Happy Friday beautiful people, before we get started on this week’s edition of Barbecue, Bets, and Beats check out the first edition right here:
https://thebrandedsports.com/2022/01/13/barbecue-bets-and-beats/
Now, let us begin.
Barbecue of the Week: Blood Bros. BBQ – Bellaire, TX
Last week I mentioned that I wanted to highlight not just the best of the “Texas Trinity”, but also some of the unique creations of Texas pitmasters. This week’s highlighted BBQ stop here in greater Houston allows me to do that and then some.
Blood Bros. BBQ is one of my favorite stops on the Houston scene because of the standout flavors in every creation on the menu. The brisket is just what you’d expect from an inclusion on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list with a great bark and a fantastic cook. However, instead of the standard pork spare ribs, I opted for the Gochujang pork ribs which had a beautiful combination of sweet, spicy, and savory notes. Wrapping up the meats were Thit Nuong Pork Belly burnt ends, based on a popular Vietnamese dish, flanked by a jalapeno cheddar and a pepperoni pizza sausage.
I opted for three classic sides at Blood Bros. with the charro beans, smoked gouda mac, and jalapeno cream corn, but the fourth side I chose was brisket fried rice. This fried rice has been on my short list of favorite BBQ sides since the first time I had it and it continues to delight me every single time I go back.
Finally, I rounded out the tray with a couple of unique sandwiches, the smoked char siu pork banh mi and the “Pig Moe”. Both were delightful but that “Pig Moe” may have climbed into my personal Mount Rushmore of sandwiches. The sandwich is constructed with smoked pulled pork, melted prov-mozz, and blueberry habanero sauce, piled on grilled Hawaiian bread. Just look at this monster in the picture below and tell me you don’t want to go to Bellaire and visit Blood Bros. right meow.
Bet of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals +3.5 at Tennessee Titans
For this week’s bet of the week, we shift gears from mixed martial arts to the NFL. The Joe Burrow-lead Bengals have won four of their last five, including last week’s wild card victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Titans were the number one seed in the AFC for this year’s postseason but I’m not convinced that they are the best team in the conference. I am all in on the hype for Burrow here and thing he leads #WhoDey to a big road win over my fellow A&M grad, Ryan Tannehill, and the Titans. Hammer Cinci here.
Beat of the Week: Animal Spirits – Vulfpeck
Is there a better way to go into the weekend than with the energy provided by Vulfpeck? The first time I ever heard this funk group was at live ACL, with no prior knowledge. Since then, they are a go to for a pick me up or to set the tone for a wonderful day. Animal Spirits in particular just gets me ready to get off work, crack open a cold brew, and get the party started.
Give me a follow on Twitter @JArnoldTAMU85 for the worst tweets you have ever seen.