3
Jul

Mitchell Davis of James Beard Foundation interviews Mike & Amy at Roberta's in Brooklyn

Posted by on . -- On The Road, OnCue Consulting, Press

Radio interview, Roberta's, Mitchell DavisMike MillsWhile we were in town for the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party we recorded an interview with Mitchell Davis on his Taste Matters show broadcast every Wednesday on Heritage Radio Network.

We talked about barbecue and its various nuances, regional styles, the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, OnCue and the education/training we offer at 17th Street and a gave tips for great barbecue in your own backyard. Listen to the entire interview here.

The unique studio is located inside Roberta’s, a trendy Bushwick pizza joint. The building is constructed out of shipping containers cobbled together with various found and reclaimed pieces of wood, metal, and other artifacts – kind of like the Brooklyn version of The Shed. A large window in the studio overlooks the light-filled back dining area of the restaurant. The diners could see us recording and our mouths were watering as we watched trays laden with food being delivered to table after table. We were happy to relax over a delicious lunch after the show.

Please consider supporting Heritage Radio Network, the most progressive for food and culture radio in America. The membership-supported station is committed to archiving, protecting, and advancing our country’s rich food culture through programs that give voice to America’s leading food professionals, farmers, policy experts, artists, and tastemakers.

If you’re in the New York City/Brooklyn areas, you might be interested in this upcoming Hawaiian Barbecue fundraiser, benefitting the station, on Sunday, August 11 in the back garden of Roberta’s.

Thank you so much for inviting us, Mitchell. We were honored to be guests!

 

20
Jun

Transformations at Home and at the 1-7

Posted by on . -- Design, In Our Restaurants

Transformations_Before

So many projects. We’re in refresh mode at home, in our restaurants, and in an exciting new project {more on that in the coming weeks}. Things are looking brighter with fresh paint, new artwork, and more. We’ll be sharing details soon!

 

16
Jun

Father's Day Blessings

Posted by on . -- The Mills Family, Uncategorized, Words of Wisdom

Mike Mills Amy Mills The Legend

Sharing a father/daughter moment at Memphis in May, 2013.

“The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.”  ~Garrison Keillor

Much love and respect to all of the terrific dads in my life … and most of all, I love you, Daddy!

xo MM, DG, JS, JC, SM, PM, SL, PH, WM, SJ, DM, KC, CB, GR, BC, HS, EM, NP, JH, JDW, JD, CH, DM, DA, AN, CL, KH, DK, JH, JH, SM, SS, JS, JH, BO, CO, BS, BB, KS.

What’s the best piece of advice your dad ever gave you?

5
Jun

OnCue Whole Hog Extravaganza: Whole Hog Porchetta

Posted by on . -- OnCue Consulting

WholeHog_BeltedCow_1

John Delpha of the Belted Cow Bistro in Essex Junction, Vermont, is one of the finest chefs I know. His skill in the kitchen is matched only by the depth of his restaurant and catering business knowledge. Having him as part of an OnCue event is a bonus. In addition to his cheffing skills, he’s a barbecue guy as well. As a member of the IQue team, the first New England team to ever win The Jack, he’s mastered barbecue as well. At the Whole Hog Extravaganza, he did a detailed porchetta demo using a 30-lb. suckling pig.  WholeHog_BeltedCow_2

Brined and stuffed with homemade sausage, seasonings and pork tenderloins, the end result was a riot of crispy skin, spicy sausage, and delicate pork flavor.

Read more about the Brisket Bonanza and BBQ MBA portions of this event here and here. 

The next Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza/BBQ MBA will be held January 19-21, 2014. For a gallery of 2013 event photos, taken by the great Ken Goodman, click here.

 

4
Jun

A Very Special Club

Posted by on . -- OnCue Consulting, The Mills Family, Words of Wisdom

ThreeGenerationsOfBBQ

© Ken Goodman Photography

Three members of the Children of Legends club; each of us trying to forge our own path, ever mindful of the legacy for which we’re responsible and the enormous wings on which we fly.

Come see us in action at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Sam is cooking his famed whole hog for the first time this year and Wayne is  joining our crew at the 17th Street spot.

There are still a few passes left for the Weber Grilling School, VIP tent, and oyster & barbecue events. Click here to purchase! Fast Passes are sold out.

Sam Jones, Skylight Inn, Ayden, NC, Amy Mills, 17th Street BBQ, Southern Illinois, Wayne Mueller, Louie Mueller Barbecue, Taylor, TX

 

3
Jun

OnCue: BBQ MBA

Posted by on . -- OnCue Consulting

The BBQ MBA is part of the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza event held each January. While the hogs and brisket are cooking, we gather to hear wisdom, advice, and cautionary tales from the pitmasters and marketing/media masterminds.

I love feeling of potential that greets me every January as I start a fresh New Year. The exercise of planning and putting ideas and concrete goals in my calendar is immensely satisfying. For the past two years, much of my inspiration has come from the BBQ MBA portion of the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza. The ideas and information we share helps me prioritize specific projects and provide a burst of energy in my creative thinking.

WholeHog_SpeakerPanelThe pitmasters talked about restaurant branding, how television affected their businesses, and their own personal barbecue journeys.

WholeHog_KatThe incomparable Kat Kinsman, editor of CNN’s eatocracy.com took the stage with equally eloquent Mitchell Davis, EVP of the James Beard Foundation and me and we discussed social media dos and don’ts and how to use it to develop relationships, as well as PR strategies for winning media attention.

WholeHog_SpeakersMitchell also gave a rousing talk aptly titled, “Barbecue in Context: from Pits to Pouilly Fuissé” – a perfectly on-point discussion about barbecue’s place in American cuisine. Brilliant marketing and branding mastermind Aric Nissen spoke about branding and menu engineering. I shared ideas and insight about the real work behind building a successful barbecue restaurant and brand.

Did you attend this year’s event? I’d love to hear your favorite takeaway in the comments below.

Read about the Brisket Bonanza portion of this event here. Read more about OnCue events and the 2013 – early 2014 schedule here.

Follow our speakers on twitter here: Amy, Kat, Mitchell, Aric, Wayne, Barry, Brad, Sam, and John.

Make 2014 your best year ever and join us at the next Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza/BBQ MBA which will be held January 19-21, 2014. All photos © Ken Goodman Photography. View the entire gallery here.

2
Jun

Reading this week

Posted by on . -- Reading, Uncategorized

Hingham High School graduation.

This week was filled with end-of-year activities, prom, and graduation.

Here are some links that made me think:

The Chicago Sun-Times fired its photographers. As a journalist and a friend to a number of photojournalists, this makes me sad and makes me shudder. The best photojournalists I know have a gift for capturing humanity. That trained perspective will surely be lost when an accompanying photo is an iPhone afterthought.

Speaking of photography … as someone whose event photos have been compromised by multiple “photographers,” I found this to be dead on and kind of sad. Let’s all try to be more courteous and let event photographers do their job. And to take it a step further, sometimes it’s more fun to just live the experience and put the phone away.

Texas Monthly barbecue critic Daniel Vaughn talks brisket grade and pricing.

The Glass Castle was a fascinating memoir and this profile of Jeanette Walls is equally interesting and disturbing.

I follow Rachel Sklar on twitter. She seems smart and savvy and this profile confirms it. The headline is incorrect, though… she’s not trying, she pretty much IS a social media entrepreneur.

The media landscape has changed for all of us in the restaurant biz and nowhere more so than New York City. The feverish quest for online coverage is exhausting.

The Worst End of School Year Mom Ever confessional took the internet world by storm and had mothers and teachers alike howling with laughter and nodding in agreement.

My daddy taught me long ago that “first-class people associate with first-class people.” “I don’t shine if you don’t shine” and “People know you by the company you keep,” are two gems from this article:  Why powerful women make the best friends.

Frank Bruni on why siblings are a gift. So good.

2
Jun

OnCue: The Business of Barbecue April 2013 recap

Posted by on . -- OnCue Consulting

OnCue_BoB_Attendees

Enjoying a well-deserved drink at the 17th Street bar. From Southern California to South Korea, a unique group of participants gathered to hone their barbecue and business skills.

OnCue Consulting held its 11th Business of Barbecue event in back in April. This unique two-day seminar and subsequent one-on-one consulting has incubated several dozen barbecue businesses and helped numerous existing restaurants take their game to a higher level.

OnCue_BoB_BeveragesAn especially honored attendee at this class was Frank Ostini of the Hitching Post, the famed California winery and restaurant featured in the award-winning movie Sideways. We served some of Frank’s fine wine during one of our meals.

Read more about the OnCue seminars and see the 2013-early 2014 schedule here. The next Business of Barbecue class will be held in April 2014. Exact date TBD.

We are grateful to Townsend Spice & Supply, fine spice purveyors and blenders of our Magic Dust©, for sponsoring our OnCue events.  

31
May

Austin Trek Part 3: the Boots

Posted by on . -- Fashion, On The Road

Foodways_AllensBoots

Elizabeth Karmel and me outside our Mecca.

No trip to Austin is complete without a pilgrimage to Allens Boots, the premiere resource for cowboy boots and fashionable western apparel. Their huge selection of Lucchese and Old Gringo boots is unparalleled.

We shopped ’til we dropped and even outfitted Keith Schmidt with several pairs of boots. Then Keith became my personal shopper and his eagle eye spotted these:

Foodways_StingrayBootsI prefer men’s Luccheses as they fit me best. And hidden in plain sight, on a higher shelf in the men’s department, were these stingray beauties. They were custom made for a man who never picked them up. And now they are mine.

Allens has continually updated shopping site where you can shop by brand, size, etc. And if you make your way there in person, ask for Ryan or Rebecca. They are both extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Tell them I sent you!

We didn’t have much time for other shopping this time around, but we did pop into Uncommon Objects, a large antique emporium in which you can get lost for hours, and Heritage Boots, another fine boot purveyor. Both are highly recommended stops.

Read more about my Austin trip: Part 1 and Part 2.

30
May

Catering to the Pawn Stars

Posted by on . -- In Our Restaurants, On The Road

PawnStars_2

We get some pretty exciting opportunities in our Las Vegas outpost, Memphis Championship Barbecue, and the recent gig we did for Pawn Stars was a thrill. For the upcoming season, they contracted Lynrd Skynrd to come up with a new theme song and they wanted a big party with hearty food to showcase the song and kick off the season. The 250-pound pig shown above was the centerpiece.

Sidenote: In Las Vegas you actually go out to a pork farm and point out the pig you’d like to take home. This was Erick’s {our Las Vegas pitmaster} first trip to the farm and he chose an unusually large pig. We had to cut off the hooves and part of the legs to fit it on the pit. I’m guessing he’ll probably go a bit smaller next time. Nonetheless, it was one fine pig and the end result was delicious.

PawnStars_1

The gracious cast, crew, and band couldn’t say enough fine things about the food and they mingled and posed for photos, too.

PawnStars_3The new season premieres tonight, May 30, 2013. Tune in and listen to the new song … and perhaps you’ll catch a glimpse of Mike and our crew, too!

Are you a Pawn Stars fan?