Podcasts about la barbecue

In this episode of Building Texas Business, I chat with Mike Snavely, CEO of Phunware. Mike details Phunware's evolution from a mobile development agency into a thriving SaaS company delivering high-ROI apps to hotels and healthcare providers. Hear how shifting culture from rigid control to empowering autonomous teams with accountability revived success. Key strategic maneuvers included trimming the workforce judiciously and securing capital patiently. Timely decisions breathe new life into businesses' surfaces repeatedly. We delve into crafting a trusting, candid culture. Difficult conversations are promptly addressed and failures learned foster innovation and resilience. I share that I founded such an environment at a former startup. Mike's unique hobby of creatively mapping dream destinations blends work wisdom with life's pleasures, crafting an episode uplifting attendees' strategies and spirits. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Mike Snavely explains the evolution of Phunware from a mobile solution development agency to a SaaS company that specializes in customized mobile apps for hotels and healthcare institutions. We discuss the strategic decisions and cultural shifts necessary during the transition to new leadership at Phunware, including capital injection and reshaping the balance sheet for growth. Mike highlights the move from a command-and-control culture to one that champions autonomy and accountability, emphasizing the importance of empowering team leaders. We explore the significance of building a leadership team grounded in trust, accountability, autonomy, and candor, and how these principles contribute to a positive organizational culture. Mike shares his personal career journey, detailing his long-standing experience in mobile technology and his eventual rise to the CEO position at Phunware. We examine how Phunware fosters a culture of appreciation and collaboration through a Slack channel called Momentum, which recognizes and celebrates employee contributions. Mike talks about balancing professional obligations with personal passions, including the importance of prioritizing family and maintaining a positive trajectory in both areas. We discuss the importance of in-person engagement for building and maintaining key relationships with stakeholders, despite the trend toward virtual interactions. Mike reflects on past experiences and learnings, including the value of having prompt and honest conversations to avoid delays in decision-making and mitigate potential failures. We delve into Mike's hobby of pinning dream travel destinations on Google Maps and how this practice turns travel planning into an immersive and memorable adventure. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Phunware GUESTS Mike SnavelyAbout Mike TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: In today's episode, you will meet Mike Snavely, ceo of Funware. In building and maintaining key relationships with your stakeholders, mike shares his opinions on why there is no substitute for being in person to engage on a human level. Mike, I want to welcome you to Building Texas Business and thank you for taking time to come on the show with me. Glad to be here. Thanks for the invitation. So, as the CEO of Funware, let's start by just orienting the listeners to what is Funware and tell us what the company's known for. Mike: Sure so. Funware is a 15-year-old publicly traded company based in Austin, Texas. We build mobile experiences that help hotels and healthcare institutions engage their guests and patients while they're on premises in ways that drive satisfaction and monetization. Chris: Very interesting. So you said the company started I guess in the early 2000s. Mike: Then it would have been in 2009. The company started. It was private for the first 11 or so years of its existence and then we went public via SPAC transaction in 2000. I believe it was 20. Chris: Okay, and it sounds like a fairly niched focus for the company. How did it come to be that the company, I guess, was so focused on kind of those two industries and providing that type of, I guess, service to those customers? Mike: Well, originally it wasn't. So over 15 years, you might imagine, there's been an evolution in the focus of the company, and so the company in 2009 was really more of a mobile solution development agency. So some of the biggest brands you know in the world really selected Funware back in the timeframe to build some of their first mobile apps in the app store. So companies like Fox, the NFL, the Sochi Olympics, wwe, a number of airports and so on were spending a lot of money to build their first mobile application and then to develop their first mobile audience. For lots of reasons and that was two years after the iPhone was introduced. It was actually before the iPad was introduced and so obviously there's a lot of evolution of consumer expectations when it comes to engaging on mobile, and those brands were spending a lot of money in the early comes to engaging on mobile, and those brands were spending a lot of money in the early days to build their first mobile presences. That's evolved over time, and so agencies are really not, they really don't drive the valuation that a SaaS company does, and so we've, over time, evolved into becoming a SaaS company. So we license our technologies. We'll essentially build an app, configuring it for the customer, launch it into the app store and then generate license fees off that app for as long as it exists and is available for download. That's a much better valuation model because typically when our customers get involved with us they stick around. Our retention rate is very high because we drive a positive ROI. So we've kind of followed the evolution of mobile from really high investment work for hire, boutique agency-like development all the way through today where we charge between 50 and $150,000 a year for a given property, whether it's a hotel or a hospital, to have their own mobile app in the app store, to have their own brand in front of their users or guests and then ultimately to develop that one-on-one relationship with that guest or patient in a way that drives repeat business and satisfaction and additional monetization. Chris: That's fascinating. Now you mentioned retention rate. What do you which obviously is very important for success of a company, especially like yours what do you attribute that successful retention rate to? Mike: Well, we do good work and I can make available to you a list and you could even put it in the podcast if you'd like of the apps that we build, or some of the apps that we build. They're beautiful apps. So, number one, we do really high-quality work that all of our customers are proud to have their name on. And then, number two, we drive ROI, plain and simple. For a dollar they put into our solutions, they get between $5 and $50 back, depending on who they are and the specifics of their business. And you know, if I could give you a machine that would, you put a dollar bill in, you get a five or a 50 back out. You would say how many dollar bills can I put in there? Chris: Yeah, no, no, kidding, right Well. I mean, but fundamentally, you mentioned at least you know two fundamental things that is key to customer retention. That's one provide good service. If you're in the service industry, it starts with providing good service and I think an outcome of that is your customer sees a valuable return on the investment for your service. Those are not unique to software but for any kind of service type business right, exactly, that's right. Let's talk a little bit about your. So you're the CEO. The company was founded by others than yourself. How did you come, I guess, to work at Funware and I know just a little bit that you've had this is like your second stint there but give us a little background on your connection to the company and how it was you became the CEO. Mike: Yeah, sure enough. So I've really made a career of pursuing technology trends. So I'm kind of an old guy so I've been in business for a long time. But I started off in offline marketing technologies, sending out snail mail and running telephone centers. Then I evolved into social marketing with a startup in Austin, texas. I then got into mobile and I've been in mobile really kind of on and off ever since. Mobile's a big deal because you've got a device that knows who you are and knows where you are, you tell it all your secrets. It really is an indispensable. It's become an indispensable tool. And so I've really made kind of a career over the last shoot 15 years at this point in mobile. And so I was originally with my first stint in mobile was with a little mobile application development boutique in Austin called Mutual Mobile. That was 2008, 9, 10, 11 timeframe Did something else and then I was recruited to come to Funware by somebody who had worked for me at Mutual Mobile and I said look, we're building out this platform company. We're very interested in having somebody who can really help to drive revenues. Would you be interested in joining? So that in 14, I joined Funware for the first time and I came to run the software business. So I was responsible for all revenues for the software business of Funware from 14 through 16 or so, got to know the company, got to really understand the technologies Actually, a number of the people who were there then are still with the company. Then I went off, worked at a Silicon Valley startup and did a couple of other things, couple of other things. And then, when the founding CEO left in 23, they hired a guy that I had worked with at Mutual Mobile back in the day as the new CEO and he said look, mike, I know that you're great at building businesses on the revenue side. Would you like to come and be my CRO, as I'm CEO of Funware? And he said I'll make it worth your while. So I said no a couple of times and then eventually I said yes. Well, this was September of last year that I rejoined the company and 30 days in the board said look, you know, what we really need is somebody with sales DNA at CEO. Let's try that again. Easy for me to say CEO role. So, mike, would you like to step in as CEO? So I actually I had a buddy who brought me back to be a CRO and then wound up taking this job. We're still friends, we still talk all the time and he was very supportive of that move. But a long story short, I think that the company for a time kind of lost its way in the simple fact of selling, servicing accounts and driving revenues, and that's something I've had the good fortune to develop pretty good skill at, and so now I'm the CEO and I'm going to tell you I think the E in CEO stands for extra. Everything about it is extra, but it really is the best job I've ever had and I'm really enjoying it. I still spend a lot of time working with customers, selling, identifying strategic partnerships and that kind of thing, because I enjoy it, I feel like I'm good at it and it's absolutely critical to positioning the company for growth and valuation, which is exactly my job. Chris: There you go, so let's talk a little bit about that. What are some of the things that you do to build and maintain relationships with those partners, customers, strategic relationships that you think someone listening might learn? Mike: from. Well, it's funny, there's been a real trend away from in-person, and so you and I are meeting today on Zoom. Our business, funware, is essentially 100% virtual at this point, and what I find is there's no substitute for hopping on a plane and going to see somebody, breaking bread with them, getting to know them as a person, understanding what it is they're trying to accomplish, what their hopes and dreams are, what their fears are. Once you get to that point and really just kind of understanding them as a person, and then exposing yourself as a person and say, look, you know, this is what I'm trying to accomplish, mr and Ms, partner or prospect, and really kind of, you know, engaging on a human level, which you know is a whole lot easier for sitting across the desk from somebody, and that's that to me, is is where I spend a lot of my time. I do invest a lot of time in in person, you know, spending time with customers, prospects, partners and the rest of it, and I really just don't think there's much of a substitute for that. Chris: Couldn't agree more. I think that's how, really, until the pandemic, it's how business got done in person. I don't think anything's changed here. I think, especially these days, I think it says so much more that you take the time to do that when you could otherwise, yeah, do a Teams or Zoom call or whatever, and just the human interaction I mean. As humans, I think we're meant to be together, right and interact, and I think that just fosters the relationship. So great advice there. Keeping on that kind of theme you've come back in not in an easy economic time, so let's talk a little bit about managing through kind of some economic uncertain, rising interest rates and all the stuff that's out there in the news. Let's talk about kind of what are some of the things you've done to stay focused and keep your people focused on driving the business forward? Mike: Sure enough. Well, there are some benefits and some drawbacks to being a public and trading company. Of course One is access to the capital markets. That's a benefit, and we certainly have the ability to draw capital out of the markets in ways that don't require us to be as susceptible to excuse me, the interest rate environment, but that doesn't mean that our customers aren't susceptible to that environment. And so we've had to do some things. Selling into hospitality and healthcare, I mean, we're typically selling into pretty big organizations and they have a little bit of a buffer, I suppose, from the ebbs and flows of the economy, particularly when you look at luxury hospitality. I mean, COVID aside, luxury hospitality has really been on a growth tear because of the generation of a lot of wealth on the part of a lot of people and they're wanting to spend it on high-quality experiences. But that doesn't mean that we don't have to be creative from time to time when it comes to pricing a deal or generating terms that are acceptable to the customer. They can digest, they can maybe capitalize the expense as opposed to turning into an OPEX expense and that kind of thing, and certainly we've had to be creative there. When I first took on the CEO role. The company was having a little bit of financial trouble and you could read in our public filings all about it. But, long story short, we were having problems with access to capital and I had to work with my CFO and others you know capital partners to really inject some capital into the company from the market in ways that allowed us, you know, the ability to move forward without paying a lot of interest, frankly. So we were able to kind of reshape the balance sheet in a way that puts us in a great spot for growth today Smaller companies I can only imagine what it must be like if you're dealing with debt financing, distinct from capital financing, and what some of the challenges there must be. We had to make some hard decisions in connection with the recapitalization of the company that had to do with people, in large part because that's our number one expense and those are hard things to do, and I spent many a sleepless night, you know, because I had to do some of those things. But the fact of the matter is that most companies don't cut fast enough and they don't cut deep enough because of those reasons, and it feels terrible, but preserving the company and giving ourselves the ability to go forward and thrive is really kind of the job for the shareholders. Chris: Yeah, and yeah, I agree. I think, regardless of the size of the company, making those people decisions are extremely difficult because, again, we went back to in person and it's human and these people have been with you typically and but it's what they say, right, it is when you have to make the hard cuts, you have to cut muscle and those can be challenging decisions. On the flip side of that, sure, as you come into the CEO role, you are either have or still in the process of building your team. What are some of the things that you do? Processes maybe you've created to help you identify the right people to surround yourself with to further the mission and strategies of the company. Mike: Well, there are two non-delegable duties that the CEO has, in my belief. Number one it's setting the strategy of the company. So we're going to be a SaaS company serving these markets, we're going to drive toward these margins, we're going to deliver in this way, and these are the things that are important for the strategy of the business. Number two is the culture of the business, and so I can't hire somebody to give me a culture. I've got to work with the company to create the culture that we want, and so I'll give you a little bit of a story there. So I have a lot of respect for the fellows who founded the company, a lot of respect for them, because they built something that I now have the good fortune to run and take to the next level. But there was a lot of. They were literally army guys, and there was a lot of army DNA in the company. Now that there's nothing wrong with that, there's nothing at all wrong with that, and the company was successful for a number of years, but and the culture that was built was one of command and control, because that's what the army is Right. Chris: Well, it's not. I'll just interrupt it. That's also not atypical of kind of startup mentality. Right, it's dominant kind of leadership. Got to get it done, got to get this off the ground. Mike: Yep, dominant leadership plus the military background equaled very much a command and control structure, a bit of a cult of personality around the founding CEO, and all of that, you know, paid great dividends. For a long time, I could not be any more different from the founding CEO. I'm not an army guy, you know. And so one of the first things I did when I took on the job is I said look, you know, you know if you're the vice president of sales or you're the vice president of, you know of product or delivery or deployments or whatever it is. You're the CEO of your own business and I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm going to give you an objective and I'm going to give you the flexibility and the support to go and achieve that objective. You need people. You get people. You need investment. You get investment. But your accountability is to go and run your portion of the business as if you were the CEO. I'm not going to micromanage the decisions at all. I'm going to empower you to do the right thing number one for the customer, because then that ultimately becomes the right thing for the company over many observations and so that was a transition that some people are still working through. Frankly, in leadership roles within the company. It's sometimes people get comfortable being told what to do and we just we don't do that anymore. And you know a couple of people have left as a result of that. They did not have that comfort and that's okay because it's not the right job for them anymore. But most people have really embraced the opportunity of agency and empowerment and the ability to kind of run their own part of the business. ADVERT Hello friends, this is Chris Hanslick, your Building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast, is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders? Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm at boyermillercom. And thanks for listening to the show. Chris: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot to unpack there, but clearly what you're talking about in my terms are giving people autonomy, but with accountability, which I think is the right way to go. However, organizations evolve over time, just like people. So I think we talk about command and control in the early days. That, for most companies, may make sense, but where this company is now and size and scale, you couldn't do that because there's too much going on and you have to then hire the right people, and the people that work for the company in the first few years may not work, you know, 10 years, 15 years later, because different skill sets needed, right, so it sounds like you've got your hands around that pretty well. Mike: Well, you know, it's always a work in progress, and so one of the one of the accelerants to adopting a new cultural tone is bringing in people, you know right. So I brought in a couple of guys and they are both guys, I'm afraid, who I had worked with a number of times in the past, who I knew kind of got the way that we wanted to run the railroad and who are are the kind of guys who just roll up their sleeves every day and make the most of the day. And, you know, those guys are not only in leadership roles within the company but they're also, you know, setting a tone for the others they work with most closely day to day, and I absolutely think it's working. Chris: That's great. So kind of sum that conversation up for us how would you define the culture of Funware today? Mike: I'd say that we're kind of a restart up, but with all the good elements of a startup, and what I mean by that is that we had a revenue profile that grew, grew and then it kind of dropped off. For some reason I wasn't here, and we're in the process of growing back up and we're getting in the right people who are interested in not only doing great work and serving the customers really well and building a terrific product, but also ones who are embracing the autonomy and the accountability that we're providing to them, and I couldn't be any more pleased with the reception that I'm getting. Chris: Anything special that you've kind of put in place to kind of help foster that type of culture so that you can perpetuate it and see it grow. Mike: Well, we tend to recognize the behaviors that we're looking for, and here's what I mean by that. So you know, somebody will just do a thing right and they'll do it. They'll achieve an accomplishment, whatever that accomplishment may be, and we'll talk. We've got a Slack channel. Slack is a tool we use all day long, every day, and we have a Slack channel called Momentum, and the Momentum channel is really about recognizing the contributions that a person makes, and the deal is that if you put something in Momentum, you've got to recognize somebody else. So you say, hey, a great thing happened, you got to recognize somebody else. So you say, hey, a great thing happened. And I want to thank Bob over here for his contribution to the thing, because Bob, you know, contributed in a way that if he hadn't done that, you know we might not have gotten the outcome that we're looking for. You know that that's something that you see traffic in every single day, that's great. Chris: We obviously I can relate to that we do something similar here at the firm Every single day. That's great, I can relate to that. We do something similar here at the firm, not necessarily on a specific channel, but it's kind of become part of our culture to. We call them core value kudos and it's about recognizing other people not yourself, obviously in efforts that they made and tying them to our mission and values, so that the behaviors and the values marry up right. And then people. It makes it tangible that I want to thank or, you know, congratulate someone for doing X, Y and Z which demonstrated this value in action. Mike: That's terrific. Yeah, I've been in companies that have done that. I think that's something that I may need to reincorporate into my bag of tricks there, for sure that have done that. I think that's something that I may need to reincorporate into my bag of tricks there for sure. Chris: So you know along those lines your software company. I always am interested to know what are you doing to kind of promote or foster creativity and innovation within the company? Mike: Well, some of the things that you know it's interesting, I'm going to I'll give you maybe a little bit longer answer you might be looking for, but there is, and it's really important to kind of separate the day-to-day from the long-term vision. And what I mean by that is that I'm, let's say, a developer and today I have to fix a bug, and I just have to fix the bug because the bug exists and it's in the way of something happening and it's not my favorite part of the job, I'm quite confident of that. Not my favorite part of the job, I'm quite confident of that. Not my favorite part of the job to fix a bug. But there is some long range stuff that I'm really excited about. A big part of what we do is indoor wayfinding and hyperlocal marketing offers, and there are lots and lots of innovations that we're looking at right now, and so we identify people who are interested in innovation. We put together both formal processes for them to say, okay, you're on the R&D team and you're going to be doing this work, but we also give them informal opportunities. Hey, look, I want you to go to Denver to our customer with Gaylord Rockies and I want you to actually go into the physical space that we're trying to map, and I want you to help me figure out a better way to do it. And so that's two things. It's number one, solving a strategic problem for the business, but it's also kind of getting them out of their, since we're all virtual, it's getting them out of their own office, sending them to Denver, take an extra day, engage the customer, do great work, but also enjoy yourself a little bit. So we try to give people an opportunity to get out of the context within which they're working sitting in my home office squashing bugs and get out into the real world where our solutions are deployed in ways that are not only sort of fun but also problem solving. Chris: So you've been in some leadership roles throughout your career, obviously CEO now. How would you describe your leadership style and how do you think it's evolved over the last few years? Mike: Well, I try to work with people. I try to work as best I can. You can't always do that right, but you can absolutely make the investment of time to get to know them, and so I walk into this job. I've got a CFO that I just met very recently, and I had a chief legal officer that I met just recently, and I had a chief operating officer that I had known actually for some time and one of those guys wound up leaving that I had known actually for some time and you know, one of those guys wound up leaving. But you know the other two guys that I had just met. I made it a real point of going to where they were, sitting down with them breaking bread, understanding who they are, what they were trying to accomplish, why they were at the company in the first place and all the rest of it, because it was important for me to understand whether I could trust and whether it was appropriate to invest in these guys. Right and absolutely it was. By the way, I had a couple of gaps in my leadership team and what I did was find people that I'd worked with in the past and I said, look, are you willing to come and work for me again, and the answer in every case was absolutely so, and that's not because I'm the greatest guy in the world or because I gave him a zillion dollars or anything like that. It's because we have, over the years, established a working cadence that's founded on this idea of trust and accountability, autonomy of action and really candor of discussion. There's nothing that the leadership team and I don't discuss in detail and with candor. We're not afraid to tell our truths to each other. We've created what I think is a safe space for us to really talk about what's on our mind and what concerns or challenges we have, or if somebody is all wet, you know, and and that kind of. That kind of culture. The executive table, I think, filters down to the rest of the business in ways that help support the culture we're trying to build. Chris: Yeah, and I was gonna say it sounds like it's a culture of safety to have the hard conversations, but that those conversations are done in a respectful way. Mike: Yeah. Chris: I don't know if there's no better way to do it Right, and it's okay to fail. Mike: And I got to tell you, I used to race, I used to race cars a long time ago and you know, if you don't crash, you're not driving fast enough and so it's okay. It's okay to crash every once in a while because that means you're pushing the envelope, You're trying to get, you know, you're trying to get to the edge of the performance envelope and that's positive. Chris: Yeah, no, let's talk about that, cause I I there. There's always learning, and so I think there's. You know, when you have setbacks or failures, you can learn from them and it can make you better. Don't let it define you. So can you give us an example of more than not the car racing, because crashing is easy to understand as a failure, but in the business world, as a leader something that you felt a failure of yours, a bad decision, a setback that you absolutely grew from, and it's made you better today. Mike: Yeah, sure enough, I think that my greatest learnings are not being decisive enough and not acting quickly enough. And so you know, let's say, for example, I'll give you the example of last company I worked for before. Well, yes, I'll give you that example. So I was working at an AI video startup in Madison, Wisconsin. It was essentially a unit of a publicly traded company that I won't name, but your viewers can certainly look it up. And, long story short, that company is now bankrupt and I don't fault any of the. I don't fault the CEO of that company, which was not me, by the way, in that, but I fault myself. Yeah, exactly, it wasn't me. I didn't bankrupt the company. This was a guy I had worked with before were pretty small, and so what I said was I need this much to make this happen. I was given about half that much and I didn't adequately reset the expectations on how long it was going to take to get that thing done, slash. I should have had probably more pointed discussion about is this worth doing at all, and I didn't do that. And the long story short is that company is now bankrupt for lots of reasons, but the thing that I that my not being as aggressive as I felt like I should have been was a contributor to that. I think it was a small contributor, but you know all that to say that it didn't help. Chris: And so I kind of trace it. I would say the learning for you is kind of having the hard conversations faster right and that's the kind of culture that's terrifically important for me. Mike: So that informs the culture I'm building at Funware, which is like, if this ain't going to work, I just need you to tell me, and I might disagree and I might argue with you, but I will absolutely hear you. I might argue with you, but I will absolutely hear you. It's going to be super important for us to just trust each other enough to be able to have the discussion about you know, without fear. I guess is where I'm coming from. Chris: I understand that, so let's talk a little bit about you know these are important jobs that you've held over the last few years, and as is the current one. I don't like using the term work-life balance, but how do you? Manage work and personal life to try to keep them both going in a positive direction. Mike: Well, I spend a lot of time with my kids. I really, yeah, my daughter. So I'm here in Ohio, I'm spending time with my father and mother, but my daughter came along, my older daughter came along, she's out of school already. I'm going to go next week pick up my younger daughter in boarding school in Colorado, drive her down to Big Bend, where she has never been, and then, you know, spend time with her over the summer. So I mean, it's really about being deliberate about that and working from anywhere, candidly, in my opinion, helps. There's no expectation. I'm going to the office, I'm going to be there during the business day on Monday through Friday, and what I kind of joke is that I mean, I work a lot, no question about it, but I work around my life as opposed to work, as opposed to planning my life around my work, to planning my life around my work. So I might work, you know, 60 hours a week, but that's not going to be five times 12. That's going to be, you know, kind of eight-ish times seven. I'll work every day a little bit, but I'm certainly going to put my kids first and that's just the way it is. Chris: Well, I can identify with that. I think everyone has to find their own way and each job and role requires different things. In different stages of life require different things. So I think that's what people you know should stay focused on, individually as well as the companies to try to make sure you have good people. You don't want to lose them for those types of reasons. People you don't want to lose them for those types of reasons. Yeah, so, mike, this has been a great conversation. Before we wrap up, I just want to kind of get a little bit more less or a little less serious about things. Tell us what was your first job as a kid? Mike: It'd be funny, you should ask. So I'm back in rural Ohio where I grew up. Right now, at my parents' house, as I mentioned earlier, my first job was was am I allowed to say shit on your podcast? Of course, the texas my first, my first job was shoveling hog shit. Chris: Shoveling hog shit for minimum wage and I was nothing that wants to make you go to college and get a degree than that right. Mike: well, the funny thing is that I wound up raising hogs to pay for college. So it was fine to shovel the hog shit, but I was like, if I was fine to shovel the hog shit, but I was like, if I'm going to shovel the hog shit, I'm going to do it for more than $3.35 an hour. I'm going to do it in exchange for a college education. So that's not exactly that way, but that's a big part of how I kind of got off the farm and moving ahead. Chris: I love that, okay, well, yeah, obviously, as we now know, you're from Ohio, but you spent enough time in Texas for me to ask you this question Do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue? Mike: I love Tex-Mex. I would eat Tex-Mex every day of the week All right. And sometimes I do. I do love barbecue, but the thing is that the best barbecue is something I don't want to wait in line for and I don't want to drive a long ways. If I happen to be by La Barbecue or Franklin's a little bit over their great barbecue a little bit overhyped, or if I want a great barbecue, I'll just treat it as a destination thing. I'll go down to Lockhart or something like that, but I can get absolutely terrific Tex-Mex around the corner from my house every day of the week. Chris: Yes, it was one good thing. You know, I think we living in Texas both are abundant right. Mike: But you're right. Chris: The marquee barbecue, you know, is tucked away in some places. All right, so my last thing is if you could do a 30 day sabbatical, where would you go? What would you do? Mike: Well, I got a bunch of customers who have really beautiful beach resorts so I might go to one of those. Chris: You might go break bread with them there. Mike: Break bread with the customers at the most beautiful resorts in the world. That would be one thing I might do. There are a lot of places around the world that I'd love to see, so I've got a Google Maps layer that has little flags. There are probably 800 flags on that map and I add some every week. Places that I like to go around the world. Sometimes they're restaurants that I read about. Sometimes they're beautiful. You know natural features, like you know mountain ranges, the Painted Mountains in the Andes, or you know beautiful lake I've never been to Crater Lake, things like that so what I'd probably do is find 30 days worth of those pins in an area that I can consume within that 30-day period and I'd just go knock it out. Chris: I love that. I like the concept of keeping track of the pins. Yep. Mike: And there's too many on the map that you know I'll be dead and gone before I get to see all of them. But you know, it is kind of a it's a memory bank for things that have caught my interest and that I do want to experience at some point, if I can pull it off. Chris: Love it. Love it Well, mike, thanks so much for taking the time to be a guest on the show. Really enjoyed hearing your story, and the things y'all are doing at Funware sound really fun, exciting and innovative. Mike: Thanks a lot. Special Guest: Mike Snavely.

Did you ever have a Slap Ass Day? According to a poll, only half of people remember participating in a "slap ass day" at school in their youth. Today Emily takes it upon herself to educate us on this strange occurrence.  In today's Weird or Wired Matt reports that Amazon is buying up healthcare services in order to give us cheaper healthcare. Is this a good or a bad thing? Cheap healthcare sounds pretty good right about now. But doesn't Amazon own almost everything nowadays? How is that good? Listen to Matt weigh this one out. And is our producer Spenny getting a little too friendly with a competing morning show? CJ seems to be a little jealous. LISTEN IN AND FIND OUT. Support the show: https://www.101x.com/justmattandcj/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(August 9, 2022 – Hour One) 9:14pm – Opening the 2nd Tuesday of the month is BBQ Hall of Fame'er, best selling author and creator of the most heavily trafficked BBQ and Grilling website out there, Meathead from Amazingribs.com. We ran into some technical issues last month and missed out on the topic we hit tonight, which is “Water Pan Myths”. You have probably heard a bunch of different things when it comes to what the water pan does in your cooker and tonight we trim the fat! 9:35pm – After Meathead our new friend from the San Antonio Express-News, Chuck Blount, will join us to talk about some of the latest topics in his region of the country. There is a thief stealing thousands of dollars of brisket from La Barbecue, are smoked hamburgers still a thing and there is a new feud that might be brewing in Lockhart! Speaking of brews…there might be some beer talk as well as we close out the segment! BBQ Central Show Sponsors! Big Poppa Smokers Green Mountain Grills Primo Grills Yoder Smokers David Leans / DoWellness – GET FIT for $200/month) Cookin Pellets Fireboard Smithfield Pit Barrel Cooker The Butcher Shoppe – Save 10% When You Mention “The BBQ Central Show” Bub ‘N Mutha's BBQ Rub Vortic Watch Company

(August 9, 2022 - Hour One) 9:14pm - Opening the 2nd Tuesday of the month is BBQ Hall of Fame'er, best selling author and creator of the most heavily trafficked BBQ and Grilling website out there, Meathead from Amazingribs.com. We ran into some technical issues last month and missed out on the topic we hit tonight, which is "Water Pan Myths". You have probably heard a bunch of different things when it comes to what the water pan does in your cooker and tonight we trim the fat! 9:35pm - After Meathead our new friend from the San Antonio Express-News, Chuck Blount, will join us to talk about some of the latest topics in his region of the country. There is a thief stealing thousands of dollars of brisket from La Barbecue, are smoked hamburgers still a thing and there is a new feud that might be brewing in Lockhart! Speaking of brews...there might be some beer talk as well as we close out the segment! BBQ Central Show Sponsors! Big Poppa Smokers Green Mountain Grills Primo Grills Yoder Smokers David Leans / DoWellness - GET FIT for $200/month) Cookin Pellets Fireboard Smithfield Pit Barrel Cooker The Butcher Shoppe - Save 10% When You Mention "The BBQ Central Show" Bub 'N Mutha's BBQ Rub Vortic Watch Company

0 mins In this episode I am joined by Jaime, Isaac and Hector.   We start off with our favorite NFL players Deshawn Watson.  Recently he was given a 6-game suspension by an independent judge but that wasn't good enough for the NFL, so the saga continues.  We ask Hector from some legal advice on the matter.  I bring up last week's podcast as I talked about buying Troy Aikman's beer, Eight as he recently visited the Rio Grande Valley to promote it.  When I saw the sticker price, I called an audible and decided my money was better spent elsewhere.  10:00 minWe then talk about some BBQ as Hector is on the podcast so be ready for some pretty heavy bbq talk.  I saw a video on social media that we break down.  The person lathers mayo on the brisket before he seasons and puts on the smoker.  As the brisket reaches the stall, he then proceeds to make a foil boat for the brisket with the thought that the brisket will be half wrap so still remain MOIST however the top of the brisket will continue to develop a nice bark.  Something to maybe try in the test outdoor kitchen.  We then talk about my second weekend in a row cooking bbq pizza on the Weber Kettle.  I come up with 4 different pies with some input from my sister.  We make a traditional pepperoni pizza, then follow it with our twist on a Hawaiian that includes a yogurt/garlic sauce, Canadian bacon, jalapenos and cheese. The next offering is a meat lovers if you will topped with pepperoni and ground brawts, followed by thick cut mushrooms.  Last but not least I spread some jalapeno cream cheese, top it with crispy bacon, jalapenos and freshly grilled fajita chunks.  All winners in my book.  Hector and Jaime share their experiences of visiting GW BBQ and Catering during the week. One of the guys has a successful trip and the other does not.  Hector only wants to go back for the Brisket smash burger.  35:00 minAnother bandit makes his way onto the podcast but this time it's a brisket bandit.  Apparently there was another brisket heist in Austin as a man successfully steals 20 briskets off the pit of La Barbecue.  We wonder how this can keep happening and why there are no employees present when this goes down. We then share our thoughts of what this person did with all that brisket.  45:00 minWe close it out talking some college football as our team the Texas Longhorns are scheduled to play Alabama in September.  We can't believe what the tickets are going for.  Hector gives us a peak behind the curtain from the VIP section of the games.  I'm mad cause I didn't get any buffet.  A bunch of joes that cook like pros!!!Law Office of Hector Hernandezhttp://hhernandezlaw.com/?fbclid=IwAR3kaG_wQzrsUJ-cVxJLUyjvipMPM1R59xo9YMKFFsiGHaaUgdZ8hd8cB7YGW BBQ BBQ | United States | GW's BBQ Catering Co. (gwsbbqcatering.com)

Sleep studies and bad sandwiches. The guy who lost 8,000 bit coins is still after it, and has a plan. Brisket being stolen from La Barbecue. The man with the hammer ready to have a party. Magnet fishing missile leads to legal trouble. Amazon wants to map your house. Forced erections. Minnesota state fair. Starting […]

ErnieDaniel Craig James Bond movies: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0185819/Fox In The Forest: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/221965/fox-forestNiet: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1107/nyetEuchre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuchrePeter Pan: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9360556/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0Follow Ernie: https://www.instagram.com/lightningandarrows/LaurenOzark, final season: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5071412/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0Licorice Pizza: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11271038/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0House of Gucci: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11214590/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0Ghostbusters Afterlife: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513678/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0Donut County: http://donutcounty.com/May the 4th Art Festival: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/warhous/642111Kate Carlton Max Rebo Preorder: https://www.darkinkart.com/collections/star-wars-celebration-anaheim-2022-art-show/products/swce2022-max-rebo-live-kate-carletonThe Met Gala: https://pagesix.com/2022/05/02/met-gala-red-carpet-2022-live-updates-of-the-celebrity-outfits/PatrickCrop: https://www.cropcons.com/La Barbecue: https://www.labarbecue.com/menuGeo Wizard: https://www.youtube.com/c/GeoWizardBarry, Season 3: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5348176/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3The Game: https://thegamednd.com/the-game-out-of-game/Twitch - Live Every Monday at 7pmhttps://www.twitch.tv/mof1podcast

We’ve been hitting the BBQ trail hard in 2021, but no road trip was bigger than the one we had planned for May. With proper planning and a little help from friends we were able to cram in 20 BBQ meals over the course of five days. Traveling from Houston to Austin to Lubbock to Marfa to Fort Worth to Waco and back home, we were able to try some of the absolute best barbecue in Texas at the following places: Valentina’s BBQ, La Barbecue, Franklin Barbecue, LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, Interstellar BBQ, Evie Mae’s Pit Barbeque (twice), Pitforks and Smoke Rings, Rejino BBQ, Tom and Bingo’s BBQ, Hill Barbecue, Brick Vault Brewery and BBQ, Convenience West BBQ, Goldee’s BBQ, Dayne’s Texas Craft BBQ, Zavala’s Barbecue, Smokeaholics BBQ, Guess Family Barbecue, Helberg Barbecue and Cooper’s BBQ. We recap the trip in this episode, answer some listener questions, and at the end of the episode make a special announcement about some big plans we have for the summer. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact us! Instagram: @talesfromthepits Email: talesfromthepits@gmail.com

LeAnn Mueller and Alison Clem are partners and co-owners of la Barbecue in East Austin, Texas. LeAnn is the granddaughter of Texas BBQ legend Louie Mueller, and daughter of James Beard Award-winning pitmaster Bobby Mueller, LeAnn and her wife and business artier Alison Clem opened la Barbecue in Austin, Texas, in 2012. Together, LeAnn and Alison have created and innovative menu that remains true to the flavors and techniques of authentic Texas BBQ. Get BBQ recipes and watch the full series here!

The conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd could have significant local implications. Vaccines keep getting easier to find, with Austin Public Health extending registration hours to almost 24/7 and offering two walk-up vaccination opportunities in East Austin tomorrow and Friday - Williamson County is also soon to shut down its mass-vaccination centers. 4/20 yesterday saw a push at the Capitol for House legislation for legalization of marijuana, the release of a documentary on the pot industry helmed by a Texas State Senator, and the news that there were no possession arrests in Austin in the last quarter of 2020. The first day of early voting in the current local election saw the most voter turnout since 2013. The Mohawk announces its return to live shows this summer. La Barbecue is fixin' to move. And a survey by Blind finds Austin the most vibrant city in the country for tech professionals.

25 year-old Dylan Taylor has extensive experience in the barbecue world as a pitmaster and has worked at famed barbecue joints all across Austin including Terry Black’s Barbecue, 2M Smokehouse, Truth Barbeque and La Barbecue. He now owns and operates his own barbecue spot, Goldee’s Barbecue, in Fort Worth, Texas with four of his childhood best friends. Originally, Dylan made the move from Arlington to Austin to go to college and to play music with his band, but after a year he realized college was not his thing. He then began delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut but he was quickly sold on that central Texas barbecue life once he started dining out at local barbecue spots. In this episode, we discuss why Dylan fell in love with this industry, how his childhood friends hustled their way up to owning a restaurant in their hometown, the struggles of opening up a new place, the type of delicious meats and sides they’re serving up and how Dylan is adjusting to the current climate.

You’re listening to the Best BBQ Show and I’m your host, Yoni Levin. I realized something today. After almost 100 episodes of the show, I’m not sure you all know my story on why this show came to be. I’m not sure you know how I got interested in BBQ to begin with or why I’ve spent two years covering the Texas BBQ scene and all the interesting people in and around it. It all started when I was a young boy in upstate New York. Now I say upstate because I’m not talking about New York City. I’m talking about way up state. As in almost Canada. I grew up in small city called Rochester, NY. A city that is almost foreign to me now that I’ve been away for two decades. The only BBQ in Rochester at that time was a place called Dinosaur BBQ. To this day I still like their sauce, but that’s about all that’s good about it. I’ll probably go back the next time I’m up there just to see if they’ve stepped up their game, but I wasn’t impressed back then. Back then all I had was a weber kettle and a dream. Someone gave me a copy of the BBQ Bible and my interest was peaked. Shout out to Steve Raichlen. I read lots of the recipes, dog eared pages, highlighted, took notes and started my BBQ journey. My favorite method back then was the snake method and it was my foray into slow smoked meat. I also spent some time on amazing ribs which if you’ve been following bbq long enough is one of the oldest sites on the internet all about bbq and how to cook it. One of my favorite articles is about how the smoke ring is a myth and how you can produce one without any smoke at all. Now I say slow smoked but I’m embarrassed to admit that I was doing everything wrong. I used cheap charcoal briquettes that didn’t burn very well. I was smart enough not to use lighter fluid back then but I did make some common mistakes. One of them was soaking little piles of wood chips. I soaked those wood chips for hours. I used different kinds, different sizes and I just couldn’t seem to figure out why I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. The one thing I didn’t try was just not soaking the dang wood chips. If hindsight is 2020, my hindsight is clouded with thick white smoke that comes from wet wood. Luckily, that was merely the beginning of my BBQ journey. After college I traveled the state working for non-profits in politics and the environment. I helped create legislation that saved plastic, encouraged recycling and brought a ton of awareness about homelessness. I also worked in kitchens, bars and served at restaurants between campaigns. I loved the work but it wasn’t the full time gig I had dreamed of. Then I caught, what I thought back then, was a huge opportunity. There were field organizer positions opening up for a huge new Greenpeace campaign. I would travel the world helping solve major issues on the national and international level. I went to conferences on both coasts and even attended the conference of the parties United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Long story short, after they sent me to Austin in 2008 I realized there was more politics than progressiveness and decided to stay in this amazing city I had discovered almost completely by accident. Luck would have it that when I moved to Austin I landed in a small neighborhood just south of the river. A small neighborhood that just happened to have a BBQ trailer in it. A BBQ trailer called LA Barbecue. I had luckily found, what was then, one of the only quality BBQ joints in Austin. I know what you’re thinking, not Franklin? Not Lockhart? Nope, my first BBQ in Texas was LA Barbecue. The place where John Lewis worked before he opened Lewis BBQ. Where Esaul Ramos of 2M, Dylan Taylor, and Brendan Lamb of Smiley’s BBQ all worked. When I first showed up in 2012 they had just opened and I knew it was rare to find a place with good BBQ that didn’t have a line. I had heard of Franklin, but had yet to eat there. I was there early and often. Although, back then early just meant a few minutes before they opened. I would bug the guys in the pits and quickly made friends with Ali Clem who was there every day serving up the good stuff to those of us who patiently waited. I was a regular. Some weeks I’d show up 3 days in a row. They had free beer and even some old timers playing country music on a very small hand built stage. About a year later, something happened. I showed up at the usual time and I wasn’t the first one there. No big deal, I just got there a little earlier the next time, but that didn’t do for long. Soon I had to come in 30 minutes early, then 45, then an hour. My #1 spot was in constant jeopardy by all the people discovering this delicious place that I wanted to be my secret! Fast forward a few years and I got my 118 gallon pit. Started cooking my own briskets. Made a list of places I wanted to go and just kept on trying barbecue all over Texas. Then it happened. In May of 2016 I saw a short documentary produced by Yeti about an 81 year old pitmaster named “Tootsie”. She worked all week as a custodian and then woke up early on Saturdays to cook barbecue out in Lexington, Texas. The moment I saw that video I knew I had to go. I rounded up a few friends and we headed out there to try the best BBQ in Texas. If you haven’t been to Snow’s before, it’s an experience. The cool country air, the small town roads and the friendly people are just part of the experience. We didn’t even bring chairs. We just got in line and waited for that slow smoked goodness we had heard so much about. After that day I was hooked. A couple months later we went again and then again. Before I knew it I was waking up at 5am to be near or at the front of the line every Saturday to eat at Snow’s. After a while the crew started to notice. They were like, weren’t you here last week? And “how many weeks is that in a row now?” I became a regular in a small town where magic was happening. Clay Cowgill was the first one to start keeping track. We were fast friends and soon I was spending half the time talking to him while my lady, incredibly patiently, held my place in line. We talked about wood, meat, smoke, timing, feel and I started adjusting my home cooks to match some of Snow’s methods. Almost a year later, we showed up early as planned to see the line was 10 times longer than it had ever been. Our early Saturday ritual was about to take all afternoon. I went and asked Clay what was going on and he told us they had just gotten the #1 spot on the Texas Monthly top 50 for the second time. Til that point I hadn’t even heard of the list, but I was going to find out about it since all these people decided to get between me and my BBQ. A few months later I was talking to some friends about podcasts how to create one and we decided to create one about BBQ. I started calling my friends who owned, operated or cooked BBQ and asked them if they would be on my show. Now, almost 3 years later I’m so happy to share Texas BBQ with you and all the amazing people in it. The BBQ family has been so generous to me and I can’t wait for what’s next in modern barbecue and this show I have created. Stay tuned. 2019 is going to be an interesting year. We’re on youtube and we have more friends than ever on Instagram. I’m so thankful to have ya’ll as listeners and if it wasn’t for you, there’d be no show. So I’ll make a deal with you. If you keep listening, I’ll keep talking tasting and trying to cook Texas BBQ, the best barbecue in the world. For now, go out there what this amazing bbq scene has to offer. If you need some tips, feel free to message me. If you think I need to cover some places, send them to me and they will be added to my list.   This is your host, Yoni Levin saying “Go eat some meat with the people you love and have a great week."

How LeAnn Mueller and Ali Clem - the only wife-and-wife team in Texas - finally brought Austin's la Barbecue indoors, and why Los Angeles doesn't know what it's missing.

How LeAnn Mueller and Ali Clem - the only wife-and-wife team in Texas - finally brought Austin's la Barbecue indoors, and why Los Angeles doesn't know what it's missing.

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello “Face the Music” in this episode from a hotel room in the Live Music Capital of the World – Austin, Texas. Busker-turned-bona fide blues artist Charley Crockett subs in as Live Wire’s house band; poet Roger Reeves stops by and tells us why poetry is the harbinger of the future; and the women behind Austin’s famed La Barbeque – music and fashion photographer LeAnn Mueller and her partner Ali Clem – share the secrets to quintessential Texas BBQ.

Dylan Taylor has built up quite the resume at a very young age. After working at highly acclaimed BBQ spots such as Terry Black's, La Barbecue, Truth Barbeque, and 2M Smokehouse (among others), Dylan decided the time was right to start working toward opening his own place. While he scouts out possible locations, Dylan has launched Taylor Barbecue Catering, available for medium to large barbecue catering requests. In addition to the catering options, Dylan also offers restaurant consulting services as well as fully immersive, hands-on cooking classes. Students who attend Dylan's classes learn the cooking process of any and all barbecue meats from start to finish. Dylan has class options that include everything from instruction on seasoning, trimming, cooking, and slicing meats to fire management, sausage making, and more. The services he provides are all encompassing and provide a rare opportunity for aspiring barbecue cooks to learn from someone with his level of expertise.   In this episode we discuss Dylan's classes, catering options, and future restaurant plans as he gears up to make the next big leap in an already acclaimed barbecue career.   To contact Dylan about catering or classes go to: www.taylorbbqcatering.com

Mitch pigs out in Austin, Texas. (And cows, and turkeys.) Special guest Matt Smith returns to the podcast to power rank five meats (beef rib, brisket, chipotle sausage, pork rib, turkey) and discuss a bunch of sides. The beef rib is big enough to have come from a dinosaur and the pickles are spicy enough to be jalapeños. Only in Texas. Please subscribe in iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher or Google Play. Leave a rating and review to help others find the podcast. Search for Mitch Goldich on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for food pictures, plus the new @mitcheatsfoodpod account on IG.

In a news roundup for the month of July, we discuss some pitmaster changes, new BBQ restaurant announcements, BBQ closings, and more. Jason Tedford, longtime assistant pitmaster at Louie Mueller Barbecue, has left the restaurant and is now working in the kitchen at Saint Arnold Brewery in Houston. John Brotherton has announced he is opening Liberty Barbecue in Round Rock alongside Tre Dotson of Tortuga flats. Brendan Lamb, who recently left La Barbecue, is starting Smiley's Barbecue in Fort Worth armed with pits from a relatively unknown pitmaker out of Cummings, Georgia, Primitive Pits. The gas station that housed Texas Monthly Top 50 joint BBQ on the Brazos is under new ownership, and BBQ on the Brazos is no longer serving out of there. A new location will hopefully be announced soon. Joel Garcia, formerly of Terry Black's, has moved to the Rio Grande Valley and is working on opening a new business in Weslaco. Brett Boren is taking Brett's BBQ to a brick and mortar. Brett's Backyard BBQ is launching east of Austin, keep an eye out for more news. There is some exciting BBQ news both in the pit building world and news on Las Vegas barbecue that we'll be discussing in the near future as well. Congratulations to jsd_tx (John) on winning our BBQ swag giveaway! We are embarking on a 3,000 mile road trip through nine states. Follow along on Instagram for updates! We have another Doubleback BBQ pop-up dinner on Saturday, July 21st at The Hop Stop in Humble, TX

This week we recap the biggest news and happenings around the world of barbecue, including a big pitmaster departures at Franklin Barbecue and La Barbecue. We also talk about the latest word on upcoming BBQ joints opening in the near future such as The Switch, Blood Bros., Micklethwait, and more. A quick word on our recent Doubleback BBQ pop up as well as a final thank you to everyone who helped make the Santa Fe High School benefit the success it was. Tune in every week to hear more stories and interviews!

We love eating barbecue, and eating with new friends is even more fun. After online banter with Chris Wood of Primacy Meat Co. we were able to meet up with him at Truth Barbecue and the next day at Valentina's Tex Mex Barbecue to share stories of the road. Chris was in the middle of an epic Texas barbecue road trip when we sat down next to the freeway and chatted. Listen in as he tells us about his travels. Keep an eye on him as he launches his business in Virginia, follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/primacymeatco/  and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/primacymeatco/ Chris's entire trip included Tejas Chocolate, Corkscrew, Southern Q, Victorian's, Pinkerton's, Snow's, Truth, Louie Mueller, Taylor Cafe, Stiles Switch, Valentina's, La Barbecue, Kerlin's, Micklethwait, Texas Ranch, Black's, Smitty's, and Kreuz Market -- what a trip! We announce not one, but TWO winners of great prizes, Mandoesc09 who won an autographed photo of Tootsie Tomanetz, and Stephen Narron who is picking up a John Mueller Black Box Barbecue shirt. Hang on as we tell you about THREE more giveaways including some more details on the insane Yeti cooler stuffed to the brim with BBQ swag. The response from our friends in the BBQ industry has been overwhelming and we keep getting more but it's full and we're going to seal it up for the giveaway. But that's not enough, we will also have two prize packs! We've got some great interviews coming so be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app - it really helps promote our show. Here are a few of our favorites: iTunes Podcast Addict Castbox Podbean Follow us on Instagram at @TalesFromthePits and Twitter @bbqpodcast or reach out to us directly at talesfromthepits@gmail.com  

Family backyard barbecue memories floated through Esaul's mind while working as a bus driver, calling him into the world of barbecue. He made the jump from bus driver head first into his first gig working at La Barbecue. After learning the art from John Lewis the dreams of his own business pulled him back to San Antonio where he launched 2M Smokehouse with Joe Melig. Chicharoni macaroni, serrano and Oaxaca cheese sausage, pickled nopales, barbacoa, and speciality cakes are just some of the unique items Esaul, wife Grecia, Joe, pithand Dusty, and team crank out with their unique flavor of barbecue for a growing fan base Listen as Esaul takes us through his background, his time at La Barbecue, the menu at 2M, and his plans for a second pit at his busy restaurant Find them online at https://www.2msmokehouse.com/Twitter: @2m_smokehouseInstagram: 2msmokehouse  

You asked for it, you got it! Thanks for requesting a longer episode Meat Men. In this studio roundtable, we bring three masters of the smoked meat craft into the Meat Man studios to discuss Texas barbecue, cooking techniques, dispatching feral hogs, music, food tips and more. Along with your Meat Men hosts Yoni and Stover, were Brendan Lamb (from La Barbecue), Clay Cowgill (from Snow's BBQ) and Dylan Taylor (from Truth Barbecue). They were a lot of fun to have in our Austin studio. When you hear the audio clip of hogs exploding, you'll have the same reaction we all did. It gets crazy. Kelis also makes a "cameo." Let Best BBQ know what other barbecue chefs, grillmasters, celebrities, Instagram stars, or whoever, you want us to bring into the podcast studio and we will start making it happen. As always, thanks for listening and don't forget to rate and subscribe so we know how you think the show is going. Find us on Instagram and Twitter as @bestbarbecue and jump in our mailbag by emailing contact@bestbarbecueshow.com. Just Say Hi.