– Pecan Lodge in Dallas, a Top 4 BBQ joint in the state, just might be moving. Owner and pitmaster Justin Fourton hinted at this possibility in our interview a few weeks back. Some even speculate that their next stop might not be in Dallas.

– A recent Top 50 BBQ choice, Hatfield’s BBQ in Rockport is already having some growing pains. The dual business of a barbecue joint and beer garden looks to be two separate businesses soon.

 

– An Alabama BBQ trailer was sighted and fined for smoking meats at home.

– Bryan’s Smokehouse in Lufkin is getting some good business since their appearance on Restaurant Impossible.

– La Barbecue in Austin is hiring:

 

– LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold asked if barbecue might be the next cupcake. I’m glad to live in a state where barbecue isn’t a passing fad.

– Last week Hack//Meat was held in California. It’s an event where “24 teams tackled sustainable meat industry challenges including access to farmland, food labeling, whole animal utilization, and the unique flavor profile of grassfed meat.”

– Transformers was filming in Taylor a few weeks back and then they moved over to Lockhart. I hope they leave some barbecue for the rest of us.

 

– The effects of several “Ag Gag” laws that have been passed around the country are examined in this article from Mother Jones. It’s particularly odd to read about the criminalization of taking photos and video of animal processing since I just spent the last two days being encouraged to do just that at a Beef 101 class at Texas A&M. – Those funny New Yorkers really, really, really want to have a barbecue style all their own. For now they can just have headlines like this that proclaim it while the story that follows isn’t very convincing of the premise. I don’t even think the author was convinced. —

– Governor Perry likes Texas barbecue, and he even tried some in New York City at Hill Country BBQ Market:

 

– A new article over on AmazingRibs.com investigates and reports on “What You Need To Know About Wood, Smoke, And Combustion”

– Finally, I don’t usually get too caught up with the latest polls on Zagat, but this one was surprising. I prefer Texas barbecue, but Southern barbecue is more widespread throughout the US. However, the results don’t lie. More people (who bothered to fill out the Zagat questionnaire) prefer Texas style barbecue (see slide 4) to other predominant American styles.