Elina Shatkin
File this under “Local Boy Makes Good.” Neil Strawder a.k.a. the big mister behind Bigmista's Barbecue is on his way back from Houston where he just finished shooting Ultimate Barbecue Showdown, a 1-hour special that will air on CBS over Memorial Day weekend.
The contest features Bigmista (who was recently voted, for the second year in a row, Best Barbecue by Los Angeles Hot List) competing against three of the best barbecue teams in the nation: William Bubba Latimer of Bub-Ba-Q, Tuffy Stone of Cool Smoke and Myron Mixon of Jack's Old South.
Strawder can't reveal what he cooked or how he placed, but he says he's happy with the results. As usual, Bigmista is back on the farmers market circuit, where he has already made plenty of fans at the local level.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.