RGV Life

When I first started RGV Life, it was tilted towards a little bit of tourism, a little bit of local news, some politics, and a lot of online exploration. It was hard work. But, it was also fun. It allowed for the exploration of new media, which included online video, podcasts, and even live streaming. Being naturally shy, RGV-Life.com opened up a lot of doors for me. It gave me a topic of conversation with others. When I would visit people, they already knew about RGV Life and welcomed me as if I were an old friend. Unfortunately, when I started the blog, I did not expect that it would become what it did. I would have put more thought into the name. It turned out that there was already an RGVLife.com without the hyphen. While our paths did not cross where people would confuse the two websites, we have different circles, it makes it difficult to say that I have things locked down in terms of name recognition. They were first. Recently, I saw that there is an RGV Life printed ...

I was just writing a post over at the MissionTexas.net blog regarding the new CEED building in Mission . They have still not completely opened up for business; but, already great things are happening there. Give the blog post a read and visit the links to the items referenced. I hope to be able to share more as their activities start to pick up speed. The gist of it is that Mission is preparing to make some great things happen for the Rio Grande Valley. The CEED building has garnered much attention from other cities in the region and throughout the state. The RGV is on the cusp of something big.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Smokin' Aces North Barbecue adding Pitmaster J.D. Davidsmeyer to their team in order to offer some of the best barbecue in the Rio Grande Valley. Yes, you can go have some drinks at the bar; but, you absolutely must have a steak while you're there. Today, we are going to focus a little bit on the Pitmaster himself, J.D. Davidsmeyer. The question is, how does one become a Pitmaster? We all fancy ourselves great barbecue makers. We all have some technique to give us fairly edible barbecue, whether it be a barbecue sauce, a marinade, a rub, smoke, or some other trick to try to make the meat taste good. Does that make us Pitmasters? No. You don't just declare yourself a Pitmaster. To be a Pitmaster, you have to win competitions, consistently. What we are talking about is the difference between puttering around the driveway with your skateboard and winning skateboarding competitions with cash prizes. It's the difference between playing 18 h...

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Smokin' Aces North at the invitation of a friend. I did not realize what a great opportunity that was. Readers of this blog know that I Forrest Gump my way around greatness. But, before we go into my latest Gump move, know that Smokin' Aces North is currently in a transition. Aces North already had the bar part of "Bar & Grill" figured out. Now, they are working on the grill part of the Bar & Grill in a big way. Smokin' Aces North wants to bring in lunch and family dining during the daylight hours. They will then transition to the bar focus after 9 pm. The menu is expanding to include many barbecue items such as the Brisket Sundae, Xtreme 1/2 pound burger, stuffed Poblano peppers, steaks, some of those really good chicken wings I tried last time, and also meals for kids. Local diners are discovering that they can stop by Aces North during their lunch break for some delicious barbecue. Some folks are also taking the fami...

I requested suggestions for interesting people in the Rio Grande Valley. Thanks to David Cruz for sharing this post on Juan Angel Gloria, Deputy Chief at McAllen Fire Department.

Yesterday after work, a friend invited me to Smokin Aces North, a bar in McAllen near 10th Street and Martin. If you're into live music by local bands, you're probably familiar with Aces. Once upon a time, there was an Aces in Mission; but, people started complaining and things got political, so the place shut down. Still, even back then, they were big into the music scene. I think that's what's important here, that there are places for local talent to perform. My buddy,  +Richie Trevino , used have a rock band a few years back. He still writes songs here and there. It's cool to see that even though he isn't performing anymore, he supports other bands when he can. It was interesting to see that some of the other people at the bar were also performers. I didn't know that there was a community of artists in the RGV until last night. Last night, Radio on Repeat was playing some cover songs. These are some young guys with good sound. The band consists o...

Yesterday, my family and I went out to South Padre Island to cool off. The Rio Grande Valley has had weather in the 90s until these past couple weeks, which are the dog days of summer, or as you will hear called around here, "la canicula". If there ever was a time to go spend some time at the beach, it is now. You have probably heard of people in New York City who have lived there all their lives and never visited the Statue of Liberty, or any of the famous attractions. Living there, they can go any time they choose, so they don't go. I think it's the same here in South Texas with South Padre Island. Our family does not go and take advantage of this great attraction very often. It's there. We could go any time. In fact, we have typically gone to the beach at South Padre Island during the off season, closer to November. The weather is still warm and the water is still warm. More importantly, we do not have to deal with the traffic. On the way to the beach d...