California Rookie Team Of the Year!!..Left Coast Q!

This season for us was a dream come true!After a long hard fought battle we came out on top of the rookie field.Our buddies Tom and Andy from T&j's backyard bbq were right on our tail till the very end!We have met so many good people in this adventure it's amazing how nice the bbq community is..here is a little recap of our season and thanks to all who came out and showed us love!
Bakersfield 1st brisket,2nd ribs,8th pork(reserve grand champ)54 teams
Costa Mesa 19th overall 57 teams
Santa Maria 1st brisket,2nd pork,8th chicken(reserve grand champ)26 teams
Vista 6th pork 18th overall 45 teams
Harrah's 1st brisket,4th pork 7th overall 30 teams
Mesquite 3rd ribs,7th chicken 6th overall 47 teams
Lancaster 1st pork,4th chicken 3rd overall 30 teams
Golden Acorn 3rd pork,8th brisket 5th overall 25 teams
Wildomar#1 2nd brisket,3rd ribs 3rd overall 45 teams
Wildomar#2 7th pork 14th overall 43 teams

We also cracked the top ten in the state at #9 overall,6th in brisket,8th in pork and finished at 111 in the COUNTRY out of about 7,000 teams!..here are a few pics of the hardware

Harrah's 1st Annual Blues & BBQ Fest

We just got back from Harrah's Rincon and we had a pretty good outing after a middle of the road finish in Vista(18th overall)this time we took 4th in pork and a 1st in brisket which was good considering the level of competition we were up against.I took some pictures of some of our new BBQ family everyone one of these people are very nice and are really good at what we do.Our next comp is Smokin in Mesquite labor day weekend.We will be going up against some of the best in the country at Mesquite and we will all be after a chunk of the $40,000 prize purse,anyway onto some pics

Our set up


some of our meats..look at the shine on the chicken!

ribs

left to right..pork butts,brisket,ribs

Now onto some of the people that make this stuff so fun!..this is Tom Moore from T&j's backyard BBQ.as I've said before were in the rookie race with Tom such a cool guy.He's become kinda like our BBQ dad.We love you and your whole crew Tom!

Next up is Larry Schroder of The Rib Ticklers..they call him the head tickler.LOL..this guy should be running for office somewhere.He is a really funny guy and his crew is very cool also..thanks for the killer beef ribs!

here is Moe with the head tickler and his son Brian

next left to right..Brad Thomas,me,John Bracamonte and Barry Greer..Brad and John were rookie team of the year last year and we are trying our best to follow in their footsteps!.I would also like to tell all of my readers that they are opening up their new restaurant Brazen BBQ smokehouse and bar in San Diego very soon.so if your ever down there stop by and get some killer bbq..Barry is like another BBQ dad to us..Barry you and your wife are so cool!

This is Chris Juencke from Smokin Yankees and Steve Madaule from All Hogs Go To Heaven..these guys are great and Steve isn't smiling in the first pic but the next one is how he usually looks


this is Vince Carrocci from Rhythm n' Que doing a good luck toast with all of his neighbors.very cool tradition that he carries on!..he and his wife Alexa are one of the best teams in the country and they have made the prestigious Jack Daniel's Invitational by winning 7 grand championships 2 years running!.what a awesome accomplishment!

Next up is Dave Malone..Dave is such a cool guy!

and last but not least are Jen and Tom Duncan from Smoke it to the bone and Whiskey Ranch BBQ..it was great meeting you two and we hope to see ya out in AZ next year

All in all 7th overall is pretty dam good going up against the teams we did..and to Beat Harry Soo in brisket and pork is no small task..Thanks again to all of you for taking the pics with me and we'll see you out on the trail soon!

Wild West BBQ Bash..Reserve Grand Champs Again

Reserve grand champs again!..On June 26 we took 2nd place out of 26 teams with a first in brisket,2nd in pork,8th in chicken,13th in ribs and 11th in the bonus category of tri-tip.We had a great time in Santa Maria.Our good friend Napoleon Bacerra of Poppa Naps bbq got to take his first walks ever and it was awesome to feel the joy along with him.He and his teammate Bill were our neighbors and good ones to have!I would also like to thank MR.Tom Moore of T&j's backyard BBQ you and your wife are some of the nicest people walking this earth!We are in the rookie race along with Tom but when we are done with our turn ins it's all about having some beers and drinks and relaxing with our new BBQ family!.The guys from the Rub Co,All Hogs Go to Heaven,Bill's Best,Bang A drum,Smokin Yankees and I would also like to thank Ben Lobenstein for all of the great pictures and work you put in for the CBBQA and also Kelly and Kathleen MacIntosh for being the best reps around..All of you are first class quality people and we thank you for welcoming us into this competition BBQ world with arms wide open!.thanks again to all of my faithful readers too and I really need to get some recipes posted,but in the meanwhile here are a few pics!

some pics of the party we did last weekend..pork butts and brisket

Reserve Grand Champs...First Time Out!!!!

So the story continues,we did great at our first competition this past weekend up in Bakersfield at the Biggest Baddest BBQ competition put on by the California BBQ Association it was also KCBS sanctioned.We took 1st in brisket,2nd in ribs,8th in pork and a middle of the road 34th in chicken.I know exactly what I did wrong with the chicken so next time that problem will be fixed,anyway we did well enough to take 2nd place overall out of 54 highly skilled BBQ teams!It just goes to show hard work,dedication,passion,love and a whole hell of a lot practice can get it done!..So our next comp will be in Costa Mesa on june 12th so any of you readers that would like to come down Saturday afternoon and taste my food your more than welcome.I'm still super happy about the outcome and I feel like it's going to be a great rookie season..hopefully rookies of the year!..thanks again to all of you for the love and support.I would also like to give the BIGGEST! thank you to my teammates my son Matthew Dalton I love you son! MR James Miranda for watching endless fires,Larry Reagins our tech man and one of my best friends since childhood and to chef Max Becker one true friend and excellent mentor!Here is a picture of me and my buisness partner Moe Lyons with our hardware..they call these trophy's B.A.T.'s (big ass trophy's)

The Birth Of Left Coast Q...

Well sorry for such a long layoff from blogging.I have been super busy trying to get our team off the ground.Since my last post we have been all the way back to Little Rock,AR,two reasons the first was to pick up our Jack's old south whole hog cooker,the next was to attend the highest paying bbq comp in the country total payout was $!00,000 grand and we also got to hang with Myron and his team all weekend..such great people and down to earth!.I also want to give a shout out to Rhoda Brown of smokin fatties and also all the guys from Redneck Grillers..you guys saved me with the sunscreen and Kevin your rig was awesome!.Also a shout to Mellisa at gate 1!..so on to some pics sorry no recipes right now just trying to get in comp mode and pratice,pratice,practice!..ok so I'll stop ramblin


here are a couple of pics from the contest,the first one is Euporkia's rig this thing was a converted 40 foot storage container with smokers all around..this guy was in the way!

this is Chatty from myron's team..such a sweet lady but a hell of a straight shooter.and don't let her size fool ya..

I wish I got more pics from this comp but I was really trying to do a lot of networking and drinking beer..Ha HA..anyway we picked up our buddy Josh that lives in Oklahoma and on the way back we stayed with him and his family and got to check out his very cool surroundings..this is old town Guthrie,ok


Lake Liberty


Later that evening we went into Oklahoma City to eat at Cattleman's at the old stockyards.then we stopped by the OKC bombing memorial..it was a sombering experience to stand there and to think one of our own did this terrible act..a sad day in our history for sure!

these chairs represent those that were killed that day..the saddest part is the little ones they represent little kids

look at these cowboys..thought this was funny but you gotta have boots in Oklahoma.so much red dirt it's like paint

the next day on our way out of town we stopped by the oldest bar in Oklahoma,not to drink but to eat their world famous fried chicken.The place is called Eischen's in Okarche it's been there since 1896.

at some point it burned down(can't rember the date) and this is all that is left

well we had a great time..thank's again Candace and Josh and sweet little Ali!..And I truly see why the only thing you miss here is us

now once we made it back we have been cooking it up every weekend,my dad has been working on our logo's and Moe's mom has been doing embroidery on aprons and shirt's,our buddy Larry is working on our web page,the whole Miranda family has been helping in many ways too..thanks to all of you for all the love and support!








well we're about to hit three comps in the next two months so i'll be very busy..I'll try to keep up this blog more often too!

Southern Hospitality

"Southern Hospitality"is a phrase that i've heard many times but never really knew what it meant.When I would hear it it made me think of colonel Sanders and aunt Jemima..don't know why but you get the picture right?..growing up in So Cal most of my life i'm used to stuck up,snobby,arrogant and disrespectful people,not to sterotype there are plenty of nice people in California, but there are just as many assholes too!..Well people are different down in Georgia and probably the south in general..Nice,respectful,courteous and helpful, I really could go on and on..anyway on to my post.. my reason for going was to attend a competition BBQ school at Myron Mixon's house.We had a few extra days in Atlanta before going down to Unadilla,so i took a bunch of pictures to share with all of you that read this blog..hope you enjoy!

Some cool people I met in Atlanta

This is Regis..thanks for all of the love!



Starting from the top are Firke and Michael from the downton Marriott..very nice guys!.next is Ertan..keep spinning that vinyl!..and finally Sacha what a sweetie!
we also went to the Georgia Aquarium and world of Coca-Cola(which are right next to each other)

sea turtle

sturgeon

an otter..they train them with the leash

hammerhead

giant grouper..this guy was big as a love seat!

12 foot wide manta ray

these whale sharks are the only ones in the northern hemisphere..this tank holds over 8 million gallons!..Now on to the World of coke





bottling robot


this is the famous Varsity the burgers were pretty small but we had to at least check it out


Now on to the highlight of the trip..BBQ school!.let me start off by saying Myron and his whole family and crew were awesome!..such nice people and also very helpful.I learned so much and it was a humbling experience for me..I've been grilling and BBQing for a long time but this class just took it to a whole other level!..

whole hog prep

this is Nick C. Myrons right hand man..very smart and super cool!..lookin forward to seeing you soon Nick!

finished hog..22 hours in the smoker..Awesome!

this is bacon!..talk about melt in your mouth..this was killer!

finished ribs ready to cut for the box

Me and the Man!..hope you enjoyed this post and now I know what "Southern Hospitality" really means!