Meeting Ted Barrus and Alan Cole

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting Ted Barrus and Alan Cole, two great people with a strong knowledge of superhot peppers and hot sauces. We met up at Buster's BBQ in Milwaukie, Oregon.

(L to R) Ted Barrus; me; Alan Cole
Yup, I'm just a skinny dude

I wanted to meet Ted (a.k.a. "The Fire Breathing Idiot") because I had become a big fan of his YouTube channel. Early in his YouTube career, Ted did a few spicy challenges, but has since turned to filming more spicy food reviews. He's also uploaded a couple of cooking videos that got my creative juices flowing for future video ideas.

Ted and I had discussed meetups in the past, but other commitments seemed to get in the way. He lives a couple of hours from Portland, so it's not like he can just drive to my neck of the woods all the time. So when I found out he and his wife were gonna be in the area, I decided to clear my schedule.

Alan is one of Ted's good friends and a fellow chile grower. I found it fascinating to listen to the two of them talk about different (rare) peppers and sauces.

Ted and Alan hooked me up with some hot sauces. You'll see the "Satan's Rage" ghost pepper sauce in my McDonald's 10 Hamburger Solo Challenge (part of a massive YouTube video collaboration). And be sure to look out for the other sauces in future reviews!

Mmm...pain
By the way, that's extract at the top of the Mad Dog 357 bottle...

EDIT: Here's the video!

I had just filmed a fan package video earlier in the day featuring snacks from Canada. I gave some to Ted so that he could try them. He's already started posting reviews on those (thanks again for the shoutout!) and my video will be up probably in the next couple of weeks.

Not surprisingly, that fan package video will easily be the longest video that I've uploaded to my channel.

Ted, Alan, and I probably hung out for close to three hours. I thank all of them (including Ted's wife and her friend) for letting me hang out. I look forward to the next meetup!
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For the record, I got a brisket sandwich and some cole slaw at Buster's. Unfortunately, on this trip, I thought the brisket was a bit dry and needed more seasoning. Their cole slaw was OK, a bit sweet and runny for my liking. The cabbage came in all shapes and sizes, not uniformly sliced.

(Buster's hot BBQ sauce in the bowl by the cole slaw)

Brisket cross-section

Cole slaw

On a more positive note, Buster's spiciest BBQ sauce option was pretty good, a nice kick that might make a normal person reach for a little relief.

Perhaps an anomaly. Again, I wasn't there to officially review the place, but heck man, I can't help but voice my thoughts about the food.