TMBBQ15

    

      Each year Texas Monthly magazine invites the "top 50 BBQ joints" to gather together in 1 place to offer to the public what they deem to be the best smoked meats in the state. This year was the 6th annual event.  Pitmasters assembled on the City Terrace of the Long Center for Performing Arts in Austin with an assortment of what they do best.  And that is beef barbecue.



     The event was scheduled to begin at 1pm for general admission ticket holders.  But I decided to arrive early.  While Texans may be laid back, they are not casual about getting somewhere they want to be.  So I found myself standing in line at 11:30 with others eager to sample some good 'cue.  It was there that I met some really nice people, Texans who had come to town just for the event, like me.  But unlike me, they knew exactly which booths to head to first.  And in my discussion with Todd and Stacey I quickly learned the names of the best of the best.  Their advice was borne out by the lines that quickly formed in front of named joints like Franklin's, Pecan Lodge, Snow's, Miller's, Blacks, and Le Barbecue.

     Those lines were very long indeed!  So I tried a different strategy of saving the best till last and headed to booths where the lines were shorter in an attempt to educate my taste buds.  It proved to be a good move as I quickly sampled some smoked meats from Buzzie's, Cranky Frank's, Opie's, Pody's, Hatfield's and Two Brother's.



     And as an interlude I also tamed the spice ingestion with a warm doughnut covered with a cream cheese icing and topped with strawberries from the Airstream trailer/kitchen of Gourdough's.  It was beyond amazing!  



     As I sat savoring every last bite I heard a shout, "Hey Vinny!"  It was Todd's brother, Crazy Dave, a pitmaster of notable repute in his own right who was there to check out the competition.



     Now I guess my reputation is growing in Texas, too.  Just like my waistline from all the eats at TMBBQ15.