Austin American-Statesman: "Woman threatened to stab brother because he ate her BBQ ribs"

Austin American-Statesman reports,

Austin police charged 61-year-old Ethel Jean Banks with felony assault Tuesday after they say she threatened to stab her brother because he ate some barbecue ribs that belonged to her.

When police arrived her brother Melvin Magee told police Banks became angry with him after he ate her ribs. Magee claimed he did not know the ribs belonged to Banks, and she became very upset, arguing with him and pushing him, an arrest affidavit said.

Magee pushed Banks back, causing her to fall over. It was then that she grabbed a 10-inch butcher knife from the kitchen, held it over her head aggressively and told Magee, “I’m going to kill you,” the affidavit said.

She charged at him with the knife and Magee ran out the front door of the house, closing the door behind him and holding it closed. After she attempted to open the door a few times, Banks told Magee she would not let him back into the house. Magee then went to a neighbor’s home and called 911, the affidavit said.

Gameday Giveaway: Baylor-Texas Tech

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is another battle of Texas teams: Baylor-Texas Tech (Saturday at 2:30 PM Central in Arlington, TX). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie) and must be submitted by kickoff. This week's prize? A whole brisket from Micklethwait Craft Meats! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook. 

Best BBQ in Atascocita?

Next on our list of Texas towns, by population: Atascocita. What's the best BBQ joint in town?

Starting a tour with pie!

Finally getting around to posting the pics from our Texas Q Tours February public tour. First stop of the day was breakfast at Royer's Pie Haven (Austin, TX):

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 3

This week's matchup is Atlanta at Dallas (Sunday, noon Central). Winner nabs 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse! To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait!

Pizzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 3

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

October 31 Texas Q Tours public tour!

We're excited to announce the date & itinerary for our next all-inclusive public tour! Saturday, October 31! Yep. Halloween Day. No trick here. All treat! We'll make stops in Spicewood, Dripping Springs, & San Marcos. Round trip from Austin with an ETD of 9:30 AM. Should be back in Austin by 4:00 or 4:30. What's on tap? Breakfast, BBQ,  craft beer, & more BBQ! Here's the itinerary (subject to change):

S-H Donuts (Austin) 
Opie's Barbecue (Spicewood)
Twisted X Brewing Company (Dripping Springs)

Hays County Bar-B-Que (San Marcos)

As always, tickets are all-inclusive, non-refundable, and transferable. Trip subject to cancellation. If cancelled, ticket will be fully refunded. You can purchase via the PayPal button below. If you wish to pay via another medium, email us. Hope to see you October 31!

Mike Johnston's BBQ chase

Via Twitter, I learned of Mike Johnston, founder of Savory Spice Shop, who went on a serious BBQ trek. I reached out. Below is our Q&A. Mike is on the right. More pics to come.

Q: What prompted this? 

In late 2014, as we were developing our Savory Spice marketing plan for 2016, we had the idea that we wanted to do an American barbecue road trip that featured all the different regions of barbecue. Barbecue blends sell incredibly well at our shops and we have blends that we have created around the typical flavor profiles found in North Carolina, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City regional barbecue. Doing this barbecue chase would give me firsthand knowledge that we can share with all of our customers and possible develop more. I’ve done other smaller scale trips to areas to learn about a particular blend or spice, and our customers really seemed to like hearing about them. I think it just legitimizes us and our knowledge about spice. Here are a couple other examples of trips I’ve taken: http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/blog/gather-round-the-table/the-pursuit-of-bajan-22.html & http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/blog/gather-round-the-table/the-quest-for-authentic-jamaican-jerk-67.html However, the timing of the release (or at least my knowledge of it) Johnny Fugitt’s book, The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America, definitely was part of the inspiration of chasing barbecue. It inspired me to think big in terms of the amount of places I’d try to hit. He and I have since communicated via email and although we won’t meet up during the trip we plan to get together afterwards to discuss. And I’m very much looking forward to that conversation! I know we will have a lot to discuss…and debate!  

Q: How much time is this taking? 

I’m going to be out chasing BBQ for 38 days. The original goal was to hit 76 spots, but that number seems to be rising. In Texas alone (my first leg of the trip), ended up going to 33 barbecue joints, up from the 27 that were planned. If my math is right, that is a 22% increase. If I keep up that pace I’ll end up going to 93 joints in 38 days. The amount of days out will not likely change though…my wife wants me back in Denver on 9/25…happy wife, happy life! That said, she has been so cool to let me do this trip and supportive all the way through. In fact, she is joining me today for the part of the Memphis leg. 

Q: Is it worth the expense?

I think so. I’m doing my best to keep the costs down by pulling around my Casita trailer and sleeping in it. More times then not, even though I’m offering to pay and expect to pay, these barbecue business owners are giving me food and swag. I think they recognize that we can both benefit from this experience. Paying or not, I’m think when you can get in front of pitmasters and others that make barbecue their business there is information that you can glean that is priceless. 

Q: Have you always been interested in Texas BBQ? 

Not being from Texas, I can’t say I grew up on Texas style barbecue. However, when we opened our first shop in Austin a few years back, my eyes were opened to brisket and beef ribs…and sausage smoked right! I’ve done smaller crawls of Austin when I’ve visited in the past, but hadn’t been to legendary spots like Lockhart, Taylor and Lexington. Even Austin has changed tremendously, of the 10 planned stops there, I hadn’t been to 9 of them…I think many of them have opened since I last visited. I don’t want to forget about Pecos, San Antonio, San Marcos, Houston, Tyler, Longview and the Dallas area. These were all first time visits for me… and each amazing in their own way. 

Q: Do you smoke meat at home? 

I do a little, but nowhere near the quality and level of what is going on in Texas. That said, with my new friends at Pitmaker I see a new smoker in my future. While I’m gathering knowledge for my customers, I’m going to be using it at my home. Lance Kirkpatrick, the pitmaster at Stiles Switch was very generous with his time and just from what I learned in that visit alone I believe I’ll be 10 times the barbecuer when I get back to Denver. 

Q: What’s your favorite Texas BBQ menu item? 

I like brisket and the beef rib, but if you put a gun to my head and said pick I’d go with the unbelievable sausages that are smoked here. I give extra credit to the joints that make it in-house; there really is a big difference to the final outcome. 

Q: What have you learned? 

I’ve learned a lot, but I’m going to reserve most of that for our promo next year, but here is an interesting story that Daniel Vaughn, food editor and critic for Texas Monthly shared with me… One of my employees, Sam, has been following my journey and asked me to find out why there are pickles, raw onion and bread on pretty much plate. Back in the day, meat markets would bring in fresh meat each week, process it and sell it throughout the week. Whatever was left over at the end of day Friday they needed to get rid of somehow, so many of them smoked it. Saturdays end up being barbecue days. But these folks weren’t restaurateurs, they were butchers and market owners, they didn’t have sides to go along with the cue, so they added items to the plate that were already available for sale on the their shelves. Market staples like pickles, onions, bread, cheese, hot sauce and even avocados (I haven’t tried this but Daniel and his friend David both say they’re amazing together, but just aren’t offered enough theses days). Since they weren’t offering up potato salad, mac and cheese back then, those items, Sam, became traditional barbecue sides and in Texas that tradition, along with many others in barbecue, remains the same. It’s just a happy coincidence that they taste great together! 

Q: Any highlights (and/or lowlights)? 

Sorry I have no real lowlights...I guess some might say being yelled at by Jon Mueller, but I wouldn’t call it one because in the end I got him to smile for the camera! Highlights are many…too many to list, but I’d say the experiences that stick out are…my first top in Texas at Pody’s and not knowing that Israel, the owner was also on in law enforcement... he scared the crap out of me and then let me off the hook…the prefect way to start my trip….meeting Big Ern Servantes and having him take me on a cool side trip to Hay’s BBQ (great sausage donuts there), my visit to Stiles Switch…every single person working there (and mind you I dropped by during there busy lunch hour with two friends) was super welcoming and Lance just made it so memorable, doing a two stop lunch interview with Daniel Vaughn (I learned more about the history of Texas barbecue in that visit), finding Bet the House (thanks to Lance) and meeting the trio of pitmasters (Jess, Cody and Shawn) and the rest of the team there, meeting legendary pitmasters Roy Perez of Kruez’s BBQ and Toostie of Snows.I could go on, because there were highlights after highlights and I feel bad not mentioning everyone, because honestly, in those short visits I feel like a made new friends and I want to support them all. 

Q: Any surprises?  

Just how welcoming everyone has been to me. There was only one spot where I felt unwelcomed…I won’t name names. So 99.9% of the people…in some way, shape or form….made me feel good about stopping there and talking with them. And many helped open more doors for me. Honestly, I was a bit “scared” of going in a trying to talk with these Texas barbecue folks…figured I might get a…”beat it Northern”, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Texas welcomed me, gave me confidence to talk and learn and made me feel like family. Every other region I go to will have their work cut out for them to match my Texas experience. I thank them all.

Best BBQ in Victoria?

Moving on down on our list of Texas cities, by population, we arrive at Victoria. What's the best BBQ joint in Victoria, Texas?

Gameday Giveaway: TCU at Texas Tech

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is another battle of Texas teams: TCU at Texas Tech (Saturday at 3:45 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie) and must be submitted by kickoff. This week's prize? Two tickets to see The Josh Abbott Band at Johnny's Outback at Johnny's Steaks & Bar-Be-Que (Salado, TX) on Saturday, October 17! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook. 

Best BBQ in New Braunfels?

Moving on down our list of Texas cities, by population... What's the best BBQ joint in New Braunfels?

"America's 35 Best Ribs 2015" (The Daily Meal)

The Daily Meal released their pics for the 35 best ribs in the country for 2015. Quite a few Texas BBQ joints' ribs made the cut, and Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor, TX) was named #1. Check out the full list, presented as a slideshow.

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 2

This week's matchup is Dallas at Philadelphia (Sunday, 3:25 Central). Winner nabs 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse! To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait!

Pizzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 2

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

7-day tour!

Rise & shine! Today is the first day of a 7-day private Texas Q Tours trip, our longest booking ever. Over the course of the next week, we're making almost 30 stops at BBQ joints, wineries, and elsewhere. Twitter updates throughout the day via @ManUpTexasBBQ and @TexasQTours. As always, If you want a private, customized tour, contact us for availability and pricing. 

Gettin' Sauced! pics (Round 13)

13th round of pics from last year's Gettin' Sauced! festival:

Best BBQ in North Richland Hills?

Moving on down our list of Texas' biggest cities, we arrive at North Richland Hills. What's the best BBQ joint in town?

Gameday Giveaway: SMU at TCU

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is another battle of Texas teams: SMU at TCU (Saturday at 7 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie) and must be submitted by kickoff. This week's prize? A $100 gift card & a t-shirt from Opie's Barbecue (Spicewood, TX)! You can enter your prediction via comment below this post, via email, or you can tweet it to @ManUpTexasBBQ or via Facebook. 

Gettin' Sauced! pics (Round 12)

12th round of pics from last year's Gettin' Sauced! festival:

Texas BBQ Wannabe: 142

142. Windy City Pizza (San Mateo, California) - "Chicago Style Pizza. Texas Smokehouse BBQ."

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. Huntsville Barbecue Company (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)

107. Texas BBQ (Tel Aviv, Israel)

108. Horse Thief BBQ (Los Angeles)

109. BBQ Rush (Tucson, AZ)

110. Allison's Texas BBQ (Mesa, AZ)

111. The Proper Pig BBQ (Cleveland, OH)

112. The Beach Pit (St. George Island, FL)

113. Rangers Texas BBQ (Sydney, Australia)

114. Taste of Texas BBQ (Waitara, Australia)

115. Marley's Central Texas BBQ (Albuquerque, NM) 

116. Round Up Texas Smoked BBQ (Cold Spring, NY)

117. Texas Pit BBQ (Cloudcroft, NN)

118. Joe's Texan BBQ (Currumbin, Australia)

119. The Calhoun Family's Texas Barbeque (Murrieta, CA)

120. Rio Grande Texas Barbecue (Balgowlah, Australia) 

121. The Texan Bar-B-Q & Chili House (Algonquin, IL)
122. Bob's Omahoma Barbeque (Wooster, OH)
123. Gary Ray's Texas BBQ (Tucson, AZ)
124. Texas Barbecue Cafe (Stabekk, Norway)
125. Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
126. All Friends Smokehouse (Westport, MA)
127. Firehouse on the Run Famous Texas BBQ (Black Forest, CO)
128. Texas Smoke Barbecue (Lake Hopatcong, NJ)
129. Jersey Shore BBQ (Belmar, NJ)
130. Smokehouse BBQ (Bali, Indonesia)
131. Andy's BBQ (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
132. Moonie's Texas Barbecue (Flowery Branch, GA)
133. Wabba Texas BBQ (Guadalajara, Mexico)
134. Frank's Texas BBQ (Bay Area, CA)
135. Bronco Belle Texas BBQ (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)
136. City Butcher (Springfield, MO)
137. Kaiser's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (Salt Lake City, UT)
138. Jimbo's Texas BBQ (Chantilly, VA)
139. Rocco's Smokehouse Grill (Williamsburg, VA)
140. Howard's Meat Co. (London)
141. Mike's Smokehouse (Eau Claire, WI)
142. Windy City Pizza (San Mateo, CA)

Lockhart Smokehouse Gameday Giveaway: Week 1

The 'boys are back in town, so are Gameday Giveaways are, too! Every time the Dallas Cowboys play, we give away 2 links of sausage from Lockhart Smokehouse! This week's giveaway matchup is New York [Giants] at Dallas (Sunday, 7:30 PM Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait. Huge thanks to Lockhart Smokehouse, for making these giveaways possible!

Pizzitola's BBQ Gameday Giveaway: Week 1

It's Week 1 of the NFL season, so it's Week 1 of our Gameday Giveaways! Every time the Houston Texans play, a whole slab of pork ribs from Pizzitola's BBQ is up for grabs! This week's matchup is Kansas City at Houston (Sunday, noon Central). To enter the giveaway, submit your prediction (winner, score, total yards) via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter, or email. You have until kickoff to submit your entry, so don't wait. Huge thanks to Pizzitola's, for making this possible! 

Best BBQ in Flower Mound?

Next on our list of Texas cities, by population, is Flower Mound. What's the best BBQ joint in town?

Latest visit to Hops & Grain

After dining at Kreuz Market, I ended a recent Texas Q Tours trip at Hops & Grain Brewing (Austin, TX), where our folks settled in on am Austin Friday afternoon with craft beer.

Gameday Giveaway: Rice at Texas

This weekend's college Gameday Giveaway matchup is a battle of Texas teams: Rice at Texas (Saturday at 7 PM Central). To be counted, your prediction must include winner, final score, & total yards (total yards is in case of a tie). To be counted, your prediction must be submitted by kickoff. And the prize to the winner? 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. 

The rest from Kreuz

The rest from our latest Texas Q Tours visit to Kreuz Market (Lockhart, TX):

More from Kreuz Market

More pics from our latest Texas Q Tours stop at Kreuz Market (Lockhart, TX):