In A Nutshell – November 2019

November was a continuation of my Spain and Italy trip with Carlos but it also included my favorite food event of the year, Texas Monthly BBQ Fest including the Franklin and Friends event. Lots of meat was consumed but I’m not sure that’s any different than any other month… haha anyway, enjoy the wrap up!

Restaurante Morelia – Barcelona, Spain

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A lot of our lighter meals looks like this, with a few simple tapas. Tomato bread (pan con tomate), patatas bravas, blistered padrón peppers, an empanada, and some wine from @moreliabcn. Simple, delicious, and affordable can't be beat plus this was in a cute plaza where we sat outside and ate and enjoyed the cool night.

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 2, 2019 at 8:47am PDT

Micklethwait at TMBBQ Fest – Austin, TX

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If you're not at the @texasmonthly BBQ Fest today you're missing out on some great food! This was the @mill.scale pit @tomtompickleplate of @craftmeats was using to cook up his offerings for the attendees, isn't it beautiful? I'll get back to sharing the finale of my trip to Spain tomorrow but for today, it's all about meat!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 3, 2019 at 11:53am PST

Restaurante El Arrozal – Madrid, Spain

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What's one thing you know I'm not gonna miss on my first visit to Spain? – Paella, obviously! @atxcocktails found this spot just a short walk from our hotel on our last night in Madrid. Carlos is quite picky about his paella and this one met his taste requirements, which says something. The crust could've been improved but they're pumping out small paellas pretty fast so that's not entirely unexpected. Definitely check this spot out if you can't get down to Valencia on your trip, it's pretty great!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:06am PST

Franklin and Friends – Austin, TX

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Wanna know what bites from the @texasmonthly Franklin & Friends event stood out to me? – I must say it's pretty awesome when someone hands you a @franklinbbq beef rib out of the blue. Generally beef ribs are delicious as hell but much too rich for me to have more than a couple bites so luckily I had a couple friends nearby to pass it to after those bites. Franklin was also serving up a brisket taco topped with queso, doña sauce, and pickled onions that was so damn tasty. – @evanleroybbq and his @leroyandlewis crew were offering up their amazing beef cheek with a verde salsa on a slice of bread, if you've not had his beef cheek, you're missing out on some good eats! – @conveniencewest_bbq had a couple of the most talked about items at the event including the vegan friendly (and super awesome) carrot dip as well as the cabrito tacos. That dip, though, I may dream about it in the future… – @charlie_bbq out of a Beaumont was a new name to me but those pork ribs were damn good! Maybe I need to stop in on my next drive to NOLA… 🤔 – Finally we have the Texan Cuban sandwich which might have been my favorite of the event. If you know @briskit_wispuhrer you know he does sandwiches really damn well, just make a visit to @pftxbbq and see that brisket grilled cheese! This thing was freaking huge and was exactly what I needed at that moment. As for the final photo, I call it John², always a blast to be around one of the nicest people in Texas BBQ, John Brotherton. – Did you go to the Franklin & Friends event? What was your favorite thing? Shout out to my buddy @thesmokingho for inviting me along, I appreciate it!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 12, 2019 at 9:09am PST

Carpenter’s Hall – Austin, TX

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What's your favorite kind of burger? – I really enjoy smashed griddle style burgers like what @carpentershallatx serves up because those crispy edges on the patty are heaven. This is the double meat griddle burger from their lunch menu and it's made very simply with cheese, sweet onions, pickles, and special sauce. This bad boy seems to be near the top of several best burgers in Austin lists and while I'm still figuring out my personal top 10 (or 15 since there's so many good burger in Austin) I do think it's important to note that you should go with the double on this one for the optimum meat-to-bun ratio. Don't overlook Carpenter's Hall in the @CarpenterHotel because they're doing great things on all of their menus. – Do you have a top 3 burger list? Tell me in the comments!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 15, 2019 at 7:50am PST

Terry Black’s Barbecue – Austin, TX

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What foods do you think my colleagues asked for when they visited Austin recently? – Well obviously one request was BBQ and I had just the spot, @terryblacks_bbq. Beforehand I asked people to let me know which meats sounded good to them and made one big order to take advantage of their big family pack consisting of 6lbs of meat and 5 quarts of sides for just $190! We got a bit of everything including lean and fatty brisket, ribs, original and jalapeno cheddar sausage, chopped brisket, and turkey. We ended up with about 7-8lbs of meat in the end but there was hardly any left once they got at it.

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 16, 2019 at 9:53am PST

Red Ash Italia – Austin, TX

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Why is it that all the best things resist photographing well? – This is the monster 65 ounce USDA Prime porterhouse "la fiorentina" from @redashatx that's been dry aged for 50 days and sourced from @meatsbylinz out of Chicago. Down here in Texas you may not have heard about Linz but if you think of a world-class Chicago steakhouse it's likely they're serving Linz beef. This beautiful slab of meat was cooked perfectly and all of my out of town guests were blown away by everything that was ordered. Each new visit to Red Ash causes me to become an even bigger fan than I already was, it is easily the best restaurant in Austin at this moment and that's unquestionable! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 I want to give a huge thank you to Owner/Executive Chef John Carver for getting my group and I in to the restaurant on relatively short notice; THANK YOU, Chef!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 22, 2019 at 9:03am PST

Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue – Austin, TX

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Fancy presentation and plating from a barbecue joint? – Only @lambertsbbq in downtown Austin could be so fancy. These things were not just beautiful on the plate but were also delicious as all get out. This is their Crispy Wild Boar Ribs appetizer made with a honey & sambal sauce on top of a buttermilk blue cheese dressing with a celery & daikon slaw. That honey & sambal sauce though? I could drink that stuff by the gallon, it was so good.

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 23, 2019 at 8:50am PST

Miller’s Smokehouse – Belton, TX

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Where can you get fantastic BBQ, coffee, and baked goods in one place? – @millerssmokehouse in Belton! Belton is a super short drive from Austin up 35 and is worth the trip to check out one of the top BBQ places in Texas. The entire Miller family and crew are wonderful which is just a bonus when you consider that the food speaks for itself. This was from our trip up there last Sunday and it's a bit of their brisket and half a chicken which lemme tell ya don't skip the chicken, they do it better than most. Also, while you're there, be sure to snag yourself a house-made dessert from @millersbakedgoods, or you'll be missing out.

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 24, 2019 at 9:16am PST

Cocktail of the Month:
Dr. Stravinsky – Barcelona, Spain

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What do you think I ordered at one of the World's 50 Best Bars? – Since @atxcocktails shared his drink from @dr.stravinsky_bcn I should show you mine. It kind of looks like your typical old fashioned but you'd be wrong in thinking they have anything typical at Dr. Stravinsky's. This is their 'Altitudes' cocktail made with @auchentoshan American oak whisky, @rumbarjamaica gold, porcini mushroom vermouth, and juniper ratafia. They create 60% of all ingredients in-house and refrain from using any commercial mixers, like Coca-Cola, in their drinks. If you're a fan of delicious and complex cocktails then this should be high on your must visit list for Barcelona, plus, it's one of the 50 Best Bars in the World!

A post shared by ATXFoodGuy – John Kulow (@atxfoodguy) on Nov 7, 2019 at 1:55pm PST