The Meat Week tradition began in 2005 in Tallahassee, of all places. Since then, the annual week of meat indulgence has spread to 25 U.S. cities. Now it’s finally arrived in San Antonio. If you’ve missed the past five days, you can still catch up on Meat Weekend. The concept is simple: each January, people across the country meet up to gorge on BBQ.
San Antonio has BBQ options galore. Denise Aguirre and Noel Cisneros, meat lovers and the owners of The Point Park & Eats food truck park just off I-10West in Leon Springs, stepped forward to serve as “Captains” of the local chapter’s inaugural Meat Week. Captains are responsible for scheduling the week’s meaty lineup. As local business owners themselves, Denise and Noel really wanted to show their support of locally-owned and operated establishments.
“We want it be a meet up – if you will,” Noel said. Pause. “Pun intended.”
From the casual dining of food trucks to the higher-end Two Bros. BBQ that’s part of the Jason Dady Restaurant group, the schedule covers the gamut of San Antonio BBQ joints. Sunday marked the beginning of the celebration at Two Bros., and Monday night’s event was held at Bobby G’s Old School BBQ and Catering.
If you haven’t been to Bobby G’s, you must go soon. Nestled on a corner of Nogalitos in the neighborhood where Bobby, his wife Gloria (the “G” in Bobby G’s) and their family live, it’s exactly the kind of place Meat Week is all about.
Bobby and Gloria have been catering for about seven years and opened the restaurant two years ago. It’s a family affair. He and his wife decorated the whole place, Bobby is always in the back smoking meat, his daughter is working on a website and his nephew updates the Facebook page and helps in the kitchen.
Bobby G’s is more than just BBQ. In addition to the typical BBQ fare (including the most delicious, moist and flavorful pulled pork I have ever tasted), Bobby offers steak, wings, nachos and amazing burgers. Oh, and I would be remiss to not mention the banana cream pie dessert. Too good! As I left Bobby’s and said goodbye to the Meat Week team, I wondered how many of them could possibly handle a third night of BBQ.
But, Tuesday’s event at the Alamo Street Eat Bar brought an even bigger meat-eating crowd. In fact, all of the food truck vendors from The Point Park & Eats food truck park joined in the fun. Meat Week vendors officially featured The Institute of Chili and Outlaw BBQ, but a couple other trucks, including the locally-famous Attaboy Burgers, were there, too.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve missed out on the first few events – there is still plenty of meat to come! (Find more details at MeatWeek.com.)
- Today: @6:30 pm The Granary Cue & Brew
- Friday: Lunch@ 12pm Congers Smoke Shack & Dinner@7pm Mortons BBQ trailer
- Saturday: @2pm Bolner’s Meat Market
- Sunday @12pm The Point Park & Eats
Sadly, Sunday will mark the end of this year’s meat extravanganza. But don’t despair – Sunday’s event at The Point is slated to be the meatiest yet. Six food trucks will be there, serving up goodies Denise and Noel promise will be “meaty, juicy, meaty, moist, meaty, saucy, and meaty!” Bring your kids and your pets – we’ll see you there!
Megan O’Kain Lotay and her husband, Jesse, are recent transplants from Houston. Megan works in Marketing at USAA and in her spare time keeps a blog, The San Antonio Palate, to chronicle her dining adventures. Connect with Megan via her blog or Facebook page.
More from Megan on the Rivard Report:
Learning to Cook the Old-School Way with Chef Michael Sohocki September 2012
The Slow Food Movement has Arrived in San Antonio November 2012
