Gettin' Sauced! sponsorships available!

Our 5th annual Gettin' Sauced! contest/festival is Sunday, October 19, 2014, at Shady Springs Party Barn in Austin, Texas. We are working hard to put together a great event. BBQ, drinks, live music, etc. If you would like to sponsor the event, let us know. Three sponsorship levels are available, and exclusive sponsorships are an option. Give us a shout, if you're interested in exposure on our website, via social media, and at the event!

Red meat in London: Round 2

More pics from London butcheries:

Red meat in London: Round 1

During my 4 days in London, I saw quite a few butcher shops. Thought you might like to see some red meat. I'll post another round of these pics later.

Dinner at Smokehouse with Chef Neil Rankin

Chef Neil Rankin recently spent a couple of weeks in Austin and ate his fill from a bunch of Austin BBQ joints. I didn't have the pleasure to meet him while he was in town, but I was fortunate to have dinner with him last night at Smokehouse, his BBQ joint in London, England. We had more courses than I've probably ever had in one sitting, and the food was delicious. Neil is doing some really neat things, putting his unique spin on traditional meats. I will post pictures of the food later. For now, I just want to thank Neil again for being such a great host. It was a fantastic way to spend 3 hours, and if you're in London, you'd be wise to stop in. Some Texans feel there is no good BBQ in other states, much less other countries, but this place UK joint is legit. Pics & more pics.

Calling all breweries for Gettin' Sauced!

Our 5th Annual Gettin' Sauced! festival is Sunday, October 19, at Shady Springs Party Barn in Austin. We'd love to have some breweries join us for the event. If you'd like booth space, to hand out samples of your beers and promote your business, email us. We'd love to give you space to showcase your brews. Speaking of beer, check out the official Gettin' Sauced! pint glass. We'll have them for sale at the event.

First meal in London: pulled-pork sandwich!

Landed in London just after noon yesterday. First stop after checking into the hotel was Covent Garden. Ordered from a couple of the many food stalls. First order was a pulled pork sandwich with slaw from Dixie Union. Started the London trip with some Southern-style BBQ!

Friends who smoke briskets are the best friends.

Recently, I had the good fortune to have brisket that my buddy John Paik smoked. John has been honing his Texas BBQ skills and has really found his way around his smoker. My buddy Todd Plunk, John's roommate, cooked some killer macaroni & cheese and Brussels sprouts.

London, here I come!!!

Tonight, I board a plane to London, England! I've only been to England once, and it was in the summer of 1998, so I'm really excited about going back. I'll be attending the annual world awards dinner of Chowzter (the fantastic food app for which I am the Chief Chowzter for Austin and San Antonio). Chowzter has some really neat food events planned for us, and I will, of course, take loads of pics. I'll have some free time each day, so if you have any recommendations for me, please let me know. See you soon, merry ol' England!

Easter lunch from Dirty's Bar & Q (Seguin, TX)

Easter lunch Sunday was catered by Dirty's Bar & Q (Seguin, TX). Here are some pictures.

Q&A with Cooper's Austin

With word that Cooper's is planning to open for business in Austin, I reached out to the folks at Cooper's with some questions about the move. Below is our Q&A (Their answers are underlined.). Thanks, Cooper's, for taking the time to answer our questions!

Why are you opening in Austin?  Has this been in the works for a while? Or did you decide to capitalize off of the rising popularity of BBQ in Austin  & the growing population of Austin? . We have talked about coming to Austin for 20 years,  so it was not an overnight decision.   The right demographics and location  opportunity finally presented itself. Why the downtown location?  And what does it mean for how you cook your meats?  Will you still have a pit? It had to be just the right spot to be able to do the  original style with pits like the other 3 locations.  The way we will be cooking in Austin will be identical to  Llano, Fort Worth and New Braunfels.  The BBQ will be cooked fresh all day on site  just like the other 3 locations!  The staff of Cooper's Austin will be training  at all 3 current locations.  Will the Austin location offer the same menu as the other locations?  Yes. Do you not feel this will hurt the original location in Llano?  If people in the Austin area can get Cooper's in Austin, why drive to Llano? No, it will help Llano. Llano caters to locals and  people making day trips through the Hill Country.  Our Austin location will strengthen the  awareness of the Llano location. What will the interior of the restaurant be like?  Can you tell us a bit about the build-out? The Joseph Building, built in 1900, has  magnificent vintage painted brick  and original floors inside that you cannot buy.  We also have a back patio under an old Live Oak tree.  You can see our plans, pictures, etc. on  our Facebook page, www.facebook/coopersbbqatx  Will this location have a bar?  Live music? Yes. We will have two bars.   One you will pass before you reach the serving pit  and the other will be upstairs.  We will offer a variety of live music several days a week and  will have a few televisions to view sporting events.  What about parking?  Are you not worried that having to pay will turn away customers? These days, the reality is that anyone coming  downtown has to pay to park.  To help with this, there will be 3 valets  on our block for convenience.  There are also several new parking  garages  opening within a two block area.  Our demographic is not just people in cars,  it is also downtown residents, business people, and hotel guests.

The rest from la Barbecue

Rest of the pics from my visit to la Barbecue with a baker's dozen Canadians. It was my first visit since la Barbecue moved locations from S. 1st to E. 6th.

Tour day!

On the road today for a public Texas Q Tours trip. On the schedule: 3 BBQ joints & 1 craft brewery. You will find us at Nutter Buster BBQ & Comfort, Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ, Micklethwait Craft Meats, and Hops & Grain Brewing. Follow along via Twitter. We'll tweet from @ManUpTexasBBQ & @TexasQTours. If you'd like to join a future tour, we have public tours scheduled for May 31 and June 28. And, as always, if you want a customized, guided tour for yourself, your family, your friends, you coworkers, etc., email me for availability & pricing.

5 meats at la Barbecue, eh!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking 13 British Columbians around town for a 3-day, private Texas Q Tours trip. The first stop of the trip was la Barbecue. On the table: brisket, turkey, house-made sausage, pulled pork, beef ribs, beans, & potato salad:

Smoked meat at a pizza joint?!?!

This isn't a pizza blog, but if you know me, you know I love pizza. Like could-eat-it-every-day love it. Last weekend, I paid my first visit to Pieous, an Austin pizza joint out Highway 290 toward Dripping Springs. Pieous is in the building that used to house Cartwright's Bar-B-Q, and they have the smoker that Cartwright's left behind. They use the smoker to smoke pastrami and Italian sausage. I had pizza (smoked Italian sausage, pepperoni, & spicy onions) and a Caesar salad, but I also got a sample of the smoked pastrami. When I go back, I'm going to order the pastrami sandwich, which is served with yellow mustard on house-made sourdough bread.