– A Missouri State Senator has begun a so-called Pork Steak Rebellion to rail against the EPA, claiming that they are trying to take away our grills.

– The Daily Kos and Meathead Goldwyn provide some clarification about the EPA study, which is actually a little less dire.

– However, you may want to attend the 04/02 Austin City Council meeting to share your opinion about Item #12 on the agenda that would require barbecue joints to add “smoke scrubbers” to their exhausts.

– Meat consumption across the globe:

 

– Settle in for an hour of audio as Jonathan Gold from the LA Times and the team from KCRW came to Texas for a doozy of a barbecue road trip. In the Franklin Barbecue segment Aaron Franklin announces that he’ll begin selling his own line of backyard smokers that he’ll be building his welding shop later this year. 

– I talked with Gold about my process for reviewing barbecue joints, and the challenges that come with covering the whole state. 

– Jonathan Gold’s latest restaurant review is of the Texas style barbecue restaurant Barrel & Ashes in Studio City.    

– Eater previews Aaron Franklin’s upcoming book:

 

– Tom Thornton worked the pits at La Barbecue in Austin and wrote about it for Thrillist.

– Evan LeRoy of Freedmen’s Bar in Austin hosted his first Meat Talk podcast. Subjects ranged from smoked chicken wings to organic cannibals.

– There are now Texas BBQ energy bars on the market from the Bearded Brothers in Austin.

– A takeout window (in a trailer) is coming to Franklin BBQ:

 

– The Today Show’s Al Roker is hooked on Franklin Barbecue’s espresso sauce, and even provided the recipe for it. 

– From Kerlin BBQ in Austin: “Due to numerous requests we are expanding our Barbecue availabilty to Fri Sat & Sun from 11a-sold out.” 

– Kreuz Market in Bryan is sticking to the “no sauce, no forks” tradition of the Lockhart original. 

– Live Fire will be held in Austin on April 9th, and there’s quite a line-up of chefs attending. 

– A concise history of the Dallas-based Dickey’s BBQ chain:

 

– The CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue, Roland Dickey Jr., has a personal blog where he blasts cities like Seattle that don’t embrace new chain restaurants. In it, he notes that Dickey’s has opened its 500th location.

– A Pennsylvania newspaper sent a writer to Plano to visit Lockhart Smokehouse so he could try to replicate their jalapeño cheese sausage.

– The Dallas Observer names their favorite patios in Dallas, including Pecan Lodge.

– “But one place seems to be universally adored, with crowds that will wait in line upwards of several hours to get their BBQ fix: Pecan Lodge.”

– The Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival is hosting a BBQ Bash at Billy Bob’s tonight.

– The Dallas Bar-B-Que Renaissance according to Texas Highways Magazine:

 

– Kathy Braden of Burns BBQ in Houston is seeking $80,000 to ramp up manufacturing of her family’s barbecue sauce.

– Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland served up a flight of various smoked briskets last week, and Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt was there to eat it.

– Jackson Street BBQ in downtown Houston has announced an opening date of April 6th.

– Thrillist offers thirteen ways in which the Houston barbecue scene is underrated.

– It took two years for word to get out to East Texas about our 2013 Top 50 list, but thanks for the love:

 

– Buzzfeed lists nineteen foods that will make you hungry for Texas, including brisket at Franklin, Black’s, Kreuz Market, and Pecan Lodge. Somebody should tell them the photo is of a beef rib.

– Cosmo published “18 Things Y’all Should Know Before Dating a Girl From Texas,” which includes that she is a BBQ snob.

– Marc Glosserman, owner of New York’s Hill Country Barbecue, shared his BBQ Blitz through Central Texas with Forbes.

– Yes, even one from Canada:

 

– Robert Moss, Southern Living’s barbecue editor, gushes over Memphis’s barbecue spaghetti.

– More details and photos from Garden & Gun on the barbecue pit they found within the courthouse walls in Lexington, North Carolina.

– The Village Voice compiled a list of the 99 Essential Restaurants in Brooklyn including three barbecue joints – Delaney Barbecue, Fette Sau, and Hometown Barbecue.

– The price of brisket is hurting pastrami makers in New York just like Texas pitmasters. Heck, they’re not treating New York pitmasters very well either.

– Jimmy Kimmel received an award featuring a rack of ribs from the Austin Chamber of Commerce: