Turnpike Cowboys

Yesterday I spoke at the 2008 SFM Conference in Austin, TX. We had a chance to talk, or at least discuss some topics during the presentation, and that's my favorite way to hold these conversations, a little more open, a little less of my opinion and a little more what the group is thinking about.
The perfect speech would be an open room with 50-60 people, high-speed internet connection and begin with the notion of "What's on Your Mind?" We would then connect to our software and begin to dive into the human behavior behind the actions, wrap the thing up with CultureWaves and walk out of the space with a presentation each of the participants could use in their respective business, and know the content because they had helped create it.

Speaking on open and engaging... after I was done talking I rushed over to hear Grady Spears, celebrated author and restaurateur talk about Cooking the Cowboy Way. It was funny, refreshing, and manly! I am not a big foodie, but I like to hear people talk about food, especially when they are passionate about their recipes, meat, and ultimately taste. He was a great speaker, and I walked out hungry thinking about flank steak. During the time in the breakout he talked about the different type's of cowboys around the world, Gauchos, Crackers, etc. Was a great history lesson I thought. Then at the end, when people where asking questions, one of the men in the room asked if Grady could recommend a simple recipe for ribs that a guy from New Jersey could follow. Everyone laughed when Grady said "Yeah, step away from the ribs. Send them to Texas and we'll cook them for you." But, everyone laughed harder when the gentlemen responded, "Come on, I'm a Turnpike Cowboy."

Classic!

Comments

[dooshie]

Nice! Reminds me of that salsa commercial when two cowboys are talking about their salsa dip and one of them reads the label and says, "It's made in New York...New York City."

[tom delong]

Finally, a piece for those of us from The Republic of Texas. Grady's restaurant Reata, in Houston serves the best steaks anywhere.

[Kay]

I gave a Grady Spears cookbook to my Texas brother-in-law as a gift, hoping he'd get the hint and make all of the recipes in it for the family. In the meantime, its a great read.