Texas BBQ Giveaway #1 is in the books!

Our first-ever Texas BBQ Giveaway, courtesy of the fine folks at Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood, was announced Dec. 21 and remained open until Jan. 31. Many thanks to all the folks who took the time to email us entries. Here are the 3 giveaways, along with the winner for each, the answers to the first two, and the winning entry for the third:

#1: Who is Opie? The name of each person who answers correctly will be put into a Man-Up trucker's hat, and the name we pull out will receive a free Opie's koozie.

Answer: The owners' old dog

Winner: Kate Sweeney (Austin, TX)

#2: What year did Opie's Barbecue open its doors, and what year did they move into their current location? Must get both years correctly to be eligible to win. Winner takes home a free Opie's t-shirt. Same protocol as for #1, except that if you name the correct month and year (for both questions), your name will go in the hat twice.

Answer: 1999 and 2007

Winner: Frank Mancuso (Austin, TX)

#3: The best response to "Why Opie's is the best BBQ in Texas" will receive a $50 Opie's gift certificate.

Winner: Ernie Fontes (Austin, TX)

Ernie's entry:

Opie's IS THE BEST BBQ in TEXAS! Why (aside from the friendliest people and incredible service)? Hell, how many reasons are you lookin' for? Let's just run down the menu and go from there...

Pork ribs - Flake off the bone and melt in yo' mouth, not to mention #1 in Texas in 2008!

Pork chops - Tender and flavorful, smoked just right - One of my fav-o-rites.

Steak - Cooked to perfection, mouth watering - Don't get no better.

Briskets - Smokin' and no Jokin', the lean is incredible, but get a cut of the moist if you want to be a really happy Man Up!

Jalapeno sausages - Hot Chihuahua! Very tasty, but order a few ice cold beers to knock the bottom out of them peppers!!

Above and beyond...This is uncharted territory for many of Opie's customers:

Lobster - I enjoyed the finest 'Pit Lobster' right there at Opie's for Scott Jackson's (Spicewood River Ranch) birthday. Of course the meal wasn't complete without one of Opie's mouth watering steaks!

Smoked Ham - OMG x 1000!!! - Opie's smoked an 18 lb. boneless ham for me this past Thanksgiving - It was so moist that it melted on your tongue so you didn't have to chew! Unbelievable!!

And to top it all off, An Opie's Story: When picking up the Ham mentioned above, I told Todd I didn't realized that Opie's smoked ham. He replied, "We'll smoke anything you want! As a matter of fact, we'll smoke yo' ass!" I thought that was pretty amazing because I had never before heard of BBQ'd donkey.

As for the koozie and t-shirt winners, here are the pics from the oh-so-formal drawing. Not gonna lie folks: You could cut the anticipation with a butter knife.

I was up first, set to draw the name of the winner of an Opie's t-shirt. Brad got camera happy, so we have about 15 pics of the progression of the drawing. Maybe I can put them in order on the wall of a subway tunnel, so that commuters can watch it like a movie. Just a thought. Just came to me.





It's surprising how much fun pulling a name out of a hat can be:

Brad was up next, drawing the name of the koozie winner:


Thanks again to everyone who participated, and a huge thanks to Opie's Barbecue, for their generosity. If you missed out on this giveaway, take a deep breath. Many more giveaways in the pipeline.