As we continue our Road Trippin’ the USA: MEETS, EATS and SWEETS 2022 Tour, I’ve located another unique hand-crafted doughnut experience that is savory, sweet and sure to please your sweet tooth cravings.
Today we’re in Houston, TX at the world-famous Voodoo Doughnut. They have other Texas locations in the cities of Cypress and Austin, as well as a total of 12 other locations in six different states as they continue growing in the USA.
The Story goes: Voodoo Doughnut is the brainchild of old friends and entertainment-minded Portlanders Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon. In 2000, they decided to embark on a shared entrepreneurial venture – something that combined quality hospitality with their daring do-it-yourself brand of show business.
About eight years ago I met a chef in Dallas who I had read so much about and heard so many stories. I had been wanting to meet him for several years, but our paths had never crossed, and I’m not one to push meetings. Being in the food and restaurant business for decades, I understand all too well the complications of restaurant operations and how short on time chefs, managers, partners and owners can be every day. Time is a commodity that everyone is short on these days, especially celebrity chefs. They have a tough schedule already, and if they’re traveling between multiple restaurant concepts, events, charity functions, meetings, and TV interviews, there truly is NO TIME to spare. With that in mind, I waited until the time was right to meet him.
When I met Chef John Tesar and got to spend some time with him hosting him on my TV show, I realized how passionate he was about the restaurant business and how he personally feels about perfection and what that word truly means. In today’s times some folks mistake passion and the pursuit of perfection for something else entirely. To be honest, being deeply passionate and dedicated toward something is a trait few folks will ever understand, but Chef John Tesar knows all too well because he lives it 24/7/365.
You can never fully understand a person by what you read or hear. You really have to spend some time talking with them to understand what they’re trying to achieve, and the path they’re walking to reach their goals. It would be safe to say that John isn’t walking anywhere – he is running full speed all the time in the relentless pursuit of creating deliciousness for everyone to enjoy.
Houston BBQ Festival 2022 at the Humble Civic Center
Just some of the meat delicious I enjoyed!
If you ever wondered how popular Texas BBQ has become, you need to look no further than the number of successful BBQ Festivals these days. We’ve attended four and hosted two in the last 6 months alone, and there have been many more that we just couldn’t attend.
Texas BBQ has really made big strides in the last 15 years, and has really surged in the last decade. While traveling around the state and attending events, doing restaurant reviews, and hosting my live TV show and podcast, I’ve seen so many changes and new ideas, and they’ve all been for the better. During my travels around the USA, I get asked quite often about the surge in popularity of Texas BBQ. I make my answers brief and easy to understand, because everyone seems to be short on time these days.
To me, the popularity is quite simple: It’s the creativity, hard work, and dedication to producing that perfect meaty flavor. It’s the TEXAS pride that says, “We’re going to be the best, create the best, and sling the BEST Q anyone has ever tasted, or we’ll die trying!” You sure can’t leave out the competitive nature of Texans – that in its self is simply INCREDIBLE! I guess to put in simple terms you can just say, “Well It’s a Texas thing and you wouldn’t understand!” LOL.
They understood 9 years ago when they hosted the first ever Houston BBQ Festival and it’s still standing strong today! On April 3rd, 2022, 28 BBQ Joints, chefs and pit masters attended the 9th annual BBQ festival in Humble. Trey’s Chow Down got a tip from some of our followers in Texas about this amazing festival and we took a ride out to Houston to see what it was all about. After 2 years of waiting due to covid, the FESTIVAL WAS BACK! Chefs and pit masters were smoking up Humble, TX and slinging creative, delicious Texas BBQ for everyone to enjoy.
