All right, welcome to Don't Drop the Tongs. I'm Bara Boy, joined by Phil the Grill, Phil Johnson from The Hut Baby. That was the same guy, Kyle, You're behind barbecue, Yes, and today we are doing things a little bit different. Generally we're all in a studio together. Now we are trying a new system where we're all doing this online. There's gonna be a video coming out, and we are taking this to the shall we say the twenty first century of podcasts? We entered the twenty first baby,
But I'm not gonna lie to you. I am a little concerned. I had a lot of apprehension about this. Yeah, I know. Wow, we practiced. We practiced this yesterday and Phil, Phil was glad we did a practice. And now as I watched this video, Phil has got a bourbon in his hand. If you've ever listened to this podcast, when bourbon Phil comes out, sometimes you just get a little wild. I need I needed the bourbon, guys. It was a long day. It was
rainy here, this was acting up today. Traffic took forever. Twenty minute ride took an hour and twenty minutes. Welcome, we got the open, We got the open going on and okay, you live in Phoenix. Welcome to the work life. I don't want to hear anything about it. Done easy, easy, I mean, my phil, don't you talk to you about traffic. I live right near the open and let me tell you what. Oh it probably get you was horrible, dude, So I had to go. I had to go. I had to go over there today to
pick up some couple of things and it was just it was wild. And then it's just it's all happening. But it's the greatest time of the year here in the valley. I'm excited though. Mother Natures turning up some rain for us this week, so it's gonna make a little interesting. But in my world, before we get started with this, if you don't know, I work in country music. And this morning woke up to the sad news of the passing of the legend Toby Keith. That's put your cup up for
that man, right, Toby, Dude. I grew up on this dude. That was my first before well besides Shanaya, that was my first like love was Toby Keith. I agree with you read everybody loved themselves and Toby Keith I did. I didn't love Toby Keith, but I'm very sad that he passed away. I went to his restaurant once or twice. The one in Desert, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I went there once or twice with my f I grew up on the one in uh in Mesa, the
Toby Keys Barn. Girl, you grew up in there. You grew up very f behind behind the friar, yeah, place I never met Kyle was uh probably there? Yeah yeah. R. I p to uh Toby Keith and uh, you know, I I've met Toby a few times. I got ship this one funny story about Toby. The very first time I ever met him. H. I was brand new my career and he was this was like when he was really exploding. I go back to stage to meet Toby in my barrel, right and uh, if you don't know what my
barrel looks like, here's my Bible head. Anyway, anyways, I go backstage to meet Toby Keith and we walk I walk up too, and he looks me and he goes, boa, what the hell are you doing? And I said, sir, I'm just trying to make it in this industry. Looks at me and he goes, there's a hell a lot easier ways to make it than wearing that. Every single time I would see Toby Keith from that day forward and I was in the barrel, he'd look at me and go, still ain't made it. Bro. We got a we had
a storage unit. Phil and I, Smitty and Justin have a storage unit. We had it started in Oklahoma. Yeah, right, And there's a big water tower next to the storage unit that says home of Toby Keith. Yeah, that's where he was talking. Yeah. Oh, is his real name Toby? Yeah? I think, oh my gosh, no, his that was his nickname or you know, I just try to know. I believe that was his middle name, and then I'm not sure. I saw it in print today that was more of his stage name, but I believe
Keith was his first was his middle name and last name. Don't quote me on that, all right, So let's get started today with don't drop the tongs. I got something for you. I got I have to get off my chest real quick, just rend we let's just get it off. Let's just go. So, there is a there is a there's a competitor named Fred Robless. He is Real Value, Real Valley Meet Company, right, he's a good dude. He's a friend of mine. He's got a meat
market, he's won, he's a world champion. He's won every contest you can think of, rightm and what uh? He's a world champions in barbecue. He's won a world championship at World Foods. He has two rubs. He's got a Blanco and Perfecto. And there are two rubs. I use them all the time. That's my secret. That's one of my go tos on my brisket and competitions. So you know, it's a salt, pepper, garlicky little kick. It's got spices, it's good, it's clear,
it's white, it's it's a bomb rub. Right Yeah, So our unicorn was on Jimmy Fallon show last night that he displayed his brand new rub that he dropped to millions of people, called Blanco. So I mean, there's me. Look, you know, I'd love to talk to them about this because I'm like, okay, hold on, but he don't answer your call. So how are you going to talk to him? Okay, hang on here, hang on here, But how are you going to fan favorite somebody?
And now I'm not bashing, I'm still a fan I'm still a fan. But hold on, Yeah, if you if you're going to come out, did those two was it a coincidence or did those two words fred rubs Fred's rubs have been out for a long time. I want to ask. He's a he's a Texas guy. He's from Texas, He's in Texas. Meet church is in Texas, North Texas. Okay, I'm just gonna hang on, hold on, hold on, bar There's a lot of there's a
lot of things that are hard to duplicate in the barbecue world. Right but like a name of a rub isn't isn't one like you know, you can't get away from like brisket rub, can't get away from brisket hot. You can't get away from like sweet. But you would think like a not a big time brand like that would kind of do its due diligence. And yeah, copy a name. Yeah, you keep saying I don't know. That's
that's saying I come out with a different name. I'll come out with call it ghost, call it Casper. Hold on, you keep talking about copying the name, copying and stuff. Right now, I have a question. Was that name copyrighted? I have no I don't know this, then if it wasn't. If it wasn't, then it's free game. Like I'm sorry, but like that's and I'm not trying to call out what's named Fred. I'm not trying to call him out because I never met the man. He
might be an awesome dude, he probably isn't he makes great products. If you guys talking about he's got to be great. Here's my Thingcid goes back to what I've been saying in the barbecue world. Is an outsider that comes to this that I do not understand. You guys come up with awesome products, awesome names. Do you copyright then are they registered trademarks? Yes or no? No? So that's what you're doing. You are allowing somebody to to what And also, by the way, Blanco, there's there's a taco
restaurant here in the valley called Blanco's Tacos. Trying to have your back, I'm sorry, I'm not trying. I'm not bashing the Fred. I'm just saying, if it's not copyrighted and it's not owned, and it's it's not like it's it's not like it was named uh xylophone, And he took it as a very common word that could be that could be said, I get it, but i'm not. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to I'm not I'm not trying to. I'm not trying to bash. But if you don't
have a copyrighted you don't got to redish your trademark on it. You don't got you don't got things on your imaging and your likeness and all that stuff. You're not protecting yourself. Yeah, but you live in the same state. Bro. That's like me coming out. Guess what I'm doing. I'm serving Philly cracks at the restaurant. It's called Philly cracking. Hold on, hold on, it's not copyright get don't get your place. Shut Philly crack.
I'm serving Philly crack wings at the restaurant because I know some people and cats a grand that to come and pay you a visit. Come on down because I'll recognize the trailer. Come on down, says fill the grill on the trailer. Come on that. Look look okay, But Philly crack wings is one of a con right. Blanco is very name, Brodie Blanco. Say something else. No, Yo, Philly crack wing is mis call it Casper Barrel. But but this is this is Kyle Manicotti's whole little thing.
That's just because. Okay, now if Fred, now, okay, let's do some market research, that's all asking. Let's make If Fred I would love to this and say these nuts, I would. I would blame Fred for stealing, but I cannot blame Matt Pittman for taking a generic name like Blanco. You might as well say white, like like, I get it. Oh, you can't use white anymore? Like you know what I mean exactly. Now, what what's the name of Fred's company, Real Valley Meet? Okay, company, I see, I see it when I I see
it when I when I Google it. Now is he the same company as Blanco Barbecue that's also in Texas? Here we go? Here we go? Because I put in Blanco Barbecue and I see Real Valley pops up. Then awesome, bro Blanco Barbecue. Okay, good congratulations. Look I'm not bashing. I know. That's why I like that one kind of stretched that one out, I mean exactly, I mean. And also the more superior products
gonna win out. Okay, I got it, I get it, I get it, I get it. But like, like maybe some okay, like like like Phil said, he has he has these nuts, he's got all these crazy names. Let's do some market research and come up with another craz Can we just get him on so I can ask him these questions. That's all I want to do, is I just want to know. I'll
call them. I'll call them. He'll probably answer your calls me. I'm not standing up for anybody in this in this situation, I'm just asking questions, and I'm gonna go back, and I'm gonna I'm gonna go right to you, Kyle, What are the names of your rubs? Green, chili, bacon rub okay, chipotle, mango rub okay, hot honey, No, because you're gonna google it off, hot honey, garlic? Right, Arizonic cajun. Okay, All those words that you said right there are very
commonly used. Nobody else can out go out there and ever come out with an Arizona rub. Well, they come out Arizona rub as soon as it's Arizona cajun. There's motel cocktails going off. But why it's is that copyrighted? No, it's not copyrighted. Barrel is honey? Is do you mean to tell me there's nobody else out there making a honey garlic rub, making a hot honey garlic rub. I don't think so. No, there's not. Now. I love I love now that. When we do coming out,
I'm coming out with a new Cajun rub. It's gonna call it the Florence Cajun Rube. See what kind of video I make with that? Okay, Hey Kyle stinging honey garlic rub. That's pretty close. We got honey garlic rub. I'm just saying, yo, does it? Does it meet? Church? Have a honey honey something like honey hissel or honey pig or pig honey pig something. I'm just saying you, guys, if you don't copyright and you don't lock it down, yeah, I know, I get
it, prol get and that's a Then that's a lesson to you. What are you gonna do it? Mine is copyright yes it is. Fruitfly is not copyr No, my name is rut me all over. It's copyrighted. Filled the grill, it's copyrighted. Yeah. But what about fruitfly? No, because fruitfly is a generic name. It's just the flavor, right. I can't get mad at fruit speaking of that, when when is fruitfly gonna be showing up? Yeah? Probably. My pantry is empty. I've been
hearing that for a long time. I got I got product, I got product. My pantry's empty. Buddy is empty too. But we're going back to this again. I understand. I understand Fred, and I think he's got a great product. You speak highly of him. If you, I give you nothing but props you always have. You're a great judge of character, except for film, but you're a great judge of character. And I don't want anybody to feel like they're being ripped off or anything like that.
But I'm gonna say this. If you don't copyright, you don't registered trademark, you don't protect yourself. You open yourself up to two things. And you know what, And here's the other thing. You may have troubles copywriting the word blanco. Oh yeah. So my point though, is is if you want to be different, name a different copyright it. Yeah, yeah, I get it. And here's the other thing. And I love how you keep saying the state of Texas, in the same state of Texas is
bigger than some countries. That's the I ain't due. I think I think there's some kind of beef between North what is it North and South Texas. I think there's some kind of beef there. I think Texas. I mean, look, it's beautiful. That's like, that's like del Vers Scottsdale. Like there's beef, there is beef. There's what's the beef between and Scottsdale. It's just thinking about what. Oh yes, oh yeah, we're about to be on the map soon. There's nobody in my neighborhood knows what why
that is? Oh yeah, there's like this weekend, I was telling people, oh, yeah, we're from one Dell. They're like, where, Yeah, where I see? I say, surprised and they're like, oh, I know where Surprised is exactly exactly right next door to spac all right. So again, when when I first met you, Kyle, and I saw your sign and it said why Dell, Arizona, that's when we had banners. Yeah, I thought I thought it was on the way to Vegas. What's that town? You go, wied, Hey, there's a there's
a there's a barbecue restaurant there for sale. By the way. I thought I saw that actually back then, but Sonny wasn't going for it. It was thirty thousand dollars. It comes with the house and the house of the back. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly exactly. Hey, you forget that because you're already living in the basement here. Bro, nobody's stopping in Wiki Up. I'll tell you that right now. Wiki Up. You ever been to Wiki Up? Actually, yeah,
you're actually in the metropolis. They have a they used to have a gas station. It blew up now, but they have. They used to have an old school gas station. Swear to god. They used to have an old school gas station there. And every time I've ever stopped, that's where I stopped to get gas because they had like cool Indian stuff in there. Yeah, and every time I would pay at the pump to get gas, I would get a text from b of A, like a couple days later,
this says, hey, uh, can you confirm these charges? And they would jack my card. It happened like three times they would jack my infot. I backed it all the way up to using that damn gas pump, but the place blew up. So we good. I'm we Gilcci. I met. I met Steve from Vegas out there because remember that trailer or
the laying smoker that sweetpea had. So I cut it off and put it on the back of the truck, right or the trailer, So I didn't have nothing to do with the toe quality, right, But he bought it from me and we met in Wiki up because that was halfway between Vegas and there. But that same gas station, swap the Adobe place. It's gone. Now, it's gone, gone, it's gone. That's all right. So again I wish everybody he was stretching on that one. Yeah you didn't.
I get. I get You're trying to stand up for your boy, and I'm all about staying up for the little uh little guys in this battle. But I'm the guy that wants to fight for the little guys. Man, all right, let's talk. Can we fight for the little guy? I just want to fight. If you want to fight for the little guy,
go ahead and tell them to arm themselves and copyright protect yourself. I can't because I haven't done it. You want to fight for the little guy, Next time you use the bathroom, make sure you protect yourself before. But all right, wait, what was that bourbon talking? That? Allright? Talking to your microphone? Because I had no idea. You remember Okay, all right, you couldn't hear me hear your so just don't mumble, don't mumble. Yeah, all right, so philm all right, so let's
let's let's go on to next thing. Right, So all right, did you see that Eater Eater YouTube that's popping out from the Royal So I was, okay, I still haven't got to my episode, and I'm gonna tell you everybody right now. It was horrible. It was horrible because wait, what was horrible the production or the people they me me that day because I was outside. You came by a couple of times. They had me outside. It was hot as balls out there, right, and it was human
and they had me outside the whole time. I couldn't go into the trailer. They had me filming the whole time, and I was I was just off my game. And they didn't explain that they was gonna like watch me from beginning to end for every turn in outside. So like, yeah, I'm scared to even see what Eater puts out for me. But anyways, good, yeah, wait, wait till you see the because that just day one. I could just tell them your face, I'll just read your face.
Yeah, I was I was. I was not happy. But anyway, so I've been catching these little series that they've been dropping each week, right, I see, And so this one, the last one that they just put out was the judges one right now, we heard about and we ran it to death about you know how that last day at the Royal for Awards they messed up scoring and no one knows why. Well, I invite everybody to go watch that Eater video which called how k CBS judges decide the
winner of the world's largest barbecue contests. Okay, let me let me just say this as a New York public school student, right, and even from New York Connecticut. Look, look first Connecticut. First off, Barrel said, I had to be cleaned, so please don't test my patience and make
me say things that we're going to get in trouble for a right. So now, now, growing up in Connecticut, YO, we had these New York standardized tests, right where you had to use a number two pantrons and you had to do you know, ABC and they put it in the machine trons. Yeah right, I'm fifty two years old. Did you see the method that they used at k CPS The judges, they had a box. It looked like they was carrying pizza menus in a box. And they had
everybody's number, the scores. They were shuffling them all around and no reason that Now I understand why they could not rectify it that night, because once all of those cards went into the back into that box, there was no way of coming back from that look and no way make And look, everybody knows that I love to jump the judges, and I'm gonna let you be the judge of this. Watch this video like again, how KCBS judges decide
the winner of the World's Biggest Barbecue contest. It's on Eater Good About. You can watch the whole thing if you want. It's about fifteen minutes long, or twelve minutes long if you go to about the ten minute mark. Just watch. And I'm gonna say, couplings on the outside looking in. There's one person who, again they're volunteers. I get it, they're not.
They're not doing this for a living. There. I appreciate somebody's volunteering in a time, but the person is typing on their keyboard, right and they got to say this the judge card. They have it in front of their screen and they're typing so they can read it properly. What is fine? Their card is in front of the screen. I just have that question and the other one that I'm just gonna ask questions about. Can we can
we stop there for a second before you can carry on? I watched it and then I watched it again because you guys were going off about it. But you're also you also are so scared to make a judge mad or to say the truth because you're afraid of getting You're afraid of getting put in k CBS jail leade. Let's call it King of said the king of King.
He's called down. It's a decade cards. If you watch it over and over again, watch's and then she holds the card up and she puts it up to the screen and she's going with her finger to verify everything's okay. You try, you try to put a piece of paper up and do this across here. You know that does leavest your eyes going across in detail? Was being wrong? Then I'm okay. Let's take that woman out. She's a nice one, she's a volunteer. Let's just bring this in here.
The quote of the quote of the entire thing. We we do a self audit, thumbs up, self audit. I think that's great. You gotta double check your work. I'm all for that. Measure twice cut once. That's what my father always says. He's in woodworking, right, measure twice cut once. All we're a little self audit before you know, makes sense. Then they drop the bombshell out of everything we get. We do an outside audit of twenty percent of them. There's way too many for us to
do all of them. So you only check twenty percent and you got eighty percent that could be wrong. So your potential, your potential is an eighty percent margin of air. I'm not making this up. Watch the video, That's what I say. And when you're determining we should post it, we should post the video. When you're determining other people exactly, Madam, I didn't. I tried to read. I read the comments, and I noticed zero barbecue guys in there. And I'm wondering why, because nobody even knows
that this is out right now. That's what I'm saying, is why. And I haven't seen it on any social media. Also, because it's eater. Eater is more of a restaurant profile. Yes, yet, that's what I was getting that. That's what I know about Eater because when they came to the Trap they did a story on the Trap House, and I know them from being it, so they're reaching right now. That brought in the audience and they you know, they picked up they didn't know not not No.
I feel like Eater because that has been my biggest thing, even you know, shouts out to uh, Mike Simon. Right, But I haven't seen yet where any cameras go beyond this is the first time I ever seen why was the judging tent? This is the first time I ever seen it allow that there was. Now that I know what goes on back there, I'm questioning whether I'm going to do another case of Yes, I tell you, I didn't see it that extreme though, Okay, I mean I didn't
see it like that. Broka, what what's what's the biggest error? What's the biggest error in in anything that you do? Right, what's the biggest error? Would you say? It's human error? Right? Yes, right, it's the biggest And how okay, in that process of them calculating the cards, even when okay, even when they brought the box and put it into those little milk cartons. Right, they put six boxes. They are relying on one person to write down the correct table number to the right card
right that that could be error number one. I think there should be some changes. I agree with that. I get it. I get it. I think there should I'd be good with it. But there was. It was about like six or seven different human error mistakes that could have happened in just that one process. Absolutely, but honestly I didn't. I personally, Kyle, I sort of got it. I personally, Kyle, I'm gonna call you out. Your red solo cup is always half full. And that's
awesome, buddy, and I love that for you. But I'm gonna tell you it's an outsider looking at this. You cannot look at this, especially knowing what the end result was. I know you could not look at this and not go oh, I could see how that happened. Yeah, that happens. Yes, It's kind of like I guess the analogy I would use would be going back and looking at a traffic camera right and knowing that down
the road there was a car accident. But you look at the traffic cams on the roads coming there and you see this person driving a erratic and not paying attention to road conditions and driving all reckless and go mistake one, mistake two, mistake three, mistake four, mistake five. Oh, I see how that happened. And I'm going to say this, it's the same thing. We know what happened at the Royal. You can't watch this and tell me that it's an organized system. There is legitimately a man again, a
volunteer. He's a nice man. I have no ill will towards this man who has a stack like this? Who's going really? And I just want to ask this question because I have never been in a competition, I'm gonna ask this question. Kyle. You're at a table, right you are. You're at a table. You're at a table one. Correct, correct, Fill's at table four. You turn in your ribs and Kyle your ribs. They don't know that it's your behind barbecue on the score. Shoot, it's
a blind draw, right. They know you were the third box. You're the third box to go around on table one, and they love it. What's the perfect score? Nine? Nine? Baby? Okay, they give you all nines? Boom right, boom? So you were the third box at table one. Boom, go Kyle, he just crushed the perfect score. Now Phil, you're at table four. You're the third box to come across. You'd be good, not great. You're nine to seven. Nine.
Oh, we're gonna we're gonna take We're gonna take your We're gonna take all of your your your cards, right, we got them, We hand them to the captain if this person does this. So now I got I got these stacks of paper, right, I got all these big stacks of paper here. Okay, now I got it. Take these stacks of paper, and I gotta go for a walk. I gotta I gotta walk, and I gotta hand it to somebody else who's gotta make sure they still keep
these stacks together. Barrel got this passport, and then I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna take these and I'm gonna do this again, and then I'm gonna take them over here, and this person's gonna enter it. And I'm gonna hope that in the process of five people handed this, that table four and table one didn't get screwed up. Yeah, because I guess what Phil's getting nine ninety nine. You're getting nine to seven nine, because the five and the two look like it's just it's it's tough for me to do.
It's tough because this is something I love and I hate. I know, I get it. I love this. How much kool aid you got in that cup right now? Are you gargling the kool aid? I'm just saying, man, look I love these Yes, I live, yes, and you love it. It was hard I live for I'm glad you love it, and I'm glad you live for it. But I'm gonna say this, I get it. There could be problems, Yes, there is mina get it. Listen. If you love it and you live for it, why
don't you love to live to improve it? And why and why if the people and why of the people who are running this are not caring and taking the same passion that you. I don't know this and other people do to fix the problem. And you know what, Hey, the American Royal ENDICACBS in twenty twenty three, we don't know what it looks like in twenty twenty four. Maybe they will fix it. Maybe the Royal in twenty twenty four will be flawless. And all we can hope is that they have taken these
things and they've improved, and they don't have a stack. As Phil says, pizza menus in a cardboard box in the back, determining who takes home thousands of dollars because correct me if I'm wrong. The man and the team that was crowned GC at the American Royal in front of everybody who had the highest moment of their career, the pinnacle the World Series, yike found out
they didn't win. That's tough. You know what got I got this stock and such brutally and it should not happen, and we saw in that video. But now it happened, could happen exactly, And that's the thing, Barrel, that's that's exactly what I saw. Now I understood why those things happen. And I don't blame I don't blame any of the volunteers neither. I don't blame I don't blame the organizer of the event. I don't blame anyone. System is broke. I say that the system isn't working. You
know what, There's always got to be modernization of things. There's always got to be saying, hey, you know what, this didn't work as well? We got to evolve to this. It's life is all about evolving, changing, growing and improving. That's all I can help is the American I got one question for Cop and then American ro KCBS does that. I really truly hope they do. I got one question for Cop. Who was the person that went to the Texas comp which and competed with you in smitty and
cooked the whole comp and they did? Yeah, Chris Webb, Chris Bushmaster Barbecue. They lost his box barrel. My question to you, it wouldn't be hard to lose a box because you lose one card. I know somebody didn't hold the paper up in that. I'm just saying. I mean. And also, and I hate to say this, you know when you had a real looking at that, when you had a real unorganized and again, we don't know. There's a lot of questions here, but correct me if
I'm wrong. There were teams that were scored, that were judged at the American Royal that we're not participating, right? Is that true? But is that true? That's true? Yes? Okay, So here's my question about that. Did that happen because the system is so unorganized and so flawed that they had score sheets from last time in that same box and same room score sheets from last time. What do you mean now, I think when I'm just asking the question, you have all you have. You have the blind
draws, right, you have all these things. Your entry slipped somehow that they've got in there. I don't know how that works, don't Okay, that's my point. They did they compete the real previous time? Did they compete in another case? I think they were. I think that I think they were signed up. Okay, so that's the thing, perfect, they
were signed up. They were signed in. But they signed but okay, whatever it was, which makes me question, if you're doing data entry, you heard in the right line, or you don't pay attention you enter in the wrong line, it's going to happen. Or if you've got a list that's outdated and it gets mixed in with something. Dude, all right, there was about seven There was seven times I counted rooms of human error a
way that it could it could be possible. Now I understand it was clear clear as day after watching that, how how somebody can compete and not be there, or somebody can be there and not have any scores at all? Because there's just open ways of human error. And again, something as simple as just a standardized tests right where you just put that into the system. And yeah, I get it. I get it. So enough of this, Okay, uncomfortable, I'm done with it. So so let's let's big
up. S c A right right, s c A. Look at them coming to the table with everything, and I love it everything yo're tackling burgers. Get you some s c A like, I get it. It's a business, you know. You guys are just well like I get it. No, Kyle, I get it. Awesome for them, congratulations, thank you, s c A. Boy, they blowing it out. Look one those one rip you thought you was gonna come out with a burger one and somebody thought I'm done talking about it. I'm done talking about what I'm coming
up with. I'm done. I'm done because the thing happens. Okay, all right, all right, I got I gotta be serious for a minute. And it's along the same line because Kyle, I feel you on that. My dad tells me all the time. He's like, you know, you're you can speak to yourself and keep things in your head. You don't always have to say it out loud, Right, you don't always have to give your ideas out loud and share with other people because guess what, but
if you're talking to your boys, you're talking to your boys. Yeah, let's just leave that on pause. We gotta talk to our boys. We're talking to our boys. You put it on a podcast, Okay, all right, I know it, all right, so that I just want I just want to tell everybody. Right. So I was driving home in the rain and my big brother Smith texts me. He's like, bro, I know, I know who's grabbing the trap, right, who who's coming?
Who's moving it to the track, because shouldn't let's just let's just set the tailor here. Probably shouldn't have called him out. But okay's no, no, no, I'm not calling nobody. Let's pause. Go ahead. If you did not know Phil, if you're new to this podcast, Phil used to own a barbecue restaurant for five years in downtown Phoenix. He shut her down this year due to rising food costs, staffing issues, landlord issues, covid, et cetera. So he left his location in this past summer,
and the location has still sat there. It has still been ready to be a barbecue restaurant, but there has been no one in the location until yea, and part of my legal issue was there was no tenant, so that was kind of prolonging everything. So I'm glad there's a tenant. Yeah. So I heard through the Great Fine a couple of times. People at me. He's like, hey, no, I think Scott from a Little Miss Barbecue's moving it. I was like, I can't understand how that could happen,
because Scott say, you know, uh, he's a businessman. No what, well, no, hold on hopefully. I love Scott on that right, because he was supposed to move into Honey Bears right and then and then he went through the t I thing and and it got too much and and he backed out right. So all I'm saying, I've given up to Scott. I don't have no problems with Scott at all. Scott Holmes. Me and Scott Holmes started off at the same time. Actually we started off
in the same farmers market. At the same time. Scott was working out of a tent. I was working out of a food truck. He was telling me his next business goal and I was telling him, you know, my next business goals as well. And we we were great. We are still good friends, right. So I just looked at it. That my footprint because remember when I got Trap House, it was a gray shell and for people who don't know what gray sholl is in construction, that means that
you just have bare walls. You don't have a woman, no electric, no, you know. So I had to build all that together. So now when I left, I left a full footprint for a barbecue restaurant as
a turnkey to move in. But because of the layout, I was like, this doesn't mattch Scott's layout because he has all of the stick burners, right, he has that camel back smoker he has, you know, he's I was like, they'll never allow him to put one of those out in the back patio because you know, it's a whole bunch of colds and stuff like that for downtown. Right. But he has changed his format and he's actually going to only serve chicken and ribs. I just read. So here's
his his the hiss the catch. I remember driving back with Pops from Memphis of May and I was having a heart to heart with my friend and I said, if I was to do it all over again, I would just do ribs and chicken and because and that's exactly what you told Justin and I in Denver. You said, if you were going to open a restaurant, you need to do chicken wings and ribs. That's what you said, Yeah, but you need brisket. So so I was I was just so shocked
that that that that happened. But guess who I do remember telling that too? Who the landlord? Ah? Man? I mean, look, look I did tell the landlord that. I said, hey, if I was to do it all over again, you know, I even broke him a proposal. I was like, you know, I'm not I'm way over costs with my food cost you wrote him as on this Yeah, this was before
I closed it down. This is before I closed it down, and we was still trying to make sense out of it because I was like, you know, I was I was making like twenty five to thirty thousand a week, right, but my food cost was at twelve thousand a week, And now you're getting into about five to six thousand a week and just payroll, and that doesn't leave a big margin left over for anything else, right, Okay, So I said, yo, I've now it's after the pandemic.
I understand where I need to go. I need to make changes if I'm going to invest more money into it. I got to understand that I am going to definitely get my money back right if I'm going to move forward with this. So we you know, we went back and forth. I did tell him, I said, you know, if I would like to dumb it down. He's like, no, I really like, you know,
you being a full blown restaurant. Me and my landlord didn't click. I got a bad deal from the beginning because I built out that whole restaurant and he wind up profiting over for that because now he has a whole restaurant he can lease out. So it makes it makes more sense for a newcomer to
come in and take that restaurant over that's already built out. Then you having to invest in a full build out to get it to where you need it to be, where he might just paint the walls and clean up a couple of things, maybe change a couple of things, but he won't have that
initial big bill. I think I was at like two hundred and twenty five thousand and just building out the restaurant itself and leasing it in just my little section before I to twenty five, I had two air conditions and that's what went over budget because the city told me that because because I had that smoker, I had to put a certain over it, and then if I put that hood vent on there, then I need to add another air conditioning unit, and that at that point me and and Sonny even said at that point
we should have just back out, saying, you know what this is, get through crazy backed out. But I experienced it, I went through it or whatever. Right, But now here's the his deal. I wish Scott nothing but the best, right, Oh, because he's he's been he's been in this longer than I have as far as you know, restaurant eat right, it being a restaurant tour, and and he's managed multiple locations, right, And I feel he's a great fit. Now. Do I feel that
he's came in the same way that I came in? No, because I was inexperience and I had a gray shell. Where he has a turnkey and now he understands what will work in that fast paced environment. More of ribs brisket, Yeah, maybe once in a while, right, but not an everyday thing. And that's kind of like where I want to call out because I don't want people to keep coming at me and saying, hey, Yo, you know Scott got your spot blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
You're still gonna get that. I know, but I want to call it. I want to call it out now because I know about it and I'm good with it. And I don't have no hard feelings with Scott or him. I wish both of them the best, but I know I couldn't deal Landlord in the way in the way my deal went, and it was a business decision at the end of the day. And I'm gonna do other things and Scott's going to do other things, and we're two different footprints and ways
that we're moving, you know what. And I think you said the best you. I mean, I think you should be honored. I shall we say this. You should be honored Phil that somebody as good as Scott is going in there, because you know what, people will always think that location is a barbecue location. At least that location is going to be taken over
by somebody who's gonna have pride, integrity, quality. They could have put in somebody who was going to serve slop if anything, If anything, the legacy that is the trap continues with somebody great and somebody you consider it to be a friend. So I think, if anything, it's good to see a friend benefit from your from your and and and but but but and I agree. I agree the friend and everything. As far as the trap, like jay Z had that album four four four Kill jay Z, the trap
is dead, the trap to be dead, the legacy is dead. That's why I named it Trap House and not fill the Grill. Everybody's like, yo, whyouldn't you put phill the grill by blah blah blah. I was like, just in case this doesn't work, I want to be able to still be fill the grill, right, I still want to be And I learned that from bigger chefs, right, like Bobby Flay, Mike Simon.
They all have different restaurants that you know, fail, succeed or whatever, but they still go out and able to do what they do because that's their stage name. Bobby Flay's gonna be Bobby Flay no matter how many restaurants close. Mike Simon's gonna be Mike Simon, no matter how many restaurants close or business deals go sour. So that's what I'm saying. It's two different footprints,
two different names. I'm happy for Scott that he finally found a place downtown because I know he struggled and he lost money with that deal over at Honeybeers because there was a lone thing involved and the construction just got astronomical. He's got a foot in the door because he has a turnkey. And now you got a landlord that's very desperate and wanting to do things for you because he sees your name and he sees the potential that that can bring. But
it just wasn't for me. So again, no hate, I love it. Shouts out to Scott. Little Miss Barbecue, shouts out to the new footprint plan of chicken and ribs, birds and bones. All right, so let's turn this something aust real quick. Last year we went to and starboy Dom. Oh dude, congratulations. Multiple restaurants around the valley including Hush Public House, Barsina, and Fire at Will. Dom is an awesome dude. We did an interview with him. If you're ever in the Phoenix area or
you live here, check out one of his locations. You're not going to meet a more honest, hard work and immensely talented man. That guy with pristine, awesome service. Well, it is really, really, really dang cool that the wonderful, the legendary diners, drive ins and dives is going to be featurings Don's Hush Public House February twenty third. That's awesome, huge, because let me, let's begre When guy comes to town and he kisses
your restaurant, it's over. It's a big search for your business. And you know what, it is so good to see someone like Dom get that this because that dude is doing it on his own. He's hustling, he's busting, and he's doing it right, and he's serving great food. But he's also teaching. That's what I love the most. He ain't just about like look it about me. He's about showing, teaching, growing, learning,
future generations. He is a marine, He served our country. I mean, dude, you will talk about giving flowers Phil mash Up the FTD truck to Dom probably definitely. No, definitely, And you know, and and and and that's what I wanted to say about that whole situation. You know, Dom is I love his personality. I love who he is because he's a real dude, right, He's a real dude. He's not in the line like there's so many TV shows that reached out to him that he
didn't want to even participate. Yeah, because that's just not his feel that's not his deal. Right. So for somebody like Dinah's Drivers and Dives to come out, I love that exposure for him. But you know what, I and I no disrespect. I feel Dom is way past that I want to see. I want to I want to see Dom be a bear James
Beard Award winner. I think that's what I want to see. You know that Dinish Drivers and Doves, I get it, you know for like little local small restaurants, like even if they came to the Trap, you know that would have fit that footprint. But I feel like Dom is so much elevated that Drivers and Dives. I think it's going to be a great thing for him. But you know what, I want to see Dom really be nominated for the James Beard Award. In my I think that's very very deserving.
And I'm gonna say this, I think I do, but it's coming. I'm gonna say this about Dom though, and I think don would say this as a person who is proud to be an employer, proud to be a teacher, family man, and he's not about awards. He's not about recognition that would come of the James. He is more about providing and taking care of his family and other people's family that work for him. And let me tell you this is really gonna help make that happen for a long time.
So again, happy for him. I hope someday gets the James Beard Award. He deserves it. If you ever been to his place, his place is awesome. And you know, I love him so much about his his burger that he's so famous for. It's a smash burger. Yo, you know what? You know what? Okay, here's the deal. I am setting up and now, like you know, I'm free to go now and do fill the grill stuff. So I'm setting up a studio in my backyard right and my first video dedicated to Don't Drop the Tongs is a smash
burger. What does that mean? I mean, yes, that's a sideways thumb. That's that was two thumb sideways. Okay, got it. But yeah, yeah, I'm gonna do I'm gonna do a smash Berger, but I'm gonna do it my way. I might have to do a regular one just to show I could cook a burger perfectly, you know. But but yeah, I'm gonna do a smash burger. Taste testers. Hold, after all this, you've been talking, all this crap, you've been talking, You're gonna do a smash burger. I'm gonna do a smash burger. What
what? What? What? What? I need? I need? I need some help on what type of flat top I should get? Why are you cooking? He's I'm all for all this. I don't think I don't think he's doing it. I think he's I think he's now he would never do that. I will roast you bad. Why do please do all the all the crap about about hey smash Hey, we are all about growing an opportunity here, I get it. I get all about this. Okay, I get it. But how is nobody going to hold him accountable for all
the crap you talked about? Smashburger is now my first video. Guess what I'm doing with Smashburger that I'm fighting for the little bad buddy. If trap if trap house could be birds and bones, and I can make a smashburg that makes that's still all right, bar I got so you got a Sunday Sunday check this out. Sunday it was Saturday. I was in Yuma since Thursday doing this. Guy brought us out there. We did a bunch of cooking demos and we had to get on a stage and do all kinds of
It was crazy, alligators, four hogs, it was insane. Bacon rab ribs, by the way. So Sunday I got invited to go to this backyard barbecue contest at a butcher shop, local butcher shop in Maryvale, which is forty third Ave in Indian School. It's not the greatest part of town,
but it's it's good. So he had a he had but this is the only butcher shop that I have ever seen ever that has Wagu everything you want, prime, no prime, it's Wagu everything, Okay, And I'm like, do you have like this is something that would be in like Scottsdale, right, yeah, forty third Avenue in Indian School. I mean, I've never seen Wagu skirt steak before, Wago carne asada before. I haven't seen any of that. I've never seen that. So he's holding this backyard
barbecue contest. He supplies all the meat to the competitors. There's no cash prizes, but he supplies wago to all. So competitors are cooking Wagou Dino ribs, big beef ribs, Wagoo brisket, and then chicken thies, and all of these guys have never entered a contest before. Besides, there was two dudes, one one and Eduardo's barbecue. He was there. They've they've they've competed before, but the other guys have not. And there were six of them total. So I was out there selling rubs. He had a
car show and all this stuff going on. So he wanted me to come be the quote unquote celebrity judge. That's what I said, That's what I asked him. I was like no. So he's like he's like, hey, yeah, we want you to judge and all the real nice, real nice people. So I go back there. I'm getting I got my camera set up. I'm filming this whole table. Well, he's got six judges. I'm like, cool, I'm gonna be the table captain. So it wasn't as easy as you thought, was it. It wasn't. So I
collected the boxes. I took them to the table. Yes, god, yeah, all over again. My brother, my brother was the judge. My brother was one of the judges. So I would joke. I would show, you know, like people, okay, we're gonna judge on appearance, and I would show the box like I was getting all in, like professional video come out. I'll be posting the video soon. But it was
very interesting the type of stuff these guys were putting on a brisket. Some guy made a compound butter with a bunch of garlic, herbs and all kinds of stuff and he drenched his brisket in it, and it was it was different. It was very different. It was very different. Somebody turned in raw chicken and that was not good. Is that disqualification? Yeah, but this is yeah, but this is like backyard and I believe you should be
able to smack that person because they stopped their learning. This amateur competition down there used to be able to smack that. This is a backyard contest. I wasn't smacking nobody. You know, we judged accordingly, but backyards don't know how to cook up to perfect done this or even just a done this. Yeah, because because some kind of this. These guys have never there was two people that have competed before it. The other guys have never competed
before. Food hands bro, full time. I get it, I get it, I get it. But I watched them bite into this chicken bro. I started praying like something came down and told me, hey, you should probably table captain and not judge your brother get sick. No, he spit it out. He spin it out. He's the one that found it. And you know, my brother talks a lot of crap to me because you know, he'll eat food here and he was like that's good, Yeah, it's tender. Yeats this and then he goes and eats this is his
first time he'll go eat other people's barbecue. And he's like, holy, Like you are on a whole different level compared to these guys. You just back Here't compliment yourself. I did. I did, By the way, just pop fill Hey Phil, do you just trip over all that good? It was good? It was good? And you know what did they stuck me? You know, everyone had to tally one through nine and do the whole thing with cards and stuff. Then they stuck me with tally and everything
up now. If some of y'all don't probably know, I'm not a mathematician or anything. I hate math. Mathemat bro. I got loud music playing, I got my phone out typing numbers in. It was it was a hold it holding the front of your I No, I had them all laid out on the table and I'm typing on my phone like, okay, that's that's I get it. But yeah, that was good. It was good. That was my first I liked it. I'm glad that. I'm glad that you got a taste of it. All Right, So we're gonna wrap
up this week's podcast, yo, can't can't? All right? Can I? Can I say one thing? Because I missed last week's episode because you were I was sick. You missed two in January wasn't even over yet. I was sick, Bro. You told me to stay home all the microphones and kiss tell me too. So anyway, I did listen to the episode, and you're always talking about wings, right, yeah, well yeah, let's talk about what we're cooking for Super Bowl, do you I'm doing smashburgers.
I already told you I'm doing smashburgers. That's gonna be my number one video that's gonna do a smash workers. No way that happens because I'm roasting. I don't care. You guys can talk. I'm roasting. But but but wings. I loved what Barrow said about his mustard hot sauce sauce because that is my number one. That's my number one. You know who makes a good one? Zips zips go. I love it. And their honey gold. Their honey gold is not hot hot, honey gold hot. You
gotta get honey gold hot. That's when they add the hot sauce to their golds, and they only using Kettleman's. They're using Kettleman's gold and they're putting hot and I just love that mustard in that hot but here. That's how what Barrel was talking about. Barrels talking about the hot mustard at the Asian places. I know. But no, no, you didn't listen. I said, I said, I was Did you say I was talking? Yeah, I was talking about hot. I said, I like the hot must
of the Asian restaurants. But I was talking more about like a hot mustard barbecue sauce. Yes, yes, like a like like a mustard in it. I could, yes, if you if you ever, you know if you you know, I was literally thinking hot mustard like much. But I can show you how to make a hot mustard sauce. Yo. I did all right? So last week did I did wings at the house and I used Smitty's mustard, got right, But I put sachia in it. I was able to find a bottle of s racha and I put that with you
and it was perfect with the butter. Yeah, Rocha and that honeymoon. Okay, so listen, I got some news that Sirocha. Right, you know how? So Rocha has become extinct. You know, you know why? You know why? Extort it? There's been a shortage. Do you know why? Because he had to deal with a farmer that was making all his chilies. And they were best friends, right, they were best friends. They had a farm. And I was you're just about to give you
a couple of these figures. When you start talking about your hand, you're not going there. We're wrapping this up. Was making up stories. Hold up, hold up. So the farmer and this guy, they were best friends. The farmer's job was to make all of the chilies and give it to him and this so Roger, dude, was making a boat load the money off of the chili, so he said, hey, I need more
money. We're supposed to work out the deal, blah blah blah. Well they went to court and he sued so Rocha for like ten million dollars because he didn't get paid everything that he was doing. Right, So, now Si Racha don't have chili's to keep up with the supply and demand. And you notice how all of these other outfits are coming out with their Si Racha. Mascow got one and everybody's got one now because they saw him in trouble.
So, Kyle, I say that to say, don't let me find out that you're slipping with your green chili, because if I find out you're slipping with green chili, then I'm coming out with a green chili too. Awesome, Wow, that was all right. We're gonna wrap this. Hold on barrel, Hold on barrel, Kyle. I got things I gotta do today, buddy. Yeah, I gotta go to bed. But let's just let people know. This will be on YouTube now too, So everywhere you listen, you can listen, and if you want to watch, go to
YouTube. Don't drop the tongs on YouTube all right, don't drop them, don't drop them, don't drop them. Hey, Hey, what what's going? Oh I'm signing up for somewhat slam slaps slap slam, slap slam slap slam. Yo, Yo cow, can't can't, cannot on your trailer trailers taking yo barrol. Can you take the trip with me to Memphis? I would rather throw myself out of a moving vehicle. All right, guys, we're wrapping this one up. Thank you, everybody appreciate y'all.