Barbecue Lover's Guide to Austin

A handbook for barbecue lovers, the Barbecue Lover s Guide to Austin is not a critique with stars, forks, or dollar signs; it is a guide to help you navigate your way through the passionate culture of barbecue in Central Texas.

The guide starts in Austin, helping you locate the trailers, sheds, shacks, and various other joints, and takes you all the way to the small towns out yonder. The truth is that Austin and the small towns in a 30-mile radius offer a vast selection of options. Some are famous and some should be. Unafraid to pass over the most humble of shacks, this guide gives you a real taste of Texas barbecue.

So as Chef / Author Mark Miller says in the Foreword: "Put on your best pair of well worn, comfortable cowboy boots, a pair of non-designer jeans, a real cowboy hat or an old tractor baseball cap, put the smart phone away, thumb through this guide and get ready to experience real BBQ, Austin style."

Gloria Corral has been a food enthusiast for as long as she can remember. Growing up in Ohio with family from Alabama, it was her Southern granny who taught her how to cook comfort food using vegetables from the family garden. Gloria moved to San Francisco in the early 1980s just in time for the food movement that ushered in the use of fresh ingredients. She spent her free time pursuing her love for cooking American and foreign foods. She learned from super star chefs from the area, traveled to Europe for cooking classes, and studied and foraged for indigenous ingredients. Her summer vacations took her to Provence, France, where she sought out farmers, home cooks, and farm-fresh produce and meats, looking to hone her skills in the kitchen to better fit her style and taste, which reflect the earthiness of Provencal slow-braised meats and farm-fresh ingredients. In 2008, Gloria moved to Austin Texas and fell in love with the long-smoked meats that Texas barbecue practitioners produce for the many barbecue aficionados. As she got to know them, she was awed by the passion of these craftsmen and for their respect for tradition.

Gloria still resides in Austin, Texas. This is her first book. She is presently working on the second edition of the Barbecue Lovers Guide to Austin with expanded content and recipes.