It’s Not Bragging If It’s True….

Challenge #10: You’ve had all summer to highlight Famous Dave’s – now we want to hear why YOU are the most Famous Fan.

I am not an arrogant man.  Really.  I think it’s easy to look at my confidence as arrogance.  I am confident, first, because I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.  He is my guide and comfort and is preparing a home in heaven for me.  Secondly, I walk and live confidently because I’m a passionate person.  I won’t take on a project unless I’m commited to giving it my all.  My life’s slogan is: “Give Better Than Your Best.”  That being said, I have campaigned passionately, thusly, I am confident.

I am the MOST Famous Fan.

Please consider the weekly challenges.  The BarBeQuethMinistry! won the very first one (I believe we raised the bar with the haiku), and tied for two others.  I received honorable mentions for the love song dedication (c’mon, the whole episode with D.J. Will Burr was  pure genius!), Captain BBQ (a truly epic drama), and the family pic (was there a cuter one?).  So I couldn’t pull off the clean sweep, but I sure did give it a try!  I guarantee, no one had more fun than I did.  Thank you, JRP, for the great ideas!

But the weekly challenges were just one component of this “Quest for the Best Famous Fan in America”.  If it weren’t for the weekly challenges, many of the Famous Fans wouldn’t've had campaigns at all.  Click here and start scrolling down.  You’ll find a true grassroots campaign, complete with thought-provoking articles, fun polls, and energetic community involvement.  I’ve done my part to be a genuine BBQ Mentor both to the teens I minister to and the precious children I’m raising.

As far as the P.I.G. Club sign ups go, there’s no way to know how I’m doing.  My WordPress stats report 74 clicks on my link, but who knows how many actually went through with it.  If you haven’t joined the club, click here for details.  Think of it as casting a vote for me!

Then there’s the pre-campaign BBQthDirector.  When there was nothing in it for me, I was an ambassador for Dave’s cause.  As an amateur food critic and BBQ connoisseur, I’ve driven waaaay out of my way in search of legit ‘que, and have known Famous Dave’s to be a model of consistency.  Consistency is part of being a chain, but most national chains are consistently mediocre.  Famous Dave’s has continued to excel, and I’ve done my part to let the world know about it.

Well, there’s my last hurrah.  Thank you all for following.  Maybe you could do one more thing and help me sway the judges.  If I’ve inspired or enlightened you, let it be known.  I know there’s a few of you out there who’ve wandered into the domain of Dave’s as a direct result of my prodding.  Don’t be so shy.  Or maybe the BarBeQuethMinistry! has just been a source of cheap entertainment over the last couple months.  Hey, whether you were laughing with me or at me …

I’ll take that.

Now I’m off to Wyoming.  Back August 7th.  Peace!

Fave Fives XVIII: Famous Dave’s Menu Items

Okay, we’re in the home stretch of the campaign (Wanna help me win? Read about the P.I.G. Club!). We tied for first place for Challenge #9 (check out my freecreditreport.com spoof in the previous post and see Josh H.’s royal invitation here). The last challenge is exactly what I expected:

Challenge #10: You’ve had all summer to highlight Famous Dave’s – now we want to hear why YOU are the most Famous Fan.

If I only had the time to put together the closing speech I had envisioned. Right now I’m getting geared up for our youth group’s missions trip to the Arapahoe Nation in Wyoming. We leave Thursday morning, so I’ll get a little something posted Wednesday night and hope for the best. In the mean-time, here are my Fave Five Famous Dave’s menu items (yes, it was tough narrowing it down).

1.  “The Big Slab” of St. Louis Style Ribs: So meaty and smokey, consistently tender and tasty enough to stand alone.  But, hey, a bath in Devil’s Spit never hurts!

2.  Manhandler Sandwhich: A genius pairing of melt-in-your-mouth brisket and sliced hot link on a toasted bun … wow!

3.  Better Than Mom’s Pecan Pie: It really is better than my mom’s, and she consistently had professional quality pecan pie in the house.  Okay, okay so that’s a nice way of saying she always bought it, but Dave’s really is the very best I’ve ever had!

4.  Smoked Salmon Spread: A perfectly seasoned mixture of cream cheese and smoked salmon, served with grilled flat bread.  For the BBQth Director to put this on a Fave Five’s list is really saying something, as I’ve caught my own Alaskan Silver Salmon and eaten it just hours later.  If you like Salmon, you must try this!

5.  Ultimate BBQ Burger: I like burgers, as a previous Fave Fives list will attest.  This really is the ultimate with a thick patty, Georgia Chopped Pork, bacon and all the fixins.  Messy, but awesome!

And yours?

Happy 15th, Famous Dave’s!

I’m back to visit my house for just a couple days.  Shortly after a nice trip to Minnesota last week, I was off to the Central California Sierras to preach a teen camp.  Thursday we’re off to Wyoming for a missions trip.  Yes, it’s been a whirlwind, but here’s my submission for Challenge #9!  A big thanks to guitarist, Philip A., camera man/video editor Andrew C., and the eye-candy-crew, Paul, Matt and Karl, for helping me pull together yet another last-minute video.

This celebration of 15 FAMOUS years has finally given me the chance to spoof my favorite jingle of all time, the freecreditreport.com song.  Hope you enjoy!

This great offer is only at participating locations ’till September 15th. You heard right, just a buck a bone, and a free meal on August 30th if your name is David, Dave or Davey. Visit famousdaves.com for details.

BBQ Mentoring Part II

The first group of teens I took to the Rancho Cucamonga Famous Dave’s proved Dave can hang with (even surpass) the big names of BBQ, namely Gate’s in Kansas City.  Last week, I mentored 15 fabulous kids, plus the two bad apples who like Gate’s better, using three All-American Feasts as our textbook.  Our server once again was Famous ‘Berto, who is always energetic and attentive.  GM Famous James was kind enough to come out and greet us right away.  Class began with my trademark sauce tour:

My Sauce Tour in a nutshell: Rich and Sassy, the award-winning classic, well balanced with a unique fruitiness ... Georgia Mustard, vinegar and mustard based, with just a hint of sweetness and crushed red peppers for grins ... Texas Pit, a peppery nod to the Lone Star state ... Sweet and Zesty, sweetest of the bunch with a distinctive tanginess from malt vinegar ... Devil's Spit, tasty but dangerous! My favorite!

The finished product, a goatee-clad smiley!

As we waited patiently for our trash can lids, two young ladies who just graduated knew right away that this would be a great place to work.  They filled out applications right there.  Rancho Pork-a-monga, if you’re looking for two SUPER young people to add to your work crew, you won’t be dissapointed with Ariel H. and Darlene T.!  I’d love to see them come out of the kitchen and chant, “Feast!  Feast!  Feast!”

Ambitious, talented, studious, hard-working, respectful ... I'd hire these two in a heartbeat!

When the feasts arrived, we prayed, and it was ON!  It was every man for himself.  I tried to get the guys to chill out a bit so that the girls would be sure to get some ribs, but it was mayhem making your way around the table (see pic above).  One of the serving tongs was a casualty of all the action.  I did manage to point out to the kids one of the marks of real BBQ, the pink smoke ring.  Californians have a tendency to freak out when they see this, thinking their pork isn’t fully cooked.  Real hardwood smoke will give meat a pink hue as it cooks.  It’s basically a chemical reaction.  I think this is important for young people to know.  Science in its tastiest form!

As I was workin’ a rib, Famous ‘Berto and Famous James came out to make a special presentation.  They gave me a T-Shirt (“We Serve No Swine Before Its Time”), hat and name badge (“Famous Jay”).  The only thing they asked of me was to do a cheer with them.  I somehow got over my shy-ness and relented:

Maaaaan, that Famous Cheer Zone will never be the same!

Challenge #9:Famous Dave Anderson, the founder of Famous Dave’s, is celebrating 15 Famous years of ribalicious BBQ by throwing a party complete with birthday specials (July 15-September 15). Buck-A-Bone ribs,  and on August 30th anyone with the name Dave, David or Davy eats for free! He wants you to bring your friends to the celebration. How will you get folks to come to the celebration?

Your challenge is to create an invitation to Famous Dave’s Buck-A-Bone Birthday Bash Celebrating 15 Famous Years. The invite could be a video or a traditional invitation posted as a jpg or other digital format. Please be sure to note in your invitation that these offers are for a limited time. And remember each location is unique, so always be sure to check with your local restaurant for participation. Have fun!

Our Famous Family

My submission for Challenge #8:

Special thanks to our awesome server, "Famous Dave" (no kidding!) in Rancho Cucamonga for taking this picture for us!

 And here’s a submission from campaign follower, Renae A.:

Pokey L. and Thalia A. enjoying the ribs at Famous Dave's.

C’mon, folks, a $100 Famous Dave’s gift card is at stake!  E-Mail your submission by Saturday night so I can get it up in time: jay AT chargerpower DOT net.