BBQ Interview Series - Kevin’s BBQ Joints
A BBQ Interview Series by Kevin’s BBQ Joints focusing on personalities in the BBQ, meat and food world. We dive deep into their history, current projects, and more importantly their passion for BBQ and meat.
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Episodes
Thursday Sep 24, 2020
Thursday Sep 24, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to Eric Wech from FatStack Smokers based out of Sun Valley, California.
See all things FatStack Smokers here: https://fatstacksmokers.com
Check out FatStack Smokers on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/fatstacksmokers
See FatStack on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/fatstacksmokers
Shop for FatStack Smokers here: https://fatstacksmokers.com/shop
Email Eric and FatStack here: info@fatstacksmokers.com
I first met Erik at one of Burt Bakman’s underground BBQ pop ups a few years ago. In Burt's backyard and we talked for a while about barbecue, pits, and got deeply into the subject of welding.
We discuss business in the time of the pandemic. It's actually been better now because so many people are cooking at home. Selling a lot of the smaller models. He was born in Michigan and grew up with a woodworking shop at his house. He's always been a woodworker. We talk Lego and hamsters too. He got into welding by necessity. Doing things cheaply because of a lack of funds. This grew into a career because he was hooked. We talk about how FatStack came about and his connection to his business partner Steve Vartazarian(who is also a lawyer and owns The Brothers Sushi in Woodland Hills).
They offer a 36” and 48" Backyard 'Octo' Pits, a 90 gallon and 110 gallon for the home AND a 120 gallon tank smoker that is similar to the 500 and 1000 gallon ones. They also offer sizes of 250, 288, 500, 750 and 1000 gallon. A cool option is the Firebox griddle top.
Their current lead time is 5-6 months and you can go on their site to buy pits, but the custom ones you must inquire about.
We discussed this museum: Nethercutt Collection https://www.nethercuttcollection.org/Museum.aspx
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to sit down with Kathy and Wade Elkins from Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue in Crockett, Texas.
See Mimsy's Craft Barbecue on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mimsyscraftbarbecue
Follow them on Facebook here: https://bit.ly/32IyLSl
This one was nice because it is in the early stages of the opening of their new restaurant in Crockett that they have been talking about and dreaming about for 5-6 years. In the last 60-90 days the construction has been rapid fire(they broke ground on July 6th). They especially want to thank his mom and stepfather for everything.
Currently they are both working full time(she as an Executive Chef at a country club and he managing and cooking at Reveille). They also have 2 daughters which are being homeschooled. They are moving to Crockett and will be about 12-15 miles from the restaurant
When it does open they plan to have the hours Wednesday through Sunday from 11AM - 8PM.
The timeline so far is: Friends and Family Event in November, December they will be booking some private events and in December/January they hope to have hiring done.
There will be a soft opening in January and the Grand Opening middle of February/or early March. All depending on many factors.
For the menu(which they have basically worked) it will be 5-7 smoked meats, 7-10 sides, and Kathy is going to be doing desserts and baked goods. Then after a month or so they will be adding plates. Burgers will definitely be on the menu as well as blackened catfish and specials.The restaurant capacity is 135 people.
If you want a shirt you can DM or message them. Prices are $ 20 for a shirt and $ 25 if you want it shipped. You an also email wade@mimsyscraftbarbecue.com
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
In this episode I chat with Michael Keskin from Bark City BBQ in Portland, Oregon.
See all things Bark City BBQ here: https://www.facebook.com/barkcitybbq
Check out Bark City BBQ on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/barkcitybbq
Follow Bark City BBQ on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/barkcitybbq
Hours:
Thursday - Sunday
11am - 7pm
Pre-order BBQ here: https://barkcitybbq.square.site
Purchase a Gift Card for Bark City BBQ here: https://squareup.com/gift/68VJ3D2JAQYD3/order
We talk about his journey, living across the country in many different places before settling on Oregon and eventually Portland.
We discuss his menu in depth and how he came up with the name Bark City BBQ(hint Rip City and bark for both wood and brisket) and we get into a ton of different specials which are much different than other BBQ spots and extremely creative.
We talk about how he truly wants to make Portland a BBQ hub and it's working with getting notice from the likes of Daniel Vaughn and David Landsel.
We also go into what it's been like since the pandemic hit and how he has pivoted, adjusted the menu, and even moved his cart to a better area with 13-14 other food pods.
Monday Sep 07, 2020
Monday Sep 07, 2020
In this episode I chat with Cade Mercer from KoKo Ramen and Guess Family Barbecue in Waco, Texas.
See all things Cade here: https://www.instagram.com/cmerc26
See all things Guess Family Barbecue here: https://www.guessfamilybbq.com
Check out all things koKo Ramen here: https://www.kokoramentogo.com
Follow Guess Family Barbecue on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/guessfamilybarbecue
Follow koKo Ramen on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kokoramenwaco
Guess Family Barbecue Hours:
Monday - Saturday - 11am - 8pm
Sunday - 10am - 4(Brunch at Guess is only on Sunday)
koKo Ramen Hours:
Monday - Thursday - 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Friday - Sunday - 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
We start off talking about how hot it gets in a pit room then get into his backstory. He grew up in a small town between Austin and San Antonio near New Braunfels, then moved near Galveston, then onto Fresno, California, then moved back to New Braunfels to work at Rudy's BBQ.
We get into his going to culinary school and how Reid Guess was the chef at Lambert's and called him. We talk about that time at Lamberts, his time at East Side Tavern and hanging out at Hung out Freedman's for a few months where he learned a whole lot from Evan, Chris, Brad and Lane.
He moved to Waco because Reid needed someone to come in to work at koKo because Reid was doing everything. He assisted too on moving koKo the truck to Union Food Hall.
We go into the specials at Guess being a Burger special Monday, Taco Tuesday(using Flores Tortillas), Chicken Fried steak Wednesdays, and a Donut special on Sundays. We got the lowdown on how things are at both spots.
They are both at 50% capacity now for dining in and for Guess they have have a BIG building so they can seat a lot of people if they wanted to.
We go over in depth the Brunch at Guess featuring brisket hash, brisket tacos(again on Flores Tortillas), pancakes AND pulled pork pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and their 'Build your own brunch" where you can add BBQ along with brunch items. He also gives his ideal tray for brunch.
Saturday Sep 05, 2020
Saturday Sep 05, 2020
In this episode I get the chance to chat with Tarik Sykes aka "BBQ With Rik Rik".
See all things BBQ With Rik Rik here: https://linktr.ee/bbqwithrikrik
Get your BBQ With Rik Rik merch here: https://yourxpressions.com/rikrik/shop/home
Follow BBQ With Rik Rik on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/bbqwithrikrik
See the Rik Rik YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBxvkmMJ7BvXXWgmg6niqYQ
Check out his videos on The BBQ League here: https://www.thebbqleague.com
Follow his personal Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/dunkondunks
First off, he's just a good guy. A kind soul who is hard working and has an amazing eye for photography and video.
We talk about his upbringing, all the places he lived, and what brought him to Kansas City. We especially talk about his passion for fire and grilling(some great stories here).
We talk about his connection to Tyler Harp from Harp Barbecue (https://www.instagram.com/harpbarbecue) and his awesome Mother's Day shoot he did for Tyler and family by Tyler's 1,000 gallon smoker.
We talk about his previous projects which include work for XXL Magazine, King Magazine, Sole Collector magazine, SneakerNews.com, and Nike.
We also go into depth about how he will be doing A LOT of cooking and filming it all for his show.
BBQ With Rik Rik sponsors:
Jealous devil charcoal
Kotai Knives
Thermoworks
Vaughn Wood Products
Denny Mikes Rub Company
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
In this episode I chat with Julie and Brian Wright from Wright on Taco Shop in Harleton, Texas.
See all things Wright on Taco Shop here: https://www.wrightontaco.com
Order online here: https://www.wrightontaco.com
Purchase a Gift Card here: https://squareup.com/gift/788BV683KCTGA/order
Follow Wright on Taco Shop on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wrightontacoshop
See Wright on Taco Shop on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/wrightontacoshop
Counter service Hours:
Tuesday/Wednesday 11am - 3PM
Thursday/Friday 11AM -7PM
Saturday 11AM - 3PM
CLOSED - Sunday/Monday Julie and Brian met in college and went in directions not food related. She went into nursing and he worked with his father at their machine shop, however they always knew they wanted to open something of their own.
As Julie's taco business started to grow(from a small yellow trailer that they wish they still had) they took the leave in 2016 to get the brick & mortar. The rest they say is history and their biggest hurdles have been keeping up with demand.
We go over the menu in depth(it's super creative, super fun, and sounds incredibly delicious) and talk about their seating(indoors and out). Most people sit outside where they have a large shade tree.
After listening to their story I know you are going to want to head out to East Texas for their food.
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
In this episode I get the chance to chat with Blane Hunter from Porky Butts BBQ in Omaha Nebraska.
See all things Porky Butts BBQ here: http://porkybuttsbbq.com
See the Porky Butts BBQ menu here: http://porkybuttsbbq.com/menu
Follow Porky Butts on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/porkybuttsbbq
For news and up-to-date info on Porky Butts check them out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/PorkyButtsBbq
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday
Tuesday - Thursday - 11AM - 8PM
Friday and Saturday - 11AM - 9PM
Sunday - 11AM - 7PM They do sell out(especially beef ribs) most often on the weekends and holiday, but you can call ahead.
He grew up in Texas, moved to the east coast for culinary school then found his way to Wisconsin and eventually Omaha, Nebraska. THEN he got into competitions. He's done over 130 competitions, had 85 top 10 finishes, 22 Grand Championships in 9 different states, 7 Reserve Grand Championships, 2016 KCBS National Grand Champion – Team of the Year, 2016 KCBS National Ribs Champion, 2017 American Royal Open World Champion, 2017 American Royal Open Brisket Champion, 2017 King of the Smoker Grand Champion, and 2017 King of the Smoker Brisket Champion(among other accolades).
His menu is creative and he considers it not just a Texas style BBQ joint. More of an American style spot because of everything he offers. Insane sandwiches(one with blueberry bread) and platters that can feed a small group up to a small army.
Porky Butts BBQ is a laidback casual counter service bbq joint where they bring the food to you after you've ordered. The have a full liquor license and are adding onto their already popular curbside/take-out. For delivery they just do Just UberEats.
They are located at:
15475 Ruggles St., Suite 105 Omaha, NE 68116
Email: porkybuttsbbq@gmail.com Phone: (531)466-7343
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
In this episode I chat with Sawyer Lewis from LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, Texas.
See all things LeRoy and Lewis here: https://leroyandlewisbbq.com/
Sign up for their Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/leroyandlewis
Place Online Food orders here: https://my-site-103543-104592.square.site/s/order
Order Merch here: https://leroyandlewisbbq.com/sauce-and-merchandise/
See the on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/leroyandlewis/
Email Sawyer about New School BBQ University classes here: sawyer@leroyandlewis.com
Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday | 11 AM - 8 or 9PM(or sold out)
They are considering doing some late night stuff in late August/September
Buy a LeRoy and Lewis gift card here: https://squareup.com/gift/D4H6Z5W12EY24/order
Note this was recorded right before the two classes which have now come and gone, but follow their social media for updates on new classes coming up.
We talk in depth on how they tackled the pandemic and the struggles and victories along the way. We talk about how they added their Patreon page, online ordering, grocery(for a moment), plates, curbside pickup, bottle sauces which are sold online to ship nationwide, gift cards, and other ways they have gone outside the box to keep things going.
It's very introspective and insightful. They realize they are now dealign with the long game now and plan on keeping things fresh and creative to last through this fog.
