The Rib Whisperer - New Logo

We had the pleasure of working with the fine folks over at The Rib Whisperer to develop their new logo for all their BBQ sauces, rubs, and spices. It's really cool to see an idea go from a sketch to an actual label on a bottle of BBQ sauce. You may have seen Trace Arnold on the History Channel traveling the country with his big smoker. He is known for his big personality and his big cowboy hat.  He also owns a local BBQ joint called 3 Stacks in Frisco, Texas. Here is what I came up with for their design:

 

Final drawing

On the bottle!

Fort Worth - The 817 is Worth All the Hype

At one time, Fort Worth had the nickname of "Panther City" due to a story dating back to 1875.  It was rumored that the town had become such a drowsy place, that a panther (mountain lion) had been spotted sleeping on the steps of the courthouse.  In 1876 when the economy boomed due to the Texas and Pacific Railway coming to town, the city embraced the nickname of Panther City.

Things have changed since those days back in 1876.  Fort Worth has recently been named the #1 best downtown in the country to live in by Livability.com.  Fort Worth or as I grew up calling it, "Funky Town" has the true sense of culture that many Texas towns lack.  It has a very artistic side that can be found in the Kimble Art Museum.  It has one of the top Zoos in the state and a fantastic western culture in the Stock Yards.  The people of Fort Worth are friendly and posses a true "good 'ole boy spirit.

Here is a list of just a few things that make Fort Worth great:

• Bass Performance Hall
• Stockyard
• Kimbell Art Museum
• Fort Worth Zoo
• Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
• Omni Theatre
• Amon Carter Museum of American Art
• Billy Bob's Texas
• Cowtown Coliseum
• Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
• Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
• Casa Manana
• Colonial Country Club
• Sundance Square
• And More...

Check out these two videos:

Do214.com - DFW Music, Food, Charity & Happy Hour Events

Do 214 Logo

Do214 is the place to find out what to do in DFW. From the coolest concerts to happy hours, charity and food & wine events, Do214 is your first stop to plan your week. Not only will you find great events all in one place but there is also great giveaways and exclusive events for Do214 subscribers. Signing up is easy and free - sign up today and be the first to know about all of the awesome things happening in DFW!

While Do214 is part of the DoStuff national network, they believe you can't fake local. Do214 is locally owned and operated with offices in Deep Ellum, Texas.

The Easy Slider Food Truck

To launch their Do214 brand, they hosted an event at Trees Dallas, in Deep Ellum.  The screaming Eagle of Soul, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires headlined the night with RC & the Gritz and DJ Rerog opening up the event.  There was ice cold tall boys from PBR and tasty grub from Easy Slider & Bombay Street food trucks.  Hand-drawn shirts by Tumbleweed TexStyles and inked by Pan Ector were available for purchase as well.  There was also a live mural and photo booth by Photomadic.

The Delish Dish Dallas: Chino Chinatown

Dallas is home to an array of delicious cuisines and each speaks to the different palates of the various customers. Chino Chinatown’s executive Chef, Uno Immanivong, creates a uniquely colorful Latin Asian dining experience in the hopping Trinity Groves area. My husband, along with a pair of our closest friends, had a wonderful time from start to finish. Parking, which we all know can ruin the dining experience before it starts, was no trouble and before we knew it we were all sitting comfortably at the bar having red wine suggested by the bartender. As the night progressed, we found the bartender and our server could provide a wealth of knowledge about the drinks and food at Chino Chinatown. Each wine suggested paired perfectly with our food and we were asked to taste the wines before we committed. We all found this to be a welcome request and one that made us feel that our satisfaction was a priority. When we dove into the menu, the whole table was excited to see a plethora of choices. My friend that was joining us is gluten free. Not only did she have a ton of gluten free options to choose from, but the waiter also informed us that most of the entrees could be easily manipulated into gluten free versions. We started out with the duck fat yucca fries and chicken lollipops. The fries were crispy on the outside and had a soft inside; the texture that any respectable fry should have. The dipping sauce was a siraracha ketchup mix that generated the perfect amount of kick without our party reaching for water after every bite! The tasty chicken lollipops also delivered a crispy texture and married both a sweet and savory quality that kept the whole table talking about their deliciousness. Next up was the duck fat fried rice. This is not your everyday fried rice and I mean that in the best way possible. It is full of bountiful shrimp, roasted pork, and a sunny side up egg that the server slices up and tosses into the dish. Who knew a side dish could be such a vital part of a meal?! Finally, our main courses arrived each with its own personality and flair. My girlfriend and I both had the sweet chili glazed sea bass which were cooked perfectly and paired with a Chinese broccoli. My husband tried the steamed buns which were pillowy soft, light, and delicious. My friend’s husband had the short ribs and by the look of his emptied plate, I would say he thoroughly enjoyed every bite. At the closure of our meal, I noticed Chef Uno busy in the kitchen. When our server came back I asked if it was possible to snap a quick photo with her and thank her for such an amazing meal. Just like her cooking Chef Uno was warm and delightful and jumped right into our photo like a long lost girlfriend. Before she left our table she asked if we were having some dessert and when she found out we had not ordered any she sent one over to our table. The cheesecake she sent over had a small kick of jalapeno and a bruleed topping. It really was one of the creamiest cheesecakes I have ever eaten and satisfied the sweet tooth of all. With summer quickly approaching and meal times become a bit less rushed, head out to Trinity Groves and try out Chino Chinatown, the food and service will be well worth the visit. Chino Chinatown at Trinity Groves #110 3011 Gulden Ln. Dallas, TX 75212 469-513-7457

TMBBQ Fest 2013

What makes good BBQ? Is it the burnt end? Maybe its the sauce or the rubs... or maybe its the company you have when you enjoy the Lonestar state's trademark food. If you are from Texas and enjoy BBQ as much as the rest of us then you may want to save this date: November 3rd. TMBBQ is back for another year! at this event they invite their Top 50 Joints that made the list to the TMBBQ FEST. You can't miss out! 

Daniel Vaughn AKA (The BBQ Snob) - "The Prophets of Smoked Meat"

Daniel Vaughn is known as The BBQ Snob and has traveled all across Texas in search of the best smoked meat in the state. An expert in all things barbecue, Daniel Vaughn published his first book "The Prophets of Smoked Meat," a restaurant guide to the best joints in Texas. Vaughn has also kept a BBQ review blog called Full Custom Gospel BBQ.

Check out Vaughn's top 10 Texas BBQ list here. 

  

(Click to purchase)

Barbecue Joints:

• AUSTIN’S BBQ AND CATERING
  Pitmaster: Ron Janow

  Rating: 4.25
• BLACK’S BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: Kent Black

  Rating: 4.25
• BUZZIE’S BAR-B-Q
  Pitmaster: Harold "Buzzie" Hughes

  Rating: 4.25
• CITY MEAT MARKET
  Pitmaster: Gerald Birkelbach (since 1982)

  Rating: 4.25
• COUSIN’S BAR-B-Q
  Pitmaster: Cliff Payne

  Rating: 4.25
• FRANKLIN BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: Aaron Franklin

  Rating: 5
• HATFIELD’S BBQ
  Pitmaster: Kenny Hatfield

  Rating: 4
• HAYS CO. BAR-B-QUE AND CATERING
  Pitmaster: Michael Hernandez; Aaron Hernandez (since 2009); and Omar Serna (since 2012)

  Rating: 4
• HUTCHINS BBQ
  Pitmaster: Tim Hutchins (since 1999)

  Rating: 4.25
• LA BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: John Lewis, Francisco Saucedo, and Chris McGhee

  Rating: 4.5
• LAMBERTS DOWNTOWN BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: Zach Davis

  Rating: 4.25
• LOCKHART SMOKEHOUSE
  Pitmaster: Tim McLaughlin and Will Fleischman

  Rating: 4.5
• LOUIE MUELLER BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: Wayne Mueller (since 2008)

  Rating: 4.75
• MILLER’S SMOKEHOUSE
  Pitmaster: Dirk Miller and Robert Reid

  Rating: 4.25
• OPIE’S BARBECUE
  Pitmaster: Marco Oglesby (since 2007)

  Rating: 4.5
• PECAN LODGE
  Pitmaster: Justin Fourton

  Rating: 4.75
• PODY’S BBQ
  Pitmaster: Israel Campos

  Rating: 4
• SNOW’S BBQ
  Pitmaster: Tootsie Tomanetz

  Rating: 4.75
  
  

Fried Food Capital of Texas

One of the most memorable Fall trips to take in Texas is a trip State Fair of Texas! If you made it out last year then you may know about the tragic loss of one of the most familiar icons in Texas, Big Tex who burst into flames. This year he came back to over see and greet all our fellow Texans as they inhale glorious amounts of battered foods. Lets take a gander at the 2013 Big Tex Choice Awards Winners and Finalists.

2013 Big Tex Choice Awards Winners

Best Tasting: Deep-Fried Cuban Roll

Most Creative: Fried Thanksgiving Dinner

2013 Big Tex Choice Awards Finalists

Awesome Deep Fried Nutella® 

Fernie’s Deep Fried King Ranch Casserole 

Golden Fried Millionaire Pie

Spinach Dip Bites 

Southern Style Chicken-Fried Meatloaf 

Texas Fried Fireball 

DISCLAIMER: YOUR CHOLESTEROL MIGHT RISE WHILE READING THIS POST

Royers Pie Haven

THE PIE HAVEN

Round Top, not to be confused with Round Rock is home to a modest number of 91 people. Something sets this small town apart from the rest, is it that natural southern-hospitality flare, that eclectic antique essence you can feel from every mom and pop business that inherit the land... Or is it something sweeter? Round Top is home to Royers Pie Haven. Lines and lines of people crowd into the welcoming shop just to get a lick of the best pies around.


Yes, Royers Pie Haven is without a doubt most well know for their pies but with perfect pies come a great responsibility to provide a perfect cup of coffee to wash it all down. We don't like to pick favorites but the classic Cinnamon coffee compliments any of their pies perfectly. Royers Pie Haven is a place dripping with creative spirit from the food to the aesthetics of the shop.

THE PIE QUEEN

Everything has a beginning and the founder and mastermind behind the Pie Haven is no other than Tara Royer Steele aka The Pie Queen and the daughter of Bud Royer. In September of 2011 the Haven that served as a home away from home for her customers and an outlet for creativity was up and running!

Pie Queen's Social Medias:
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Blog

THE PIES

The Pie Haven is now coming to Austin and will be right on the corner of 29th and Guadalupe. It is scheduled to open November 5th this year so whenever you come in to Austin stop by and get some pie!

Just a few of our favorite pies straight from the menu to get your mouth watering:

TEXAS TRASH PIE ~ OMP!!

Pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, graham crackers, pretzels and caramel…this is a toooo die for pie!!!

JUNK BERRY PIE aka CRACK BERRY PIE

Yep, named after our dear friends “THE JUNK GYPSIES” who have set up camp just down the road! A mix of a whole bunch of junk…apples, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches with a sour cream topping! To die for!

BUD’s CHOCOLATE CHIP PIE ~ OMP!

The Claim to Fame! It’s like a big Chocolate Chip Cookie with tiny bits of pecans—only better!die for!

NOT MY MOM’s APPLE PIE ~ OMP!

Six whole Granny Smith apples, in a sinful filling of brown sugar and whipping cream AND topped with a pecan and brown sugar strudel…Holy Cow!

THE SHIRTS

If you get a chance to stop by the Pie Haven in Round Top, Texas or go by the Haven located in Austin, Texas in November and be sure to pick up a tshirt with the hand-drawn design of every pie available at the shop! You know it's quality if the Tumbleweed Texstyles team is behind it!

Blue Bell Creameries

We all know that there’s nothing more American than baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet, but as Texans we also know that you can’t eat apple pie without ice cream. And you can’t eat ice cream if it’s not Blue Bell ice cream. Blue Bell has been this state’s leading producer of ice cream since Blue Bell Creameries set up shop in Brenham, Texas in 1907. Blue Bell is as Texan as the flower that gives the company its name. It began as a small regional ice cream maker, not expanding outside of Texas until the late 1980’s. Even today, Blue Bell can only be found in around 20 states in the Southern / Western United States, yet it is among the top 3 best selling ice cream brands in the country. It is even rumored that Blue Bell was a favorite of President George W. Bush. And for all of you ice cream aficionados, tours of the factory in Brenham are available Monday- Friday, 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. With over 60 flavors to choose from, including the very Texan Buttered Pecan, there is surely something available that will make your taste buds sing.

Fuego Tortilla Grill

UT or A&M? This is a question that has devastated relationships, divided houses, and made buying any shade of orange or maroon risky business. So while it’s impossible to make an Aggie like UT and a Longhorn like A&M, what about the cities themselves? Is it possible that the cities in which these Universities are located have local specialties that would please even the rivals? We began our quest to answer this question by exploring College Station, and we found one of Aggieland’s most treasured jewels, Fuego Tortilla Grill.

College Station, Texas. It’s best known for being home to Texas A&M, but to taco lovers it’s known as the proud home of Fuego. Fuego is a medium sized Mexican restaurant located within a couple of minutes of A&M that dishes out great Mexican food at reasonable prices. They have a wide range of Mexican food on offer, but one of their most popular items has a distinctively Texan twist, the Dr. Pepper Cowboy. We tried out the Dr. Pepper Cowboy and we seriously enjoyed the combination of brisket, grilled onions, chipotle cream corn, and jack cheese on a flower tortilla with tangy Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce to pull it all together. The restaurant is always full, even at 3 in the morning you will find a line for the drive through that goes down the street, and the fact that the inside is as welcoming as a regular sit down restaurant means that Fuego is the best of both worlds. It can be convenient like fast food when you want it, or you can sit down with friends and have a great time when you just want to relax.

So back to A&M vs. UT. No, they will probably never agree on football or music, but after trying out Fuego, we found that food is one tie that unites this state. Food is so powerful that we are convinced that even a Longhorn could appreciate a meal in an Aggieland restaurant. 

Tasty Tuesday: Tailgate Food

Football is to Texas what religion is to a priest. We just love it! Nothing is better than watching some football with family and friends. Tailgating, like football, is also a traditional favorite of many Texans. What's a tailgate without some perfect tailgate food?

We gathered some of the best looking and easiest tailgate snack ideas. We hope you will try some of them out next time your watching your favorite past time at home or at the stadium.

Burger Chip

What you will need:

16 large frozen French-fried waffle-cut potatoes (1/3 of a 22-oz. pkg.)
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
2 to 3 tsp. grilling seasoning blend
4 slices cheddar cheese, cut into quarters (4 oz.)
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Mustard, ketchup, dairy sour cream, and/or dill pickle slices

7 Layer Bean Dip

What you will need:

1 can of refried beans

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup of  Pico De Gallo (or to taste)

1 cup of Guacamole

1 cup of Sour cream 

6 oz of pitted black olives
Bag of tortilla chips to serve

Bacon Wrapped Sausage 

What you will need

Sausage

Bacon

(It doesn't more deliciously simple than that folks)

Last but not least to insure you have the best tailgating experience....

Shiner Bock

What you will need:

A cooler

A few close friends

and maybe a few strangers

The Franklin Barbecue Experience

What BBQ line do you know that starts at 6:30am on a Saturday morning? If you guessed the unmistakable Franklin BBQ in Austin you correct! We didn't get there at 6:30 in the morning however. We arrived to contribute to the ever growing line at around 8:20 that morning and discovered that once Franklin opened at 11am we would have about an hour wait ahead of us but we were pretty much guaranteed the best BBQ you could find.

Getting closer to the main entrance! 

At around 9 in the morning Franklin BBQ associates would let us know about how long the wait would be and took estimated orders to insure the amount of meat being served would be enough. Sitting on the concrete in the early hours wasn't bad to start because the Texas heat takes a break from causing heat strokes in the mornings. But once 10:01am came around the corner so did the unforgivable Texas heat, but we were fully prepared and brought umbrellas and refreshments because we knew what to expect. Others opted to find additional shelter from the unforgivable Texas sun posted up near parked cars because the line went through and around the parking lot. Now Franklin BBQ doesn't open until 11am and it closes whenever they are completely sold out of products, at this time a sign that no one want to see is displayed in the window. 

Vintage looking signs like this were displayed throughout the restraunt

The associates are efficient and provide the best customer service even before the doors open. A couple of times before the doors opened a associate would walk down the line selling $2 Lone stars and $3 local beers including Shiner beers as well as a variety of different refreshments which were also available for cash purchase.

Shiner Beers shines bright at Franklin

Lone Star Beer was popular with the crowd

During our wait we counted about 5 huge BBQ pits that were parked behind the establishment. Old school country music filled the tin shade top just about an hour before opening that correlated perfectly with the environment of the restaurant. Aaron Franklin himself was spotted sporting our Texas BBQ shirt! We were lucky enough to snag a quick picture of him.

Aaron Franklin sporting the Texas BBQ TWT shirt

4 Tipsy Texans and 1 lb of brisket later we had our fill of Austin's most prided BBQ joint! Whenever
you are in town be sure to stop by Franklin BBQ. If you love barbecue as much as we do we guarantee you wont regret it.