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
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to chat with Michael Fulmer from the Houston BBQ Festival. He's someone I’ve been friends with since I first got into the BBQ world. Back when Twitter was the only game in town. Since then he has always been encouraging, generous, and helpful. Not only is he a great resource for BBQ knowledge, but he's a fantastic human who I am honored to call a friend. In this interview we go from his early years in DC to moving to Texas to going to UT to his first real taste of quality Texas Barbecue(hint: it's based in Taylor, Texas). We span his career from Pappas Bros. Steakhouse to Mark's to working for the Killen's Restaurant Group. We go into depth on how he met J.C. Reid(Barbecue Columnist for the Houston Chronicle) to starting the Houston BBQ Festival with him(and in detail about the Festival and the festivals they have created that have branched off of it).
Check out Fulmer on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/fulmerhou
See all things Houston BBQ Festival here: https://www.houbbq.com
This year would have been the 8th year of the festival. It has been postponed until 2021.
See the Houston BBQ Festival on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/houbbq
Check out the Houston BBQ Festival on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/HoustonBarbecueFestival
See all things Killen's Restaurant Group here: https://ronniekillen.com
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Wednesday May 13, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to chat with Ryan Newland from Backline Fabrication in Austin Texas.
Currently his lead time is 2-3 weeks for live fire items and just 2-3 months for smokers/pits.
The best way to get ahold of Ryan is via email here: RYAN@BACKLINEFAB.COM
See all things Backline Fabrication here: http://www.backlinefab.com
Check him out on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/backlinefab
See him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/backlinefab
This story really is about the little things along the way that define your success. Ryan works hard and it shows. We get into his journey from Burbank to the car stereo world to Hollywood where he worked as a set decorator. We then talk about his metal fabrication for tours for Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Pink, and Britney Spears which gave him the knowledge to go into pit building. We talk about his entering a BBQ competition and taking that prize money to buy a 250 gallon smoker. We discuss his work for Bangers Sausage House in Austin, Steven Rossler of Rossler's Blue Cord Barbecue, John Brotherton's Liberty Barbecue in Round Rock, Jay Tinney or Tinney's BBQ and the 1,000 he's doing for Alice's Restaurant at Treaty Oak Distilling. We end with discussing ALL of the items he produces(3 in ones, live fire, Santa Maria style, smokers, & backyard versions).
Check out the The Dawgfatha's BBQ video of a reveal party here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xvODP0SxuM&t=1
Monday May 11, 2020
Monday May 11, 2020
In this episode of '10 Minutes With' I chat with J.C. Reid, the Barbecue Columnist for the Houston Chronicle. We catch up, talk all things Houston Barbecue in terms of what's going on during the pandemic and how restaurants are pivoting to stay open and do business as well as Texas and Los Angeles barbecue. We also get into how you can help the restaurants and employees in need.
See all J.C's pieces here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/j-c-reid
Follow J.C. Reid on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jcreidtx
Check out J.C's website here: https://jcreidtx.com
See my first interview with J.C. here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbKBxVWZRXY&t=2s
See J.C.'s BBQ City Guide for Houston here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRk0psmNwAk&t=1s
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Tuesday May 05, 2020
In this episode of 'Behind the BBQ Front Lines' I talk to Chef Chris Shepherd from Southern Smoke Foundation. We discuss in detail how to donate as well as sign up for relief. We go into how important it is to share this to spread the word as they have a long way to go to assist those restaurant workers from across the United States affected by COVID19.
See all things Southern Smoke Foundation here: https://southernsmoke.org
Donate to Southern Smoke Foundation here: https://southernsmoke.org/support
Sign up for the Emergency Relief Fund here: https://southernsmoke.org/fund
Underbelly Hospitality: https://www.underbellyhospitality.com
Underbelly's Concepts: https://www.underbellyhospitality.com/concepts
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Tuesday May 05, 2020
In this episode of '10 Minutes With' I catch up with AJ Ramirez of AJ's Custom Cookers in Seguin, Texas. He's a sponsor of the podcast and YouTube show, so I wanted him to provide additional information as to what he offers as well as give you more insight into who he is as a person. As far as what he offers, he does a tremendous amount of business with corporate clients, which is helpful during this self-isolation period, as well as work with restaurants, guys doing pop-ups, caterers, and the backyard cook. He can do anything from stainless steel to mild steel and currently his lead time is from 1 year to 14 months. We also discuss his recent injury to his wrist that required surgery and of course all of the pits he's done, especially noting that he is working(or has worked on) pits for folks who are meshing their heritage with Texas style BBQ AND how he is trying to incorporate cooking devices on their pits or trailers to display their unique background.
Here's a list of those:
Texas/Pakistan @texpakq
Texas/Iran @swigandsmokebbq
Texas/Korean @kortexbbq
Texas/Czechoslovakia @lilliansbbq
Texas/Mexican @vaquerostexasbarbq
Texas/Vietnamese @duo0ng
Texas/Philippine @thetexasbbqguy
Texas/Soul @smokeaholicsbbq
He's also worked with Patriotic Pig, Smoke-A-Holics, Derek Allan's BBQ, Dayne's Craft Barbecue, and Brix Barbecue.
You can see his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Y_pq7ZeyLMyeEWQJM_nGg
Call or text AJ here: 817-714-4495
See all things AJ's Custom Cookers here: https://www.ajscustomcookers.com
See AJ's Custom Cookers on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/ajscustomcookers
Check AJ's out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/AJsCustomCookers
Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to talk with John Troxell. He's a photographer, however to call him just as that would not be giving the complete picture. He truly is a visual artist who focuses(among other things) on food(and the people that provide it), the earth, dirt, energy, farmer's markets, local, the ocean, kitchens, restaurants, and street food from San Diego to San Francisco. His work is powerful and dynamic.
Check out TONS of his work on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/troxphotos
See his website here: https://www.johntroxell.com
We go into his journey from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and from the world of food commercials to his current path. Lately, because of the pandemic, he's been documenting the effect that has had on our world.
Check out the YouTube version of this chat here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFxMDDTpAjI
Sponsors:
Treaty Oak Distilling: https://www.treatyoakdistilling.com/
AJ's Custom Cookers: https://www.ajscustomcookers.com/
Monday Apr 27, 2020
Monday Apr 27, 2020
In this episode I chat with Jordan Okun, the host of the Air Jordan: A Food Podcast which is a celebration of Los Angeles and the food that make Los Angeles what it is. We discuss his early days in Westwood, working in the mailroom and being an assistant at ICM, his time working for a drunk of a director on a film to writing his first novel 'LA Fade Away'(https://www.amazon.com/L-Fadeaway-Novel-Jordan-Okun/dp/1451651988). We talk about his screenplay writing, his food writing, and how he began the Air Jordan podcast(and how that evolved). Topics covered within: Goldbelly, RC Provisions, Pat LaFrieda, Shake Shack, Langer's Deli, Brent’s Deli, The Original Tommys, Pink's Hot Dogs, Chef Beran's Dialogue's Short Rib Wellington, Antico's Ice Cream to-go, Lawry's The Prime Rib, Moo's Craft Barbecue, SLAB, Chi Spacca, APL, Flannery Beef, and Petit Trois.
Places to Donate: Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org
James Beard Relief Fund: https://www.jamesbeard.org/relief
Follow Jordan on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jordanokun
Check out the Air Jordan podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/air-jordan-a-food-podcast/id1437334078
See the first of many F Coron stories here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17851064434929779
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
In this episode I catch up with my friend Andy Wang who writes for Food & Wine(among many other publications) with a focus on Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas. He covers the food world not as a critic, but as someone inviting you into the restaurant itself. His articles an introduction to a chef or way of cooking that makes you truly long to visit. On top of that he's a good human and has always been incredibly gracious to me and the show. We talk about how the restaurant world has changed since COVID19 and what restaurants and restauranteurs are doing to cope and innovate.
You can see Andy Wang on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/andywangnyla
You can follow Andy Wang on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/andywangnyla
Here are some recent pieces by Andy: Porto's: https://www.foodandwine.com/desserts/pastries/porto-cuban-bakery-nationwide
Cooking Classes for Kids: https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/online-cooking-demos-kids-chefs
David Kinch - Mentone: https://www.foodandwine.com/news/david-kinch-mentone-pizza-takeout https://www.instagram.com/andywangnyla
Charles Olalia - RiceBar: https://www.foodandwine.com/news/charles-olalia-resurrects-ricebar
We mention some of these(in the write-ups above) as well as:
Moo's Craft Barbecue: https://www.mooscraftbarbecue.com
SLAB: https://www.slabbarbecue.com
The Brother's Sushi(Woodland Hills): https://thebrotherssushi.com
