I'm sure most of you are getting a little worn down by now with all of the praise and platitudes of our "Meat-up in Texas", but I wanted to offer some thoughts from a fellow that had to make more than a 2-3 hour drive to get there.
First off, I want to thank wcpreston for the inspiration and Panhead John for the great effort in planning and organizing a fantastic get-together.
And fantastic it was! As far as getting there, central Texas is pretty close to central USA and was no giant chore to travel there. Obviously there is an expense that goes with that, but all told it wasn't too expensive and there was great value in it for me.
We stayed at a sweet little auto court that John found in a little town about an hour from Austin in the heart of Cen-Tex BBQ country. This provided a very relaxing environment without all of the hustle-bustle and traffic of a big city. Being a country boy and a burgeoning curmudgeon I really enjoyed the fact that we didn't have to navigate the highways and byways of Austin, in fact I thoroughly enjoyed our trips through the Texas countryside. And that Southern Hospitality was prevalent everywhere we went, quite a refreshing experience for a lad from unhappy, grumpy California.
As far as the group dynamics I would say there was little, if any, awkward moments that many of us experience when meeting people for the first time. I attribute that to our online camaraderie and mutual respect and interests. There were no surprises or funky attitudes and we all bonded quickly as good friends. As I look back on the conversations and interactions it's as if we had known each other for years. I guess in many cases that is pretty true.
As far as the food, many have already extolled the virtues of the great BBQ joints we visited so I will leave it at that. However, I will say that Friday and Saturday night's dinners were every bit as good and memorable as the eateries we visited. Troutman 's and Loren 's generous gifts of the ribeye steaks, John's equally generous side dishes, Uncle Bob 's wife Lee's salad, and TxF 's wife Julia's decadent desserts were as good as it gets for a backyard grill-out. And then Saturday evening we enjoyed an equally amazing dinner when 58limited provided us with 2 excellent briskets from 2 different places to taste, compare, and devour!!
So without blathering on and on, I will summarize by saying that this was an affordable and very rewarding trip for me to make. To cruise around and take in some of the most famous (and perhaps yet-to-be famous) central Texas BBQ joints was an absolute joy! But the most rewarding aspect was to cement and validate in person the friendships that have been forged online with some wonderful people from the Pitmaster Club. For anyone who is seriously considering this trip, or is on the fence, I can say that you would not be disappointed. Jump in the pool, the water (and the BBQ) is great!!!
First off, I want to thank wcpreston for the inspiration and Panhead John for the great effort in planning and organizing a fantastic get-together.
And fantastic it was! As far as getting there, central Texas is pretty close to central USA and was no giant chore to travel there. Obviously there is an expense that goes with that, but all told it wasn't too expensive and there was great value in it for me.
We stayed at a sweet little auto court that John found in a little town about an hour from Austin in the heart of Cen-Tex BBQ country. This provided a very relaxing environment without all of the hustle-bustle and traffic of a big city. Being a country boy and a burgeoning curmudgeon I really enjoyed the fact that we didn't have to navigate the highways and byways of Austin, in fact I thoroughly enjoyed our trips through the Texas countryside. And that Southern Hospitality was prevalent everywhere we went, quite a refreshing experience for a lad from unhappy, grumpy California.
As far as the group dynamics I would say there was little, if any, awkward moments that many of us experience when meeting people for the first time. I attribute that to our online camaraderie and mutual respect and interests. There were no surprises or funky attitudes and we all bonded quickly as good friends. As I look back on the conversations and interactions it's as if we had known each other for years. I guess in many cases that is pretty true.
As far as the food, many have already extolled the virtues of the great BBQ joints we visited so I will leave it at that. However, I will say that Friday and Saturday night's dinners were every bit as good and memorable as the eateries we visited. Troutman 's and Loren 's generous gifts of the ribeye steaks, John's equally generous side dishes, Uncle Bob 's wife Lee's salad, and TxF 's wife Julia's decadent desserts were as good as it gets for a backyard grill-out. And then Saturday evening we enjoyed an equally amazing dinner when 58limited provided us with 2 excellent briskets from 2 different places to taste, compare, and devour!!
So without blathering on and on, I will summarize by saying that this was an affordable and very rewarding trip for me to make. To cruise around and take in some of the most famous (and perhaps yet-to-be famous) central Texas BBQ joints was an absolute joy! But the most rewarding aspect was to cement and validate in person the friendships that have been forged online with some wonderful people from the Pitmaster Club. For anyone who is seriously considering this trip, or is on the fence, I can say that you would not be disappointed. Jump in the pool, the water (and the BBQ) is great!!!
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