23
Jun

2014 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Crew & Pitmasters

Posted by on . -- Cook-Off

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters01And … one more catch-up post. We have the best pit crew on the planet. Love that our barbecue family joins up with us, too. Wayne Mueller, Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor Texas, and Barry Sorkin, of Smoque, in Chicago were a huge help.

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BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters03THE PITMASTER Ed Mitchell, the North Carolina legend himself.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters04They don’t come any finer than Don McLemore of Big Bob Gibson.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters05Really proud of our protegé Billy Durney, of Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He was over the moon to be included in the 2014 line-up. This is his sweet daughter, Emma Rose.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters06Proudly representing the STL … long-time friend Mike Emerson of Pappy’s Smokehouse with Mike and Phillip Heern.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters07I’m surrounded by brisket boys. Daniel Delaney of Delaney BBQ and Wayne Mueller.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters08Our pit boss, Phillip Heern, with Elizabeth Knight and Luke Ray of Ole Hickory Pits.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters09The crew. This is our core 17th Street pit crew ..

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters10… and this includes all of our volunteers. The best!

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters11John Hulslander, of Gator John’s BBQ in Ft. Myers, Florida, has attended a handful of our OnCue classes and he’s become a dear friend. Erik Hernandez is our pitmaster from Memphis Championship Barbecue, our Las Vegas operation. We couldn’t do it without them!

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters12Stevie Mitchell, brother of Ed Mitchell. Always a blessing to spend time with him.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters13These guys. Pat Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Nashville and more, and Sam Jones of Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina. Barbecue family through and through.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters14Barry and Wayne are rib-cutting machines.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters15Tracy Heern, a supervisor at our Marion, Illinois restaurant, works alongside Wayne. This was her first trip to New York City.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters16Shelley Phillips, Tim Love, and me. Shelly and Tim are part of C3 Presents, the new owners of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters17Tracy and Barry are working with Randy Kane and David Bogan, amazing volunteers.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters18Phillip Lorelle of the Union Square Events kitchen joined up to learn more about working the pits. The Union Square Events kitchen also has an Ole Hickory Pit. They produce amazing food. Think about them if you need catering in New York City or the surrounding area!

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters19Shane Linn and his son, Lawson Linn, of Townsend Spice. The freshest kitchen spices and custom blenders of dry rubs. You should check them out.

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BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters21Mike and Tim Love. Tim and I met several years ago when we were judges on the Food Network show Best in Smoke.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters22We supplied the ribs for the rib-bon cutting, signifying the opening of the celebration. That’s one of our custom R. Murphy Legend Series knives on the tray. You can buy a set here.

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters23Cheers to the start of the 2014 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party!

BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters24Danny Meyer, Mike, and Ed Mitchell have witnessed the tremendous growth of this party.

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BlockParty_CrewAndPitmasters26Pit Crew, day two. Wardrobe change. The New Pork Times, reporting for duty.

BlockParty_NextGen

 

The next generation. These pictures make me smile. Top: My children, Faye Landess and Woody, with Ryan Mitchell, son of Ed Mitchell. Bottom: Andrew Lilly, son of Chris Lilly, Faye Landess, Woody, and Jacob Scott, Erin Campbell, and Claire Campbell of Ubon’s.

 

All pics © Ken Goodman Photography

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Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too!

23
Jun

2014 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Friends

Posted by on . -- On The Road

BlockParty_Friends_01Before I begin sharing the fun of the 2015 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, I realized that there were so many great images from last year that I’ve neglected to post! Pictured above, along with Mike and me, is David Knight, owner of Ole Hickory Pits. He is a huge champion of 17th Street, and never fails to provide pit power when we need it!

BlockParty_Friends_02My new friend Graceanne Jordan is a hospitality powerhouse and involved in all things Craft and Tom Colicchio. Loved spending time with her and her group of friends.

BlockParty_Friends_05Julian Van Winkle is greeting his friend Katie Hagan-Welchel, Kentucky native and badass chef de cuisine/pitmaster at Ad Hoc in Yountville, California. I spy Levon Wallace and Preston Van Winkle in the background.

BlockParty_Friends_06Family portrait. Mills and Van Winkle families. Love.

BlockParty_Friends_07Best in Smoke reunion photo. We love reminiscing about the filming of that show. Chris Lilly, me, David Mawhinney, who was part of the winning team, holding his sweet son, Des, and Ken Hess.

BlockParty_Friends_08I worked with Gus Pena in the creative department at Talbots and I’m so happy we’ve remained great friends and in touch. Means so much that he and his wife, Kerry Weiss, came from Boston to hang at the Block Party with us.

BlockParty_Friends_09Lauren Hirschberg, corporate chef for Craft and Wayne Mueller, of Louie Mueller Barbecue. No arm wrestling this year.

BlockParty_Friends_10Southern Living was a corporate sponsor for a number of years. Here’s Greg Keyes, along with other Southern Living teammates. Another point of connection: Greg’s son and mine were classmates at Sewanee.

BlockParty_Friends_11Mike Mills being interviewed by one of the numerous film crews that are usually swarming this event.

BlockParty_Friends_12Feeding the military is one heartwarming aspect of the Block Party. We pluck them out of line and show them some hospitality. So very grateful for these men who fight to keep us free.

BlockParty_Friends_13Townsend Spice is another one of our vendors and sponsors and supporters of all things 17th Street. They provide our kitchen spices and blend our Magic Dust, using our recipe. This is Shane Linn, the owner. Contact him for all of your spice needs. They are awesome people with whom to work.

BlockParty_Friends_BabiesOur littlest guests. So sweet.

BlockParty_Friends_CrowdsThe sea of people this event draws is amazing and overwhelming. Nothing like it in New York City. I spy Elizabeth and Jeff Moore of Green Olive Media and Chris Macias, a talented New York City chef who helps each year.

BlockParty_Friends_IndustryLevon Wallace, chef/partner in the soon-to-open Cochon Butcher in Nashville, Char, Lauren, and Sydney Hirschberg, George Mendes, Gennaro Pecchia of Men Who Dine with Graceanne Jordan and Justin.

BlockParty_Friends_PressSo many media friends! Daniel Vaughn, Texas Monthly barbecue critic, and Doris, Paula, Kate Krader, of Food + Wine, and Robin Insley, publicist extraordinare of Robin Insley Associates. With a cameo selfie of Ken Goodman.

BlockParty_Friends_SewaneeBarbecue is about friends and family and I love that my son is surrounded by his Roxbury Latin School, Winsor, and Sewanee friends each year. A great way for them to gather in the city. Some of them even pitch in and help!

BlockParty_Friends_USHGFavorite people. Always great to visit with Union Square Hospitality Group people whom we met at the beginning of the Blue Smoke journey. David and Susan Swinghamer, brilliant and nice. The best combination. Michael Romano, from whom we learned far more than we taught.

BlockParty_Friends_ViertelBroadway comes to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Tom Viertel and Pat Daily are dear, long-time friends and huge supporters. It’s safe to say that without them, there’d be no Blue Smoke and no Block Party. Cheers to the power and love of barbecue!

Stay tuned for this year’s photos … coming soon!

Photos © Ken Goodman Photography. He really is the best.

Keep up with us!
Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too!