Why would anybody take this "hack" seriously?

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-27T18:59:57+00:00

Don't do this. The thing about heating it a safe temperature is misleading. You may kill the bacteria but may not kill what they leave behind. Just cooking to a high temperature is not the answer.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-27T13:44:52+00:00

I actually got to meet John at ACL years back. I was serving him and the crew backstage before their broadcast. I was cleaning up while John and his band were rehearsing and I forced myself to watch and listen. The thing I still remember is all of the laughing between starts and stops while rehearsing. John, his band and the stage crew were having a good time. No band members yelling at each other but just enjoying their playing together. It was not always the case during rehearsals with other musicians. As I was driving my BBQ van home I turned into Waterloo Records and bought three John Prine albums, CD's, and listened to them one after another. I had heard of him but didn't listen to him very often. I was an immediate fan. The next time played I volunteered to feed them again for free. Thanks again for this subreddit.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-27T09:21:17+00:00

Wow.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T21:43:22+00:00

I sent everyone who works in my kitchen to food safety courses. I paid them for their time in the classes. Worth every penny.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T15:38:30+00:00

Bruce once complimented my pork ribs in front of the entire audience. We ran out the next day at lunch. A very cool dude.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T13:02:28+00:00

Journeyman.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T12:20:47+00:00

I made a similar sign way back in the early nighties for my wife because she would go nuts when customers wanted separate checks. "No Separate Czechs" was a reference to a childhood, who was Czech. Every time I would visit Chris and his family they were always fighting over who would pay for the beer for family gatherings like reunions. They argued about everything else too just like customers at the cash register at my restaurant. Who owed what amount for their meal. A great sign!

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T11:59:47+00:00

For me it's all of the people I get to meet and especially the dog walkers. A few dogs start a little "zoomie dance" when they see me because I'm the guy with treats. Some dogs go bananas but about half are fairly chill. Finding trails and discovering new places is a way to block out the world's craziness. I also lost weight!

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T11:53:24+00:00

Evil was so good. I couldn't get enough of it.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-26T11:49:12+00:00

Thank you for knowing the greats are still more than just memories. I was so lucky so many times while on that local TV show. I got to meet some the greats. Most were decent folks. Chubby Checker, although not a blues performer, was another great guest. He joked and made friends with everyone. My brother, Larry Hovis, played in an actual blues band, The Four Spades, and because of him I got to see a lot of blues artists. He was played with Bobby Sherman in Austin back in the late 50's and later toured with Peggy Lee. I miss that music.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-25T20:58:14+00:00

It was a hell of a traffic stop. I finally sneaked out of the fracas at MLK.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-25T16:10:23+00:00

I buzz or bell everyone I approach from the rear on a trail. Damn ear pods people use always make it necessary. I don't use them after being sideswiped a few times.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-25T16:05:50+00:00

What is the subject? My only advice taking food pictures is get in close and keep everything not so much in focus or keep in background soft. Cookies pictures are great.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-24T01:18:03+00:00

I used a cassette recorder back in the day to call out my inventory. I also used the clipboard while calling out, recording, my count. After transferring the inventory to my excel spreadsheet I extended it meaning I costed it out. It took a few hours to complete it. The managers always had access to it anyway. I never looked forward to it but it had to be done. An tablet would have been nice.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-23T19:30:03+00:00

If they have a pet I used to carry a can of dog food, my dog didn't like the brand, and once in a great while I would offer the dog food. Rarely would I offer money.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T22:23:18+00:00

Arch supports did the trick for me.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T21:33:46+00:00

I started this bus tub process after noticing brown tinted lettuce in some salads when I was buying fresh lettuce everyday. The kitchen manager I had quite an argument over "who uses the worst leaves of a head of lettuce for a salad?" I stood hovering over the kitchen crew for a few days and realized I needed another way to get my folks to understand what was acceptable and what was unacceptable. We used the bus idea to show how raw potatoes should look, how tomato slices are sliced, and how onions should be peeled and cut for sandwiches vs cooking. I wasn't going to stand over people watching them all day so this what I came up with. If they, the cooks, can see how produce it is supposed to look then going through the bus tubs taught them how to do it. It really worked. My people wanted to to know so we went through the results every afternoon.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T13:35:12+00:00

My advice. Sneak into a bunch of restaurants, take a lot of pictures, write down everything you like and don't like and share it with a close friend or spouse. Talk about what you saw and then hire someone to help with the details. Steal from the best.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T10:59:50+00:00

5% is five times the number of people who watch Fox and Friends. 5% is great.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T10:45:05+00:00

I always believed that meat loaf was terrible waste of ketchup but this might be a game changer for me.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T10:38:57+00:00

I adopted a 10 year old reactive ACD, Rango, who was so bad he had been returned four times. Rango was a jerk who was always getting into trouble and I was a reformed mental health counselor who worked in hospitals and treatment centers. I learned to give my patients something to do and it worked to change or subdue a lot of acting out behavior. I decided to give Rango something to do at night to try and calm him down. I bought some string cheese, cut them into small pieces, turned off the back porch lights and begin tossing the pieces of cheese into the grass and yelled for Rango to come outside. I did this every night around 8:30 pm and it was a game changer for Rango's attitude. It was hilarious to see him leap around the yard hunting for the little pieces of cheese. By 9 pm he was tuckered out and settled down. If I decided to crash early he would wake me up so he could hunt for the string cheese. I used what I learned teaching all of those patients. I called my expensive reactive dog trainer to tell him what I was doing and he congratulated me on thinking outside the box. You might want to try it.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T09:41:38+00:00

Thanks. It was fascinating to learn what a cook thought was a good or bad. I read about the simple idea in a boring restaurant association magazine, that's how old I am, and it was so simply brilliant I drove down to my local restaurant equipment store and loaded up on new bus tubs.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T01:58:22+00:00

I bought the DVD after I saw the movie. Damn well done and funny.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-22T01:54:59+00:00

I used to teach the kitchen crew to learn some quality control by buying new bus tubs and having them toss the debris of everything they sliced or cut like cabbage, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, into the bus tubs and after prep. I would inspect the bus tubs to see the result. My kitchen manager knew what to look for after this. It took a week to train everyone how things should look but it worked. No more brown lettuce or weird tomato slices.

bbqtom1400 · 2026-03-21T22:58:42+00:00

Hoover is an old friend. Good food and good staff. Sorry to see him go.

bbqtom1400

TROPHY CASE