– The Houston BBQ Festival was held on Sunday. The BBQ Geniuses from Texas A&M enjoyed their time, there were plenty of photos shared, and there were some pleasant surprises too.

– Beef prices just keep going up. We’ve hit another record high for price, and the cattle herds are the lowest since 1951.

– Pork prices aren’t doing much better.

– Evan LeRoy, pitmaster at Freedmen’s Bar in Austin, noticed a mention of Freedmen’s in Southwest’s Spirit magazine while on his honeymoon:

 

– A “gourmet barbecue joint” called Burnt Ends has opened in Singapore.

– They held a barbecue competition in Australia.

– A new barbecue joint in Boise, Idaho specializes in smoked meats and vegan dishes.

– Andrew Zimmern visited a couple barbecue joints in Nashville for the latest episode of Bizarre Foods America.

– This list of good barbecue joints in Louisville, Kentucky leaves off Hammerheads.

– Pecan Lodge in Dallas is featured in this Men’s Journal video:

 

– Cranky Frank’s Barbeque in Fredericksburg is featured in USA Today. 

– Golf Digest documents their trip to Franklin Barbecue in Austin. 

– Deep Ellum bar and barbecue joint WORK will close this weekend, but pitmaster Doug Pickering is already looking to open a new place. 

– It seems we now know why the UConn coach had a leg up on the competition. Before they won the championship, he was eating barbecue at Off the Bone in Forest Hill:

 

– There’s a new barbecue list. This one lists the ten best cities for barbecue in the US. Texas is well represented. 

– CultureMap Dallas lists their favorite underrated restaurants in D/FW, and FM Smokehouse made the list. 

– Eat Your World loved the chopped beef sandwich from Ruby’s in Austin. 

– Wanna buy a BBQ joint?

 

– The Texas community BBQ season is getting started, and Robb Walsh has the calendar you need to make sure you don’t miss the meat.

– The Austin Barbecue Society has tickets available for their 5/5 dinner featuring the cooking of Miguel Vidal from Valentina’s BBQ & Tex-Mex.

– Brian Mays, who owns Sam’s BBQ in Austin, has a role in the new movie Joe, starring Nicolas Cage.

– Construction is coming along at Pecan Lodge:

 

– Old 300 BBQ in Blanco is now serving Akaushi brisket ($26/lb) on the weekends.

– Cattleack BBQ in Dallas has only been open for lunch on Fridays until now when they will also open on Thursdays for lunch.

– The Smoking Ho travels to Opie’s in Spicewood and leaves happy.

– One last shot from the Houston BBQ Festival: