Hill Country Part 3

Throughout the day calls came and went back and forth to Rob and the restaurant to find out how things were going. At one point the came and grabbed a large number of briskets to bring back to the restaurant. With the constant drizzle and lack of bodies it was usually nothing positive to say. The public was waiting. The people waiting appeared dispirited. I, on the other side, was pleased. The pit was holding temp and everything looked great. The meat remained moist and beautiful. Everything coming off the Barbecue 42 the grill part of the contraption known as Large Marge was also performing well on the day. At on point the head honcho of Hill Country arrived with his wife, and sample Matt's creations. I believe it was the ribs, and they were both complimentary. Everything cooked on the Grill was gone by the end except for the pulled beef that was served last. I want to thank Barry for bringing me that drink. It was most appreciated. I needed a break from the Bourbon. Our sister came for a long part of the day and she danced and sang along with many of the songs that were played. Also more out of order pictures. Pictures of the uncooked chick you've already seen finished, and served, also more pictures of The Ackleys. There were other performers but they were less interesting, although the local punk band was good. They had an certain intensity, and some presence. Couldn't tell if the songs were good. It was to busy wondering around.

Fourth of July w/ HIll Country Part two

The morning was endless. We got there early and with the weather and the two o'clock publick opening things seemed to elongate and drag. Hill Country was open for lunch and dinner, and Pit Master Rob Richter was vending in Madison Square Park. This was a big day for them. Big Lou was in charge and ran things smoothly, albeit slowly. The set up took time including getting power for lights and the Globe slicer. After the tables and tents were put together and all the restaurant supplies; the napkins, sauce, spice rub, and bread all that was left was to fill the pit. Through the two layers of plastic the heat of the briskets was intense. I filled the vertical and had difficulty getting the briskets from the coolers to the pit. The briskets were beautiful with heavily marbled and nearly gelatinous points and firm but tender flats, and an incredible aroma of beef and rub. After awhile Lou started cutting sandwiches to "test" the slicer dipping them into a pan of reserved beef juices that came from the Briskets resting in the coolers. D.J's spun records people danced and sang along. More bands played this one is The Ackleys from Birmingham, Alabama. They were also entertaining, but played to almost no one unfortunately. These picture are from about 11:oo to around 11:30 I was drinking heavily and the pictures are not all correctly sequenced chronologically.

July 4th with Hill Country @ The Water Taxi Beach Part 1

The Fourth was a grey, almost dismal day. It was overcast and humid enough to make everything clingy and uncomfortable. We trudged out to SI to grab Large Marge and discovered the lock to the pit had jammed and Matt and I, although mostly Matt, had to saw the chain off. We got to the site and it seemed clear that it would rain. To some the rain was misery, but I was undeterred by the inclement weather. I also had little true responsibility. I was assisting Matt. I would help load Marge with brisket and then just wonder around with my camera phone and talk to people. The day dragged on uneventful, other vendors arrived offering sausage and ice cream. Then D.J's and Bands performed while we cooked and waited for the fireworks. However that was still to come when these pictures were taken. The band pictured is called Tygerbeat. I found them endearing. Others disagreed. During this time Matt continued to preheat the pit and start preparing food for the Hill Country crew. Over the course of the day he made kielbasa, chicken, ribs and shrimp. The pictures in this post are of our arrival and the beginning of the set up. They were taken starting around 10:30 or 11 AM. While we helped set up our gear, clean and prep Marge, start the fire and all the other tasks needed to start cooking.

Bernice's Party

I'm sorry for the blurry quality of some of the photos, but because of the limited number of shots to post them all.

Cheney lied about Iraq the first time too.

You can file this one under no big surprise. The first gulf war was founded on a lie as well. Here is some random stuff. It's not hard to find out about just very sad.

http://www.representativepress.org/LiesAboutIraq.html
http://www.hermes-press.com/like_son.htm
http://www.dailymotion.com/Top-Notch112 -has a lot of great political videos including some great Iraq stuff.