OK to be fair, we did decide to go here knowing the cost……but still.
Chef Kareem El-Ghayesh is the owner and pit master of this BBQ joint in Austin Texas. El-Ghayesh grew up in Cairo and came to the U.S for the first time in 2012 to visit his uncle, and made a stop in Austin to visit an Egyptian friend who’d moved there. El-Ghayesh was so taken by his first humble tray of BBQ that he returned to Egypt and began practicing at home using a Weber grill, Franklin BBQs ‘A Meat-Smoking Manifesto’, and instructional YouTube videos. He also befriended Cairo butchers and practiced techniques with them while sourcing his meat. Growing up watching both his grandmother and mother make traditional Egyptian, Texas BBQ was completely new territory. Coming from the Middle East where there is a centrepiece dish surrounded by beautiful colourful vibrant pickles, sauces and condiments, El-Ghayesh wanted to blend this tradition with the art of BBQ smoking.
Leaving behind a corporate finance career in Cairo to the dismay of family and friends, KG went to Austin in 2015 for a month (using saved up vacation time) to follow his passion for BBQ and smoking meats. During his visit he met Aaron Franklin, who was speaking about his cookbook, and he travelled around Austin tasting as much BBQ as he could. He finally found someone to mentor under, Bill Kerlin from Kerlin BBQ, so he went back to Cairo, quit his job and moved to Austin!
Working at a Mexican Fusion BBQ, Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ, and going to culinary school set the foundation for his culinary career. While El-Ghayesh worked at many BBQ places to gain experience, he started a catering business and private cooking classes. One of his catering jobs was so well received, that it developed into a pop-up BBQ on Sundays where the line up was around the block. This success then turned into the BBQ food truck it is today, with line ups no matter when you go! He was also nominated for a James Beard award for Best Chef Texas category. While he didn’t win, KG BBQ has big plans in store……I wonder what they are!
Here are a few pics of the US$150 food truck lunch.
The pictures don’t do the meal justice. We are still eating leftovers 2 days later! We also had a delish Hibiscus mint iced tea which was really great as well to go with the meal. All in all, an expensive but well worth the cost, lunch.