One of the things that has kept me participating in what is a very expensive hobby with only limited success, has been the people. 90% of the people I’ve met who have a passion for food, especially BBQ are just overall great folks. Mike and Shane of DBQ are no exception.
I’ve been following DBQ on Twitter for some time now and they are also a spice and sauce sponsor for my competition team, Pappa Charlies BBQ.  We’ve chatted, emailed, phoned and DM’ed but never met in person. So, when I found out they were going to be in my hometown for a rib challenge I knew I had to be there.
We linked up the first time on Friday, the day prior to the event. They were committed to some press events for the show but had time for lunch so I treated them to what Houston is famous for… TexMex.  Now, I know you were thinking I was going to say BBQ but two things come into play here, 1. When your cooking almost every weekend, that is almost the last thing you want to dine on and 2. While the rest of the state does it very well, I will say the Que in Houston is well, just not that good.  We met at my local joint and chatted like we had known each other for years.
Saturday rolled around and my wife and I headed over to the Houston Hot Sauce Festival which was pretty close to my house.  For those who have never been here, Houston is big city and I was lucky enough to have this nearby so the commute was easy.  I had heard the festival was growing but I was surprised at the line to get in the gate.  It stretched around the corner and was about 50 people deep!
We followed the smell of smoke and made our way to the “line up” of cookers. Mike and Shane were knee deep into “Peoples Choice” which was one of 3 cooks they actually had to do that day.  I hung around their EZ up for a while, mooched a beer or two but tried to stay out of there way.  The line for this was even longer than the line to get in. During this time the wife and I tried some of the Hot Sauces and Salsas.  I must say, I like spicy food but some of it was obnoxiously hot!  Which of course meant a trip to the beer stand, or perhaps two. We did find a great local salsa and purchased a few bottles of that.
Corporate America had moved me to Phoenix a few years back and that’s where I started my competition Que career. So, I knew another team there Vince and Alexa of Rhythm N Que, so we bounced back and forth between DBQ and their tent.  That’s the thing, for us cookers, that could have been any competition anywhere.. its smoky and your under an EZ UP.  Could have been Arizona or Kentucky but in this case it was Texas and the BBQ Bonding was taking place.  I guarantee that if someone had left something at home, someone out there would have provided it for them.  It is the one thing that probably keeps me coming back more than anything else.
Though I will say, DBQ was right next to one of the 10% who can’t seem to quit babbling about how good their products are and how everyone uses and loves their stuff.  Sadly, the won people’s choice, but I’m out here cooking in Texas pretty regular and I’ve never seen nor heard of their product and I won’t seek it out if that’s the image the project at a very public event.
DBQ was gearing up to feed all the vendors for dinner so we had to go.  Shane loaded me up with products for my upcoming cooks and I said goodbye. They know if they are ever here again and want to compete, I’ll help them with whatever it is they need. While I have not verified this through them, I’m confident that if I went to Kentucky, I could show up with nothing more than a sharp knife and they would help me procure what I needed to compete with. Good stuff all the way around.
You can follow us on Twitter @pappacharlies or on the web at www.pappacharliesbbq.com
See you in the Smoke!