Friday, October 31, 2014

Gameday Giveaway: Texas-Texas Tech

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is a battle of Texas teams: Texas at Texas Tech (tomorrow, 6:30 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). Any prediction submitted after kickoff will not be accepted. The closest prediction wins a small family package (1.5 pounds of meat & 3 pints of sides - $40 value) from Austin's very own Blue Ribbon BarbecueYou can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or submit via Facebook

BBQ Bumper Stickers

Truck in front of me yesterday had this bumper sticker:


I'd like to know what other BBQ bumper stickers are on the road. If you see one and/or have one, send us a pic!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

2014 Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest Overall Winner

Last week, I announced the category winners of this year's Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest:

Tomato (Mild) - BigDawg BBQ Sauce
Tomato (Spicy) - Snow's BBQ
Vinegar - Cowboy Joe's Pit & Grilling Sauce Spicy
Mustard - Lead Dog Savory 
Miscellaneous - Mann's Smokehouse White Sauce 

These 5 category winners went head-to-head, to determine the overall winner. Congratulations to Lead Dog Savory (North Pole, Alaska)!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Texas BBQ Wannabe: 106

106. The Beast (Paris, France)

Hat tip to Eater.com.

Updated list: 

1. Texas Smokehouse (Decatur, AL)
2. Hill Country Barbecue (Manhattan)
3. Dallas BBQ (Manhattan)
4. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (Beijing)
5. Capital Q (Washington, DC) - RIP
6. Little Texas (Iasi, Romania)
7. Back Forty Texas BBQ (CA)
8. West Texas Barbeque Co. (Jackson, MI)
9. Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ (Van Nuys, CA)
10. Barn Burner Texas Barbeque (Pasadena, CA)
11. JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que (Sacramento, CA)
12. Texas West BBQ (3 CA locations)
13. Tootie’s Texas Barbeque (Cathedral City, CA)
14. Armadillo Willy’s Real Texas BBQ (Los Altos, CA)
15. The Original Texas Barbecue King (Los Angeles)
16. Longhorn Barbecue (3 WA locations)
17. Bubb's Big Texas Style BBQ (Big Bend, WI)
18. The Texas BBQ Company (Northborough, MA)
19. DJ's Texas Style BBQ (Lewiston, ME)
20. Serious Texas BBQ (3 CO locations)
21. Abbey's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (San Diego, California)
22. Jake's Authentic Texan Bar B-Q (Rensselaer, NY)
23. Buster's Texas Style Barbecue (3 OR locations)
24. Howard's Texas Barbecue Service (Portland, OR)
25. Bennett's BBQ (CO, TN, & NC)
26. Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ (Altoona, IA)
27. Cecil's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (2 FL locations)
28. Shaw's Texas Style BBQ (Hercules, CA)
29. Backwoods BBQ (Corona, CA)
30. Cedar River Smoke House (Renton, WA)
31. Big Al's Texas BBQ (Lehi, UT)
32. East Texas BBQ, LLC (Huntsville, AL)
33. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (San Francisco, CA)
34. Texas Pride Barbecue (Huntsville, UT)
35. Bart's Texas Style BBQ (Traverse City, MI)
36. Roland's Bar-B-Que Company (Hot Springs, AR)
37. Ralphies Texas Style BBQ & Ribs (Fairmont, WV)
38. Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q (Spencerport, NY)
39. Danny's Little Taste of Texas (South Windsor, CT)
40. Taste of Texas BBQ (McCook, NE)
41. Lockhart's BBQ (Royal Oak, MI)
42. Big John's Texas BBQ (Flagstaff, AZ)
43. Big Star Texas Barbeque (Flagstaff, AZ)
44. Big Mouth BBQ (Great Falls, MT)
45. Bull Durham’s Texas BBQ and Steakhouse (West Chester, PA)
46. Texas Ribs and BBQ (Clinton, MD)
47. The Silver Spur Texas Smokehouse BBQ (Elm Grove, WI)
48. Elmer's Authentic Texas BBQ (Battle Lake, MN)
49. Doc's Texas BBQ & Burgers (Sonora, CA)
50. Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ & Rotisserie (Kings Park, NY)
51. Bob's BBQ & Mexican Grill (Pattaya, Thailand)
52. Bob's Texas BBQ (Boise, ID)
53. Hickory River Smokehouse (6 locations in OH & IL)
54. Texas Tony's BBQ Shack (Naples, FL)
55. Roosters Texas Style BBQ & Steakhouse (Nashville, TN)
56. Lee's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (Detroit, MI)
57. Texas Smokehouse Bar-B-Q (Woodinville, WA) - RIP
58. Austin BBQ (Wheaton, IL)
59. Alamo BBQ (Richmond, VA)
60. Austin's BBQ (Mountain View, CA)
61. 4C BBQ (Ponce De Leon, FL)
62. Rotuno's Texas Style Barbeque (Elyria, OH)
63. Smoke City Market (Sherman Oaks, CA)
64. The Ranger Texas Barbecue (Manhattan)
65. 4Rivers Smokehouse (2 FL locations)
66. Podnah's Pit Barbecue (Portland, OR)
67. Taste of Texas BBQ (Keystone, NE)
68. Bubba's Barbecue (Jakarta, Indonesia)
69. Molly's Smokehouse Texas BBQ (Wahiawa, HI)
70. Smokin' J's BBQ - Real Texas Barbeque (Gulfport, FL)
71. Texas BBQ & Steaks (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
72. Texas BBQ (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer (Las Vegas, NV) - RIP
74. Red River BBQ (Melbourne, Australia)
75. Triple A Bar (Toronto, Canada)
76. Texas Bar-B-Q (Puebla, Mexico)
77. Bubba's Texas BBQ (Philadelphia)
78. Tex's World Famous Bar-B-Q (Nashville, TN)
79. Gilley's BBQ (Las Vegas)
80. Texas Pit BBQ (St. Thomas, VI)
81. Texas Best BBQ (Valley Village, CA)
82. Selma's Texas Barbeque (Moon Township, PA)
83. Texas BBQ House (Phoenix)
84: Bludso's BBQ (Compton, CA)
85. Wayne's BBQ Shack (Superior, CO)
86. Little Miss BBQ (Phoenix, AZ)
87. Wise Barbecue Company (Los Angeles)
88. Hickory River Smokehouse (multiple locations in OH & IL)
89. Jim's Pit Bar-B-Q (Reddick, FL)
90. Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse (Los Angeles)
91. Smoke Ring (Rome, Italy) 
92. Texas BBQ Grill (Chehalis, WA)
93. Texas Joe's (London, England)
94. Texas Stockyards BBQ (Lady Lake, FL)
95. Bubba's Texas Style Bar-B-Que & Saloon (Shanghai, China)
96. Hill Country Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
97. Hill Country Barbecue (Washington, DC)
98. Double J Texas BBQ (Havelock, NC)
99. Bar-B-Q Shack (Brighton, England)
100. White Smoke - A Texas Smokehouse (Tokyo)
101. Kim's Texas BBQ (San Diego, CA)
102. Swingin' Door Texas BBQ (North Hollywood, CA)
103. Brick's Barbeque (Sarasota, FL)
104. Texas Hold'em BBQ (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
105. Texas Ribs (multiple locations in Mexico)
106. The Beast (Paris, France)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

2014 Gettin' Sauced! People's Choice Contest Top 10

Thanks for your patience, as we have tallied all of the People's Choice Contest scorecards from our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival. Every sauce in the contest received multiple votes. The Top 10 are as follows:

  1. Louie Mueller Barbecue Pork 
  2. Louie Mueller Barbecue Sweet Jalapeño
  3. SLAB BBQ Backyard Red
  4. Black's Barbecue Original 
  5. Louie Mueller Barbecue Sweet Mustard
  6. Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que Sauce
  7. Schmidt Family Barbecue Sauce
  8. Cowboy's Joe's BBQ Pit & Grilling Sauce Original 
  9. PoK-e-Jo's Smokehouse Peach Habanero 
  10. Cowboy's Joe's BBQ Pit & Grilling Sauce Spicy

Monday, October 27, 2014

I Am A Texan's "TOP 10 BARBECUE SPOTS IN TEXAS"

Saw a link last night to another Top 10 list for Texas BBQ joints. This one is courtesy of the site I Am A Texan. Without further ado, here is their list of the Top 10 BBQ joints in Texas.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 8

As always, when the Cowboys play, 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse are up for grabs! This week's giveaway matchup is Washington at Dallas (tomorrow, 7:30 PM Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Saturday, October 25, 2014

PIzzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 8

As always, when the Texans play, a whole slab of pork ribs from Pizzitola's BBQ is up for grabs! This week's giveaway matchup is Houston at Tennessee (tomorrow, noon Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Friday, October 24, 2014

Gameday Giveaway: Texas Tech-TCU

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is a battle of Texas teams: Texas Tech at TCU (tomorrow, 2:30 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). Any prediction submitted after kickoff will not be accepted. The closest prediction wins a gift basket (seasonings, t-shirt, kookie, etc.) from Johnny's Steaks & Bar-Be-Que (Salado, TX)! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook

Thursday, October 23, 2014

2014 Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest Category Winners

We're pleased to announce the category winners of this year's Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest (Next week, we will announce the overall winner of the Bottled Contest, as well as the winner of the People's Choice Contest.):

Tomato (Mild) - BigDawg BBQ Sauce
Tomato (Spicy) - Snow's BBQ
Vinegar - Cowboy Joe's Pit & Grilling Sauce Spicy
Mustard - Lead Dog Savory 
Miscellaneous - Mann's Smokehouse White Sauce 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

10 pounds from Rudy's

Last Thursday night, I picked up about 10 pounds of BBQ from Rudy's (Austin, TX) for a gathering of 20 or so. Got all 3 cuts of brisket, 2 kinds of sausage, & some smoked turkey.








Tuesday, October 21, 2014

5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! is in the books!

Sunday was our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival. It was such a great time! The weather was beautiful, the venue was fantastic, and all of the booths were outstanding. To our sponsors: Thank you. To all of our BBQ and non-BBQ booths: Thank you. To our venue: Thank you. To our live-music acts: Thank you. To our contestants: Thank you. To all of our rock-star volunteers: Thank you. And to everyone who came out and enjoyed the BBQ, sauce, drinks, booths, & live music: Thank you. We sincerely appreciate you and thank you for spending your Sunday afternoon with us. Cheers to all of you!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Tonight's dinner: Gettin' Sauced! leftovers!

Yesterday, Miche Bread sent me home from our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival with a loaf of the bread they served at the festival. And Snow's BBQ sent me packed with some smoked turkey. Therefore, tonight's dinner was a smoked-turkey sandwich, courtesy of both!




Sunday, October 19, 2014

Pizzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 7

As always, when the Texans play, a whole slab of pork ribs from Pizzitola's BBQ is up for grabs! This week's giveaway matchup is Houston at Pittsburgh (tomorrow, 7:30 PM Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 7

As always, when the Cowboys play, 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse are up for grabs! This week's giveaway matchup is New York Giants at Dallas (tomorrow, 3:25 PM Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Friday, October 17, 2014

Gameday Giveaway: Notre Dame-Florida State

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is a another battle of undefeated teams: Notre Dame at Florida State (tomorrow at 7:00 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). Any prediction submitted after kickoff will not be accepted. The closest prediction wins a $25 gift card from Austin's very own SLAB BBQYou can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest tonight!

Our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! Bottled Contest is tonight! We have sauce entries from throughout the country, from Alaska to Florida. I don't get to take part in the blind judging, but I look forward to tasting the winners from each category. Good luck to all of the entrants!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! miscellany

In addition to BBQ, BBQ sauce, and beverages, and water, there's more at this year's 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival. Live music from Fog & Bone, followed by Mayeux & BroussardMiche Bread, our official bread sponsor, will have a booth with a selection of artisan breads for you to sample. OMG! Cheesecakery, the event's exclusive dessert vendor, will have a lineup of personal-sized cheesecakes for purchase. KIND Healthy Snacks will be on hand with, you guessed it, healthy snacks! Stop by TexasFood's booth & Texas Irons' booth. Snag Gettin' Sauced! merchandise: t-shirts, koozies, pint glasses, & screen-printed posters. If you're looking for a hotel, discounted rates are available at Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin Downtown, the official hotel of this year's Gettin' Sauced! Visit the Gettin' Sauced! website for complete details.

WHEN: Sunday, October 19, 3-6 p.m. (2:30 entry for VIP-ticket holders - VIP passes are SOLD OUT!) 

WHEREShady Springs Party Barn9401 Sherman Rd, Austin, TX 78742

DETAILS
Official website: http://www.gettinsauced.com/
Direct link to BBQ-sampling wristbands: https://www.livingsocial.com/events/1225464-ticket-to-gettin-sauced-bbq-festival 
Twitter: @GettinSauced
Email: drew (at) gettinsauced (dot) com 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! beverage lineup

Our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival is this Sunday! With 13 BBQ booths, you'll need something cold to wash it down. No problem. Here is our beverage lineup


In addition to craft beer and cider, we will have complimentary non-alcoholic drinks from HonestTea & Cuvee Coffee. Finally, cold water will be for sale.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! BBQ lineup

Our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival is this Sunday! VIP passes are sold out, but you can still snag a BBQ Wristband, which entitles you to sample among all of the BBQ booths (while supplies last). Here is the lineup of BBQ:

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! is 1 week from today!


Our 5th annual Gettin' Sauced! contest & festival, presented by TexasFood.com, is 1 week from today! Join us for TexasBBQ, cold drinks (alcoholic & non-alcoholic), artisan bread, desserts, snacks, live music, door prizes, & more! Event entry is free, though sampling the BBQ and BBQ sauce will require a BBQ wristband. General-Admission wristbands are $15 online & $20 at the gate. VIP wristbands are SOLD OUT. BUY WRISTBANDS!

This year's festival features a great group of Central Texas BBQ joints & craft breweries:





In addition to craft beer, several non-alcoholic drinks will be available, including drinks from HonestTea & Cuvee Coffee. Also, Miche Bread, our official bread sponsor, will have a booth with a selection of artisan breads for you to sample. And OMG! Cheesecakery, the event's exclusive dessert vendor, will have a lineup of personal-sized cheesecakes for purchase. If you're looking for a hotel, discounted rates are available at Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin Downtown, the official hotel of this year's Gettin' Sauced! Visit the Gettin' Sauced! website for complete details.

WHEN: Sunday, October 19, 3-6 p.m. (2:30 entry for VIP-ticket holders) 

WHEREShady Springs Party Barn9401 Sherman Rd, Austin, TX 78742

DETAILS
Official website: http://www.gettinsauced.com/
Direct link to BBQ-sampling wristbands (VIP & General Admission): https://www.livingsocial.com/events/1225464-ticket-to-gettin-sauced-bbq-festival 
Twitter: @GettinSauced
Email: drew (at) gettinsauced (dot) com 

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 6

Whenever the Cowboys play this season, 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse are up for grabs! This week's giveaway matchup is Dallas at Seattle (tomorrow, 3:25 PM Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Gameday Giveaway: TCU-Baylor

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is a battle of undefeated Texas teams: TCU at Baylor (tomorrow at 2:30 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). Any prediction submitted after kickoff will not be accepted. The closest prediction wins an all-you-can-eat meal for 2 at Kreuz Market (Lockhart, TX)! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook

Thursday, October 9, 2014

la Barbecue brick-&-mortar in the works

Hat tip to Eater Austin for reporting la Barbecue is planning to open a brick-&-mortar spot on South Congress Avenue. Location & expected opening date TBA.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

BBQ tourin' with some Aussies!

Back in May, I had the pleasure of taking an Australian couple on a BBQ tour. They wanted to get a taste & feel for Central Texas BBQ joints, since they run a BBQ company (Smokin' Barry's) in Melbourne. I took them to Opie's (Spicewood), Hays County (San Marcos), Black's (Lockhart), & Valentina's (Austin). They were an absolute pleasure to spend the day with. I meant to post the pictures long before now, but better late than never! First stop: Opie's. After the meal, owner Kristin Ashmore was kind enough to spend time outside by the smokers talking shop with my clients. 











Tuesday, October 7, 2014

This year's Gettin' Sauced! poster!

Particularly since I have absolutely no design skills, I always enjoy seeing our Gettin' Sauced! poster. Each year, I crack up thinking, Imagine if I'd been the one to design it. Anyway, last night, I saw this year's poster for the first time. As always, posters will be available for sale at the festival and (after the event) via our website.

Monday, October 6, 2014

What is the best BBQ joint in Blanco County?

Finishing our journey around Travis County, we arrive at our final adjacent county: Blanco County. BC is home to towns like Blanco and Johnson City. Which BBQ joint in Blanco County is the best?

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Gettin' Sauced! is 2 weeks from today!


Our 5th annual Gettin' Sauced! contest & festival, presented by TexasFood.com, is 2 weeks from today! Join us for TexasBBQ, cold drinks (alcoholic & non-alcoholic), artisan bread, desserts, snacks, live music, door prizes, & more! Event entry is free, though sampling the BBQ and BBQ sauce will require a BBQ wristband. General-Admission wristbands are $15 online & $20 at the gate. VIP wristbands are $35 online and at $40 the gate. VIP wristbands include entry to the event 30 minutes before general admission. BUY WRISTBANDS!

This year's festival features a great group of Central Texas BBQ joints & craft breweries:





In addition to craft beer, several non-alcoholic drinks will be available, including drinks from HonestTea & Cuvee Coffee. Also, Miche Bread, our official bread sponsor, will have a booth with a selection of artisan breads for you to sample. And OMG! Cheesecakery, the event's exclusive dessert vendor, will have a lineup of personal-sized cheesecakes for purchase. If you're looking for a hotel, discounted rates are available at Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin Downtown, the official hotel of this year's Gettin' Sauced! Visit the Gettin' Sauced! website for complete details.

WHEN: Sunday, October 19, 3-6 p.m. (2:30 entry for VIP-ticket holders) 

WHEREShady Springs Party Barn9401 Sherman Rd, Austin, TX 78742

DETAILS
Official website: http://www.gettinsauced.com/
Direct link to BBQ-sampling wristbands (VIP & General Admission): https://www.livingsocial.com/events/1225464-ticket-to-gettin-sauced-bbq-festival 
Twitter: @GettinSauced
Email: drew (at) gettinsauced (dot) com 

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Lockhart Smokehouse & Pizzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 5

We have quite the treat for you this week. Each week, we hold separate giveaways for the Cowboys game and the Texans game. Well, tomorrow at noon Central, these two teams face off with each other in Dallas, so 1 game = 2 giveaways! So, the winner gets 2 prizes: 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse & a slab or pork ribs from Pizzitola's BBQ! To enter the contest, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, FacebookTwitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait! 

Friday, October 3, 2014

Gameday Giveaway: Baylor-Texas

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is Baylor at Texas (tomorrow at 2:30 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). Any prediction submitted after kickoff will not be accepted. The closest prediction wins a $20 gift certificate to Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, & the winner can use the GC at any location of Cooper's! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook

Thursday, October 2, 2014

What is the best BBQ joint in Hays County?

Making our way around Travis County, just 2 counties remaining in my round of questions about the best BBQ joint in each county adjacent to Travis County. Next up: Hays County. HC is home to Buda, Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Kyle, San Marcos, Wimberley, and other little towns. Of all the BBQ joints in the county, which is tops?

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

HEB brisket in San Antone

Some pics of the HEB mesquite-smoked brisket I had this weekend in San Antonio with family while watching some college football by the pool: