We Have a Barbecue Editor
March 25, 2013 12:22 PM   Subscribe

We Have a Barbecue Editor. Texas Monthly has hired Daniel Vaughn (Full Custom Gospel BBQ) to be its first Barbecue Editor, a unique position in the U.S.
posted by kmz (13 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Apparently, Texas Monthly doesn't think my list of dream job titles is long enough.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:29 PM on March 25, 2013 [3 favorites]


Good for them. How awesome to get a job writing about something you've already written all about--a book, even! Come deadline, you can just roll out the greatest hits of your back catalog, revisit some favorites, have a better budget, etc.

Also: Texas Monthly is the only time I wish I weren't Texan--for me, it's the worst magazine about Texas there is but, if I weren't from here I wouldn't know that and could just enjoy it and be happy about, for example, their new food critic. Do other Texans--no, not you, Bay-Area-man-living-in-Austin--feel this way?
posted by resurrexit at 12:35 PM on March 25, 2013


Are there other notable "lifestyle" magazines about Texas? I'd rather get my political news from the Texas Observer but I'm not sure that Texas Monthly has any competition in its niche.
posted by grouse at 1:00 PM on March 25, 2013


I'd find that job nerve wracking. In SF and LA you can have very heated discussion about the best tacos and burrito joints.

Giving low marks to someone's favorite Texas BBQ eateries would be a quick way to get a White Oak log thrown through your window with a grease-stained threat about being fed to some prize hog in bite size chunks.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 1:13 PM on March 25, 2013 [2 favorites]


Meh, bbq guys take 16 hours to do anything. I think you could outrun them.
posted by yerfatma at 1:18 PM on March 25, 2013 [4 favorites]


Don't Texans think brisket is barbecue?

Silly Texans. With their funny hats and their pretending that beef is barbecue.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:57 PM on March 25, 2013 [2 favorites]


That guy's site is great; my fiancée lives in Arlington, and it's helped me find the best brisket around (which is some of the best brisket anywhere).

Top choices:

Off the Bone (in the old Dairy Queen)
Longoria's
Angelo's (Fort Worth)
And one not on his list, Feed Store in Colleyville

I am happy for him, but I would literally eat myself to death if I had that job.
posted by oneironaut at 2:17 PM on March 25, 2013


My cholesterol is approaching infinity just thinking about that job. As much as I like smoked meat, I don't think I'd want the job. There is very definitely danger in too much of a good thing.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:26 PM on March 25, 2013


Also: Texas Monthly is the only time I wish I weren't Texan--for me, it's the worst magazine about Texas there is but, if I weren't from here I wouldn't know that and could just enjoy it and be happy about, for example, their new food critic. Do other Texans--no, not you, Bay-Area-man-living-in-Austin--feel this way?

Courtesy of some relatives of my Texan wife, we get Texas Monthly way up here in the PNW and I couldn't disagree more.

To me, it perfectly captures the schizophrenic nature of Texas, what with ads for luxury cars, big houses and fancy boutiques juxtaposed with dreamy reminiscing about Ranches and small-town living.

Articles about the urbanization of the state and its effect on politics in one issue, then a paean about some family who came out West, married natives, and have been living on the same homestead for 7 generations.

I'm not saying it's all great. They certainly have their share of fluff pieces, but they aren't afraid of long-form articles either, which puts them well ahead of the state-wide magazines and quarterlies we get up here.
posted by madajb at 3:21 PM on March 25, 2013


I found Texas Monthly a lot more compelling when I lived outside of Texas. Their long form journalism is still great but now that I live in Austin, I find a lot of the Burka political stuff is better handled by other outlets, like the Texas Tribune.

I've always loved their barbecue coverage, though, and I've long loved Full Custom Gospel as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does with the Top 50 list. And really looking forward to the festival at the Long Center this year. Them's good eatin!
posted by immlass at 5:20 PM on March 25, 2013


resurrexit: "Also: Texas Monthly is the only time I wish I weren't Texan--for me, it's the worst magazine about Texas there is but, if I weren't from here I wouldn't know that and could just enjoy it and be happy about, for example, their new food critic. Do other Texans--no, not you, Bay-Area-man-living-in-Austin--feel this way?"

As a born-and-raised, honest-to-BBQ, give me my Rangers, my Astros, and my Gulf Coast Texan, I love Texas Monthly. Sure, there are other places that do some things different or better--like Texas Observer or even, help us, D Magazine--but Texas Monthly hits all the right bits. I love their long-form, Texas-focused journalism about things that really matter: justice, lawmaking, water, some sports things, regional concerns, etc. Living there or not, I subscribe to Texas Monthly and I'll have it as long as they're still around to send it to me.
posted by fireoyster at 3:50 AM on March 26, 2013


Longoria's - I live a half-dozen miles west of there. The Longorias are a genuinely nice family.

I wonder if this is somehow related to the fact that Fort Worth is the only city in the country with a job title of "Trail Boss"?
posted by Doohickie at 9:37 AM on March 26, 2013


I am happy for him, but I would literally eat myself to death if I had that job.

Ever get a look at Bud Kennedy, the food editor for the Ft Worth Star-Telegram? I think he's doing precisely that.
posted by Doohickie at 9:38 AM on March 26, 2013


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