Hey oldbill, no harm no foul. I get in trouble probably more than most for forgetting how hard it is to convey sarcasm or a joking tone when the person I'm talking to can't see me or doesn't know me or if they're reading it.
Very good point, to put out excellent BBQ, the kind that gains lots of media attention.. thinking Franklin's, Louie Mueller BBQ etc.. takes a lot of quality control and attention to detail. It would be very difficult to make enough good BBQ to last 9-10 business hours. However, making good consistent BBQ is the key and you make your money by charging for that quality. Surviving long term depends on location and serving the type of people willing to pay for that quality. Franklins makes a living on serving young single hipster types with spending money. The same kind that can help make you famous using social media. I will say his success and reputation is well deserved. That's my opinion anyways.
No, I agree with you 100%. I think I have the location nailed because while Macon, GA is no Austin in terms of hipster population, it is going up. There's a big push for local stuff here as well as all over the nation and frankly, nobody around here is pushing that through their restaurant. There may be a handful that will, but none of them are bbq places.
JS, there are crazy food markets and Austin is one of them. I would venture that if Aaron Franklin had started somewhere else, that did not have the strong economy of tech hipsters, he would have had a hard time making it. There are markets like that, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Asheville, and a few others, that can support someone who is going to cook Prime grade briskets, cook only a set number and be done. Most areas will not get it.
Yeah I'm caught in a place that I think I could benefit from the hipster types as far as technology and food uppityness goes, but I'm also in Georgia, where a fair amount of people couldn't even understand why somebody like Franklin would only serve x amount of brisket and would generally get mad if you ran out of anything. This is the reason I'm looking for the best compromise between an authentic bbq taste and texture, and being able to produce a good amount, with no loss of quality, all night long. I know it'll be tough, but I got two other people I can drag on board who will absolutely hold the same quality standards I want. I just have to find the right smoker to make that quality product.
I would tend to disagree that a lot of the folks running Southern Prides, gas CTO's etc...have no desire or lack the dedication to turn out great BBQ. I think there is a lot of generalization and assumptions about the business of running a restaurant that are being missed.
If you run an all wood operation, you are going to incur some costs, that may not be paid back in the long run. Such as sourcing wood year around, that is seasoned and ready to burn. The cost of storing said wood, as you will need to store at least enough to last between loads and you can't store that wood in the kitchen, that isn't allowed and square footage costs money. The disposal of the ash, that is an interesting thing, then there is the flue, and the fact that it will need to be cleaned often, and sweeping isn't cheap in an urban/suburban setting.
I think a lot of folks start off with the best of intentions, and find out, that there are just a lot of issues with doing things the "right" way.
Yeah, I agree. I would love to have a giant Lang or two or something or another out back smoking the hell out of stuff. I can't though, for various reasons. I'm sure there are people out there making really good bbq with gas and whatnot, and that's what I'm trying to find out. CAN you make really, really, good, smoked meat with a gas assist wood fired smoker? Does it taste at least as good as what I can make on my Weber OTS at home? Can I build a charcoal or wood basket for it and have it run on that unattended for 6-8-10 hours without the gas coming on if need be? Do I HAVE to have the gas running? Can I just fill it full of charcoal and fabricate a bbqguru to the door of a 20,000 dollar smoker. Do pellets really do as good as everybody says? I've never had bbq that I know of off of either, so I'm just not sure how good it can be.
Another option:
http://www.anbewley.com/
Bewley was a partner with Oyler. Started own company after Oyler's death when company was sold to J.R
Thanks, I'll check them out too.
Real Urban BBQ in Highland Park, IL uses FEC 500s and it is the best restaurant Q I have ever had. I'm not sure what he uses in his other 2 soon to be 3 other restaurants but that FEC 500 does the job just fine.
Thank you I appreciate it. I've checked them out and they look pretty good.
I still can't believe the comments and suggestions that you guys are throwing out and I want to say again that I thank you.
