Mr. Brooks

 

The first time I met Mitchel Brooks, he was standing in front of a pile of freshly split wood...used to fire a black monster of a BBQ smoker behind him.

I had heard whispers around town of his brisket…”unearthly, a gift of god!”.

All Texas, all the time.

Being a Maverick with deep Texas roots, and a foodie with an even deeper attraction to all things that involve meat and fire, I tracked him down at his house out on Rt 13 by the St Johns River.

It was a part time thing for him. For a foodie like me, something worth seeking out.

We had spoken on the phone, so he expected me.

“Maverick?”

“Yup, Hey Michael!”

As I approached him, he pointed at a tattoo I have on my right forearm of Texas Blue Bonnets. The only person to have ever recognized them or mentioned them at all. At Michael’s feet in front of his BBQ table? Texas Blue Bonnets, growing right there on his front lawn.

He had brought a little bit of Texas with him.

That was a double sign from the ghost of Bob Wills that I was in the right place.

Mike is a square shouldered guy, a throwback to old John Wayne movies. Looks like a bronc rider. He’s the refreshing kind of man who stands up for things that are solid and real. A Marlboro man without the cigarettes. Unlike myself, no bullshit.

We’re talking about a guy who uses a picture of Ernest Tubb for his profile picture. How many people under the age of 70 even know who that was?

Mike’s probably in his late 30’s, an old soul.

Anyway, tonight, some ten years after our first encounter in his front yard, we were in his back yard. Mike threw a party. Something to thank his BBQ loving fans for their support over the years…only a few close friends, maybe 70 or so…

Live music, full bar, the best BBQ on the planet, Lonesome Dove on the VCR, a firepit, multiple cases of Lone Star beer, an empty chicken coop, door open, chickens in the crowd, pecking up spills and offerings. The family dog going donor to donor, somewhat dazed, stumbling with a belly way too full of the best AYCE BBQ he’s ever had.

Me too.

Thanks Mike. You make Texas proud, hell, you make us all proud.