Gone but not forgotten. I always stopped in at the Yumm Factory on my way out to the big goat cook-off in Brady, Texas. While they served lots of barbecue, I always opted for one of the better, southern-style breakfasts in the great state.
Outstanding biscuits, fried eggs and country ham and a phalanx of country gals whipping amongst the tables, keeping the coffee cups filled, and dispensing wisdom to the guests.
Brisket was good but not good enough to get filled up on, when my immediate future was filled with barbecue goat.
Rest In Peace Yumm Factory.
When business carried me down to the Bouldin Creek neighborhood a while back I had to stop in at John Mueller Barbecue for a minute to grab some take away barbecue for the fridge at the house.
The ... continue
The Louisiana Legislature has declared Scott, Louisiana, home of the legendary Best Stop, the Boudin Capital of the world.
The prairie art of grinding and stuffing hog guts casings with pork, rice and seasoning to create boudin, has ... continue
Any food sleuths out there? I've got a hot tip for you but you're going to have to work for it. Pictured, a roaring fire upon which several animal heads were left over-night. This is a clear ... continue
Flying under the radar since the 1950s in the world of Texas barbecue is tricky business. With the advent of the modern era of food bloggers, facebookers, myspacers and twitterers, it's difficult to keep your business reserved ... continue
An icon in the world of Texas smoked meat, Cooper's Barbecue out in Mason is the mothership of all the Cooper's that are now scattered around Texas.
Consistency is the bane of all barbecue houses and Cooper's suffers ... continue
Are any words left unsaid about the re-emergence of Taylor, Texas barbecue legend John Mueller? Yes, plenty. A 50,000 word bio of the foul mouthed pit boss could easily be penned and, I predict, do huge business ... continue
I've had a long love affair with Willie's Barbecue located way out MLK in far east Austin, Texas. I first started going there back in the 90s when word on the street had it that Willie was ... continue
Railroad Barbecue is rarely brought up when the conversation turns to the best smoked meat in the Austin, Texas area, but I feel it should at least be in the discussion. Established in 1982, the old wood-floored, ... continue
![Texas Barbecue Photos: The Original Franklin Barbecue In French Place [Austin,Texas]](http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/franklin-300x225.jpg)
Many, many fond memories of the old Franklin Barbecue food trailer in French Place. This is the location of the original smokehouse that started what was to become a national phenomena. I used to love to stroll ... continue
I'm always working on my food photography. I can take a mean picture of a pitboss or an old concrete block building but when it comes to edibles; I've got a long way to go.
But, just like ... continue
Pictured: A 10 pound-plus pork belly, hot off the smoker. I've been experimenting with making my own bacon for some time now and this is one of the pork bellies right after she'd been pulled off the ... continue
Blown away.
We ran down to Swift's Attic during their soft opening week thinking we should get in before the crowds figured out that chefs Clouser and Northcutt have some pretty diabolical plans for the Austin restaurant hierarchy.
As ... continue
I wrote several articles last year during the run up to John Mueller re-entering the world of Texas barbecue. It was the biggest news story of the year in the world of Austin, Texas smoked meat.
By the ... continue
Has the hierarchy of the Austin, Texas barbecue scene been threatened by Lance Kirkpatrick of Stiles Switch Barbecue?
It depends on who you ask. Prior to Kirkpatrick's arrival Austin's top 2 were firmly occupied by John Mueller Barbecue ... continue
I've been reading about Miller's Smokehouse up in Belton, Texas for the past few weeks from the scribes at Full Custom Gospel BBQ and Texas Barbecue Posse.
The men behind those barbecue websites were amped up about Austin, ... continue
We made a barbecue run up to Temple and Belton Texas this past weekend to sample the output at Pit Stop Barbecue and Miller's Smokehouse respectively.
These are two recent discoveries that are prime examples of why ... continue
We're getting excited over here in East Austin. The smell of smoked pig meat is about to begin wafting through the French Place neighborhood as Salty Sow, the newest restaurant from Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso of ... continue
There aren’t a lot of Northern European rib joints that could open in Austin, Texas and earn a good living.
Then there’s De Klos, the reigning king of Dutch-style pork ribs in Amsterdam.
Deep in the heart of Leidseplein, ... continue
Years ago when I first began plotting a visit to Zagreb, Croatia, I went into heavy research mode. The simple fact is this: I view a city through the prism of their approach to coffee, beer and ... continue
After 2 plus weeks on the road in parts of the world where eating Tex Mex is plainly a bad idea [the Balkans, Asia, northern Europe ] I needed a fix in the worst possible way. With ... continue
Good to be home.
While I have deep love for Texas [and Alabama and Kentucky] barbecue every now and again I have to recalibrate by hitting the open road, overseas, to see how the pit bosses on the ... continue
Your manager has been yelling at you all day because his manager has been yelling at him all day. You lumber out of your office at 8:30pm, your ill-fitting suit feeling a size too large for your ... continue
I get a lot of interesting emails on this site. Readers who want to tell me about the restaurant they work in or a taqueria where they had a superb tortilla or perhaps a dive bar where ... continue
Unbelievably good sausage is coming out the tiny smokehouse; Perez Barbecue up in Bartlett, Texas. It's a different style than what I'm accustomed to with sage being the predominant [and delicious] flavor. In business for a quarter ... continue
Anybody on here like Neapolitan style pizza? Then get ready for this: Hot off the tipster button over on the http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/ site we got word about a brand new pizza outfit called Bufalina that's preparing to open in ... continue
A beguiling beauty takes her turn at the microphone at The Red Rooster In Pflugerville, Texas. Once a month or so I like to spread my wings a bit and take flight to the northern reaches of ... continue
Lenoir is the new restaurant on South 1st street by Four Seasons alumnus Todd Duplechan and his wife Jessica Maher.
We decided to try out this prix-fixe only restaurant on its opening day.
Inside a remodeled residential house, the ... continue
One of the greatest pleasures of Texas cuisine is the King Ranch casserole. I've written about it extensively over the years. At one point I got a little hot under the collar when a food writer penned ... continue
One of my very favorite barbecue houses in Austin.
Montopolis is one of our town's oldest neighborhoods [it was its own city before Austin even existed] and you can feel the history in the air as you make ... continue
Coming up soon the old town of Pflugerville Texas will be hosting an event like no other. It's time for some hot oil wrestling y'all. I'll always cherish the memories of the old days at XTC Cabaret ... continue
This is where I take my out of town guests.
Austin's soul food scene is not particularly strong so Galloway Sandwich Shop [still mystified as to the official title of the restaurant-they might make a sandwich or ... continue
No matter how far away from Texas I get I always find influence the great state has on other people's culture. A visit to Vienna Austria last year provided ample opportunity to hang out in a Texas-influenced ... continue
While not in Austin proper, El Rincon is just up the road a bit in verdant Pflugerville, Texas, 13 miles up Cameron/Dessau Road and in the heart of the old downtown area. Open since the 1980s this ... continue
I did what I always do when I'm in a small town in Texas and on the hunt for barbecue. I post up in a parking lot of a quick mart and make idle conversation with strangers ... continue
One of the great old-school Texas roadhouses, Cactus Rose sits quietly alongside hwy 95 just north of that great trove of Central Texas barbecue; Taylor. This is where I go to escape the big city life that ... continue
I'm always on the lookout for a world class hamburger as the form exists, perhaps a notch below my all time favorite food group; barbecue, Texas barbecue to be specific.
During a smoked meat run through Central Texas ... continue
Sometimes to get it just right, you got to do it yourself. Behold 4 racks of baby back pork ribs sizzling away on the big pit.
We were bidding a fond farewell to a couple friends who are ... continue
Never can catch these guys open. I decided to knock out 3 chapters of the Texas Barbecue Book this weekend by running up through Taylor to hit West End Cafe and Barbecue then on to Thorndale to ... continue
Calle Ancha as East Avenue was once referred to by Austin's Hispanic community, has not existed since the 1950s and suffered a killing blow in 1962 when its replacement, Interstate 35 was officially opened.
East Avenue had originally ... continue
Walking down a dark alley with a thick haze of smoke in the air from the barbecue pit, things look pretty promising at Mesquite's Barbecue located hard up against the campus of Texas Tech University. The inside ... continue
In the former Taqueria Arandas #1 building sits a very fine entrant in the Austin, Texas Mexican food world. Taqueria La Playa is where I head when I need bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with jalapenos and served ... continue
Truth be told El Primo was pretty lousy when it first opened. As is my custom when a new cart appears in Austin I hit it good and hard for awhile to get the lay of the ... continue
Famously owned by Sandra Bullock, Walton's Fancy and Staple in downtown Austin is actually a fine place to grab a morning pastry and cup of coffee for a sidewalk breakfast. We haven't spotted Ms. Bullock there on ... continue
![Texas Daily Photo: Mrs Johnson's Bakery [est.1948]](http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DSC07934-300x225.jpg)
The best donuts in Austin by a wide margin. Yes, Ken's has their acolytes as do Krispy Kreme and Round Rock donuts but at the end of the day it's Mrs Johnson who rules the Austin donut ... continue
Impressive pit. Impressive look and feel to J&M Barbecue but the part where the rubber meets the road, the meat, not impressed at all.
The brisket arrives and it's sliced into several good looking hunks but there is ... continue
We had the time of our lives last night at The White Horse, the new bar from old school Austin bartender Denis O'Donnell, a former mainstay at Hole In The Wall.
For once we didn't feel out of ... continue
![Texas Daily Photo: Tom And Bingo's Barbecue In Lubbock Texas [est.1952]](http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DSC01803-225x300.jpg)
This is where the conversation begins on Lubbock barbecue. Tom and Bingo's is the most well known of all the area smokehouses and with good reason. The hickory smoked meats show the hand of a skilled pit ... continue
![Texas Daily Photo: Bigham's Smokehouse In Lubbock Texas [est. 1978]](http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DSC01790-300x227.jpg)
I had a lot of eating to do in a short period of time in Lubbock, Texas recently. Bigham's Smokehouse is one of the local barbecue joints that gets a lot of mention when you're in research ... continue
Rolled out to Lubbock Texas last week for a combination of barbecue research and to help cook a Feast Of The Epiphany supper for an old chef buddy's family; the Walters. I'll be writing more about this ... continue
I've been getting into smoking smaller hunks of meat lately. For years I had no interest in a piece of flesh unless it was in the 15-25 pound range but of late, I've been scaling it back.
To ... continue
Robbie IraDell Storm [ born 1911 ] passed away on New Years Day back in 2009. She was a remarkable woman.Born IraDell Upton she was the 3rd of 10 children born to Ira Upton. I stumbled upon ... continue
High dollar Mexican food in Lubbock, Texas?
Yes.
Josie's Burritos is a legendary Mexican joint out on the western plains of the great state. It's been around forever and has always been known as a good 24/7 source for ... continue
Easy backyard ribyeye steak. Call Longhorn Meats, order 24 oz ribeye, build big fire in smoker, drive to Longhorn, pick up beef, bring home, crust with salt and pepper, char thoroughly on one side, flip, place on ... continue
Surprise!
Another food trailer not keeping their hours. I loaded up the crew in the old Econoline and headed over to Dirty Birds Barbecue, which is located in a little food trailer courtyard on East Cesar Chavez, today ... continue
A glorious 10lb pork shoulder prior to being converted into an enormous batch of tamales. Pork from Longhorn Meat, masa from Fiesta, Hickory wood from Bell County, corn shucks from Fiesta, salt from a big blue Morton's ... continue
This photo was taken at Charlies Steakhouse in Pflugerville Texas.
I'm writing an article about the closure of this restaurant and have been sorting through some old files this weekend.
I'd love to know the story behind this yellowing ... continue
Surveying the landscape of Austin Texas’ exploding food scene is something I do each and everyday. But it is nice, once every few months, to take the measure of our town, one of the great cities of ... continue
![Texas Daily Photo: Arkie's Grill On Cesar Chavez [est.1948]](http://chowpapi.com/wordpress/wordpress-2.8.6/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSC06331-300x225.jpg)
One of the last of the old school meat and 3's in Austin. Established way back in 1948 when Austin was a very,very different place indeed. The old warehouse district of Austin's East Side would've been a ... continue
I'm always on the lookout for premium, homemade tortillas. San Antonio Texas is home to thousands of taquerias each with a mujere in the back quietly rolling or pressing out scratch tortillas by the hundreds. Just another ... continue
I always get a cold chill when the waitress says “we ask that you order everything at once and the kitchen will course the meal for you”.
It never works out.
As is evidenced by our meal recently at ... continue
Sad sight to see. The original Dreamland Barbecue in Tuscaloosa
hawking non meat in a last ditch effort to maintain solvency. The once proud house of pork ribs and pork ribs only is now in the potato and ... continue
They used to be common. I remember when beef chuck ribs were on barbecue menus all over central Texas but they're getting hard to find. Yes, Louie Mueller Barbecue up in Taylor still has them as does ... continue
Happy Holidays. This is the time of year when we all hit the kitchen and flex a little bit harder on our menu planning and execution. Blackened salmon, Etowah County green beans and stone ground grits, for ... continue
When you spend nigh on to a decade under the tutelage of Bobby Mueller [RIP] of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas, your bona fides are not only in order, you’re immediately held to standards higher than ... continue
Peter's Barbecue in Ellinger, Texas is a good, sleeper pick down in Fayette County. It's a stone's throw from Hruska's, the legendary Kolache shop and is just down the road a spell from Gil Vrazel's Barbecue Shack ... continue
I'm always seeking fried chicken in Austin Texas. Yes, I have my main source, my honey hole if you will; Galloway Soul Food down on 12th street, but they only do it one day a week and ... continue
Down in LaGrange Texas sits one of the finest barbecue houses in the great state of Texas. Established in the 1890s this is where we go to get bone in beef brisket, pluperfect Texas hot guts sausages ... continue
Is there a better way to take a break from a hectic last day of Fall in Austin Texas? A bottle of Austin Eastciders and a sidewalk session at Royal Blue Grocery on Congress Avenue in Austin ... continue
Wow. Flat Top Burger Shop just opened up over here in East Austin and other east Austin burger shops are staring down the barrel of a very grim New Year. To wit: Hand Cut Fries make a ... continue
Business was slow coming out of the gate but nowadays Once Over Coffee Bar is like a runaway truck with lines snaking out the door, packed tables and a busy crew hustling out, by my estimation, the ... continue
One of my favorite pit rooms in the state of Texas is at Baldera's down in Waelder, Texas. I've waxed philosophic about this room for years dating all the way back to the ownership of Dan Eureste ... continue
Turf n Surf Po Boys in downtown Austin has a chef from the famous Gilmore cooking family. No, it's not Bryce Gilmore of Odd Duck Farm To Trailer and Barley Swine nor is it Jack Allen Gilmore ... continue
In 1986 Los Comales Taqueria Carnes Al Carbon Mexican Restaurant opened on Austin's east side. Even back then East Austin was chock a block with Mexican restaurants but there is always room for one more, ... continue
Devastating news out of East Austin yesterday morning. The forty year old Tejano nightclub, El Agasajo, "the warm welcome", was destroyed by an early morning fire.
This was where I like to take my pre-prandials before supping at ... continue
Walking north from Istanbul’s Karakoy neighborhood along the eastern shore of The Golden Horn, an estuary that is also the world’s largest harbor, you eventually leave the maritime warehouse district and come upon the Ataturk bridge. As ... continue
Black Sheep Lodge down in South Austin puts out a respectable bacon cheese burger. They can't be troubled with cutting their own fries, instead opting for a frozen potato product issued from some far off convenience food ... continue
Decidedly under the radar, El Asadero is where I retreat to when I need a pluperfect take on the treasured form of Bistec Ranchero. 15 miles south of Austin on fm 812 near Elroy, Texas sits this ... continue
In the high dollar, haute cuisine world of the Napa Valley out in California, black pepper is referred to as the "forbidden spice". It's considered too aggressive by most estimates to be reckoned into an evening's meal ... continue
Rocky Tommaseo severely injured himself in a fall at his restaurant; Rocky and Carlos in the eastern New Orleans suburb of Chalmette back in 2009. He later succumbed after complications arose. He was 94 years of age.
The ... continue
One of the great pleasures of Austin Tex Mex is the enchilada, tamale, crispy taco combo platter from La Reyna down on South First Street in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood.
[caption id="attachment_1678" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Texas Classic"][/caption]
There's a synergy ... continue
Rode by Nuernberg Brauhaus last night and the parking lot was PACKED. I have no idea why they are closing Saturday December 17th 2011 but it can't be for lack of business. I'll have more up later ... continue
This little honkytonk has been one of my favorite watering holes since way back in the 90s. Once Henry's shuttered [RIP] Buddy's Place inherited the title of best Burnet Road drinkery.
That title don't come easy either. What ... continue
If you ever have the slightest opportunity to visit Istanbul seize it. This is a photo of the sun going down on the Golden Horn, an estuary that bisects the city.
If Turkiye interests you click on the ... continue
The girl is crying hysterically and shouting into her cell phone. She's got APD on the line and is kicking up a hell of a fuss. Some miscreant has rammed her car as he was speeding down ... continue
As the headlights circle, competing for space in the darkened parking lot outside Cap City Comedy on a weekend night, one can’t help but wonder if the specter of Bill Hicks is somewhere close by, adrift on ... continue
One of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans has come to San Antonio. I love going to the original on St. Charles Avenue in the Crescent City. An afternoon spent eating oysters on the half shell, drinking ... continue
Unbelievable the level of cuisine coming out of the East Side King food truck parked on the blacktop in front of the Grackle over on e.6th st. Lately it's becoming something of a ritual to eat there ... continue
Who is the mysterious BBQ Jesus? Austin, Texas' barbecue world is buzzing right now with the newest entry into the world of Twitter. Could Aaron Franklin have gone rogue? Why is Mike Sutter of Fedmanwalking so strangely ... continue
Traipsing through Moda on the Asian side of Istanbul I was searching for a Mexican. Back in Texas I'd heard that an hombre had moved over to these parts, settled down with a Turkish gal and went ... continue
The great shame of a great state; you can’t choose who your sons and daughters may be. Perhaps this is why few people are aware of the fact that Carrie Nation was born in Kentucky.
It’s not something ... continue
Legendary Central Texas barman Burwell "Tuff' Knebel hard at work at the bar that bore his name in Pflugerville Texas.
There will never be another like him. continue
After many, many hard nights of drinking and dancing at Araf Cafe in Istanbul's Beyoglu neighborhood I had to have sustenance to sustain me inspite of the fact I was walking back to my hotel with little ... continue
One of East Austin's historic, drinking establishments The White Swan was formerly a quiet little bar that catered to older Black folks and blue collar workers through the week transforming itself into a slightly more raucous young ... continue
In an unsurprising move New Orleans finished in the number one spot in Travel and Leisure's oddball city poll. Now that's a genuinely strange town. Not as a result of a clever marketing campaign but as a ... continue
Team Six Pack walked away with the Grand Champion trophy at the Brady Goat Cook Off this year; 2011. I sampled almost 40 entries in my capacity as a judge as well as as a casual attendee ... continue
Opened in 1934, Mickey's was established as a sort of northern outpost for Austin's drinking set. President Franklin's New Deal was freshly struck, Prohibition had ended the year before and Americans were out to shake off the ... continue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krgDm9KLwB8
I have yet to figure out how to embed video on this site. Wordpress is savvy to such things but unfortunately I'm a Luddite.
I wasn't able to make it to the launch party for Austin Eastcider at ... continue
Fixings: Central Texas Hot Guts project. Fresh jalapenos, heavily seasoned meat, country ham trimmings. We've knocked out 3 batches of fresh sausage in the last month and this was easily the best one. We've discovered a secret ... continue
If you're a bar owner in Texas please stock plenty of Pearl Light beer so that when I show up I can settle in for a nice long session. Oh, lots of Shaver and Hank on the ... continue