning for a late night brisket fix. The wait is over. Sam's has reopened. Rolling by Sam's on a daily basis since late July, we've been hoping to spot a Mays family member [the owners] so we could get the low down on what happened when Austin Police came down hard and heavy on the first family of Austin barbecue. Barbecue Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:12:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/19/The-Sun-Is-Shining-In-East-Austin-Once-Again-Sams-Barbecue-Has-Reopened http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/16/New-Orleans-Comes-To-Austin-Voodoo-BBQ-And-Grill-Plans-Texas-Expansion-Austin-Yawns Voodoo BBQ's Tony Avila: "It's great for us because at a lot of barbecue places you walk in and there's pigs on the wall, a Texas-style country western feel. There's nothing wrong with that, but we just wanted to separate and have a different-style feel than those. The ambiance has a New Orleans feel," Avila said. "We have said we're a New Orleans-style barbecue. There's a little extra spice and flavor to our food and extra emphasis on side items." Yeah, you better concentrate on side items cause that's the hallmark of Central Texas Barbecue.....vegetables. That's why people fly into Taylor and Lockhart from all over the globe. So they can eat corn and beans. Sounds like Avila's at least got his finger on the pulse out in Austin. Wonder if he's ever got a good old fashioned Texas dry gulching? With any luck there'll be a posse of old school Texas barbecue honchos waiting on him when he rolls into town scouting out some brick and mortars for his corporate barbecue. Our original article is below ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article came out a while back but comments below are just starting to heat up. Did Brent Willits, owner of Magic Restaurant Group, the company we can hold responsible for this colossal failure in judgement really say the following? "Say 'barbecue,' and everybody thinks about the shack on the corner, and a lot of these places are practically falling down. That's cool and kind of quaint, but it just smells of yesterday." Barbecue Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/16/New-Orleans-Comes-To-Austin-Voodoo-BBQ-And-Grill-Plans-Texas-Expansion-Austin-Yawns http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/16/National-Media-Continue-To-Swarm-Austin-Washington-Post-Eats-At-Franklin-Barbecue Jim Shahin of the Washington Post sits comfortably at the top of the group of national journalists who've come to town in recent months to explore the world of Austin, Texas barbecue. He knows the best way to go about his business is to shut up and let the pit boss do the talking. Barbecue Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/16/National-Media-Continue-To-Swarm-Austin-Washington-Post-Eats-At-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/15/34th-Annual-Taylor-International-Barbeque-Cookoff-This-Weekend-Aug-1920-2011 In 1989 The New York Times sent a reporter to Taylor Texas to cover the Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff. 120 judges devoured 700 entries. Now, the time is drawing nigh once more for the cream of Central Texas' pit bosses to show and prove this weekend in Taylor Texas. In the past teams have traveled from as far away as Australia to compete. Barbecue Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/15/34th-Annual-Taylor-International-Barbeque-Cookoff-This-Weekend-Aug-1920-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/6/USA-Today-Comes-To-East-Austin-To-Investigate-Brisket-Bandits-Popped-in-Operation-Meat-Locker We reckon East Austin has hit the big time as now USA Today has come to town to report on the high profile police busts of Sam's Barbecue, Willie's Barbecue and La Morenita. For those new to the story. An organized group of shoplifters were heisting meat from local grocery chain HEB, taking it to various restaurants and selling it on the down low. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sat, 06 Aug 2011 09:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/8/6/USA-Today-Comes-To-East-Austin-To-Investigate-Brisket-Bandits-Popped-in-Operation-Meat-Locker http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Say-It-Aint-So-Sams-Barbecue-Hard-Day-On-The-East-Side-Of-Austin University of Texas' radio station KUT is reporting some awful news in Austin today. Police are alleging that three area restaurants: Sam's Barbecue, Willie's Barbecue and La Morenita have been purchasing meat from a local thievery ring that targeted the HEB chain of grocery stores. We are praying [and we're normally not terribly prayerful ] that these allegations are untrue. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Say-It-Aint-So-Sams-Barbecue-Hard-Day-On-The-East-Side-Of-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Thursday-July-28th-2011 While our love for Franklin Barbecue remains unabated we simply don't have the time for the epic, 2-3 hour wait for a brisket sandwich. Yes, we know there to be "line holding" services where persons will get to Franklin early and hold your spot so you can wheel into the parking lot, make your way past the jeering crowd and walk straight to the counter for your meat of the day. There's just something about that that sticks in our craw. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Thursday-July-28th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Tim-Zagat-We-Invented-Social-Media-Zagatcom-Speaks-On-Texas-BarbecueLooks-Foolish-In-The-Bargain Does anyone remember the Zagat guides? They are the Friendster of food media, an interesting foot note in the evolution of food journalism. Barbecue Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/28/Tim-Zagat-We-Invented-Social-Media-Zagatcom-Speaks-On-Texas-BarbecueLooks-Foolish-In-The-Bargain http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gil-Vrazels-Czech-Barbecue-Shack-Wednesday-July-27th-2011 With a powerful hankering for some Czech sausage we motor down to Ellinger Texas to visit Mary Vrazel, one of the few female pit bosses in the great state of Texas. Wow. The little tiny roadside cabin could hold a dozen or so hungry eaters if we were to all stand collar to elbow. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:39:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gil-Vrazels-Czech-Barbecue-Shack-Wednesday-July-27th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Prause-Meat-Markets-Monroe-Schubert-Tuesday-July-26th-2011 One of the last of the old timey pit bosses in the Great State. Monroe Schubert started smoking bone-in brisket and beef sausages in downtown La Grange at Prause Meat Market way back in the 1960s. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/26/Austin-Daily-Photo-Prause-Meat-Markets-Monroe-Schubert-Tuesday-July-26th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Monday-July-25th-2011 Caldwell County, Texas is famous across the globe for its barbecue and with good reason. If Black's was the only joint thereabouts, the county could still hold its head high on the world stage. But then you take into account R&G over in McMahan and Smitty's right there in Lockhart and all of a sudden you've got some serious bragging rights. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/25/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Monday-July-25th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Taylor-Cafe-Sunday-July-24th-2011 We've been enjoying the work of pit boss Scott Morales at Vencil Mares' Taylor Cafe since his tenure began up in Taylor Texas 5 years or so ago. This guy knows his way around a fire. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:38:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Taylor-Cafe-Sunday-July-24th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/In-The-Middle-East-Syria-Is-Famous-For-Barbecue-MuttonAnd-Possibly-Cannibalism We wonder if Syrian tribal leader Ahmad Al-Shlash is a fan of professional wrestling? We grew up watching the kings of wrestling on WBIR out of Knoxville Tennessee on Saturday mornings when we were kids. The Mongolian Stomper, Ric Flair, The Assassins , Dusty Rhodes...the list goes on. Barbecue Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/In-The-Middle-East-Syria-Is-Famous-For-Barbecue-MuttonAnd-Possibly-Cannibalism http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/Attention-Pit-Bosses-Taylor-Texas-34th-Annual-International-Barbecue-CookOff-Aug-1920 One of the epicenters of Texas barbecue [and therefore the world] is having a brisket shoot out. It's not just brisket either. In the past, contestants have been known to throw some alligator and buffalo on the pit in the wild game category. We've been eating a lot of gator, buffalo and wild boar hog this year so amen to that. Barbecue Sun, 24 Jul 2011 09:20:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/24/Attention-Pit-Bosses-Taylor-Texas-34th-Annual-International-Barbecue-CookOff-Aug-1920 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Willies-BarBQue-Friday-July-22nd-2011 Perhaps the only barbecue joint in Austin that serves boudin smoked as it lays astraddle the day's briskets. Willie's is one of my favorite barbecue houses in town. If you're really lucky Willie Showles, the owner will be in the house and in a loquacious mood while you enjoy your feast. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:39:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Willies-BarBQue-Friday-July-22nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/22/CNN-Gets-It-All-Wrong-About-Texas-Barbecue In a light little piece of puffery with no byline and therefore, no one to hold accountable, CNN ranks the Earth's 50 most delicious foods. Texas can manage no better than number 36 but it's no matter anyway as we make the list for our pork barbecue. While it's certainly true that Texas barbecue is one of the finest things you're ever likely to put in your mouth, when we say barbecue, we mean brisket, sausage and maybe beef ribs. Barbecue Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:57:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/22/CNN-Gets-It-All-Wrong-About-Texas-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-Davilas-Barbecue-Tuesday-July-19th-2011 We're still basking in the warm glow that Davila's Barbecue down in Seguin Texas brought to our palate. As we pen this a cast iron pan of chopped, pluperfect sausage is sizzling, waiting to be transformed into a brace of breakfast tacos. Barbecue Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:53:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-Davilas-Barbecue-Tuesday-July-19th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/19/More-National-Media-Come-To-The-Great-State-And-Get-Texas-Barbecue-Horribly-Wrong The website City Traveler bills itself as "a top resource for savvy travelers on a budget". Their website boasts that they cover towns as diverse as Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston and a handful of other major North American destinations. So when I read they're doing a piece entitled "The Top 12 Texas Barbecue Spots You Have To Visit" I get real interested. Until I read the article. Riddled with inaccuracies and laughable to anyone who's ever sat down to eat a plate of barbecue in the great state, I wonder if the author Dan Patterson has ever actually set foot in Texas? Barbecue Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/19/More-National-Media-Come-To-The-Great-State-And-Get-Texas-Barbecue-Horribly-Wrong http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/17/A-National-Media-Outlet-Gets-It-Right-On-Texas-Barbecue-Giddings-City-Meat-Market-Featured-On-CNN "The best barbecue in the United States comes from Texas, no doubt about it." This is the opening salvo fired by City Meat Market in Gidding's owner Gerald Birkelbach as he narrates a very fine segment on CNN's Defining America project. "You want to know the real flavor? Taste it first without the sauce on it and if you've got to put the sauce on it, it ain't worth a shit anyway". Amen Mr. Birkelbach. Barbecue Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/17/A-National-Media-Outlet-Gets-It-Right-On-Texas-Barbecue-Giddings-City-Meat-Market-Featured-On-CNN http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Davilas-Barbecue-Friday-July-15th-2011 I feel like I've been rolled in an alley by the time I hit downtown Seguin Hwy 90 out of Luling is jolt wagon rough with big eruptures pacing along every few hundred yards, squiggle cracks as wide as a deck of playing card wreaking havoc on the front tire of my bike and the occasional dead armadillo or coyote cluttering the roadway. After a couple miles of biker hell I decide to punch a hole in the wind and get there twice as fast....by driving twice as fast. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Davilas-Barbecue-Friday-July-15th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/14/Round-Up-The-Posse-Golf-Blogger-Comes-To-Texas-Declares-Salt-Lick-The-Best-Barbecue Larry Olmstead has spoken in an article on barbecue in USA Today. Direct quote: "after sampling the most famous of the many Texas joints, including Kreuz, Smitty's, City Market, and even the new and trendy Franklin's, I think The Salt Lick is the best." It gets better when he remarks that complaining about Salt Lick's popularity is like complaining that Disney World is too fun. I wonder if this off handed remark was intended to be as hard hitting as it sounds? Barbecue Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/14/Round-Up-The-Posse-Golf-Blogger-Comes-To-Texas-Declares-Salt-Lick-The-Best-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/12/Spy-Photo-Is-This-The-New-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Location-On-South-First-Street Has John Mueller shifted plans with his new J Mueller BBQ restaurant? Rumors are swirling in Austin tonight that the Shady Lane location has been shelved in favor of a higher profile, more central address. We rolled down South First street a few minutes ago analyzing potential vacancies where a mammoth smoker could be wheeled in and a few hundred hungry patrons could be seated. It could be a few thousand if street buzz on this new barbecue venture is any indication. Barbecue Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/12/Spy-Photo-Is-This-The-New-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Location-On-South-First-Street http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/12/In-Houston-Texas-Rudys-Is-The-Best-Barbecue-In-The-City According to JC Reid, food writer for the Houston Chronicle's http://www.29-95.com/ website, Rudy's Country Store is serving the finest barbecue in Space City. He qualifies his argument extensively, probably to keep from getting lynched, like in this statement: "Rudy's makes excellent brisket, maybe the best in Houston" Our favorite part of the whole shebang is in the comments when one responder enjoins the reader to go to Austin and try Franklin Barbecue. He garners this response: "There's no reason to rub elbows with those hippies in Austin to find good BBQ. You should be ashamed." Barbecue Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:12:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/12/In-Houston-Texas-Rudys-Is-The-Best-Barbecue-In-The-City http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/10/Ever-Eat-A-3-Pound-Hamburger-New-Barbecue-House-In-Seguin-Texas-Texas-Choice-BarBQue Down in Seguin Texas there's a spanking new barbecue joint: Texas Choice Bar-B-Que. These days you've got to have some sort of gimmick to separate yourself from the pack and owners Darrel Wilson and Johnny Fogle have come up with a good one. Eat a 3lb burger and 2lbs of french fries and the feast is on the house. Barbecue Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:08:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/10/Ever-Eat-A-3-Pound-Hamburger-New-Barbecue-House-In-Seguin-Texas-Texas-Choice-BarBQue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/9/Dont-Mess-With-Texas-Texas-Pit-Boss-Tangles-With-Cops-In-Beijing-Brisket-Dust-Up Texan Tim Hilbert has about had it with the bureaucrats in China. It's getting so a body can't sell smoked beef and margaritas in downtown Beijing without the gendarmes coming along and spoiling the party. At Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q in the central business district the law's been coming along now and then and trying to ride herd on Tim and his customers. Barbecue Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/9/Dont-Mess-With-Texas-Texas-Pit-Boss-Tangles-With-Cops-In-Beijing-Brisket-Dust-Up http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/8/New-Barbecue-Restaurant-Coming-To-Taylor-Texas How long before Taylor Texas, pop. 15 or so thousand, reaches maximum density on barbecue restaurants? The city already has four establishments in Davis Grocery, Louie Mueller, Taylor Cafe as well as West End Cafe and Barbecue. Make that five. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/8/New-Barbecue-Restaurant-Coming-To-Taylor-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/3/Louie-Mueller-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Hits-The-Big-Time Up in Taylor Texas, the iconic Louis Mueller barbecue has been magnetizing people from all over the globe with their pluperfect take on smoked brisket, ribs and sausage for over 60 years. CBS, formerly known as "The Tiffany Network" has a nice video piece on Louie Mueller Barbecue up on their website. It's 4th of July weekend so you can expect all media outlets to do their requisite barbecue pieces with quality ranging from abysmal to approaching good. I like the introduction to the video where the reporter opines that Texas is much more than cowboys, cattle and huge ranches. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:11:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/3/Louie-Mueller-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Hits-The-Big-Time http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/3/In-Houston-Texas-The-Police-Take-Their-Barbecue-Very-Very-Seriously A thirty year veteran of the Houston police force has been fired. Officer Mike Hamby was competing in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo barbecue competition when he allegedly threw a tear gas canister into the tent of a rival cooking team; Fayette County Cookers. The tent included several military veterans some of whom were amputees. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:59:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/3/In-Houston-Texas-The-Police-Take-Their-Barbecue-Very-Very-Seriously http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/2/Texas-Public-Policy-Foundation-Is-Against-Texas-Brisket-Texas-And-Barbecue-In-General When you come gunning for Texas brisket and you're a mouthpiece for one of our states biggest right wing think tanks you might better dig your heels in cause there's going to be one hell of a backlash. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:17:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/2/Texas-Public-Policy-Foundation-Is-Against-Texas-Brisket-Texas-And-Barbecue-In-General http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/29/Bon-Appetits-Andrew-Knowlton-Comes-Clean Andrew Knowlton touched off a firestorm when he proclaimed Franklin Barbecue of Austin the finest in the USA. Some old boys I'm friends with in Tuscaloosa had set their sites on heading up to New York City for some payback, a gang of Cajuns out in Western Louisiana had him sized up for gator bait and a crew of roughnecks out near Abilene were setting and figuring on how to deliver the drygulching they reckoned he deserved. Knowlton ain't backing down but he has issued a new list of some more of his favorites-in places like Oregon, New York and Georgia. Read about them here: http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/bafoodist/2011/06/favorite-barbecue-joints-bbq.html All barbecue coverage on this site here: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/search.cfm?search=barbecue Barbecue Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:36:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/29/Bon-Appetits-Andrew-Knowlton-Comes-Clean http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/29/Foodways-Texas-Presents-Barbecue-Summer-Camp Texas A&M meat professors and Foodways Texas recently teamed up to host a barbecue summer camp. Sessions included butchering as well as the science behind successful barbecuing. Forty men and one woman signed up for the $495 three day seminar. The eternal dilemma of what type of woods suit barbecue the best, how to make a delicious rub as well as the storied histories of some of Texas' best, long running barbecue pits were all on the agenda. Barbecue Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/29/Foodways-Texas-Presents-Barbecue-Summer-Camp http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/28/Excellent-In-Depth-Interview-With-Aaron-Franklin-Of-Franklin-Barbecue This is the best interview I've read yet with Aaron Franklin. Apparently the pit boss has taken a few days off and sequestered himself in New York City for a respite from the pit. Eater, the national website, catches up with him and he dishes on the following while hanging out at April Bloomfield's joint The Spotted Pig: * How his barbecue is like the old Czech meat markets of barbecue lore * Why he likes to use oak wood for his fire * How long it takes to cook one of his briskets * The effect the Bon Appetit article had on his business * Status update on the new smoker Lots more news from Aaron Franklin Barbecue Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:26:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/28/Excellent-In-Depth-Interview-With-Aaron-Franklin-Of-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/28/Cochon-De-Lait-Cajun-Microwaves-And-The-Art-Of-Louisiana-Barbecue Film maker Joe York is on fire. The Mississippi based documentarian has been knocking out compelling short films on food since way back in 2001 but lately he's really hit his stride. Speaking on Acadiana, he says: "you can pretty much stand anywhere on the road down there and you'll meet someone who'll invite you to come eat a pig." Barbecue Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/28/Cochon-De-Lait-Cajun-Microwaves-And-The-Art-Of-Louisiana-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/19/Joe-Nick-Patoski-Hits-The-Big-Time-Article-In-New-York-Times-On-Franklin-Mueller-Sams-Live-Oak Joe Nick Patoski has the inside scoop on the current state of barbecue in Austin Texas. In an article titled: "Barbecue's New Battle Breaks Out in Austin" he reports on Franklin where "customers from as far away as China have been packing whole briskets in their luggage." He also checks in with John Mueller whom he quotes as saying "Dad taught me to look at the flame and go from there." Barbecue Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/19/Joe-Nick-Patoski-Hits-The-Big-Time-Article-In-New-York-Times-On-Franklin-Mueller-Sams-Live-Oak http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/18/Part-One-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue Bon Appetit, the national magazine that is routinely cited by barbecue lovers as THE authority on Texas brisket, has declared Franklin Barbecue the finest in the nation. The lines that used to begin to form at 10 am to get into the restaurant are now taking shape at 9 am. We submit the following proposal to alleviate this problem: A gamblers sale. From 11 am to Noon, brisket is $50 per pound. Barbecue Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/18/Part-One-A-Modest-Proposal-Concerning-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/16/Round-Up-The-Posse-Theres-A-Varmint-Named-Andrew-Knowlton-That-Wrote-A-Piece-On-Texas-Barbecue I keep waiting on Andrew Knowlton, the editor of Bon Appetit to come up for air in his breathless analysis of Franklin barbecue but am left wondering if he mastered the circular breathing technique of Ornette Coleman or Roland Kirk. He is quite the talker. Unfortunately, parts of his Texas barbecue article don't hold water. Barbecue Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:02:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/16/Round-Up-The-Posse-Theres-A-Varmint-Named-Andrew-Knowlton-That-Wrote-A-Piece-On-Texas-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/13/The-Old-Lion-Of-Austin-Barbecue-Aaron-Franklin-Demonstrates-His-Brisket-Technique Austin's Eater website dug up a video on Aaron Franklin demonstrating his brisket technique. It's here: http://austin.eater.com/archives/2011/06/13/aaron-franklin-on-tending-the-fire-at-franklin-barbecue.php#more It's out of date [ shot during Franklin's trailer era ] but still well worth your time. Speaking on Aaron Franklin, Did Ted Lee really say "this guy Aaron, he's a totally self taught pit master." Barbecue Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:08:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/13/The-Old-Lion-Of-Austin-Barbecue-Aaron-Franklin-Demonstrates-His-Brisket-Technique http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/13/The-Old-Lion-Of-Lockhart-Barbecue-Edgar-Black-Demonstrates-His-Brisket-Technique Blacks Barbecue down in Lockhart sells 2 1/2 tons of brisket per week. Established in 1932 Black's claims to be the oldest joint in Texas operated by the same family. While not receiving the acclaim of it's barbecue neighbors, either Smitty's or Kreuz Market, Black's just quietly rolls up it's sleeves and dusts off the pretenders to the crown each day. It's my favorite brisket source in Central Texas. The competition is fierce. Barbecue Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/13/The-Old-Lion-Of-Lockhart-Barbecue-Edgar-Black-Demonstrates-His-Brisket-Technique http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/12/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-Three-When-The-University-of-Texas-Barbecued--Bevo When you steal a steer in Texas there's going to be Hell to pay. It's 1916, and a posse of wiry Texas cowboys are hot on the trail of a herd of Texas beef that's been shanghaied down to Juarez, Mexico. Little did these men know that they were to be a part of Texas football culture that's carried onto this day. But a little history is first in order. Barbecue Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/12/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-Three-When-The-University-of-Texas-Barbecued--Bevo http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/9/How-To-Better-Enjoy-Your-Brisket-Robb-Walsh-Speaks-On-Martins-Barbecue-In-Bryan-Texas When Robb Walsh speaks on Texas barbecue, it's best we all perk our ears up, listen closely and if he starts going into detail then we might ought to get out pad and pen so we can take some notes. The man knows of what he speaks. Which is why Saveur magazine, in their annual barbecue issue, hired Mr. Walsh to write a piece on smoked meat for them. The tenor of his article on Martin's Barbecue over in Bryan Texas is this: Put down your camera, set down your ball point pen and relax for a few minutes. Live in the moment and just enjoy your barbecue instead of ranking, reviewing and comparing til the cows come home. Barbecue Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/9/How-To-Better-Enjoy-Your-Brisket-Robb-Walsh-Speaks-On-Martins-Barbecue-In-Bryan-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/8/Texas-Monthly-Hits-The-Big-Time-Barbecue-App-For-Your-Smart-Phone-Now-Available Big news from Austin based Texas Monthly magazine. They've developed an app for your smartphone that promises a host of features: * Barbecue locator that vectors you in on the nearest barbecue * Has all the relevant info on Texas Monthly's Top 50 barbecue joints * Allows you to broadcast your own discoveries * Provides the potential to hookup with other barbecue aficionados * Maps your Texas barbecue journey I reckon the whole social networking thing has taken a turn towards consumption of smoked meat, friending people who also like smoked meat and maybe having a roll in the hay with a wayward smoked meat lover. Does this mean there's to be frantic coupling on the aptly named Shady Lane in Austin later this summer? Let's hope so. It had to happen eventually. Everybody's on the make when they're at barbecue after all. They've also rolled out a new website that is strictly devoted to barbecue here: http://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/plateoftheday extensive Central Texas bbq coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue Barbecue Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:57:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/8/Texas-Monthly-Hits-The-Big-Time-Barbecue-App-For-Your-Smart-Phone-Now-Available http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/7/Deluxe-Side-Dishes-For-Central-Texas-Barbecue-Pinto-Beans-With-Jalapenos-and-Bacon When I'm motoring out to Central Texas barbecue's legendary smokehouses I do not eat side dishes. People fly to Texas from all over the globe to eat at the smoked meat temples of Smithville, Taylor, Lockhart and Luling. It ain't for the potato salad. Side dishes for the storied meat houses of lore are typically an afterthought. As they should be. Would you rather the focus be on the brisket or the cabbage? There's only so much energy a cookhouse has for what they're putting on table. I want that force of will to concentrate on the meat, not the potatoes. But when I throw a big brisket on the smoker at the house, I also fire up the cook pot and make a kettle of pinto beans to serve with the meat. Barbecue Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/7/Deluxe-Side-Dishes-For-Central-Texas-Barbecue-Pinto-Beans-With-Jalapenos-and-Bacon http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/7/The-Definitive-Article-On-The-New-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Joint-Scrumptiouschef-Interviews-The-Legend Part one here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/6/East-Austin-Where-Beef-Sausage-Rains-From-The-Sky-John-Muellers-New-Barbecue-Joint-June-6-2011?adminview=true There will be plenty articles about this new restaurant. After all, John Mueller accrued legendary status with his Manor Road barbecue shop five years ago. This status was enhanced when his disciple, one Aaron Franklin, snatched the pebble from the hand of the master and opened his own barbecue, the eponymous Franklin. Rave reviews followed so it will be most interesting to see the lion step back into the pen with the cub for the definitive tussle. The old master does have an ace up his sleeve: handmade beef sausage. Done in the style of the Taylor, Texas icon: Louie Mueller. That's a pretty good hole card. Barbecue Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/7/The-Definitive-Article-On-The-New-John-Mueller-Barbecue-Joint-Scrumptiouschef-Interviews-The-Legend http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/6/East-Austin-Where-Beef-Sausage-Rains-From-The-Sky-John-Muellers-New-Barbecue-Joint-June-6-2011 UPDATE: JULY 11TH 2011: THE ORIGINAL OPEN DATE FOR JMUELLER BBQ HAS BEEN PUSHED TO THE END OF JULY. MORE ABOUT THE LEGEND RETURNING TO THE GAME BELOW: It's easy to get excited by a new restaurant opening every now and again. Some young buck comes along who's good at curing hogs or some country fresh pixie makes the scene with a top flight pie she's serving up around town. But then Moses comes down from the mount with a new tablet fresh off the smoker and everybody's nose gets opened wide. Barbecue Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:16:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/6/6/East-Austin-Where-Beef-Sausage-Rains-From-The-Sky-John-Muellers-New-Barbecue-Joint-June-6-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Manns-Smoke-House-BarBQue-Saturday-May-28th-2011 When a barbecue house offers a vast array of side dishes I immediately lose interest. I love macaroni and cheese and don't doubt that Mann's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que puts out a good version-I just don't want to have anything to do with it when I'm at barbecue. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sun, 29 May 2011 12:33:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Manns-Smoke-House-BarBQue-Saturday-May-28th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/28/Happy-National-Brisket-Day-Austin-Saturday-May-28th-2011 Get out there and cook a brisket today. I'll have my brisket photo up in a couple hours. I've got a fifteen pounder on the smoker that's getting set to come off. It's National Brisket Day! Just wrestled the beast off the ol smoker. Good looking hunk, after visiting Louie Mueller's in Taylor a few days ago I went heavy, heavy on the cracked black pepper. Heading over to Txoko HQ in a bit to feed a few of my brothers http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/articles/view/58/1/National-Brisket-Day.html National Brisket Day all barbecue coverage http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/Barbecue on this site another excellent Texas Barbecue site http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/?cat=84 Barbecue Sat, 28 May 2011 10:54:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/28/Happy-National-Brisket-Day-Austin-Saturday-May-28th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/24/A-Mangalitsa-Hog-Walks-Into-Memphis-Tennessee A huge upset was almost pulled off by a Hungarian wooly pig from Washington state at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Competition in Memphis a little over a week ago. The USA had it's dream team in basketball back in 1992 but they couldn't hold a candle to the dream team that stormed out of nowhere to almost snatch a victory at Memphis' historic barbecue showdown. The Fatback Collective, the cooking team of Jim n Nick's Bar-B-Q, a regional chain based out of Birmingham was competing in their first event but they had multiple weapons: Barbecue Austin Food Scene Tue, 24 May 2011 20:56:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/24/A-Mangalitsa-Hog-Walks-Into-Memphis-Tennessee http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Louie-Mueller-Tuesday-May-24th-2011 Hard on the heels of Vencil Mare's opening his Taylor Cafe, Louie Mueller stepped into the fray in 1949 and soon began putting out some very fine barbecue. Ten years later in 1959 he moved into the location that the meat house still calls home at 206 west 2nd street in downtown Taylor. The 1992 passing of Mr. Mueller may have briefly slowed the operation but son Bobby had been a mainstay of the business since 1974 so there was never a question that the legendary smoke house would stay the brisket and sausage course. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 24 May 2011 12:38:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/24/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Louie-Mueller-Tuesday-May-24th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Thursday-May-19th-2011 Don't let the plain exterior fool you. Inside beats the heart of one of the very best brisket houses in Central Texas. I'm ordinarily no fan of mesquite smoked barbecue but pit boss Rev. James A. Davis Jr transforms the lowly brush into a very fine fire wood. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 19 May 2011 09:15:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/19/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Thursday-May-19th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Monday-May-16th-2011 Update 11/10/12 Happy 89th Birthday to the old pit boss Vencil Mares. We just read via Gloria Corral that today is the legend's birthday. ----------------------------------------------------------- Vencil Mares was born on November 10, 1923. Twenty five years later he was home from the war and looking for work, which is how he begin learning the smoked meat trade at Southside Market in nearby Elgin. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Mon, 16 May 2011 08:51:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/16/Austin-Daily-Photo-Best-Barbecue-In-Taylor-Texas-Monday-May-16th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/8/Barbecue-Pork-Stuffed-Hush-Puppies In the fish camps of west Alabama the good citizens eat like country kings with endless platters of corn meal crusted catfish being trotted out in little rough hewn buildings that dot the forests surrounding the Tombigbee River as it makes it's way to the Port of Mobile. As you move eastward in the great state, the focus of eating shifts from catfish to barbecue. Particularly, the eating of the pig. Southern Cooking Recipes Barbecue Sun, 08 May 2011 14:34:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/8/Barbecue-Pork-Stuffed-Hush-Puppies http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/7/Live-Oak-Barbecue-and-Beer-First-Visit-To-2713-East-2nd-Street With little else to interest us on a Friday night we hop on our bikes and motor over to visit Randall Stockton's new eatery: Live Oak Barbecue and Beer. The beer part will have to wait as I reckon all the paperwork isn't in order, so we content ourselves with a pair of Big Reds, a pound of brisket and a sausage link. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sat, 07 May 2011 12:38:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/7/Live-Oak-Barbecue-and-Beer-First-Visit-To-2713-East-2nd-Street http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/6/Randall-Stockton-Has-A-New-Joint-Live-Oak-BBQ-and-Beer-Set-To-Butt-Heads-With-Franklin-Barbecue Mr. Stockton has proven to have the Midas touch with East Austin bars. The old days of Bates Motel are growing fainter by the minute as this liquor baron grows his empire piece by piece. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 06 May 2011 11:13:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/6/Randall-Stockton-Has-A-New-Joint-Live-Oak-BBQ-and-Beer-Set-To-Butt-Heads-With-Franklin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Mr-Bones-BBQ-Tuesday-May-3rd-2011 UPDATE:SEPTEMBER 2011.MR BONES HAS CLOSED Out near the Mueller Development Mr. Bones is the only barbecue source for the inhabitants of the vast planned community. I circle around the complex in which it resides so I can have a conversation with the old salty dog pit boss who's sure to be sitting out back on a stump near the big brick smoker drinking a Pearl, reading a Louis L'amour cowboy book and staying on top of the brisket and sausage. RIP: Rest In Peace Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Tue, 03 May 2011 01:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Mr-Bones-BBQ-Tuesday-May-3rd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/1/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-2-John-Mueller-Barbecue This is where Aaron Franklin made his bones in the barbecue business before he became a successful entrepreneur. I've always been a little leery of barbecue in the city limits of Austin. Yes, we do have good smoked meat but generally I like to get out in the country, drive down a gravel road or two, hopefully cross a railroad track and if I have to drive down by a riverside then I'm real happy. So when John Mueller opened up in his impossibly convenient Manor Road location I wasn't particularly thrilled. Til I tried the meat. This is when Austin grew up and became a true barbecue mecca. Barbecue Austin Food Scene Sun, 01 May 2011 13:21:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/5/1/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-2-John-Mueller-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Stubbs-Barbecue-Friday-April-29th-2011 A picture is worth a 1000 words. Stubb's getting in their morning shipment from Sysco Food Service. 801 Red River St 512-480-8341 Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:16:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Stubbs-Barbecue-Friday-April-29th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/30/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-1-Charlies-BarBQue I have a few heroes in this world, I suppose all of us do. Men or women that we look up to as paragons of how we should be living our lives. We're here but for the blink of an eye so it's important to gnaw as much meat off the rib as is possible during our time spent in this old world. Michael Stern has played an important role in my life. I bought my first Roadfood book when I was just a young buck not even old enough to drive a car. Barbecue Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:35:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/30/Forgotten-Barbecue-Joints-of-Central-Texas-Part-1-Charlies-BarBQue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Iron-Works-Barbecue-Wednesday-April-27th-2011 If top notch barbecue started and ended with ambiance then Iron Works would be the top pit in town. Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:43:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Iron-Works-Barbecue-Wednesday-April-27th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/25/A-Resource-For-Grass-Fed-Beef-In-The-State-of-Texas I'm incubating a cooking project right now that has required doing a lot of research on Texas sourced foods. Primarily brisket, potatoes, grits and pinto beans. I've been surprised at how much food we get imported while simultaneously exporting those same goods thousands of miles away. It's disheartening. During my search for Texas beef I came across a good listing of farms and ranches that sustainably raise grass fed beef for slaughter. I haven't sampled any of the meat yet but I wanted to share the resource with y'all in case a reader wanted to throw some Texas beef on the grill and then share their experience. Barbecue Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/25/A-Resource-For-Grass-Fed-Beef-In-The-State-of-Texas http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/20/Meathead-Speaks-On-Austin-Barbecue When I'm not cooking barbecue, taking pictures of barbecue, daydreaming about barbecue or writing barbecue recipes, I'm reading about barbecue. I've been lucky enough to pursue and eat all sorts of barbecue: Kurdish barbecue, Basque barbecue, Jewish barbecue, Hillbilly barbecue, Coastal Carolina barbecue, Hungarian barbecue, Dutch barbecue....the road goes on forever and the barbecue never ends. Barbecue Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:13:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/20/Meathead-Speaks-On-Austin-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Cele-Country-Store-Friday-April-8th-2011 Like a lot of the best barbecue joints in Texas, Cele Country Store has exotic operating hours opening a few hours Friday night and then going into hibernation til the next weekend. While the history of the store goes all the way back to 1891 the modern meat lineage can only be traced to the last half century. That's when owner Marvin Weiss [RIP] decided to start smoking sausages on Friday afternoons to feed the farmers who gathered to drink a cold beer and relax at the end of a hard work week. Barbecue Sat, 09 Apr 2011 07:55:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Cele-Country-Store-Friday-April-8th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/2/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Saturday-April-2nd-2011 Pit boss Aaron Franklin, facing a do or die situation on crowd control, has finally erected a giant, penitentiary-style fence around his popular barbecue shop on E. 11th. Barbecue Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:30:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/4/2/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Saturday-April-2nd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Dickies-Barbecue-Wednesday-March-30th-2011 Corporate barbecue has come to Austin. Circled around back and was shocked to not find a pit with a crusty, old ranch hand back there drinking Pearl from a can and rolling his own. Barbecue Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:08:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Dickies-Barbecue-Wednesday-March-30th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Road-Trip-Edition-RG-BarBQue-Tuesday-March-29th-2011 I've dropped by R&G Bar-B-Que in McMahan Texas a couple times over the years on the way to Waelder but never managed to find them open. Barbecue Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:22:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/29/Austin-Daily-Photo-Road-Trip-Edition-RG-BarBQue-Tuesday-March-29th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Saturday-March-26th-2011 While the line to get in does not evoke images of a Who show in the 70s [Such as the scene at Franklin in Austin] Blacks down in Lockhart Texas is still the finest exemplar of Central Texas barbecue I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. Barbecue Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:28:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-Blacks-Barbecue-Saturday-March-26th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Road-Trip-Edition-Sheps-Barbecue-Wednesday-March-23rd-2011 The consensus on the street in Palestine Texas is that Shep's has the finest barbecue. Barbecue Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:21:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Road-Trip-Edition-Sheps-Barbecue-Wednesday-March-23rd-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Sunday-March-13th-2011 Just for laughs we rolled by Franklin Barbecue on opening day to take a gander at a scene that would surely evoke memories of the first time The Who toured the United States a few decades ago. Barbecue Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/3/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Sunday-March-13th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/24/Who-Is-Gloria-Corral-and-How-Did-She-Come-to-Write-The-Barbecue-Lovers-Guide-To-Austin I'm really curious about this woman and how she came to write a book about Texas barbecue. Barbecue Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:53:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/24/Who-Is-Gloria-Corral-and-How-Did-She-Come-to-Write-The-Barbecue-Lovers-Guide-To-Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-New-Location-Wednesday-February-23rd Street buzz is deafening as local pit boss Aaron Franklin prepares to open in the old Willy Green's barbecue house that Ben's Longbranch also called home. Barbecue Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:07:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/23/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-New-Location-Wednesday-February-23rd http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/14/Franklin-Barbecue-Hits-The-Big-Time-Chow-Comes-To-Austin-To-Film-Pit-Boss-Aaron-Franklin A while back over on Chowhound, Roxanne Webber of the website Chow posted a request for Austin eaters to list their recommendations of where she should visit when she came to town to shoot a food video. She got a lot of responses. Barbecue Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:49:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/14/Franklin-Barbecue-Hits-The-Big-Time-Chow-Comes-To-Austin-To-Film-Pit-Boss-Aaron-Franklin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Monday-February-14th-2011 The legend and mystique of Sam's Barbecue has grown immeasurably since Stevie Ray Barbecue Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:42:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Monday-February-14th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Monday-February-7th-2011 If one restaurant in Austin has reached fever pitch status it is this humble little food cart on the I-35 frontage road at Concordia Avenue in East Austin. I've never seen this level of excitement for any style of restaurant in town. Yes, we Austinites love our barbecue but the rabid fan base that Aaron Franklin has built in a year or so is absolutely phenomenal. Enjoy it while you can as he's shuttering this location and moving into the old Ben's Longbranch building on e. 11th st in the next few weeks. 512-653-1187 Barbecue Food Trucks Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:18:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/2/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Franklin-Barbecue-Monday-February-7th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/13/Austin-Daily-Photo--Full-Moon-Barbecue---Wednesday-January-12th-2011 I reckon Pat James is no longer Barbecue Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:03:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/13/Austin-Daily-Photo--Full-Moon-Barbecue---Wednesday-January-12th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/6/Austin-Daily-Photo--Archibalds-Barbecue--Wednesday-January-5th-2011 My love for Texas barbecue knows no bounds but when it comes right down to it there can only be one ruler of my heart. Archibald's Barbecue Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:10:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/6/Austin-Daily-Photo--Archibalds-Barbecue--Wednesday-January-5th-2011 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/6/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-Barbecue-Shack-Friday-December-31st-2010 Down in Ellinger Texas Barbecue Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:25:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/1/6/Austin-Daily-Photo-Gils-Barbecue-Shack-Friday-December-31st-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/27/Dirty-Print-Media-Maven-Preys-On-Righteous-Barbecue-Blogger Up in Dallas they do things a little bit different than down here in Travis County Texas. Barbecue Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:31:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/27/Dirty-Print-Media-Maven-Preys-On-Righteous-Barbecue-Blogger http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Waelder-Grocery-and-Barbecue-Wednesday-December-22nd-2010 About the photo Barbecue Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:06:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/22/Austin-Daily-Photo-Waelder-Grocery-and-Barbecue-Wednesday-December-22nd-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-Kreuz-Market-Monday-December-20th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/20/Austin-Daily-Photo-Kreuz-Market-Monday-December-20th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/20/How-To-Smoke-A-Ten-Pound-Pork-Shoulder While it's true that in Kentucky you grow up eating lots of pork shoulder, the typical preparation would send an Alabama pit boss to the gun cabinet ready to take dead aim at anybody that treated a glorious chunk of pork in such a fashion. Unlike the Western part of the state, the Cumberland Highlands region of Eastern Kentucky has no real barbecue culture to speak of so when my family put a pork shoulder on to cook it was done like a beef roast. Browned in a pan then placed in a kettle with potatoes, carrots and onions and braised til it was fork tender. I loved this style til I moved to Birmingham Alabama and started making trips down to Archibald's barbecue in Northport where you can get the finest pork barbecue ever put out by a restaurant. Southern Cooking Barbecue Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:27:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/20/How-To-Smoke-A-Ten-Pound-Pork-Shoulder http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-New-Brich-And-Mortar-Franklin-Barbecue-Tuesday-December-14th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/14/Austin-Daily-Photo-The-New-Brich-And-Mortar-Franklin-Barbecue-Tuesday-December-14th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Smittys-Market-Thursday-December-9th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Thu, 09 Dec 2010 01:07:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/9/Austin-Daily-Photo-Smittys-Market-Thursday-December-9th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Eureste-Grocery-Tuesday-December-7th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:51:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/7/Austin-Daily-Photo-Eureste-Grocery-Tuesday-December-7th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jerk-Daddys-Barbecue-Sunday-December-5th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:46:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jerk-Daddys-Barbecue-Sunday-December-5th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-House-Park-Barbecue-Wednesday-October-27th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:01:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/27/Austin-Daily-Photo-House-Park-Barbecue-Wednesday-October-27th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/22/How-To-Brine-and-Smoke-An-80-Pound-Pig Coming Soon: My Fall project. Barbecue Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:23:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/22/How-To-Brine-and-Smoke-An-80-Pound-Pig http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-Sunday-October-17th-2010 About the photo Barbecue Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:47:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/18/Austin-Daily-Photo-Rubys-Barbecue-Sunday-October-17th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jrs-Corner-Barbecue--Friday-October-15-2010 About the photo Barbecue Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:32:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/15/Austin-Daily-Photo-Jrs-Corner-Barbecue--Friday-October-15-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Backyard-Pit-Sunday-October-3rd-2010 Read about how we smoked a big pig on this very smoker http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/12/9/How-To-Brine-and-Smoke-a-50lb-Pig One of the members of my cooking team just moved into a new house and lo and behold look what was sitting out back. Somebody's barbecue pit project is now under our command. Looking forward to riding out to Brady to pick up a goat to cook on this big brick behemoth Barbecue Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:14:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/10/4/Austin-Daily-Photo-Backyard-Pit-Sunday-October-3rd-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/9/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Wednesday-September-30th-2010 More about the photo Barbecue Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:09:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/9/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Sams-Barbecue-Wednesday-September-30th-2010 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/9/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Friday-September-3rd-Franklins-Barbecue My friend Patrick enjoying a homemade rib sandwich utilizing pork ribs from Franklin Barbecue, a smoked meat cart on Austin's East Side. https://twitter.com/#!/RLReevesJr Barbecue Austin Daily Photo Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:12:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/9/3/Austin-Daily-Photo-Friday-September-3rd-Franklins-Barbecue http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/6/14/Black-Folks-Food-The-Art-and-Science-of-Soul-Food-Part-1-How-to-Smoke-Country-Style-Pork-Ribs The best thing that ever happened to me was moving from lily white Kentucky when I was a teenager to Birmingham, Alabama. It was like taking a magic carpet ride to a land a million miles away both culturally and psychically. Alabama is the land of plenty with white country folks, Greek immigrants a couple generations away from their homeland, African Americans, Italians and Lebanese all stirring the pots in kitchens both humble and grand. As a serious eater I took to my new home with aplomb. Plumbing out all the local restaurants for their delicacies became my hobby which I quickly turned into a paycheck from the local rag. While I loved all the exotic foods I'd never been exposed to it was the soul food that powered me on a daily basis: Oxtails, Collard Greens, Smothered Chicken, Fried Pork chops, Whiting Fish Sandwiches, Skins and Pieces [ Chicken Wings simmered with skin on potatoes] the list was endless and I was determined to winnow the finest from a city whose offering were seemingly endless. At culinary school the foods I was so enthusiastically eating every day were looked down on by the administration. I'd lobby to have a class centered on soul food and be summarily shot down in favor of the cooking of a French man who'd been dead for a couple hundred years. Though I never won any of those battles I did manage to become a respectable soul food cook. Here's one of my favorite recipes: soul food Recipes Barbecue Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:41:00 -0700 http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2010/6/14/Black-Folks-Food-The-Art-and-Science-of-Soul-Food-Part-1-How-to-Smoke-Country-Style-Pork-Ribs