Think‘s Krys Boyd talked brisket and best barbecue in Texas with the BBQ Snob yesterday. Here’s the whole segment online. Does anyone else agree that Daniel Vaughn’s voice is soothing? Next time I’ll ask him to read a bedtime story for SideDish. I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it.
Be The First To CommentDon’t worry, guys. Daniel Vaughn, the BBQ Snob and new Texas Monthly barbecue editor, will never get too big for his brisket. Even though he did hold his most recent book signing for The Prophets of Smoked Meat at a place called Stodghill Manor last Friday, everyone wore “barbecue attire,” drank beer, and dug in to fatty meats with their fingers. I think Mayor Rawlings even popped up at the end, if my eyes didn’t fail me. (I heard he cussed up a storm at the “A Way With Words” charity event last week. 10 points for Gryffindor!)
At Friday’s event, Franklin’s (#1 on TM‘s 50 Best BBQ List), Pecan Lodge (#2), Lockhart Smokehouse(also on the list), and Smoke all made it to the event. Big bad boys in one, big bad place. Aaron Franklin came all the way up from Austin and borrowed a smoker from Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge to make the most beautiful brisket I’ve ever seen. Charred black edges encircled a pink ring around smooth brown meat. That’s what I call teamwork, guys – when the number one and number two best barbecue joints in Texas join forces in the name of friendship. Cool beans.
Continue reading "The Barbecue at Daniel Vaughn’s Book Signing Parties is Lick-Your-Fingers Good"
OK. No more teasing. You’re not surprised. The best BBQ joint in the world is only four years old. It’s @franklinbbq
— TMBBQ (@tmbbq) May 16, 2013
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It’s too dreary outside for me to type. Or maybe I’m just using that as an excuse. Either way, I’m going to let Tait Lifto from Deep Ellum Brewing Co. take it away. He’s more eloquent about beer than I ever will be.
“Announcing our 3rd annual Brew-B-Q and this year should be bigger than ever! The 1st Brew-B-Q we held in the parking lot at Life-In-Deep-Ellum as the brewhouse wasn’t quite open yet. Last year for our 2nd Brew-B-Q, we sold out at max capacity around 800 people. This year, we’ve expanded the brewery into the entire building and thus have more room to spread out but we’re still going to cap the tickets to prevent overcrowding.
There are two different tickets available this year:
General Admission – Brew-B-Q Commemorative Glass, beer, Pecan Lodge BBQ, live music including Vic Duncan Band, Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos, and local headliner Sugarfoote and Co., ‘live’ art by local artist Jason Ice, on-site screen printing of limited edition shirts by ArtLoveMagic co-founder Justin Nygren.
VIP Admission – Brew-B-Q Commemorative Glass, beer, Pecan Lodge BBQ, live music including Vic Duncan Band, Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos, and local headliner Sugarfoote and Co., ‘live’ art by local artist Jason Ice, on-site screen printing of limited edition shirts by ArtLoveMagic co-founder Justin Nygren, one-hour early admission, access to the air-conditioned VIP front tasting room, special tappings of limited DEBC brews in the front tasting room and early admission to Pecan Lodge BBQ.
Sunday May 26, 2013, 5pm-10pm (VIP allowed in at 4pm)
Tickets can be purchased here. Tickets will sell out. Up-to-date info on our Facebook page.”
Holy.. I am late on posting this, but Texas Monthly has released its list of Top 50 BBQ Joints in the great Lone Star State. Pretty incredible. This only happens every five years-ish. The last time they came out with a list, it was in 2008. There are 16 out of 50 joints that have made BOTH 2008 and 2013′s list. This probably means the BBQ landscape of Texas is changing fast and rapidamente. (You’ll see that Dallas’ two joints weren’t even on the list in 2008. Back then, Baker’s Ribs was top gun.) And see how this list favors the east? Bradford Pearson, in whatever free time he had, decided to map all the places out for us to see.
So now, dear folks, you know why TM decided to hire Daniel Vaughn. They needed a voracious man to eat and review and deliver. And, yes, I think he delivered. Here’s the list, unranked. The ranked list comes out on May 22.
ALAMO
The Original Willie’s Bar-B-Que
AMARILLO
Tyler’s Barbecue
AUSTIN
Franklin Barbecue
John Mueller Meat Co.
La Barbecue
Lamberts Downtown Barbecue*
Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew
Jump for the rest.
Continue reading "Texas Monthly‘s 2013 Top 50 BBQ List"
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I have just completed D Magazine‘s June cover story: The 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas. Yes, I wrote 100 restaurant reviews and ranked the top 100 restaurants in Dallas. To complete the task, I had to toss out Fort Worth, Grapevine, and the mid-cities. Maybe next time. (Which will not be in my life time.) I’m so tired I thought it would be a great idea to throw a party and celebrate the 100 best restaurants in Dallas. The marketing people agreed.
Join me and many of the 100 best restaurants in Dallas for a giant soiree on May 22 from 6-8PM at Sharon Van Meter’s 3015 Trinity Groves. The festivities will feature food from the top chefs in Dallas and the fare will feature an eclectic mix of haute cuisine, off-the-beaten-path barbecue, and a variety of dishes from ethnic restaurants. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to mingle with an unprecedented gathering of chefs and restaurateurs from the top restaurants in Dallas. Along with the food tastings, there will be cocktails by Brugal Rum, beer by Trumer Pilsner, DJ Jose Guevara, Land Rovers on display and a See’s Candy buffet. Additional sponsors include Express Working Capital and Poggenpohl.
I’m thinking about doing a “Throw a Cream Pie in Nancy’s Face” booth to raise money for my favorite charity. Could happen. Buy your tickets here.
1 Comment »Last night, Jack “Call Me Harvey” Perkins hosted a friends-and-family-and-friends-of-family’s-friends soft opening preview of his new barbecue joint The Slow Bone. TSB is across the street from Off-Site Kitchen on the corner of Wycliff & Irving Boulevard. The former English teacher and football coach at Kimball High School turned burger czar at Maple & Motor is taking a big chance here. There’s never been any doubt the dude’s got kerbangers, just try cutting in line or parking in the wrong spot at M&M. He will cut you (I never get tired of that skit). Perkins makes Harvey Gough look like Eddie Haskell.
The teacher turned chef will be walking the floor of The Slow Bone making sure you’ve got your trays are filled with hickory-smoked brisket, sausage, and pork belly. I didn’t see it on his Facebook page, but I hear he’s offering a free beer to customers who say: “Hey, Jack. SideDish sent me.” Give it a try. Let me know what you think.
Oh, boys and their toys. Hear the plea of this backyard griller: He can’t decide if he wants to buy a status symbol or take the nerdy route to becoming the top griller in his hood.
17 Comments »I’m moving and want to toss my old gas Weber grill. However, several of my friends have turned me on to some devices that would allow me to keep my grill and turn it into a not-so-pretty but righteous griller and smoker. One suggests adding a wireless meat thermometer to my life and another sent me a link to Party Q, a power draft device that uses a fan to stoke the fire when necessary and prevent flare ups. However, that Green Egg sure does look good! Any advice from readers?
In case you haven’t heard already, Daniel Vaughn of Full Custom BBQ put in his two week’s notice at his architecture firm last week. He’s moving on to bigger, brighter, and meatier opportunities, like this new gig that he has with Texas Monthly as the magazine’s official BBQ editor. No joke. That’s his title.
Vaughn is having the best year. This May, his first book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, is coming out under Anthony Bourdain’s new line. Now, with this Texas Monthly announcement, he’s turned his hobby as a BBQ blogger-journalist into a full-time job. So what’ll happen to Full Custom BBQ? “It’ll still be around. It’ll just kinda get mothballed as a reference. Everything that I write will be on the Texas Monthly blog,” says Vaughn. In honor of our ‘cue snob’s journey to stardom, let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Let’s see how all this got started…
THE RISE (AND RISE) OF DANIEL VAUGHN’S BBQ CAREER
March 10, 2009 - Daniel Vaughn, a virtually unknown BBQ blogger, sends Nancy an email asking if she’d consider putting Full Custom BBQ on the SideDish blogroll. In true Nancy fashion, she asks you SideDish folks to make that decision. Y’all said yes. Heck yes.
May 22, 2009 - CNN.com writes a profile about Vaughn. There’s a very sexy photo of him eating barbecue.
3 Comments »The idea of wearing a suit everyday, making a ton of money, and exerting minimal energy sounds pretty appealing to most. Then there’s chef/restaurateur Kenny Bowers. He preferred to trade in that lifestyle for a chance to play with his food without judgment and a minivan with his face on the side.
Bowers is proving that stepping over the edge to do what you love combined with a little quirkiness creates a recipe for success. The native New Englander, who brought us Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill, Kenny’s Burger Joint, and Kenny’s Italian Kitchen, recently tacked on Kenny’s Smoke House to his empire. I met with him at the restaurant to pick his brain a little.
Jacie Scott: How did Kenny’s Smoke House come about?
Kenny Bowers: For the last 25 years, I did a lot of seafood. I did new American stuff at the Wood Grill and Italian. In New England and Boston, there’s no barbeque. So, when I came down here, I was fascinated with it because I didn’t know anything about it. I really became kind of obsessed with it.
Continue reading "People We Love: Chef and Restaurateur Kenny Bowers"
4 Comments »Brian and Christi Rudolph, owners of the Holy Grail Pub, are opening a new Texas comfort food restaurant in Irving. The press release states: “FM Smoke House will feature many smoked dishes such as bacon-injected brisket, beer can chicken, beef short ribs, beef tenderloin and house made hot dogs. Other menu items include Texas favorites such as chicken fried steak, fried turkey breast, chili, and frito pie. Special smoked meats and seafood will be available on a rotating basis in season.”
FM Smoke House will have a full bar, family-style platters, and take-out and catering options.
660 Walnut Ridge Road; operating hours will be 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. daily.
3 Comments »I’m on a Tex-Mex eating marathon. My goal is to cover 17 spots in 7 days. Yesterday, after my second lunch, I spotted H & D BBQ & Grill, the ampersand-friendly barbecue joint that recently opened in the spot formerly known as Vitality House in Promenade Center. I was too bloated to get out of the car, so I snapped this shot from the car. I felt pretty good about discovering a new barbecue joint in Richardson. Then, just before I wrote this post, I Googled the name and there she was: Teresa “Gubbshoe” Gubbins with a full report. She shined the light on owners Dave and Hazel Harrison. Gubbshoe reports Dave’s family has been the barbecue business for 150 years.
Yow. Zah. That’s before the Oklahoma land rush and Far & Away, the worst movie ever made. I don’t remember seeing Tom Cruise or Nicole Kidman eating brisket or ribs in that flick. Go. Eat. Report.
Eater National has released the cover of Daniel Vaughn’s book, The Prophets of Smoked Meats. It’s the first book published by Anthony Bourdain’s Ecco line. Congrats BBQ Snob, may you remember us when you are on CNN. Book due in stores in late spring 2013.

Venison sausage and smoked chicken with Carolina sauce and bourbon-based sauce by True BBQ. photos by Melisa Oporto
We sent photography intern Melisa Oporto off with her camera and a mission to capture the atmosphere at the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ Festival in Oak Cliff last Saturday. Clyde Biggins was there, of course, waving roasted legs in the air and having a ball of a time. Kids played in the grass, blues bands sang under trees, and man’s best friends enjoyed the great outdoors. You could smell barbecue in the air. D‘s Creative Director Todd Johnson, who acted as one of the meat-eating judges, said he was blindfolded as he consumed forty pieces of chicken and pulled pork. Another table of judges had the honor of tasting brisket and ribs. When Todd sent me a list of all the winners (pasted down below), he said it made him burp just looking at the list. I don’t envy him, but you might after you take a look at Melisa’s photo essay.
Jump and drool. Go ahead, we won’t judge you.
Continue reading "A Photo Essay of the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ Festival in Oak Cliff"
2 Comments »23 barbecue teams are going to be battling furiously this weekend at the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ Festival in Oak Cliff. This feast, featuring more than 1000 pounds of barbecue, will take place on Friday (5 to 10 p.m.) and Saturday (noon to 6 p.m.) at 715 W. Davis Street, three blocks west of Bishop Arts.
According to Clyde Biggins, who’s been babysitting barbecue longer than I’ve been alive, there’s really no competition. He and his team, the Texas BBQ Posse, are going to win. Plain and simple.
Biggins used to own his own restaurant, Clyde’s Old Fashioned Hickory Smoked Barbecue, until he was arrested for drug charges. From 1993 until 2010, Biggins carried out his term while fellow prison mates called him the most fitting name he could ever own: “Barbecue.” Ever since he’s been back in his Oak Cliff neighborhood, people have been telling – more like begging – him to open a restaurant again. But Biggins is 68 years old. He can’t go to sleep unless his barbecue is fully cooked. And he cooks his barbecue all night long. For now, Biggins is perfectly happy giving away his meats right off the street. (He takes donations.) Police have come and shut him down for not having a food service permit, but then Biggins just finds another corner in East Oak Cliff.
Cooking barbecue is what Clyde Biggins is all about. He lives and breathes it, which is why he’s not worried about the 22 other teams at the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ Festival. The only hindrance he has right now is a collapsed canopy on top of his pit.
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