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BBQ

Summer Food Drive (W – E)

We were working the Scottsdale Culinary Festival this past weekend where a belief in overkill and just-in-case- planning got me there 4 hours early as a preventative measure. I turned out to be correct and this show example will live on in the litany of reasons it pays to plan for contingencies. Upon arrival at 08:00 our booth for the upcoming show was not even a thought in a meeting planners mind, nothing was onsite or even marked out.

No Boothee! - No Workee!

Organization & Preparation, the first two of the 4 Levers of Cooking™ came in handy as I rounded up some help and got the process rolling. Sitting around waiting for the booth prep to happen, after lugging in all of our gear to build the booth, I can tell you, even at 8 AM, that the days are getting hotter and that Spring was last week despite what the calendar says. Now it is just about Summer, which is a pain for an event but exciting because its almost time for the Smart Kitchen’s Summer Food Drive 2012 (W – E).

With inadequate amounts of spare time in a small company, and a forced idle due to circumstances beyond your own control, you can, on a hot day when THE BOSS has not yet arrived, try to work on your Summer Food Drive trip and blog about it before either: it is time to get back into the booth building game or before the aforementioned Boss arrives. What the boss doesn’t know doesn’t hurt him, does it???

Summer Food Drive Proposed Route

For the last few years, early summer has been an opportunity to see some rustic places and obscure dives in the more northerly climes. We will likely be heading out of AZ into NM and then into CO to visit a bunch of cheesemakers (mostly goat cheese) . From north of Denver the stops are missing until The Drover Steakhouse in Omaha. As you may know we only eat at the stops so right now we have 900 hungry miles from Sticky Toffee Pudding in Denver to Whiskey Steaks in Omaha, NE. Traditionally, the stretch from Colorado east to Omaha or Missouri has been a challenge. It is hard to find rabid fans of obscure food stops in that stretch. Does anybody have some “You Better Not Miss ‘Em” recommendations for this famished stretch? In fact, we are open to suggestions for anywhere between AZ and the Atlantic.

From the Drover its a relatively short hop to KC, MO for Fiorella’s Jack Stack BBQ and Smokestack BBQ (see below). Depending on the timing there may be encore performances for LC BBQ (one of my favorites) and Arthur Bryant’s (another favorite).

The Pork Sandwich @ LC's in KC Sticks in the Memory! Please Sir, May I Have Some More.

Last year I had the route planned and booked when Susie Timm, of Girl Meets Fork told me she was going to Jack’s Stack BBQ in KC and that it was the best. Susie knows BBQ and I thought <DOH!> since I was going to miss it, in favor of Gate’s BBQ (ho-hum) & Stroud’s Chicken (pretty good especially with a fried chicken theme going on in 2011). Then Saveur Magazine came out for May of 2011 and said Jack’s Stack was one of the best KC BBQ stops. <DOUBLE DOH!! & ERRR!> Now it is 2012 and we can finally try to remedy the situation.

Oh and by the way, SK Chef phoned. He is running late for the Culinary Festival. I can probably get some more detail photo work into this post. Stage 1 is up until KC. Stage 2 will be from KC over to the coast.

Potential Route & Stops in the West

Those are the proposed food stops so far. Specifically they are:

3 creameries (Goat Cheeses) in the Rocky Mountains – James Ranch, Avalanche Cheese Co. & Haystack Cheese Co. Haystack’s Green Chile Jack Cheese won first place in the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) competition in 2011. The “Hand Bandaged Goat Cheddar” at Avalanche sounded intriguing and is also an award winner (3rd place with ACS). Avalanche is also near Paonia, Co. which is idyllic and the home of Chaco Sandals. I don’t know much about James Ranch, except that they raise some heritage goats and that they are 10 miles north of Durango (where I have friends), which is some scenic mountain terrain. They are better known for their Farm Market and were actually pretty non-responsive two years ago. I want to see if that has changed and if they have any product to write about. I am planning to run these by The Roving Cheese Monger.

Colt & Gray for Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was on The Best Things I Ever Ate a few years ago, and hopefully a lunch meeting.

The Drover Steak House in Omaha, NE for the Whiskey Steaks and because 2 Nebraska natives told me last year that I should have chosen The Drover over Gorat’s Steakhouse. One of the Nebraska native was Dan Morgan of Morgan Ranch who runs an American Wagyu Cattle Operation and should know something about it. To see Dan’s place and operation you can see our video of Morgan Ranch on the Smart Kitchen Channel on Youtube.

2-4 KC BBQ Spots – Fiorella’s Jack’s Stack BBQ, Arthur Bryant’s BBQ, LC’s BBQ, maybe Big T’s BBQ (no website), Bear’s Smokeshack BBQ (no website), and/or Danny Edwards’ BBQ. Do you have any favorites or must visit KC places? The original Smokestack Restaurant was on my list but it looks like it has closed. RIP (rest in rib pieces; they were known for burnt ends)

For KC BBQ, I may have to get out a quarter and do some best 12 out of 13 flips to choose here. Maybe I’ll do the drive-by and see which are passes and which are must visits. Or darn it I can get PRE-EMPTIVE and just hit them all! I WILL GO TO EXTREMES OF BBQ OVERKILL to avoid another Susie Timm or Saveur <DOH & ERRRR!> visit-marring-experience. I will even plan some mileage “A Pied” (French for on foot) along the Missouri River or Appalachian Trail to make up for the caloric overkill.

The non-food spots in the west include gyms, potentially Scott’s Bluff, NE and Jocyln Art Museum in Omaha. They have some Degas and Delacroix, etc. in their permanent collection. The Jocyln seems as nice a spot as any to do some post-prandial strolling after a big steak.

It’s getting to be showtime. SK Chef will be showing up anytime now. Shhh. I will work on the rest of the trip for the next post. Let me know if I am missing anywhere great. By the way, the booth did get built on time and SK Chef did a great job with his knife work. We had a lot of fun seeing so many foodies in person, meeting new friends and new members.

All Tasks in the Right Time Works & The Boss was Happy.

P Chef

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BBQ / Culinary Learning / Events — No Comments
3
Apr 12

AJ’s Best of Arizona 2012

We are either a food nut, or persuasive, or stupid, because this past Saturday we almost talked SK Chef, Eric O’Neill, Smart Kitchen’s President, into skipping a boating event with booze and bikinis to sit in a grocery store parking lot and watch/speak with 3 of the best Chefs in the State of Arizona. The stupid possibility comes into play for not even considering asking for an invitation to the boating event.

The good news for members of the public who are in Arizona or Arizona proximate is that the show will go on again, one more time at the AJ’s on Val Vista & Baseline in Mesa, next Saturday at 11:00 AM.

The series is being hosted by AJ’s Fine Foods and AZ Magazine to celebrate Arizona’s best and its Centennial. It was a really fun, tasty learning event. We picked up some tips, shot some photos & video, nibbled some high-end free samples and spoke with the chefs and a lot of nice foodies.

Bryan Waits to get Started

The first presenter was Bryan Dooley from Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek, Az. who won The Arizona Republic’s Best Barbecue this year. We got to hear of Bryan’s amateur culinary journey barbecuing in pits with his family in the mid-west and then about his professional culinary journey from the Culinary Institute of America to fine dining jobs at the Fairmont to opening his own place: Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue.

For the audience, Bryan demonstrated making his signature rub and then how to apply it to some St. Louis Cut, Pork Spare Ribs. He did not dismount his commercial smokers in Cave Creek but showed how to do some Smoking “Low & Slow” on a Weber Grill with foil-wrapped Cherry Wood.

They look good in 45 Minutes. Imagine them at 5 hours.

While getting everything ready Bryan answered questions from the audience.

The Smoking/BBQ process would have taken 5 to 6 hours but luckily Bryan planned ahead and had some finished Ribs (and Prickly Pear Barbecue Sauce) ready for the salivating crowd right on time at 11.45. Even if the presentation had not been so enjoyable (and we’d not won a trivia prize of a smoky-smelling, in a good way, t-shirt) the rib sample was worth the wait.

And Bryan has a new book, Stories and Recipes from Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue for sale on Amazon.

The New Book Co-Written with Leslie Bay

Tomorrow, we should have Matt Taylor’s demonstration up and then after that Josh Herberts.

If you have a chance to make it next Saturday at Aj’s Fine Foods in Mesa, try to get there.

P Chef

Smart Kitchen

“The Smartest Way to Learn to Cook™”

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BBQ / Seafood / Smart Kitchen News / Summer Food Drive — 2 Comments
8
Aug 11

Summer Food Drive (E-W) 2011 Part 2

19 Smart Kitchen Stops & 4,243 Miles

It is hard to imagine that it is almost time to start the second, return leg, of the Summer Food Drive 2011, but it is. There is consequently a lot of pressure to wrap up Smart Kitchen’s Lesson 7 and get to power blogging on the stops still remaining from The Summer Food Drive, Part 1. And there are some good ones.

We will get to them, perhaps on the road or back in the dessert. The plan as it currently stands is outlined below. Let us know if you have any favorites or thoughts on the stops.

Stop 1 – Mile Marker 237.2 – Jimmy Cantler’s Riverside Cafe

Jimmy Cantler’s Riverside Café is supposed to have unbeatable, Chesapeake Bay seafood. People from the desert should not pass up opportunities for fresh seafood.

Jimmy Cantler’s Riverside Café: 458 Forest Beach Road, Annapolis, MD 21409 (410) 757-1311

Stop 2 – Mile Marker 271.9 – Good Stuff Eatery

Good Stuff Eatery is a restaurant by Spike Mendelsohn, (and his mother Cathy) who became a chef at age 13, eventually attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he won the Francis Roth award. He has worked in the kitchens of Chef Gerard Boyer at the famous Restaurant Les Crayeres in Reims, France, Thomas Keller at Bouchon in Napa Valley, the Maccioni Family at Le Cirque, and Chef Michael Huynh at Mai House in Tribeca, which won two stars from the New York Times only a few months after it opened and was named one of the 10 best restaurants of 2008 by the New York Times. Spike was also a Top Chef Contestant and part of the subject matter of one of our blog post about Learning to Cook Remotely.

Good Stuff Eatery: 303 Pennsylvania Ave S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 (202) 543 8222

Stop 3 – Mile Marker 281.7 – Peking Gourmet

Peking Gourmet has a reputation for its Peking Duck and Jeo Yan Shrimp. This visit is on the Summer Food Drive because of a recommendation by Smart Kitchen friend AllieB.

Peking Gourmet: 6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041 (703) 671 8088

Stop 4 – Mile Marker 392.7 – Q by Tuffy Stone

Q is the BBQ restaurant opened by BBQ champ George Tuffy Stone.

Q Barbeque: 2077 Walmart Way, Modlothian, VA 23113 (804) 897 9007

Stop 5 – Mile Marker 604.7 – JS Pulliam BBQ

JS Pulliam BBQ known as a regional favorite and for hot dogs, BBQ and nostalgia.

JS Pulliam: 4538 Old Walkertown Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27105 (336) 767-2211

Stop 6 – Mile Marker 711.7 – The Pit

The Pit is known for whole hog & pit cooked BBQ. It has a reputation as one of the best Carolina BBQ joints.

The Pit: 328 West Davie Street, Raleigh, NC (919) 890 4500

Stop 7 – Mile Marker 712.1 – Clyde Cooper’s BBQ

Clyde Cooper’s BBQ has been serving slow cooked Carolina BBQ (Pork Shoulder & Hams) since 1938. I ate there once with Mrs. P Chef, before blogging and want to refresh my opinion.

Clyde Cooper’s Barbeque: 109 E Davie St. Raleigh, NC 919 832 7614 (919) 832-7614

Stop 8 – Mile Marker 793.5 – B’s BBQ

B’s BBQ is reportedly such a good Eastern Carolina BBQ that B’s in Greenville sells out early every day. I’m pulling an overnight between Clyde’s and B’s to get there early and make sure I’m not skunked by the local demand chomping down the supply. B’s BBQ is on the NC BBQ Society’s BBQ trail but has no phone, yet alone a web site.

B’s Barbeque: 751 B’s Barbecue Rd Greenville, NC27834 (252) 758-7126

B’s Barbeque on the NCBBQSociety Web Site

Stop 9 – Mile Marker 807 – The Skylight Inn

The Skylight Inn is Pete Jones’ Eastern NC BBQ Joint established in 1947. Whole hogs are cooked over wood coals for 16 hours. There is no website and a report that the new owners are not slinging the Q as Pete would have, but we like to see for ourselves. And the building looks pretty cool.

The Skylight Inn: 1501 S. Lee Street, Ayden NC (252) 746-4113

The Skylight Inn on the North Carolina BBQ Society Web Site.

Stop 10 – Mile Marker 845.9 – Wilber’s BBQ

Wilber’s has been cooking Pork Shoulders and Whole Hogs since 1962 and Hill’s BBQ was on the same site before Wilber and his partner bought the place back then.

Wilber’s Barbeque: 4172 U.S. 70, Goldsboro, NC 27534 (919) 778-5218

Stop 11 – Mile Marker 854.2 – Grady’s BBQ

Grady’s BBQ has been doing Eastern NC style Whole Hog BBQ since 1986. Fans say it is one of the best in the state. They do have a phone but no web site.

Grady’s Barbeque: 3096 Arrington Bridge Road, Dudley NC (919) 735 7243

Grady’s on the North Carolina BBQ Society Web Site.

Stop 12 – Mile Marker 1036.2 – Scott’s BBQ

Scott’s BBQ is a pit cooked South Carolina BBQ joint with a stellar reputation. It was feeling like a long leg from North Carolina to I-10 in Florida, so a visit to Scott’s was in order.

Scott’s Barbeque: 2734 Hemingway Highway, Hemingway, SC (843) 558 0134

Stop 13 – Mile Marker 2472.2 – Alpha Bakery

Alpha Bakery is supposed to make one of the best Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches in Texas. Did you do a double take? I did when I first heard that but surprisingly Texas has one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the U.S. I have been curious about this community and their Asian food in Texas for a long time. It is in the Hong Kong Mall, ground zero for Asian food in Houston, so I will seek out some Pho, Crayfish etc.

Alpha Bakery: 11209 Bellaire Blvd Houston 77072 (281) 988 5222

Stop 14 – Mile Marker 2565.2 – Martin’s Place

Martin’s Place has been in the same family since 1925 & is an official Texas Historical Landmark. Martin’s Place also had a great picture in Saveur’s Recent BBQ Issue. I just had to see it for myself and see if the barbeque was as ordinary as Robb Walsh, formerly a restaurant reviewer at the Houston Press, and author of the Legends of Texas Barbecue an interesting read on BBQ, says it is.

Martin’s Place: 3403 S College Ave, Bryan, TX 77801-3308 (979) 822-2031

Stop 15 – Mile Marker 2767.8 – Taylor Café

Taylor Café is around the corner from the famous Luis Mueller Barbeque restaurant, but I have been to a Luis Mueller location outside of Dallas and can skip it this time. I’m excited to have some of Vencil Mares fabulous Turkey Sausage and smoky Brisket at Taylor Café instead. I couldn’t find a reliable source on the web for their hours (they have no website) but phoned and spoke with Scott over there. He assured me they would be open at 8 AM for me the day I pass through from New Jersey.

Quick to smell out an opportunity, Scott managed to wrangle a promise out of me. I promised to make the attempt to get him a Stone Pony shirt (2X because things are bigger in Texas). Apparently, Scott is a Bruce Springsteen fan.

Taylor Café: 101 N. Main St. Taylor, TX (512) 352 8475

No Web Site

Stop 16 – Mile Marker 2798 – Snow’s BBQ

Snow’s BBQ is on a number of lists including Texas Monthly’s as the best BBQ in Texas. Before the BBQarratzi mention that they are only open on Saturdays, I know. I also know I am passing by on a Wednesday. It will be a “one that got away visit.” In three years of doing Summer Food Drives, Mrs. P Chef has never scheduled a convenient start date that puts me in Texas on a Friday (I could wait around a day) or Saturday. Mt. Zion BBQ also in Texas is in the same slot and got away last year.

Snow’s BBQ: 516 Main Street Lexington, TX 78947

Stop 17 – Mile Marker 2924 – Magnolia Pancake Haus

Someplace in my notes I once wrote down that a good place to eat in Texas was the Magnolia Pancake Haus. I don’t remember why, or what was supposed to be so good, but I figure I should trust my past self and honor the old note. Maybe my current self will learn something new. The way my day is scheduled, I will have to push it to make it there by the time they close at 2 PM. Okay now I peeked at the web menu. My past self may have been doing my current self a solid. : )

Magnolia Pancake Haus: 606 Embassy Oaks, San Antonio, TX 78216 (210) 496-0828

Stop 18 – Mile Market 3092 – King Ranch

King Ranch is only the quintessential Texas Ranch, by itself as big as the state of Rhode Island. Ford made its top of the line pick-up trim a Kings Ranch edition. The SmartKitchenMobile is a Ford pick-up, so that is enough for me. Add in the nostalgia, western history, beef innovations like the Santa Gertrudis breed and I’m in for an extra 4 hours or more of driving.

King Ranch: 405 North 6th Street, Kingsville. Texas 78363 (361) 595 -1881

Stop 19 – Mile Marker 4243 – Smart Kitchen

1151 miles and 18 hours or more of drive time left from King Ranch to the Smart Kitchen, The Smartest Way to Learn to Cook,™ and the little P Chef’s birthdays. That is some time to digest and contemplate.

WWW.SMARTKITCHEN.COM, Scottsdale, Az

BBQ / Culinary Travel / Equipment / Events / Girl Meats Fork / Smart Kitchen News — No Comments
26
Mar 11

2nd Annual Arizona BBQ Festival

If you are a vegetarian or a vegetore this is not the blog post for you because it is about, and for, the other team; the Carnivores.*

A Slab of Ribs from Loot N Booty Competition BBQ Team

We will be posting about the 2nd Annual Arizona BBQ Festival where over 20 teams stoked their coals and smoked brisket, chicken, pork, tri-tip,and you name it, for 12-18 hours with delicious results. We were lucky enough, in the Tom Sawyer sense of the word lucky, to be invited by Susie Timm of Girl Meats Fork to help her, and her teammates at Loot n Booty (second in Brisket last year), man their booth.

Loot n Booty Competition BBQ Team

That is a Pink Smoke Ring!

We got video of it too.

It was a lot of fun to watch the competition from “floor seats” behind the tent flap and sort of participate. The only drawback was that at times it felt like being thirsty on the ocean, lots of water, but none to drink, as we served, but did not eat the sumptious BBQ. It was for charity and friendship so we endured.

SK Chef Helping Out the Loot n Booty Team

Feast your eyes on the smokers, the contestants and the product below.

P Chef

Smart Kitchen

“The Smartest Way to Learn to Cook™”

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@Smartkitchen1

180 Degrees

We Didn't Learn the Story Behind the Axes

The AZ Kid

The Kid's Smoker

And The AZ Kid's Ride

BBQ Magic

Big Earl's New in Old Town Scottsdale

The Punny Named Major Woody BBQ Team.

Otis & the Bird Smoker

Detail of Otis & the Bird's Smoker Sign

R&R's Smoker on Wheels

Sin City Smokers from Las Vegas, NV

Smoked to the Bone's Mobile Smoker

Our Kind & Generous Neighbors, Steel City BBQ

Medal Winning Swine Assassins

Wild Catters Q Crew, all the Way from Enid, OK

* We joked about the Pulled Squash Competition for next year, but I don’t think there will be many takers at the KC BBQ Society.

BBQ / Culinary Travel / Restaurants — 1 Comment
3
Nov 10

Pain in the “Ass” – the Veg-ass!

A painful trip to Las Vegas.

If you read the news, you have heard about how hard hit Las Vegas has been by the Credit Crisis. But you don’t really know how bad it is from home. Sure we have restaurant closings and California has them, but the bulk of the closings are marginal operators, a nice way of saying its mostly the weak places that are being weeded out. A healthy culinary thinning of the herd.

On my recent trip, yesterday, Las Vegas’ plight became a personal culinary calamity written on the streets and in the shuttered kitchens of Vegas! Baby, whole blocks and shopping centers were vacant. Strong chain outlets were gone, strong local operators were gone. Casino sponsored vanity restaurants were gone. Three of the big losses I found in the Summerlin suburb of Las Vegas hit me hard and personally.

In the “Go-Go” days the Restaurant Hannah was in Summerlin. Located in Boca Park, at Fort Apache and Charleston Blvd, Hannah was owned by the sister of the family that owns Crustacean in Beverly Hills & San Francisco. More importantly, they had see through acquarium floors, great buzz and “those” noodles. It was a fun, upscale, fusion dining amusement park. R.I.P. Hannah.

The biggest emotional punch in the stomach I’ve had in a few years was the absense of the Salt Lick Restaurant at the Red Rock Casino, an outpost restaurant surely but an outpost (only 4 hours away) of what in my mind is the best BBQ joint in the country. The Las Vegas location, captured the roadhouse feel, and after some opening week kinks, served some real Salt Lick quality BBQ. I guess the remaining locals did not appreciate the gem they had. I expect they wanted BBQ slathered in KC Masterpiece sauce, served in a chain’s, faux folksy, country atmosphere. Sure Las Vegas is not a BBQ town, I get that, but I am a bit peeved (it may be the grief talking) that the number one BBQ place, according to Urban Spoon, in Las Vegas is a Lucille’s chain outlet and the second is a Famous Dave’s chain outlet. I like Lucille’s and dislike Famous Dave’s but come on Las Vegas couldn’t you have had some originality and flair in your BBQ and spared a beauty like Salt Lick?

I am feeling raw. Sure I am adult enough to put two and two together. I knew that Station Gaming was having trouble. If asked, I could have predicted that the locals, the Red Rock Casino’s mainstay, wouldn’t support fine Texas BBQ, especially with the added financial strain of the financial crisis. Vegas has the same problem with BBQ as New York does. Everyone dreams BBQ but in a cosmopolitan melting pot, drawing from so many regions they all dream in different colors of smoke and different colors and styles of sauce. I knew this but still the optimisitic kid in me dared to deny the facts, to dream of the Salt Lick Las Vegas cooking away just a 4 hour drive from home.

Now, that dream is dashed. There is a ”Yard House” sign over the former Salt Lick of my BBQ dreams. It hurts. I can afford another lost slice of innocence & optimisim, like I can afford losig blood. I can barely write.

Parked slewed in the lot, I stared slack jawed, as though at Frankenstein’s Monster. A brew house sewn into that casino backed temple of BBQ. Say it isn’t so, Joe. Clinging to optimism like a life line I pulled out the Smart Phone and surfed desperately for the rumored second location at Santa Fe, Station. Thank goodness it was still in Google. Hoping beyond hope, I dialed and got the hotel operator. Location 2 had not been spared.

I couldn’t even go into Red Rock to say my good bye’s. I have to admit it was too much for me.

BBQ / Burgers / Chefs / Culinary Travel / Dessert / Pie / Restaurants — 1 Comment
30
Jul 10

Summer Food Drive E-W 2010

Where is that $%^& Turn Off!?

The return of the Summer Food Drive is fast approaching. Starting tomorrow P Chef will be on the road for a few days and thousands of miles of food touring. The drive is shaping up to be about burgers, BBQ & Pie, with a few sightseeing, sleep and gym stops along the way. As usual, to further help guard my “A-Bit-Past-Svelt” figure, the only food consumption will occur at designated food stops. So they better be good, or I’m on a “poor-planning” diet.

The main food stops are :

1. Ted’s Steamed Burgers: 1046 Broad St Meriden, CT 06450 Burgers

2. White Manna: 358 River St Hackensack, NJ 07601 Burgers

3. GYM

4. White Mana: 470 Tonnele Ave Jersey City, NJ 07307 Burgers

5. Ray’s Hellburger: 1725 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201 Burgers

6. Seasonal Cook: 416 W Main St Charlottesville, VA 22903 Cookware

7. Rosewood Dairy Bar: 3003 Rosewood Dr Columbia, SC 29205 Pimento Burgers

8. Birmingham Bake & Cook Co Inc 5291 Valleydale Road Birmingham, AL 35242- 7707 (205) 980-3661 Cookware

9. Oxford, MS Just a Cool Town (maybe I can research some Southern Purveyors and find a gym)

10. Craig Bros Cafe 15 Walnut De Valls Bluff, AR 72041 (870) 998-2616 BBQ

11. Family Pie Shop: Across the street in De Valls Bluff, AR 72041 PIE

12. Hot Springs, AR Curious About the Place

13. Hope, AR Curious About the Place

14. Texarkana, Tx Curious About the Place

15. Zion’s Church/Wards BBQ: 2601 Montgomery Rd, Huntsville, TX 77340 BBQ

16. Monument Café: 500 S Austin Ave Georgetown, TX 78626 PIE

17. GYM

18. Texas Pie Company: 202 W Center St, Kyle, TX 78640 PIE

19. Blanco Bowling Club: 310 4th St Blanco, TX 78606 PIE

20. Perini’s Ranch: Hwy 89 Buffalo Gap, TX 79508 Best Steak in US?

21. B&E Burrito: 303 Franklin Street Hatch, NM 87937 (575) 267-5191 @ Green Chili Season – B&E is a 500 mile favorite of mine. If I’m within 500 miles, I’m going. And I’m going even though Mrs. P Chef would disapprove of the B&E, a place that looks like it was built to just to prevent a Breaking & Entering. And it still looks that way, even once you’re inside. I’m never sure that they were’nt just robbed. And then there is the Giant Fly Wrestling. It is a challenge to keep the winged varments at bay. Who thought they’d be partial to both your red and your green chile. But despite the negatives, the flavor is a greater draw and outweighs the negatives 3 to 1. Green chili so hot it makes you cry, okay it makes me cry. But it is also so good that I can’t help taking another painful bite. And then another, and another until the whole nuclear burrito dissappears bite, by painfully good bite, from the tear stained plate.

Resembling a Bunker, Doesn't Protect you From the Heat of their Food.

22. Smart Kitche & Home. ‘Nuff Said.

Look for the updates here or on our Facebook Fan Page.

P Chef’s Hammer Down

Bakery / BBQ / Burgers / New Mexican / Restaurants — No Comments
30
Jul 10

Why a Summer Food Drive?

A Great Treasure of Americana: Holly Springs, MS

The return of the Summer Food Drive is fast approaching. Starting tomorrow your P Chef will be hitting the road solo for a few days and thousands of miles of food touring. The drive is shaping up to be about burgers, BBQ & Pie, with a few sightseeing, sleep and gym stops along the way. I love finding an unspoilt gem like Holly Springs, MS above, being overcome with it, like you never want to leave. But then the road (or Mrs. P Chef) calls and 10 minutes later, you’re lost in a new and exciting and infuriating place. See below for that obscure, GPS defing road to the Phillips’ Grocery burger place outside of Holly Springs.

The road to Phillips Grocery in Holly Springs, MS

The Joy of Searching for the Right Road to that Little Place!

In this instance, after exhausting all possibilities and making a few circuits, the correct road ended up being the little driveway looking thing in the middle. And then once on the right road, another gracious tableau discovered at Phillips’ Grocery, which was built across from a former train station, now abandoned.

It was a Beautiful Find

I was waiting for the Ghost of Casey Jone's to Fly on By

The Front Window of Phillips Grocery est. 1848

You Could Tell it was Est. Before the War 'tween the States

So you drive all this out of the way and you love the look and the feel. The whole abandoned, pre-civil war, ambience thing is like stumbling on a “Faulkneric” mythical Brigadoon. And then you face the real burning question. You haven’t eaten in 350 miles. What will the food be like? That is the curiousity that kills this cat. And the curiousity that fuels my search, mile after mile and year after year, for another perfect, often unobtainable meal.

I was Expecting a Ghost Burger but Got Much Better

In this case the food was good, but not great, not in line with the expectations driven by the distance, or the ambience. In fact the burger was probably decent but got an ambience bump up to “Good” by the whole “Finding Lost Dixie” thing. There should be a 2009 blog post about the actual visit to Phillips’ Grocery, but my point in writing today is to get my psych on for the upcoming miles.

BBQ

Summer Food Drive (W – E)

AJ’s Best of Arizona 2012

Summer Food Drive (E-W) 2011 Part 2

2nd Annual Arizona BBQ Festival

Pain in the “Ass” – the Veg-ass!

Summer Food Drive E-W 2010

Why a Summer Food Drive?

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