Saturday, December 29, 2012

The People we meet in bbq


Well we’ve been on this BBQ journey for two years now. Hard to believe, but true, and so far, every bit of this pit crawl has been Amazing. We started out at Zarda Q and, from there, went to one of my personal favorites--and a place I believe anyone who loves BBQ needs to visit Smokin Guns BBQ.  We headed to a Kansas City Classic, Gates BBQ, and over to Don’s farm to test out his handcrafted smokers. I threw in one of my favorite smoked chicken dishes. We had some awesome Q at Woodyard BBQ, with the Pit Crawlers and again on my birthday.  All in all, we've been having a great time eating some great food and meeting even greater people.

People who cook BBQ love BBQ! There’s no other way to put it. Call it passion, pride or better yet, their heart and soul. Every bit has layers of love. It’s possible that the passion for BBQ that people have they were born with or handed down from family tradition. Maybe it’s simply a learned love. All I know is I’m thankful to be a part.

I don’t want to get into reviewing the reviews on our blog. You can go back and read them yourself and if you missed any, I think you should. What I would like to talk about briefly are the people we met. The ones I was talking about above who have that great love for BBQ. I guess what I really want to do is thank some people.

Our friend Don, the smoker builder, has to be one of the most gracious hosts I’ve ever met--giving us access to his smokers (and his entire farm really)--while never trying to influence us in any way on what we thought of his smokers. He just wanted to do what all BBQ lovers want to do: Have fun! This wasn’t about any sales pitch or an opportunity for exposure. Don just wanted to get out and have some fun--which we all did.

The folks at Gates have the passion and most definitely were born with it. Few BBQ restaurants have as deep a family history as Gates. The service we got from this family was as kind as any you could get anywhere.

When we arrived at Smokin Guns in north Kansas City they were about to close and we had no idea. We arrived just before closing and were treated with kindness and pride. In no way did they make us feel rushed or like we were keeping them. In fact we didn’t even know we were keeping them until we left and while leaving noticed the hours on the door. All they wanted to do was serve us the best BBQ with as much love as they could.

At the Woodyard, we not only found passion and pride we also found a friend in Paul the manager there. Telling us stories and answering questions, he felt more like one of us than a restaurant manager. We all felt at home there.

The very first blog posted was on Zarda Q. Eating there was like having dinner at a close relative's house.

I was sad to hear that Smokin' Babes was closing it's place to focus on catering. I certainly felt welcome there and that feeling was totally due to the people working because, when people love what they do, it reflects back on you. They love BBQ.

And Last but not least: Papa Bobs. This is a family place. When you go there, whether you’re a once- or twice-a-weeker or a first-timer, you feel like you’re a part of the family. To me, owning a family restaurant of my own, this means a lot.

I know I haven't mentioned everyone weve meet but you get the point. So to all we’ve meet along the way and to all we hope to meet in future legs of our Pit Crawl: Keep on lovin' that Q.










Cary

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