A meat lover's experience at The Fan's Inaugural Sausage Fest.

When one hears the title Sausage Fest, connotations and innuendos instantly flood our small human minds. When I heard about a food themed Sausage Fest sponsored by 105.3 the Fan being held in downtown Dallas - I started salivating. Then immature one liners flooded my small human mind.

Imagine walking through a Willy Wonka's sausage version of his Chocolate Factory full of brats, knacks, Andouille, and jalapeno sausage. This is what barbecue enthusiasts like me get thrilled about. The potential to learn about the craft and try new meats. The fact there would be a sausage race where meat is held strategically between one's legs, bobbing for sausages and the crowning of Miss Sausage Fest, a mature crowd of 21 years old and up was the rule. My very own Sausage Factory.

While it's publicly known that 105.3 the Fan is a sports radio station steadily declining in ratings, throwing an event like this could shore up attention for them. Also the fact that they were utilizing Dallas' downtown for an event is commendable. While their intentions may have been to cheer on BBQ, sports, and all things men, the event itself may have been a bit flaccid.

On the surface it seemed promising and full of entertainment. I was plugging it left and right on Twitter and after convincing friends it had nothing to do with Oak Lawn, I managed to assemble a group of average meat lovers to attend. Think about it - Main Street garden with live music, food and beer...you can't find too many people who would disagree that this wouldn't be good times. Even Chicago, Vancouver and of course Elgin, Texas all have their own respective celebratory gatherings in honor of our spicy, greasy, oblong shaped pals.

What I expected and what I experienced are two completely different stories. Were there scantily clad women, beer, and music? Well of course. Was there sausage? Yep. But the shortcoming was the amount of sausage one would expect from a "Sausage Fest." A total of five vendors were on site with one of the vendor's products purchasable at Wal-Mart.

Even my companions, who again are far less interested in sausage than I, were slightly finicky about the event - or lack thereof. Forget the sun beating down upon us - we wanted meat. Forget the $6 12 oz. cans of beer - we came hungry and carnivorous in every sense of the word.

The major disappointing factor was the infamous Dallas legend, Jimmy's Food Store, not in attendance. How about the delicious handmade sausage from Texas Monthly Top 4 Pecan Lodge or the legendary Kreuz sausage imported from Lockhart, Texas to Bishop Arts District's own Lockhart Smokehouse? Did anyone invite them to the event? Or the many other local meat purveyors such as Kuby's Sausage House and Rudolph's, what about them?

3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House and Hard 8 BBQ were the only notable barbecue joints in attendance which both served pretty admirable protein. The Texas Andouille from Hard 8 BBQ was exceptionally spicy and issued a great snap to it. The thing is, I could've gone to each one of these establishments and spent the amount I did on a full meal and their in-house sausage any day of the week.

Yes - I get it, there was innuendo visibly present and the novelty wasn't lost on me. The fest actually drew an evenly mixed male and female crowd despite it being geared towards the male population. My point is you can have all the PG-13 humor you want and still hit the mark celebrating the festival's namesake. Beside not having local Dallas businesses, missed were the opportunities to taste sausage from different cultures. Do a quick search and you will quickly find different German and Italian sausage, central Texas pork and beef sausage, East Texas hot links, Louisiana Andouille, and a variety of other styles. Another opportunity missed was an exhibit showing the hard work which goes into hand making sausage.

Did they deliver what they intended? Depends on who you ask. Food obviously wasn't The Fan's number one priority for this and I recognize that in hindsight. However they could've given the general public of North Texas a genuine look at what you would normally drive hours to experience. Many of whom eat the product but have never learned of it's origin.

To me, there's a certain nostalgia about maneuvering a bun and brat into your mouth at a baseball game. As a lover of sausage - next year, beef up the festival some more. If you're going to throw a party for sausage in Dallas - toss in some nostalgia and give the local meat markets a chance! Authentic meat markets are a rarity these days and their attendance wouldn't go unappreciated. This event could've uniquely stood out more but at least it has something to build upon. Hopefully The Fan will still be around to have a 2nd Annual. By the way, fair warning - don't type "Sausage Fest" into your preferred search engine.

Metzler's Food & Beverage

2 Stars

http://www.metzlerscatering.com/

Hanging in front of this established Denton convenience store is a faded navy blue banner reading "Voted Best in Denton 2008". What you'll also notice is the advertisement of alcohol and furthermore that they serve smoked meat with sausage from Fischer's Market in Muenster, TX.

They've been around since 1947 and have been serving the "finest bar-b-q" since then as their drinking cup states. Noticeably on their menu is a heavy German influence and using Fischer's sausages, I wanted this place to be something worth telling people about. Other than the broad alcohol selection, my hopes would soon be dashed.     - - - - - -

First thing I noticed when I arrived before noon was an absolute lack of smoke outside and inside, where the smoker was actually located. By now I know what this entails. Day old meat. From a small shop like this, I'd expect it could go either way. On one hand with their history, I would've thought fresh BBQ daily if they were popular at lunch. On the other hand, if they don't sell a comparable volume of BBQ, they probably won't trash leftovers as this isn't cost effective. Neither is serving current and potential customers lackluster quality because they will eventually stop coming.

I ordered the three meat plate with German potato salad and slaw. Thinking to myself that sauce may be used as a mask, I luckily caught the waitress in enough time for her to scurry back to the kitchen to relay my request of no sauce. I went for the rib first which had a faint smoky flavor, came off the bone too easy and was absent of rub. The brisket was dry and I thought I hit hints of Mesquite in the taste but my taste buds were mostly sensitive to a pot roast flavor. Even the fatty piece was underdeveloped from the previous days smoking.

Fischer's smoked sausage is some of my favorite. Growing up with frequent trips to the meat market - it brings back childhood memories of enjoying sliced sausage and smoked cheddar cheese held together by saltine crackers. Sadly enough they did no justice to this pleasant memory by throwing it on the stove top. My childhood innocence has now been robbed. By a stove top. 

Before leaving I spoke to the gentlemen at the counter who confirmed that all they use is Mesquite because it's easy to get around here. They thought about and briefly tried Hickory but that's very difficult to come by he said. I can think of a few places that use Hickory with no supply or demand issues.

Like a father who still displays dusty state champion trophies from high school or a former pageant queen desperately clinging to that tiara, sometimes you just have to let go of who you use to be and recognize who you presently are. After that moment, you may have acquired an ability to initiate change. At some point Metzler's may have served remarkable BBQ but with utmost certainty, the old pitmaster isn't overlooking the process which kept them in business for 66 years. There is opportunity here but if they enjoy living in the past while disservicing customers - maybe it's time to take down the misleading faded navy blue banner. Besides, Rudy's is right around the corner.

Cafe Momentum and the Pitmaster's Picnic.

What is an "at-risk youth"? Have you ever wondered what puts a pre-teen or young teenager in the "at-risk" category? The adjective form of at-risk reads of "being endangered, as from exposure to disease or from a lack of parental or familial guidance and proper health care," from one source. Merriam-Webster defines the word risk as the "possibility of loss or injury."

Youth is defined as "the time of life when one is young; especially : the period between childhood and maturity".

The period between childhood and maturity. The period where innocence is most fragile resulting in a higher chance of becoming lost. The period where without positive leadership in a desperate environment - a child can become labeled as at-risk.

Most think of at-risk youth as being from a crime-ridden urban dwelling. This is not always so. We rarely view a child living in an upper class neighborhood from far North Dallas as being at-risk. However, they too may lack certain guidance and healthy leadership thus resulting in damaged morals and standards. The painfully lonely and confusing period between childhood and maturity for them does not discriminate between poverty and wealth.

We can do one of two things as a society. Ignore the problem entirely and shake our heads later in disgust or face the problem head on by wreaking havoc on darkness through positive outreach. If we choose the second, we've the opportunity to successfully prevent this downward spiral and assist in their self-worth becoming realized.

Chad Houser chose the latter. As long time Chef at the Oak Lawn restaurant, Parigi, a self-described "neighborhood bistro," Chad made the decision to leave in August 2012 to concentrate full-time on another culinary creation, Café Momentum. Assisting Chad was another Parigi Chef by the name of Janice Provost and from there these two would continue to grow it out of it's stages of infancy.

There was something quite different with this new food venture as it had no storefront and would rely heavily on the ever-so-popular "pop-up" restaurant themed events. It would also involve a group which most would've deemed worthless, disadvantaged and already lost, the Dallas County Youth Village (DCYV) also known as "at-risk youth."

The DCYV are young men between ages 13-17 who are at that pivotal moment, returning to their same environment with one leg to stand on while the vicious cycle continues until they wind back into a juvenile detention center. Unfortunately not all of us had someone taking our hands to show us that there is more to life than a bleak future on the streets. Fortunately there are people who exist, willing to step into that role as a complete stranger and guide, to expose a brighter future.

From this point forward - the term at-risk will be obsolete because there is not one of us who hasn't made mistakes growing up and some, if not most, continue making poor decisions well into our adult lives. The late great Hank Williams sang it best, "So unless you have made no mistakes in your life, Be careful of stones that you throw." We cannot allow ourselves to define them by their past. To be a positive changing factor in someone's life we must not label them as anything other than success.

I first came into contact with Chad previous to an event when I was following Jack Perkins around his new barbecue venture, The Slow Bone, located on Industrial Blvd. It was here that Jack offered his building and parking lot for Café Momentum's latest "pop-up" theme - the Pitmaster's Picnic. Knowing this in advance I reached out to Stephen Joseph of Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Que in Jefferson, TX to offer my assistance. The final lineup would include The Slow Bone, Stanley's Famous Pit, Pecan Lodge, Lockhart Smokehouse, Louie Mueller's and of course Joseph's Riverport. To keep it short, some of the greatest cooks within the Texas barbecue scene who have some of the biggest hearts.

The day of the event, Sunday July 7th, was met with anticipation. I arrived at The Slow Bone mid-morning to meet Stephen and his Riverport crew after their early morning haul from Jefferson. While waiting out the lunch crowd, talking all things barbecue, and listening to Jack's humorously embellished tirades about whatever came to his mind, the worker's and volunteers of Café Momentum begin to arrive.

While it's clear that Chad is the brains behind the operation, board member Terry Lynn Crenshaw was the mover and shaker for the day. A personal Chef by trade she was omnipresent over the site, instructing the young men of their duties and overseeing the event's step by step process. Mainly she could be found chatting away and laughing. A lot. A true asset to the inner-workings of Café Momentum would be an understatement.

By evening time, the tents were set up with food ready, red and white checkered clothes covering the tables and the crowd's arrival imminent. Before the serving hour, Chad brought the young men around to each pitmaster's table to introduce themselves. Each one had a handshake more firm than the last and carried a well-mannered demeanor with every "Hi, my name is" and "Pleased to meet you sir." The moment I recognized what Chad already had - happened while standing from a location where I could see each pitmaster's area. What I saw were these "young men" interacting with each pitmaster and being engaged. Not ignored.

As evident from the crowd in attendance, Café Momentum has a strong and loyal following. Over half of the crowd were repeat eaters and those fans stayed a bit longer to hear an announcement that had been published a week prior in Dallas Observer's Food Blog "City of Ate."

Understand that the whole time Chad has been conducting these dining events, he still had a bigger vision. This vision included having a brick and mortar where the young men of DCYV would have a positive environment to learn skills and work ethics which would benefit them more than one could imagine. With a grant from the United Way to the tune of $175,000 - Chad's brick and mortar is that much closer to reality. This announcement was met with inspiring cheers and applause from the Café Momentum faithful. It seemed as if they want to see this project all the way through to completion more than Chad. In a sense, they are partners as well and I don't believe anyone would disagree.

Many times I've heard people say "If I had a million dollars I could help a charity". My newly found personal motto is "If you don't help when you have nothing, what's going to change when you have something?" Since Café Momentum's first pop-up in June 2011, some of Dallas' finest restaurants and Chefs in the dining scene have offered their services. This has helped Chad build upon his reputation and credibility while acquiring an evolving belief in his work. Café Momentum still gets by with a little help from some friends but when you put it into perspective, it really does take a village to raise a child.

www.cafemomentum.org