We talk beer and barbecue on this edition of Food Friday. Russ Matson of All American BBQ and Bill Fletcher from Fletcher's BBQ Shop and Steakhouse join us to share barbecue tips. John Fischer will be here to suggest the perfect beer for what you have on the grill.
Call in at show time! 800-348-2551. Email: VoxPop@WAMC.org
Bill Fletcher is Owner and Pitmaster of Fletcher's BBQ Shop & Steakhouse in Longmeadow, MA. Bill started his career in graphic design and advertising. On the weekends he found respite from the ad world with outdoor cooking on his tiny Brooklyn patio. That led to diving into barbecuing, which led to competing in BBQ competitions. He sold his ad agency and opened his first restaurant in 2012, Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue. Fletcher's had a ten year run in Bklyn, with six locations. Now in its third year of operation in Longmeadow, MA, Fletcher's BBQ honors the uniquely American tradition of pit-smoked barbecue. At the center of the operation are two full-ton barbecue pits made in Texas.
Russel Matson got his first taste of real barbecue when he was ten years old, at the (now famous) Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas and later at Angelo's BBQ in Fort Worth. Russ and his wife Julie have owned and operated the Meadows Golf Center and All American BBQ since 2001. It is located midway between the cities of Kingston and Oneonta on State Highway 28 in the beautiful Catskill Mountains. Their goal is simple: Bring slow cooked genuine wood fired Southern BBQ to the Catskills. Russ and Julie do as much BBQ "research" as possible. After all, what's more American than borrowing the best the world has to offer and bringing it home?
John Fischer has been a food and hospitality professional for over forty years and recently retired from the Culinary Institute of America after teaching restaurant and beverage classes there for twenty-four years. After graduating from the CIA in 1988, John managed some great Manhattan restaurants and ran successful wine programs, at one point introducing Martha Stewart to Flavor Flav, which began new chapters for both of them. He is a Craft Beer Ambassador for the New York State Craft Brewers Association.
