Sondra Meyer

Where can you find the best BBQ in Texas? I've spent several weeks thinking about where to go for the best BBQ in Texas. I thought about restaurants that are open now. I thought about the ones that have closed. I thought about the memorable places that I have eaten that I can't even remember the name of. I have thought and thought and thought - where is the best BBQ in Texas?

I finally concluded....the best BBQ in Texas are the outdoor BBQ's put on by family and friends. The BBQ might be held in someone's back yard. It might be at the lake. It might be in a parking lot of a rodeo or at a football game. The location doesn't matter all that much, so long as everyone is enjoying being there. (Hard core BBQers take their pit with them.)

Although some Texan's have a love affair with their BBQ pit, I don't think the pit itself really matters....to me at least. I think it is the atmosphere of a BBQ that practically guarantees the food is going to taste great. Mmmm...just thinking about brisket, steaks, chicken, ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage. They all taste great cooked on the pit. I'll admit, every once in a while, the hamburgers may shrink a little too much or the hot dogs may get a little too crispy, but that is the exception versus the rule.

Maybe BBQ almost always tastes good because somehow, each person present seems to get involved in some little way. Most people will simply look and give their stamp of approval. "Yep, it's looking good. Won't be too much longer." In most cases, there will be at least one person that takes great pride in their BBQing abilities. I'll call that person the grill master or the king of the BBQ pit. Whatever title is endowed upon that person, everyone knows they are ultimately responsible for the great tasting BBQ.

Unlike a restaurant, you can watch the meat get put on the grill. You can see the smoke. You can smell the BBQ. You can hear the sizzle. You can watch the meat being turned over, sprayed, getting coated, poked....what ever that person does to make the ultimate BBQ creation. There is something about the anticipation of waiting for it to cook to perfection. I think that adds to the taste.

At the same time, there is the camaraderie of hanging out with family and friends while the food is cooking. The guys may be throwing a football. (You can't do that in any restaurant.) The girls are chatting about their love lives. Someone may be trying to decide what music to listen to. The dog is soaking up all the attention it possibly can get. Unlike a restaurant, at a BBQ...it is easy to get up and walk around and visit with different friends. You can laugh as much and loud as you want. It is a relaxed atmosphere. As time goes by, everyone wonders "How much longer till the food is ready."

The chips, plates, bbq sauce, and other condiments are arranged on a table. Everyone hopes the wind doesn't blow everything away. At times, there may be efforts of strategizing how to keep the flies away. Ice is in the ice chests, as may be sodas and beer. There is usually ice tea. Maybe Kool-Aid for the kids.

Finally, the BBQ is ready. Everyone lines up for his or her turn. Seating may be at a picnic table, on a lawn chair, at a chair around a table, on an ice chest, or on the tailgate of someone's truck. It just depends. Regardless...it is casual and very enjoyable. How can the BBQ not taste great?

In my mind, this is BBQing Texas style. Although the location, cook and seating arrangements will change, this is by far my favorite BBQ in Texas.

I've always been a huge fan of the College Station Independent School District.(CSISD) I'll admit, I could be slightly biased as I graduated from A&M Consolidated High School. When I graduated from Texas A&M, I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. Now that my son Sean has been accepted into Notre Dame, I'll probably be even more biased. The teachers at College Station ISD did a great job of preparing him for acceptance into a university.

Today, I am working from home in order to spend a little extra time with Sean. He is a senior at A&M Consolidated High School and he was able to exempt all of his finals. With exeception of graduation activities he is done. Done.

After looking at a note to parents about graduation, which is this Friday, it occurred to me to ask him if he was graduating with honors. Being somewhat modest, he simply replied, "Yes." Out of curiosity I followed up with the question, "Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude." He just smiles and replies, "Summa Cum Laude." Now I wasn't all that great of a student myself, so I pull the sheet of paper out to remind myself what Summa Cum Laude means. It means that he is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. I went back into his room, where he is playing the newest version of Grand Theft Auto, and hugged him. I am so proud of him.

Sean will be attending Notre Dame in Indiana this fall. I don't know how I was so blessed to have been able to have a child that was so disciplined, so motivated and so smart that he was able to be graduating with a 4.0 from high school. Over the years, I've never had to ask Sean, "Have you done your homework?" It has been years since I was actually able to help him do his homework. I never took physics, upper levels of Spanish, chemistry. I did terrible in calculus in college. These are all classes he took in one semester. With God's good grace, Sean did it on his own.

I am glad that he attended College Station schools where he was able to surround himself with a culture of excellence. His friends were equally motivated. I'm sure the parents of those kids are proud also. Grace Liu, a fellow Realtor of mine here in College Station, is one of those parents. Actually, the parents of all the kids graduating should be proud. Each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some are sports stars, others excelled in the music, Ag, and some just had a great time just having fun. Congratulations are due to all.

Well, I already know that I'll be crying on Sean's graduation night. I already have tears in my eyes. Sean....I'm proud of you.

Did you know that the portion of the population in College Station that is made up of students is decreasing?

In 1990, 60% of the population was students aaccording to the City of College Station Planning and Development Services statistics. Today, students make up approximately 50%.

Other interesting tidbits that I found on the site.

Since 1997, when the last Comprehensive Plan was adopted:

Our population in College Station has increased over 40%.

College Station annexed over 4,000 acres.

Over 5,000 new single family homes were built. For more intersting statistics, be sure to check out the City of College Station's website. http://cstx.gov/home/index.asp

The needs of our community are changing....but Texas A&M is still an integral part of our community and culture here. Whoop!!!!

Snap shot taken at Wolf Pen Creek Park =>

Last Friday, Ben White, the mayor of College Station hosted a coffee. The real estate and development community were the special guests....which meant that he wanted to discuss issues that pertained to these groups. According to the newspapers coverage, about 66 people attended. It was the largest turn out for one of his coffees. The group included developers, builders, engineers, Realtors, some of the City Staff, and a few of the council members made appearances. John Crompton stayed the entire time.

I was really glad that the Mayor is encouraging everyone to get involved. I've always been a big believer that good communication is important. The city needs to understand the real estate community and developer's perspective. And the real estate community and developers need to take time to consider the big picture of what is driving the City of College Station's decisions. If the two groups can work as a team, the citizens of College Station will reap the benefits.

Did you know that the City of College Station has a list of core values? http://cstx.gov/docs/191092812004strat_focus.pdf The first item on this list of core values is to promote citizen involvement. Mayor White is doing a good job of that. Now we just need to do it. Get involved.

Although this post speaks about specific College Station, TX issues, the point is applicable to everyone that lives somewhere that is affected by "politics."

Alright, we've got two men, Dennis Maloney and Larry Stewart, that will be sworn onto the city council next week. Unfortnately, Derek Dicston, one of the candidates that lost, opted to resign from his seat on the College Station Planning and Zoning Commission.

After reading the Bryan-College Station Eagle's article this morning, "New CS Council looks at Growth," http://www.theeagle.com/local/New-CS-Council-looks-at-growth , I've realized that we need to look forward.

According to the article: Dennis Maloney is suggesting forming a committee of home builders, city staff, and council members to streamline development processes. John Cromptom doesn't seem to feel that there is problem. Larry Stewart is on a crash course of getting up to speed on city policies and ordinances.

Additionally, this Friday (May 23), Mayor Ben White is having his "Coffee with the Mayor." He wants to discuss issues that are concerning the development community.

Now is the time for the real estate and development community to become even more involved. We need to communicate with the council members. Let them know what the problems are and maybe offer some workable solutions. We need to let Maloney and the other council members know that we LIKE the idea of streamlining development processes. We need to give Dr. Cromptom specific examples of why the current process is not the optimal process. We need to take the time to get to know Mr. Stewart. More of us need to actually take the time to attend P&Z and council meetings on a regular basis. How else can we demonstrate that we care about what is going on? We, the people that live and work in College Station, need to be involved!