Dallas: AITP Members Summit and Hard 8 BBQ

hey everyone,

Happy New Year! I actually started off the new year in San Fran this year. It felt like old times, I left Honolulu on the day after Christmas and stayed in San Fran until January 2nd. It was definitely nice to catch up with some old friends and sorry to those of you I missed seeing this time in SF.

I was just home for two weeks and now I'm over in Dallas attending the 2009 AITP Members Summit. I actually wasn't expecting much from this event since it was the first time that they're holding it, but it has actually turned out to be a really great event with a lot of leadership insight and strategic perspectives on the role of Information Technology in today's organization. These topics are especially important given the current economic climate so the things that I'm learning on this trip have turned out to be pretty timely.

I know that many of you love to eat as much as I do, so I made sure that I eat at somewhere uniquely Texan on this trip.A colleague of mine in Dallas took me to eat at Hard Eight BBQ. I really wish I had brought my camera with me because it was quite an experience.

It was located in a relatively dark, out of the way area without any major signage that I could see. As we pulled into the parking lot, I could see the roasting pits (is that what they're called?), but it really looked more like some kine of small manufacturing plant than a restaurant.

As we exited that car and got close to the entrance, then you could smell the BBQ, but still it looked like a plant...there were six large metal BBQ pits that were the size of large home freezers, all connected to two what looked like really large old wooden ovens that connected to the smokestacks.

When we finally got to the front of the line (it was almost like a theme park ride, walking through a metal railed area) to get to another large BBQ pit (that was probably off or on really low) that was open with all the available meats, corn, etc. all laid out for you to choose from. There was an employee there that you told what you wanted (e.g. two ribs, steak, etc.) and he cut it from the large pieces there and weighed it for you (most of the meats were sold by the pound, except for some things that were premeasured, like the pieces of steak). I decided a couple of pork ribs (50% off betweeb 5pm and 7pm), a small piece of sausage, a stuffed jalepeno (mostly meat with a small pepper, wrapped in bacon), and whole grilled corn on the cob.

From there we went inside (yes all of that was still outside the building) and there was a salad bar like are where all of the sides and desserts were laid out cafeteria-style. We added our sides to the trays and then picked up utensils at the end of the bar, where we reached a check-out girl who totaled our meal.  It was probably because of the special price on the ribs, but both of our meals, including an all you can drink fountain drink came out to about $12 each. Pretty good for a meal that I could barely finish.

Off in the corner was the soda machine, and right next to it was a big "Pot of Beans" which turned out to be a self-serve (and I guess all you can eat) pot of cooked beans. They weren't overly flavorful, but they did have a bit of a kick, so I ended up eating them with the sausage (which was somewhat dry).

Also in the corner was a big pot of BBQ sauce that was absolutely delicious with the ribs. So the way this worked was that the ribs themselves were covered in a spice rub and the cooked. So they had some taste on their own, but what really made them taste good was dipping them into the BBQ sauce and then chowing down. I think the ribs by themselves were a bit dry, but with the sauce added (which was actually warmer than the ribs) really made them ono-licious ("delicious" for those of you not familiar with Hawaii lingo).

The roasted corn was probably the thing that stood out the most for me through. We had to peel them ourselves (which I didn't care for, you guys know how I like things clean) but man it was worth it because the corn was nice and warm inside...perfectly crisp and moist (not soggy like some corn can be).

For dessert, I had the cherry cobbler, which had a good taste but a little on the cool side (room temperature). I definitely would have preferred it to be warm, but it was still good.

Oh and I definitely have to say that this was a dining experience because the whole inside of the restaurant just made me think of a hunting lodge. It had a high ceiling, with animal head and even a bear's pelt on the walls. We could choose to sit at long wooden tables with short wooden stools or hightop tables with high stools. There were some tvs showing sports and country rock music playing in the background (enough that you know its there but not so loud that we couldn't have an active converstation).

Overall I definitely enjoyed the food and the ambiance. I want to try to go back to try more of the bbq meats and I think it would be a fun place to go with friends just to grind the food and hang out and have a couple of beers (and I don't really even drink that much beer) in a nice casual and comfortable atmosphere.

Well the conference is all day tomorrow so I better start getting ready for bed. Feels nice to get back to my old ways...traveling and eating out. In 2008 my trips were so quick, in and out the city, that I really didn't have time to do much outside the meeting or conference I was attending. Hopefully this year will allow me to balance more fun with the business in my travels.

Have a great weekend!