For the Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase Returns to Roanoke

Turns out Cupid loves smoked meats. Certainly more so than those small oddly chalky candy hearts. What was intentionally set for Valentine’s Day weekend of 2020 got pushed to August of 2021 for all the obvious reasons. August came and the first annual For the Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase was a smashing success.

By Sean Welch

January 31, 2022

Image: Scenes from last years For the Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase.

Scenes from last years For the Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase. Sean Welch

Audio By Carbonatix

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Turns out Cupid loves smoked meats, certainly more so than those small oddly chalky candy hearts.

What was intentionally set for Valentine’s Day weekend in 2020 got pushed to August 2021 for all the obvious reasons. August came and the first annual For the Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase was a smashing success.

It was only hours after completing that first weekend that Brendan Lamb, creator of the event, was working on plans for next year. This time the date was set back to the original plan of Valentine’s Day weekend, a tribute to one of Lamb's great loves.

For The Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase will take place on Feb. 12 in Roanoke, which happens to be the Unique Dining Capital of Texas, as designated by the Texas State Legislature. We kid you not.

Pitmasters have begun confirming their arrivals, and you’ll be happy to know there are some returning faces, including our best bites from 2021, Hill BBQ of Lubbock. Check out the list of confirmed restaurants below, with more to come.

General admission tickets are on sale now for $85. The ticket includes unlimited samples from over 20 top-rated pitmasters, an event T-shirt, one drink ticket, live music that includes Chop Shop's Saturday night concert

Last year was a great time and that was in the heat of August. Know one knows what February will bring in terms of weather, but either way you’ll get some of the best barbecue from Texas and Louisiana.

List of attendees so far:
2M Smokehouse, San Antonio, TX
Antlershed Barbecue, Weatherford, TX
Bad Wolf BBQ, Ruston, LA
Bare Barbecue, Cleburne, TX
Big D BBQ, Mansfield, TX
Dayne's Craft Barbecue, Fort Worth, TX
Guess Family Barbecue, Waco, TX
Gonzo's Smokehouse & BBQ, Luling, LA.
Hard Eight BBQ, Roanoke, TX
Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Richmond, TX
Hill Barbecue, Lubbock, TX
Rossler's Blue Cord BBQ, Harker Heights, TX
Smoke-A-Holics BBQ, Fort Worth, TX
Smoke Sessions Barbecue, Royse City, TX
Smoke & Biscuit Co., McKinney, TX
Smokey Joe's BBQ, Dallas, TX
T & D Barbecue, Weatherford, TX
Trevino's Craft, Smokehouse, Jacksboro, TX
Tyler's Barbeque, Amarillo, Texas
Wright on Taco Shop, Harleton, TX
Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, Grapevine, TX

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