Latest / Chef's PSA Podcast / Revolutionizing Texas BBQ: An Interview with Ali Clem of La Barbecue Ep. 171

Transcript

Revolutionizing Texas BBQ: An Interview with Ali Clem of La Barbecue Ep. 171 · Chef's PSA Podcast

0:00
Hello chefs, this is Chefs PSA. I'm your host Andre Natera.
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Today I'm joined by Allie Clem of Austin's LA BBQ, recently
0:06
awarded A Michelin star. Allie is one of the first
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recipients of a Michelin star in BBQ.
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Today we talk about Texas BBQ at the highest level, her hot takes
0:15
on cooking a brisket, the meaning of legacy, and the
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impact Michelin has had on the BBQ world.
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She's going to tell you today how she cooks a brisket, so pay
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attention. Stay tuned.
0:39
Great restaurants don't always bring customers in.
0:42
Great stories do, because in food, beverage and hospitality,
0:45
what you sell is only part of the story.
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It's the why behind it, the authority you create and the
0:52
experience that you built. Market scale turns expertise
0:58
into content that connects podcasts, video series and
1:02
industry education, not ads assets.
1:08
Market scale has brought run the past and how to manage like an
1:11
executive chef to life real world examples of how great
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content leads the conversation. Because attention is earned and
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the industry doesn't need more noise.
1:20
It needs more leaders. Where do you see the legacy and
1:30
the future of Central Texas BBQ going, but specifically your
1:35
role in it now? Because you're obviously playing
1:38
a big part of that and you're making a major impact, right?
1:41
Heavy question. I know like you're starting out
1:44
with the heavy hitter. I get it.
1:46
I get it. You know, Central Texas BBQ has
1:49
obviously been around for generations and generations and
1:53
it's changed through the time. And I mean, just to say right
1:59
off the bat, I feel like now it's continuing to evolve.
2:05
So there is a future there. But I mean, my, my role in it
2:13
is, is a lot deeper for myself, for myself, because I, I learned
2:18
from John Miller and you know, I, I was married to Leanne
2:21
Miller. We were together for 13 years
2:23
living in that family and. You know, can I interrupt?
2:26
Can you tell people a little bit like that?
2:28
Know nothing about Central Texas BBQ, know nothing about that
2:31
family like. See, I live it.
2:33
So you live it. But but to the audience member,
2:36
they might not know. So can you give us a little, a
2:39
little school in here on the back on the back story?
2:41
So the Miller family, Mueller, lots of people say it, pronounce
2:46
it differently, John said Miller, Leanne said Miller.
2:51
And I think a lot of people say Mueller.
2:54
So we'll just start there. So their grandfather, Louis
3:02
Miller, started Louis Miller Barbecue in Taylor, TX and I
3:07
can't remember the date off the right off the back of my head,
3:10
but so he hired Fred Fontaine to cook BBQ.
3:16
Well, they started in a grocery store, right?
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And they had a butcher counter. And so they started with, you
3:21
know, cooking different cuts of meat before they would spoil
3:24
just so they didn't lose profit. That's how they got into into
3:29
barbecue. And they actually used to they
3:32
used to cook bone in briskets, which is wild to me.
3:36
And that's how it started. But I guess.
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Why is that wild? It Well, have you ever seen a
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bone in? Brisket.
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No, actually I haven't. That's why I'm wondering.
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Oh my. God, it's wild.
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I so I have. Still attached to the cow.
3:48
So it's the whole, it's the whole rib rack on the back of
3:52
the brisket, which is huge. I sourced to a while back just
3:58
just to see what they look like and to see if I could cook them
4:01
or just the process in general. Just because that's just like
4:04
the beginning of what they used to do.
4:07
And I wanted to be able to talk about it and really to have my
4:09
hands and eyes and whatever else on it.
4:12
And they, so they started doing that and moving forward, they
4:22
took over AI believe a gym across the street and made it
4:27
into Louis Miller BBQ. Well, they needed Louis Miller's
4:29
from the grandpa, but Fred Fontaine was the pitmaster over
4:32
there. That's how that started.
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Well, John and Leanne's dad Bobby then I think he was
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drafted in the war a second time, which is bad luck, but he
4:44
took over Louis Miller BBQ. After that next generation John
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started to cook for Bobby and Leanne also worked in there but
4:55
she mainly work like on the line and and as kids they would wipe
4:59
tables. So this is like I mean this
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entire family is immersed into this restaurant.
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They're all making it work. Their mom Trish also worked on
5:07
the line. Leanne would also help like
5:11
create recipes that were non traditional and of course Bobby
5:15
always pushed back, she said. Because Central Texas BBQ is a
5:20
back then was a very traditional thing and it it's not pushed to
5:24
the limit I feel like it is now. What?
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What would be traditional Central Central Texas BBQ back
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then? Well, brisket, sausage and ribs,
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honestly, I, I believe that the pork ribs were definitely a
5:40
thing back then. But brisket and sausage,
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especially in Taylor, with it being German, Czech families
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mainly, they really kind of stayed to that to that
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tradition. So how did you get involved?
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Well, I always say I married into it.
6:00
Yeah, what's the what's the long story?
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The long story is I I've been in the restaurant industry since I
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was 18. I were, where are you from?
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I'm from. I am actually originally I was
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born in Harlingen, TX, down in the valley, but mainly grew up
6:17
in Fort Worth, TX. And then I played soccer.
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That was I was a very competitive soccer player,
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played club since I was 12. Then I moved on to Olympic
6:29
development. So, so sports were really like
6:32
my, my thing, especially soccer. Of course, you know, as a kid
6:36
you get burned out on things. And I decided I wasn't going,
6:41
Long story short on this, I decided I wasn't going to play
6:43
soccer in college and I picked up lacrosse and flag football,
6:47
which is actually extremely competitive in college.
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I had no idea, but a whole lot of fun.
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So my so I'm competitive in nature, right?
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Which I feel like goes into restaurant culture.
6:58
Yes it does. Yes so I got sucked into my 1st
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I feel like real job in college as a Hostess at Chili's in
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Nacogdoches, TX. Shout out to Chili's in
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Nacogdoches, TX. Because I went to Steven F
7:14
Boston and they wouldn't move me up.
7:17
That was a Hostess forever, I feel like.
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And I was like, let me wait tables, let me bartend and my
7:22
manager, I'm not going to say his name, but you know who you
7:24
are, would not move me up. So eventually I got to wait
7:28
tables and and then just I, I loved the pressure, you know,
7:34
like I just like, you just have to really just be on your a game
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with a large section, whatever else.
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And then I'd watch the line. I graduated to Expo and that
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Expo is like, I just, it just feels you just fires that
7:51
dopamine in you or you're just like there's like, you know, red
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just showing up on the on the damn screen and you're just
7:58
trying to get everything out and people return things because the
8:02
kitchen doesn't care. And you know what?
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I would imagine I've never worked in a Chili's, but I would
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imagine it's a fun environment, especially in the kitchen.
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Well, it was a franchise back then and and then corporate
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bought it out and I left. But as a franchise we had a
8:16
little bit more freedom. Yeah.
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And so we would have after parties and whatever else.
8:20
When when the inside the chilies like when everyone leaves, Yeah.
8:24
We would call it Cancun Night. I can't believe I'm even saying
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this. Somebody's being in trouble and
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whatever happened. What was the same GM there?
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No, I think there were two GM's that were there while I was
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there and then. Why was it Cancun night?
8:45
Things got wild. All right.
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Fair enough. Fair enough.
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And I was like, this is, but, you know, back then I was a kid,
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you know, like 19 years old and. I'm like Cancun night sounds.
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Awesome. I was like, this is awesome.
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And it was just like the wait staff that would hang out, wait
8:57
staff, bartenders that would hang out.
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And it was just like. Cancun night sounds like the
9:00
type of thing that that's like really fun and idea gets a lot
9:03
of people fired. Yeah, possibly.
9:08
But, you know, I was, you know, just just a Hostess.
9:12
Slash Expo, right? Right, right.
9:14
But that came with time. But I was there for a few years.
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Corporate restaurant, you can learn a lot.
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And I kind of took that base and I moved on to more of a local
9:24
chain with a local family and I had AI learned a lot through
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them as well. I was there for a couple years,
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moved into management, also did some kitchen work, Expo and also
9:37
Saute. Saute was like one of my
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favorite things. And and then just, you know, 10
9:43
years in East Texas and I was like, you know what?
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I'd gone through a bad breakup. I just bought a house.
9:51
And without airing out all of my dirty laundry, I decided that it
9:57
was time to go. You know, I just maxed out my
10:00
potential there. And I needed to grow.
10:02
I needed to move on. And my cousin and his husband
10:05
live here in Austin. And they were like, just come
10:08
live. Just come move in with us.
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Find whatever job you can just get out of there.
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And I was like, great idea. So I packed up my dogs, my TV,
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my clothes. How old are you at this time?
10:19
I was 28 or 29 and I was, I was ready and to make a big leap
10:28
like that, that after you've been there for 10 years, you
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know, is huge. But it was pretty much like,
10:34
just do it. Like just get it together and
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move on. So I did and it's, it was really
10:41
hard to find a job in Austin. I'm not going to lie.
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It was I, I came in with a resume that I thought was great.
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You know, I'd management experience.
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I've bartended every bar I can get my hands on, from big venues
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to speed bars to restaurant bar and, you know, wait staff.
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I did some training of course, and it wasn't good enough
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because I wasn't a local and I didn't know anybody.
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So what'd you do? So I picked up a barista job in
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Westlake. At Starbucks.
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No, I don't know. I don't even think it's there
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anymore. It's called 360 Uno Trattoria
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and it's off of 360 over there. Al who owns it.
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Nicest man. And I, I actually really love
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the GM there, David. He was super nice and I didn't
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have barista on my resume, right.
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And they do like the traditional Italian coffee, you know, grind
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press, like there's a science to it.
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So I thought that was pretty cool that I could learn
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something to possibly add to my education.
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I hated it for many, many reasons.
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Being there at 5:00 AM. And that sounds terrible.
11:57
Yeah. When you first moved to Austin,
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though, you know, and I was having a good time.
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Yeah, 5:00 AM comes really early. 5:00 AM in Austin when
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you're 29 is not fun. No, it is not.
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Unless you're going to bed. Right, right.
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Yeah, well, I made some connections and just by going
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out and doing whatever and I I picked up a a job at a bar on E
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7th St. It was called Rusty's and they
12:23
had just opened and it was a gay bar that had a dance hall on one
12:28
side and then like a lounge and on the other side and then like
12:32
a outdoor patio space in the back.
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So I started out part time there.
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So mind you, I was still working as a barista in Westlake.
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So I would work from 5:00 AM to let's say about two, go home,
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take a nap for a couple hours and I would ride my bike from
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Cherrywood to downtown to work my bar shift And I would get
12:56
off. It just depends.
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If I came in early, I'd get off, you know, in mid time.
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But if I was to work the clothes I was off 3 so I had two hours.
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Fuck. So, but I mean, I mean, I had,
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it's easier to find a job when you have a job.
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Yeah, that's true. So I didn't care and I knew this
13:16
was going to be forever. And I have a work ethic like a
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maniac, and I don't know if that's good or bad, but that's
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what I got. Well, I would say you're doing
13:28
pretty well. I feel good now.
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Yeah, so how did you get into BBQ?
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So I met Leanne. She came into the bar with one
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of her friends, and she's actually sober at the time.
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It's actually really refreshing to talk to somebody that wasn't
13:44
drunk and weird and, you know, saying and doing weird things
13:48
like drunk people do in bars. And her friend was like, talking
13:52
her up, like, you know, she's a famous photographer.
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And I'm like, oh God, here we go.
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She drives. ABMWI was like, Oh my God.
13:59
I was like, OK, never talking to this person again.
14:02
And she would come in again and again and again.
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It took a few months for me to be like, OK, we can date.
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And because I was very state office, you know, I'm in a new
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city. I don't know what it has to hold
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for me. I was actually being responsible
14:17
with myself and my time at that at that point in my life.
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And I feel like, you know, it was the decision that I made.
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And we were together for 13 years.
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But OK. So I met her brother John, who
14:29
was about to open Jay Miller BBQ, which was a food truck off
14:33
of S 1st St. and I became pretty close with him right off the
14:40
bat. He's charismatic, he's funny,
14:42
he's a fun guy. And he called, it was the the
14:48
morning, the morning they were going to open and it was like
14:51
3:00 AM or something like that. And he called me and he was
14:54
like, Ally, I don't have any onions.
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I need onions. Well, in BBQ, onions isn't
14:57
everything. So I was like, OK, so I went to
15:01
the grocery store and I dropped off some onions and and he had
15:05
one employee, Kevin Kelly. He was a podcast out of
15:09
California, Kevin's BBQ joints and he'd never worked in a
15:14
restaurant before. And Kevin looked like a deer in
15:16
headlights. I walked in and John's pacing
15:20
because he paced and Kevin just didn't even know what to do.
15:24
He was just standing. There and this is what right
15:27
about to open. This was at 3:00 AM.
15:29
He was going to open at 10:30. I was like, John, this is a shit
15:34
show. I was like, what are you going
15:35
to do? I was like, and he just was
15:37
like, I'm I'm too busy to answer questions right now.
15:40
And I was like, OK, this is what I this is what I'm going to do.
15:42
I'm going to go home. I'm going to shower, I'm going
15:45
to take a nap and I'm going to come back and I'm going to help
15:47
you open this place. And and I did, and I never
15:52
hooked back. So when you first started
15:55
helping, what were you doing for help?
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Were you working, you know, in the in doing kitchen help or
16:01
was? For sure I would do some prep
16:03
for him, but again, I never I'd never worked in BBQ before so I.
16:08
Was what year is this? This is 2012.
16:11
OK, yeah. So I'd never worked in BBQ
16:14
before. Like, of course I've eaten BBQ.
16:17
I mean, I'm from Texas, but actually prepping it is like a
16:22
whole other animal, something that I was not even used to.
16:25
I mean, there's like several days process to this.
16:28
So I worked the line where like, I get sides and you know, talk
16:33
to people because John was a surly motherfucker, you know,
16:38
you'd talk shit constantly. And so I immediately was like,
16:45
wow, you know, working in a food truck, first of all, I've never
16:48
done before. And working in BBQ, second of
16:51
all, is something I've never done before.
16:53
So I really kind of attached myself to it immediately.
16:59
And he was like, do you want to come back tomorrow?
17:02
No, he didn't ask me because he never asked me anything.
17:05
He's like, I'll see you tomorrow.
17:08
When you started working with meat and you're starting to do
17:12
the briskets and things like that, what were some of the
17:14
first lessons that you learned that is important when it comes
17:18
to barbecue? Like what?
17:20
What were some of those things? Like have you seen the movie
17:21
Ratatouille where like, OK, make sure you do this, make sure you
17:24
do that. Like they're they're giving
17:26
linguine the tour and you're telling them all the do's and
17:28
don'ts. What does that look like in the
17:30
BBQ world? Well, I didn't learn that until
17:32
later because John, John definitely was a I'm going to
17:36
control everything kind of guy. Yeah.
17:38
So I learned a lot of things by watching.
17:41
I would definitely keep my eyes on him and that was beneficial
17:44
to him. And the first time actually he
17:48
trusted me to even cook anything was probably 3 weeks in, which
17:54
was pretty quick. And I think it was because he
17:57
was like, OK, you've got this. Like you can do this.
18:00
Like you're smart enough pretty much.
18:03
And I started kind of like putting the briskets on.
18:06
Well, he got his briskets pre trimmed so I didn't even turn.
18:10
I had to trim a brisket until much, much later.
18:13
So I would start cooking them little by little.
18:17
Well, he went to the hospital and we had to close on the
18:19
trailer. And I think it was day three.
18:23
And this is at the point where Leanne had bought the business
18:26
from his investors. And Leanne's like, we got to
18:29
open, like we can't just, I mean, money's coming out.
18:33
And he was like, send me Alley, you know, like the fucking
18:35
godfather. Look, send me Alley.
18:39
And I was like, OK. I was like, what?
18:42
You know, he's like my brother, you know, like what, John, he
18:45
was like you, you know, you got this.
18:47
And I was like, got what? He was like, you know, we need
18:49
to open. We have to, you know, we have to
18:51
open. And it was like, he's like,
18:55
you've been watching me. You know, I've, I've told you a
18:58
lot of things. You can do it.
19:01
And I was like, Oh my God. I was like, all right, well, you
19:05
know, you just collect yourself. You think about, I literally ran
19:09
through all the things that I know, all the things that I need
19:12
to know and just kind of went with it.
19:15
So I got up in the morning, season the briskets, put them
19:19
on, cook them sort of like John does.
19:24
But he never told me the full process.
19:27
I only did like a portion of it. And then he would come in and
19:30
pull them off. So it was just kind of like a,
19:33
well, let's just see what happens first day.
19:38
I think they look shit, but it's fine.
19:41
But I only did like, I think 10 briskets.
19:43
I know, I think I did 8 briskets, which I think is the
19:46
least amount of briskets I've ever cooked in my entire life.
19:49
And then it just got better and better.
19:51
And then he came back and it was just kind of like a trial and
19:55
error situation. And now I look back on it and
19:58
I'm like, that is wild because. Brisket I feel like is not that
20:03
crazy to cook if you just know it, you know?
20:07
But when you don't know it, everything's easy when you know
20:11
how to do it right. When you don't know it, you
20:12
overthink it. Yeah, yeah.
20:14
But yeah, so. So yeah.
20:17
And then, you know, family drama happens, things happen, John
20:20
happens. And we ended up having to let
20:24
him go and we opened Love BBQ. We shut down.
20:28
Who's we? Me and Liam.
20:31
So we shut, we shut it down. We gave ourselves three days to
20:37
rebrand, actually make our own sausage in house with the
20:42
shittiest grinder and stuffer you could ever get your hands
20:45
on. But we have any money and we
20:49
just, we went for it. We had John Lewis at the time as
20:52
well and which was beneficial, but he can he changed the the
20:56
cooking process completely. So the hot and fast situation
20:59
that John did went to the low and slow that John Lewis did.
21:05
So I was kind of like, well, you got that I'm going to do the
21:10
trailer. So that was kind of my role for
21:13
the for the longest time. What?
21:16
What is the? What is the trailer?
21:17
What do you mean? By that, so I would like prep
21:19
sides and set up the trailer. Of course, I'd cut on the block
21:24
for over six hours or so, but that was I mean, I was I was the
21:29
meat cutter. And then I would do like, you
21:33
know, I'd the register or like I would countdown the register and
21:36
whatever else. So it was pretty much like front
21:39
of house. Where where was the the location
21:42
first one? It was on S 1st St. and
21:45
Elizabeth, right across from Elizabeth Street Cafe.
21:49
That's right. That's right.
21:50
Yeah. What year was this?
21:52
This was 2012. Wow.
21:56
So a lot of things happened in that time that I got into it.
22:01
And November, November 3rd of 2012, we opened the barbecue and
22:06
we, and I'll never forget we've, we fired John on Halloween of
22:12
2012. So at what point do you go from
22:17
the trailer to the quickie pickie?
22:19
So we moved around a few times because we're food truck.
22:24
No development in Austin is a big deal.
22:29
So we moved from S 1st to 6th and Waller behind Uptown Sports
22:35
Bar and it was just a tiny lot in the back.
22:39
But Ronnie Hernandez, who owned the building and it was his
22:42
family's building, he's going through a massive litigation to
22:45
get it back from from the people that he had that they had leased
22:50
it to. And he was like, just go back
22:53
there, you know, put your lot back, put your trailer back
22:56
there. We'll have a good time.
22:57
I just want a table that I can come to and sit every time I
23:00
come in. We're like easy.
23:02
It was probably our most fun lot.
23:04
That's when the original share of Charlie's was across the
23:06
street and via 313 a bunch of great food trucks.
23:12
And it was just more on the 6th. I mean, it was a blast, but it
23:18
was tiny. Unfortunately, Ronnie got into a
23:23
really bad motorcycle accident, passed away, and it went the lot
23:29
went to his daughter. His daughter was super sweet, of
23:31
course, and was like, look, I don't know what's going to
23:32
happen with this land. You're going to have to pretty
23:35
much look for another spot. So we went to Cesar Chavez and
23:39
I-35, that big lot that's not being developed.
23:44
We were there for a little bit. There's a soup kitchen next door
23:48
to it, which created a lot of traffic that was not beneficial
23:53
to us late at night when I had my cooks there, they just
23:57
weren't safe. So we had to break that lease
24:02
for safety reasons. And we moved to East Cesar
24:06
Chavez, down the street next to what was Stay Gold back then.
24:11
And that was a great lot. We were there for two years, I
24:18
think 2:00, maybe three years. And then the guy who owned
24:22
Quickie Pickie was like, look, are you looking at him to move
24:25
into a building? I don't want to do food out of
24:28
this Quickie Pickie anymore. So we went over there, we looked
24:31
at it, and at this point we had three smokers, a prep truck and
24:35
a service truck. So we had like a, what I call a
24:37
gypsy camp, if you will. And so that's in the four food
24:42
truck permits. That's a lot.
24:45
Yeah. And the stress of that, and the
24:49
stress of a food truck in general is just hell.
24:51
Yeah, I want to ask you about that.
24:52
But before we get into that, keep going.
24:54
So it was like like a perfect, it was perfect step.
24:58
You know it was a literally like diagonal.
25:01
Crosses. When did you go into quickie
25:03
pickie? We went into quickie pickie.
25:05
Let's see, we've been in four years in the building here and
25:08
then three years before that. Like 17.
25:13
So when the Fairmont Austin was opening up, we rented a house
25:18
behind launderette. And yeah, that was our R&D
25:23
kitchen, right? Because it was, we just turned
25:25
an Airbnb into an R&D kitchen. We had to R&D every recipe for
25:29
like 6 restaurants then had a team in there and we would go
25:32
and cook every day. But for lunch, we would go to
25:34
the quickie pickie at the BBQ every day.
25:36
So yeah, I like to say, you know, when we were when we were
25:41
developing an R&D, we had Michelin star food every day.
25:44
We had our Michelin star lunch daily.
25:46
That's so nice. But yeah, that that, that.
25:49
So it's good memories for me having your BBQ.
25:52
The funny thing was, is most of the people that I was working
25:54
with at the time weren't from Texas, right?
25:56
They were from all over. They had moved here and
26:00
everyone's like, let's go check out the LA BBQ.
26:02
That was always The thing is like LA barbecue.
26:03
And we're like, why is it LA barbecue in Texas?
26:05
Like we would have these these debates.
26:07
Common misconception. Yeah, it's fine.
26:10
At least they're talking about us, you know?
26:12
Yeah, yeah. No, it was great though.
26:13
It was great. It was great.
26:14
It is great BBQ I should say. Thank you.
26:19
But yeah, the quickie picky, you know, I and it was like it was
26:22
like that perfect step. So we were going from a small
26:26
footprint to a little bit larger, but indoor plumbing, you
26:30
know, which was fantastic and security.
26:33
So we fenced in the whole back area with our smokers.
26:36
We had a dish land and I was like, Oh my God, dish land.
26:39
Hello. You know that that was like my
26:42
big deal. I was like, because dishes on a
26:44
food truck as hell. So that was like that perfect
26:48
next step. And I feel like it allowed us to
26:51
grow just enough to allow us to get to where we are now.
26:57
For the people that are listening that often think about
26:59
opening food trucks, what are some of the do's and don'ts in
27:03
hindsight that you would say look before you, before you do
27:06
this, here's some things that you should definitely know.
27:07
Well, sleep now, because you're not going to sleep.
27:11
Also, location. I always say location is #1
27:16
because you want that foot traffic, you want those eyes on
27:20
your trucks. There's, I mean, how many food
27:21
trucks? I mean countless amount of food
27:23
trucks in this in this city, which is fantastic.
27:26
Would you advise people to go to like a food truck park?
27:29
If it is one, yes, these days now things are very different
27:34
now than they were when I was in a food truck.
27:37
Now you have like a grease trap and like, I mean, electricity
27:41
and water and everything is all in your, in your rent.
27:46
You know, when we had to rent a commissary kitchen, which is not
27:49
cheap, but now it's completely different.
27:52
So a food truck park allows for that, which is less of a
27:57
headache than what we would have to do in, in, in the past.
28:00
So I definitely think that's fantastic.
28:03
The one off of Weberville with Desnudo and Crolaches and a a
28:10
few other great ones. I mean, people go there and they
28:13
hang out, you know, and it's great and they have a bar.
28:16
They have a couple bars around there.
28:19
I think that the food truck scene now allows for more space.
28:25
So someone asked me the other day.
28:27
They said, hey, I want to open up a food truck and I told him
28:31
before you go put your money into it.
28:33
Said get a Yeti cooler and try and sell out of your Yeti
28:37
because you can't sell out of your Yeti.
28:39
You're not going to sell out the fucking.
28:40
I'll say, and you're welcome for saving you, you know, 60 grand
28:43
or whatever you were going to put into.
28:44
Right, it's more. Than that so so whatever
28:48
whatever you you spend on the Yeti, you're welcome right.
28:50
Consider that. But what is what is what is some
28:53
of the startup costs look like for people that are getting into
28:55
a food truck? And so startup costs, what does
29:00
that look like? But also, what are some of the
29:02
like the headaches and the stressors that like people just
29:04
don't think about because they only see the glamour of I want
29:06
to have my own food truck. Which I mean, which is great and
29:09
it is fun. I will say.
29:10
I mean, but you you got to you got to really want it first of
29:14
all. But I mean, let's just start
29:18
with buying the food truck, right?
29:20
And you get outfit with everything that you need and
29:23
then also make sure that you have the refrigeration that you
29:25
need, but you can't over pack it because the electricity and A
29:29
food truck is not always there. Also the plumbing, like you got
29:33
to make sure you know that it's very sturdy because it's going
29:36
to be used more than you think it is.
29:38
So I would also say, you know, maybe educate yourself on a
29:44
little bit of plumbing and I, I did some electricity, electric
29:49
work in that food truck, but I would not suggest that.
29:53
But you know, little things like that just to offset some costs.
29:58
That's probably shouldn't be recommended, but it is what it
30:01
is also, so you've got your food truck.
30:06
That's number one. Of course, branding is a big
30:10
deal because I mean, we wrapped ours in a bright yellow with
30:15
rainbows and flying sausages and, you know, all kinds of
30:20
stuff. And it was an immediate eye
30:21
grabber. They're like, what is that, you
30:23
know? And so branding is another one.
30:27
Food truck branding location. And also don't make your menu
30:32
too big. What is typical startup cost
30:35
look like for opening up a food truck in today's dollars?
30:38
What do you think? Well, it just depends on what
30:39
kind of food truck you. Want Let's just say we're
30:41
starting a BBQ food truck. I would have probably about
30:44
$250,000 in your bank account to sit on to get you going to be
30:50
safe. Yeah, and why?
30:53
Well, first of all, let's let's buy your food truck.
30:56
OK? What does that look like?
30:57
Maybe 75 grand. OK, you're going to wrap it.
31:00
That's another, let's say 20 grand with then whatever else.
31:07
I mean, anything else really. And then after that you've got
31:13
to pay rent immediately. You're going to park on.
31:16
Well, you also have to get permitted.
31:18
OK, that's $1000. That's which is not crazy
31:23
considering we just said $100,000.
31:26
But after that you got to pay your rent when you park on the
31:30
lot. Well, so and then you got to get
31:34
your inventory and then you got to start paying your staff.
31:38
Well, then you got to think, OK, you start bringing some money
31:40
in. Well, then you got to pay taxes,
31:42
you know, And it's like, I know, I know.
31:46
It's the bane of my existence. Right.
31:48
I mean, and then you, so your payroll, I mean if you're doing
31:52
it correctly, you've got to pay a payroll company and many, many
31:57
other things just right, just right off the bat.
31:59
So then you got a little got maybe a little bit of a cushion.
32:02
What does your margin look like in BBQ?
32:05
Well. So in barbecue in a BBQ food
32:08
truck, but then also like in just a a general margins for
32:11
food trucks. Just depends on what you're
32:14
cooking. I think the amount of volume
32:17
that you're doing, I mean it, it could be great because your rent
32:25
is a whole lot less in a building, your staff is a whole
32:27
lot less, but you're still trying to make it work before
32:33
you get up off the ground and actually start making money.
32:35
One of the things that you hear often, you hear this a lot more
32:37
than I do because everyone's saying BBQ's so expensive.
32:41
How do you how do you address that?
32:43
I always say you should see what I pay for it.
32:46
Yeah, right. And I know that that's not
32:52
something that everybody wants to hear, but I mean.
32:54
But it's protein. I mean, it's all protein.
32:56
That's. Right, and it continues to go up
33:00
and right now it's the highest that I've seen.
33:02
Briskets are the highest I've seen ever.
33:05
And I use an all natural brisket and that is, you know, is it
33:10
also adds to the to the price, of course.
33:13
And that's not because I'm trying to price gouge people and
33:16
I, I try to stay as competitive as possible.
33:19
I do make sure, you know, to look around and see who's, you
33:23
know, selling the risk it for what?
33:25
And then try to stay competitive in that aspect.
33:28
But I don't, I don't want it. I don't want to make it so
33:32
expensive or people can't come in more than once a month or
33:36
twice a month. So now how do you go from
33:39
Quickie Piggy to where you are now?
33:41
Well, we actually got really lucky.
33:45
We looked around, really want to stay on the East side, and we
33:49
found the building that Mongers used to be in, in down Cesar
33:53
Chavez, like not even a mile. And it was like the perfect
33:58
size, the kitchen. I mean, we don't need a crazy
34:02
amount of space for that. And then we had space in the
34:05
back for our smokers, which is hard to find sometimes.
34:10
So it was like perfect. It's like dropped into our laps,
34:13
I feel. And we kind of built it out in
34:18
the space and designed it in a way that kind of looks like like
34:23
my house. OK.
34:25
You know, with the art on the walls and vibrant colors and not
34:29
necessarily, you know, neons and animals.
34:36
Fuck neon and animals are cool. Yeah, but totally.
34:41
I've got neons in my house too and and some animals.
34:45
So now that you have the location and now you're
34:47
expanding, so now your team is getting bigger and, and also, I
34:52
should say maybe maybe because you won't, but maybe you will.
34:55
But also from a, from an outsider's perspective, the
34:59
reputation is growing. People know who you are.
35:02
You're on, you're on everyone's mind of like, OK, you know, in
35:05
the chef circles who has the best barbecue, You're constantly
35:09
in that conversation. So as you are starting to grow
35:12
and you're bringing people onto your team now you're a leader,
35:16
you're leading a larger brigade. How do you develop the workplace
35:20
culture for this new brick and mortar?
35:24
Love BBQ? Well, you know, that comes with
35:27
time, obviously. And the and the crew.
35:31
Are you, are you thinking about it when you open or are you
35:34
thinking more so about we need to get this done?
35:39
We need to get this done. We need to open.
35:42
I want to see how this works. That's what I kept saying.
35:44
I want to see how this how this building works, how we move like
35:49
the the best, the best way to make it the best, if you will.
35:54
And, you know, we, I came in with the majority of my crew
35:59
from Quickie Pickie and you know, I've, I've have some
36:04
really loyal employees that I love very, very much and they
36:09
rely on me for a lot. And so I broke down the 1st and
36:14
2nd day. I laid on, on the concrete face
36:17
down behind the smokers and shed a few tears because, you know,
36:22
moving because I hadn't worked in a restaurant restaurant or,
36:27
you know, or even organized it and made it work and a long
36:31
time. So and this was a completely
36:33
different space. And I, I just, I mean, it was, I
36:35
was on my own doing this. I mean, I had help, obviously,
36:39
but you know, this was me. I'm doing this.
36:42
Leanne's there. Yes, But you know, this is this
36:47
is my thing. This is what I'm doing.
36:49
And she'll be like, Ali, you'll do it, Ali, you'll do it, Ali,
36:51
you'll do it. And it's like, then I have 10
36:52
things on my list. So had a small break, but we got
36:57
over that hump the next week, You know, I had, I have an
37:02
incredible crew and that's really honestly what it takes to
37:05
run a smooth and successful front of house and of course
37:09
back house as well. But so through that time, I kind
37:15
of started getting people who were more capable, if you will,
37:22
or worked with me like I needed to them to work with me.
37:28
And so now I have like, and I mean like a perfect crew.
37:33
How many are in the crew now? I have 19 total in house and out
37:37
of house which is perfect. How many people are working on
37:41
meats and smokers? I have three pit masters total.
37:46
I have Francisco, who's been with me since 2012, and his
37:50
wife, Two of his nephews, his niece and his son also work with
37:53
me now. And then I have Eli, who is now
37:57
my GM and he's been with me for about four years.
38:01
And then I have Ian, who is 19 years old and he is the
38:04
sweetest, smartest kid and he's just killing it back there.
38:10
So with those three, which is not a lot, which is, but it's
38:13
perfect. And then me and I do all the
38:15
specials and whatever else and fill in when needed.
38:19
It's just, it's great. Was there ever a a moment in the
38:28
in the new building that you ever thought we're not going to
38:30
make it? No, no.
38:32
No, the line was out the door right from from day one.
38:36
From day one. It hasn't stopped.
38:39
Did. Congratulations on winning a
38:41
Michelin star. Thank you.
38:42
It's unbelievable. How?
38:44
How did that feel? You know, people ask me this
38:46
constantly and I still don't have an answer for it to be
38:51
quite honest. What did it feel like when you
38:52
got the call? Did you?
38:54
Did you think that Michelin and BBQ was even going to be a
38:58
thing? No.
38:59
And in fact, we knew they were in town because, you know, the
39:02
rumor mill. And I went to one of my guys
39:06
then and I was like, who's my, my GM at the time?
39:10
And I was like, could you imagine?
39:12
I was like, you know, us getting, you know, a Michelin *
39:16
and we and he was cutting on the block.
39:18
And we both laughed. We're like, yeah, right.
39:20
And just went about our day. Well, I didn't really even
39:25
think, you know anything. And I got an e-mail and and they
39:30
were asking me to submit some photos and then like a small bio
39:35
and I was like, oh shit, let's listen.
39:37
Mean anything, you know, I mean, they could ask a million fucking
39:40
places to do that. So we did.
39:43
And I was like, well, you know, we'll see.
39:46
And then I got invited to the, the award ceremony and I was
39:51
like, holy crap. And I, I emailed Lorena and I
39:55
was like, is this what I fucking think this is?
39:58
And she's like, looks like we're going to Houston, but it still
40:01
doesn't mean anything, you know, and I was like, well, maybe, you
40:04
know, we'll get a mention or something like that because I
40:07
feel like what we do is fantastic.
40:09
But, you know, and, and we do pull in a great crowd, people,
40:13
you know, rave about our BBQ. I love that.
40:15
It's fantastic. But you know, to, to be a
40:18
Michelin star winner is asinine to me.
40:22
So. Hi.
40:24
So we went to the awards, they went through, they went through
40:28
like the majority of everything and.
40:32
I remember watching this like BBQ was right at the end.
40:34
Yes, right. So they announced all the
40:36
starred restaurants in Texas and then they're like, and we have a
40:38
special category or some some shit like that.
40:41
And I was like, what? And I was like, I was, I'd come
40:45
off of a really long week, 2 weeks.
40:49
I had food and wine and then I had a chef series out in
40:52
Horseshoe Bay. That was like 3 days.
40:55
I was out there for four days. And it was like I, I was just
40:58
tired. It was just like back-to-back to
41:00
back. And then I came home, slept
41:02
Sunday, drove to Houston, went Monday and went directly to the
41:05
award ceremony. So I was like, so I came here
41:07
for nothing. Like, you know, but that's just
41:10
me and my, my, my head, just, you know, feeling sorry for
41:12
myself because, you know, we're all human.
41:14
We do that and and then they were like, and now we have this
41:20
and I was like, Oh my fucking God.
41:23
And I was like, and Chris McGee, who had worked with for me, he
41:27
was one of my pit masters and six and Waller and he had gotten
41:31
a big Borman and he was sitting next to me and he patted me on
41:34
the leg and he was like, I hope you're ready for your star.
41:36
You and Evan are about to get a star.
41:38
And I said, don't fucking touch me.
41:40
And I was like, and he of course started laughing because that's
41:43
just how that's how we talk to each other.
41:45
And he just started laughing. And sure enough, I, I got it.
41:51
And you know, they, they ask you to shed your jacket, you know,
41:53
on the stage and they put the chef's coat on you.
41:55
I shed my jacket at my seat and like just I, I like I I it was
42:01
I'm like speechless still to this day.
42:03
And it'll be like a year in November and I still feel like
42:07
it was yesterday. Wow.
42:09
I heard Edgar Rico, who has Niksta, who had gotten best
42:13
young chef, right. He stood up and he's a big dude.
42:17
You know, he's tall and I could hear him screaming and clapping
42:21
or whatever. And I went over and I pointed to
42:23
him, you know, like, you know, and and that was but, you know,
42:28
to be on that stage with all those incredible chefs and I
42:31
knew a a few of them. And you know, Amanda Turner was
42:35
up there and she hugged me and you know she was.
42:37
That's right because they got one for old, right?
42:38
I forgot about that. And, you know, she had some
42:41
really kind words and I just, you know, just, I, I looked
42:45
around, just took it in for a second, you know, standing there
42:48
in that white chef's coat, you know, with, you know, it's being
42:52
live streamed and all of these incredible chefs, you know, out
42:55
in this, this crowd. And I was just like, Oh my God.
42:59
Well, and then they, they call me up and they hand me the mic
43:03
and I'm just like, Oh my God, it's just so overwhelming.
43:06
And I, I just, I can't even believe it at this point.
43:08
Like, how do you, how do you accept this?
43:11
Like what do you do? What?
43:12
What did you say? I just, all I remember is
43:17
saying, you know, we've worked so hard.
43:20
And I also said I'm, I'm trying not to cry.
43:23
And the lady with the MC goes, it's OK, you can cry.
43:25
And I'm like, no, I can't. But you know, then I I think I
43:29
passed on either Evan or John Bates and.
43:32
So I would imagine now the line got longer and now you have the
43:37
the travelling BBQ people that are, I mean you probably already
43:40
had that, but now you get even more the people that want to
43:42
come from all over the world because they want to try the
43:43
BBQ. Strong opinions of the BBQ
43:47
world. So I had no idea.
43:49
Oh man. I mean, chefs are opinionated.
43:51
Like, what do you do with the stock?
43:53
And you know that everyone's right, right?
43:55
But in BBQ it's like holy shit they really are opinionated in
43:59
BBQ. Which is great because it
44:01
creates a passion. Yeah, well, yeah, this passion,
44:03
it's like I have a a chef's PSA meme that I do.
44:05
It's like no matter how good you think your BBQ is, your
44:08
neighbors thinks it's better. There's better.
44:10
Yeah. And I, I love when like people I
44:12
was in, I was in Oaxaca one time and this guy literally stopped
44:16
me. I had a little BBQ hat on.
44:17
He was like, hey, who are you? And I was like, I'm Allie, you
44:20
know, I and he was like, so how do you know LA BBQ?
44:24
I said, well, it's, it's mine. And he was like, what?
44:27
Well, he then he hijacked me for like almost an hour as I have
44:30
two cups of not hot coffee in my hand now to, to talk about
44:34
brisket and how he cooks his brisket and then he shows photos
44:38
and all this kind of stuff. But I love, I love that.
44:40
And I, I always want to be that person.
44:43
And, and, but it's just funny because it's like, you know,
44:47
well, this is what I do. What do you do?
44:49
You know, so let's dispel some BBQ myths, OK?
44:53
I'm very curious because I know we've talked offline about this
44:56
and you know, I've had, I've had Evan on the podcast a couple of
44:59
times when I was just down in, in Houston and I went to Truth
45:03
Barbecue and I saw their operation, which is very
45:05
impressive and had their their BBQ was excellent also.
45:08
And all of you cook brisket just a little bit different.
45:11
Who's right So let's start there.
45:14
Let's start there. Call about who's right now I'm.
45:15
Just nobody's right, nobody's wrong, everybody's different.
45:19
That's why I just say, you know, like I know.
45:21
And when people say whose BBQ is the best in your opinion, I said
45:24
nobody's better, nobody's worse. Everybody's different.
45:26
That's true, you know. And so in cooking processes,
45:30
it's like, what are you familiar with?
45:32
What is best for you? What gets the what gets the
45:35
fucking job done? What would be some of the
45:37
controversial hot takes that you have when it comes to barbecue
45:40
though? Foil on briskets.
45:43
OK. And I know this is going to be a
45:51
good one, OK, But for me, foil on a brisket seems asinine.
45:57
OK, why? It's not necessary, and foil's
46:01
expensive. And if it's not necessary, why?
46:05
Butcher paper. Right.
46:07
So I cook my brisket about 3:00-ish hours unwrapped and
46:12
then we wrap it in butcher paper.
46:14
And then that time we take it to like rotate through the smoker
46:17
as needed and we cook it for another 3:00-ish hours
46:20
depending, and then we pull it all in one.
46:23
So what? How?
46:24
How long is that? So about 6 1/2 hours Max.
46:27
Which seems like corner people might not be long enough.
46:30
People don't believe me. How do you get it done in six
46:33
hours? You know, well, we cook.
46:37
We we do cook fairly hot so people usually cook about 250.
46:41
Some people say 225 which is way too low. 25275 for 12 hours or
46:47
whatever. So what do you?
46:48
Do so I do 325 unwrapped wrap 350 wrapped.
46:56
So we're right, we're cranking up that smoker 25° to cheat that
47:01
stall method. What?
47:04
How for people that don't know like me, I wouldn't be able to
47:09
tell the difference if it's 12 hours or six hours, most like
47:11
most likely. But for people like you and Evan
47:14
and you know some of these other high level BBQ experts, what
47:19
would what would they say is the difference?
47:21
What would you say is the difference between a 12 hour and
47:24
like, is it the texture? Is it the rendering?
47:26
What's different? Or is there I?
47:28
Don't know. I, I honestly, I have not found
47:30
a difference really because I I mean, if it's tender, it's
47:36
tender and if it's rendered, it's rendered.
47:40
If it's got the bark on it, it's got the bark on it.
47:42
So is it just because that's the way we've always done it?
47:44
Maybe, maybe. And.
47:46
And people like to say, oh, yeah, I cooked my brisket for 14
47:49
hours. I'm like, so you spent 14 hours
47:53
on one piece of meat? Yeah.
47:56
I don't know if we talked about this, maybe I was talking with
47:58
someone else. So if, if we did talk about
48:00
this, please let me know. But in in kitchens you're
48:05
working with, everything is working against you, space and
48:09
time both. So I always like to say if
48:12
there's a more efficient way to get to the to delicious result,
48:15
let's let's always explore those options.
48:18
And it seems like it. I'm just just thinking, but if
48:21
you could do twice as many briskets in the same amount of
48:23
time, like, why wouldn't you? Why not?
48:25
Especially if it yields the exact same result, right?
48:28
Am I taking crazy pills? No, OK.
48:31
I mean, I've cooked thousands and thousands and thousands of
48:33
briskets and you know it, if you know it, you know it kind of
48:39
situation. If that's, that's the cooking
48:40
process that you know, I, I know, then that's what I'm going
48:45
to teach and that's what we're going to do.
48:47
In fact, I had AI had a cook that that cooked for me in the,
48:52
in the food truck. And then he came to Quickie
48:55
Pickie to help me when I when we were opening up our brick and
48:59
mortar location and I was like, I've changed the cooking process
49:03
and he was like, what? I was like, this is what I do
49:05
now. And he could not wrap his head
49:07
around it. I'm like just, I almost said his
49:10
name. I was like, just follow exactly
49:13
what I'm doing or what I'm saying.
49:15
I even wrote it out for him time temp, whatever.
49:19
And he still just could not get his head wrapped around not
49:25
cooking it for 12 hours. When he finally saw the end
49:28
result, was he like, does fucking brains melt out as he?
49:30
Yeah, he's like, I don't know. I don't know how you do this.
49:33
So is this something that you came up with?
49:36
No, I mean this. No, this was traditionally how
49:39
John and his dad cooked. They they cooked hot and fast.
49:44
So this is how I learned. So I just kind of like went back
49:48
to my roots, if you will. So do if you started that way,
49:51
did you ever go a different way and then come back?
49:53
Oh, for sure. Yeah.
49:54
So when when John Lewis came in, he did a low and slow brisket
49:58
and he was with us for I think a year and a half or so.
50:02
And we had a few cooks that would come in and they would
50:06
follow his process. But you know, eventually I was.
50:11
And when we went into the quickie pickie, I was like, this
50:14
is this has got to change. You know, I don't, I don't have
50:17
time for this. And then of course, 2020 hit and
50:19
I was the only pitmaster in the bag, me and Francisco.
50:21
So we're the only two cooking. And I was also working up front.
50:26
So again, I was like, I don't have time for this.
50:29
So I literally was like, fuck it.
50:32
This is I'm I'm. This is what I'm going to do.
50:35
Text really, is it different? Is it, you know, from bark or
50:39
anything like that? I.
50:40
Don't think so I. Mean, it's funny, the, the guys
50:44
in Pecan Lodge in Dallas, I know I've known them forever.
50:48
And when I had my restaurant and, and in Dallas, we would buy
50:51
brisket from them because I remember what we were doing like
50:53
a, like a tart flambe with brisket on or something like
50:55
that. But we wanted to be Pecan Lodge
50:57
briskets. We'd go get the briskets from
50:58
them. And I've eaten BBQ before, but I
51:02
didn't really understand. It's like, you know, I'm a
51:04
consumer and I would eat the Pecan Lodge BBQ every single day
51:12
because it was just there. So I was like, I'm, I'm snacking
51:15
on and I'm they do a great job and I would eat it every single
51:17
day. And so one day someone asked me
51:20
like, is there a difference between this barbecue and that
51:22
BBQ? Is it?
51:23
Honestly, it all tastes the same to me.
51:25
But then I tasted that other barbecue and I was like, oh
51:29
shit, it's not all the same. But I had to eat good BBQ every
51:32
day to understand that there's levels, right?
51:36
I had no frame of reference of like what good and bad is.
51:38
And sometimes even trying it for the first time, you don't
51:40
really, you don't fully get what's different between this
51:43
one and that one until you've had it many times.
51:45
You say, OK, there is a qualitative difference between
51:47
A&B. Well, of course.
51:49
And when you say bad BBQ, I mean this is and you know you're
51:52
referencing something that you just don't like.
51:55
Yeah, but it's bad. You know what I'm talking about.
51:57
Sometimes You. Know I.
51:59
Mean like fast food BBQ, like out of the steamer.
52:02
You know that's what I mean. OK, all right, Well, I'll take
52:05
that because, you know, I mean, everybody's got their, I mean,
52:07
sometimes generations of families will, you know, do the
52:09
same barbecue. And I feel like new BBQ
52:15
restaurants, which I mean, I'm fairly new.
52:17
I mean, I'm not generations of, you know, there's not
52:20
generations of barbecue and you know, I feel like we just need
52:24
to to kind of like level up or kind of, let's just say even
52:30
evolve with the times and the recipes to grab attention and
52:38
keep it fresh, keep it new do. You have any other BBQ hot
52:41
takes? Just because you had something
52:45
that is not traditional Texas BBQ does not mean it's fusion.
52:50
What do you mean? Well, I mean, I, we've added
52:52
some things to our menu. Let's just say our size or some,
52:55
some of our seasonings and whatever else.
52:56
And it's from our travels, right?
52:58
We were inspired by that. But a lot of people are like,
53:00
why do you have kimchi on the menu?
53:02
I was like, well, I've spent a month in South Korea and ate a
53:04
ton of kimchi. Came back, I was like, man, we
53:07
need to put up fucking kimchi. It would be great, you know,
53:10
when all these heavy meats and whatever else.
53:12
And I think that a lot of people are like, you know, if it's
53:16
different and then some traditional places, people get a
53:20
little upset or have some opinions, but you're just
53:23
keeping it fresh and like, you know, interesting.
53:27
Yeah, no, that's fair. And obviously everything's
53:30
evolving. The world is much more flat and
53:31
we have, we have the legacy, but we also have our own story, of
53:37
course. Right, back to the opening
53:40
question. OK, What is your impact on the
53:44
future of BBQ? Well, you know, being a woman in
53:48
BBQ is few and far between. And I think when we first
53:54
started in 2012, it was very, very rare.
53:57
I mean, of course there's women in BBQ, all of the United States
54:00
and the world at that. But to have eyes on, you know
54:05
what we were doing and woman in BBQ, I really hope that it
54:09
inspires the future of more women in BBQ.
54:15
That's powerful. Thank you.
54:17
No, it really is. It really is.
54:19
That's that's a lot of inspiration for a lot of people
54:21
listening. I want to ask you as we kind of
54:26
start wrapping up, if you had a Mount Rushmore of BBQ Legends
54:34
and you had to put four people on that Mount Rushmore of BBQ
54:36
Legends, who should be on there? Oh my God.
54:42
Well, I'd have to put Bobby Miller up there, of course.
54:47
You know, Leanne and John's dad. How many people are on there
54:54
454? 4 if you need.
54:56
If you need 5, go ahead. No, I, I would definitely go
55:03
into the Central Texas world and you know, there's that cry
55:07
Smitty's Blacks family that really kind of paved the way for
55:10
the BBQ craze. I would definitely put some of
55:13
their family up there. I mean, that's for but you know,
55:19
I, I really think it would drop back to the original families
55:25
and the original cooking processes for a type of
55:30
recognition for that instead of new school.
55:34
That's just my opinion. That's the only two Oh.
55:37
My God, no, I said. Crites, Smitty's, Blacks and the
55:44
Millers. So I mean, you have been
55:46
seriously, I mean, you got to think about that.
55:47
I mean, that's. About Rushford's legacy, right?
55:49
Right, right. So I mean, and, and Lockhart in
55:52
general is like the original, like, you know, famed BBQ city
55:59
or whatever town. That's that's where.
56:02
And then, oh, you got so well, I mean, of course.
56:04
OK, Tootsie, let's let's let's put Tootsie up there, OK?
56:08
It's, it's super cool to see, you know, when I first started
56:11
cooking, so I started cooking. I don't know, almost 30 years
56:15
ago now and we had to, we had to cook a certain style of food.
56:20
We had to cook Continental is what we called it back then.
56:22
So it was like Italian, French, whatever.
56:25
And we never were really able to explore heritage.
56:29
You know, me being Hispanic, I wasn't able to really explore
56:32
that type of food and even BBQ to a certain extent.
56:35
Not that it's my heritage, but I'm from Texas.
56:37
And even then, I never really explored it because I always
56:40
felt like it's time hadn't come yet.
56:44
And, and in terms of the the all the culinary community accepting
56:47
it. And now I think it's time has
56:51
come, not just for Mexican food, but obviously for BBQ where it's
56:56
bigger than just people that are into barbecues for everybody,
57:00
barbecues for everybody. And I could not be more happy
57:04
for you and all your success and congratulations to you.
57:08
Congratulations on the Michelin star and whether you know it or
57:11
not, you're carrying the flag. Yeah, and congratulations to you
57:15
for for being that proud, flag waving, you know, BBQ 6 hour
57:21
cooker. I always say I don't know, I
57:23
just work there. But before we wrap up, where can
57:27
people find you if they want to keep following along?
57:29
We are at 24 O 1 E Cesar Chavez in east Austin TX.
57:33
We're about a mile ish off of I-35.
57:36
We're open Wednesday through Sunday 11 till sold out Max 6 O
57:40
clock all and they're here's here's something that people
57:44
don't know. We do take pre-orders.
57:46
I don't have a minimum I don't have a maximum.
57:48
You can order, sit with us or take it out.
57:52
And what's the LA BBQ Instagram page?
57:55
LA Under score BBQ with a CUEBARBECUE.
57:59
Got it. Well, thank you for being here.
58:02
Yeah, this is fun. Yeah, we'll do it again.
58:04
I'm gonna bring you and Evan both eyes.
58:05
That would be awesome. Yeah, I love Evan.
58:08
He's great. Yeah, he is great.
58:09
All right, Thank you. Yeah, well, I hope you enjoyed
58:11
that episode. If you want to support the show,
58:12
if you're watching on YouTube, hit the like and subscribe
58:14
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58:19
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58:21
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