San Diego, CA and Wise, VA
If you’re new, or you’re confused about this #S2Roadshow thing, start here (maybe).
Previous Week’s Recaps:
- Central Pennsylvania in Week #1
- Orange County (CA) and Madison (WI) in Week #2
- Chicago (IL) and Dallas (TX) in Week #3
The purpose of the SecurityStudio Roadshow (#S2Roadhow) is to meet people and make partners. We want to meet people, understand their businesses, and help them grow using simple, fundamental, and compliant solutions (S2Score, S2Org, S2Vendor, and S2Team/S2Me).
Our mission is to fix the broken information security industry. Success requires collaboration, partnership, and transparency.
This week, John and I split up again, like we did in Week #2. I’ve got to be honest with you, traveling with John is more fun than not.
BBQ Reviews
In full transparency, we have a secondary mission on the #S2Roadshow. We eat as much BBQ as we can. After stuffing ourselves, I summarize our BBQ reviews at the end of each recap article (see below).
San Diego, California
My visit to San Diego was a short one, only one night. Flight to San Diego on Wednesday morning, and a flight back to Minnesota Thursday night. The primary purpose of my trip was to speak at the San Diego ISSA chapter meeting on Thursday.
I caught a 6:05am flight out of Minneapolis (too early) and got to San Diego around noon. I didn’t have any meetings yet, and it was too early to check into my hotel, so I hung out a Starbucks to catch up on some work.
The weather in San Diego was incredible! Mid-80s and sunny. Beats Minnesota where it was in the low-40s and rainy. Life is good.
Eventually got caught up (almost), checked in, and grabbed some much desired BBQ (see below).
San Diego ISSA Chapter Meeting
Arrived a bit early to the meeting (not too early) and was surprised to see two of my favorite security people right when I walked in; Robert and Tina (pic in gallery below)! Got settled in and delivered my standard message. The meeting was well-attended, and I met some incredible people! I know that I use the word “incredible” a lot, but seriously, these were some of the best people I’ve met so far on our Roadshow. Met new friends Will, Alex, Jen, Salvador, Quinton, Tim, and Greg to name a few. I’m very excited to get to know them more and collaborate on cool things!
A copy of my standard presentation deck that I spoke from is here.
Loved every minute of this. After the chapter meeting, I stopped by a friend’s work to say “hi” before heading to the airport. Shared a cup of coffee and a quick chat with Brian Gibbs.
This trip was a huge success, certain to produce some great relationships and some new SecurityStudio partnerships too!
Wise, Virginia
John was in Wise, Virginia at the same time I was in San Diego. John says he got the fuzzy end of the lollipop on this deal, but whatever. He was in Wise to speak at BSides Southwest Virginia, and I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up with him yet. I assume the event went well because he’s still alive and stuff. I saw him on Friday in the office, but we just didn’t get a chance to talk about his trip. So many meetings!
BBQ Reviews
Only two BBQ reviews this week, one from San Diego and one from Kingsport, Tennessee.
San Diego
Only had time to visit one BBQ joint, so I figured I better make it a good one. I searched online and found this place called Bowlegged BBQ located at 4255 Market Street in San Diego. 149 Yelp reviews and a rating of five stars! Impressive. I asked a few locals if they’d heard of the place. None of the people I asked had heard of it. Well, let’s do it…
Bowlegged BBQ – no website – Overall: 8.75
OK, this was some good BBQ! I feel bad for all the people who live here, but never experienced the joy. The place is family-owned and the atmosphere was perfect for a BBQ joint. A little cluttered, a little dirty, a little nostalgic, and a whole bunch of character. Ordered my meat from Jordan behind the counter, and I told him all I wanted was meat, no sides. Ordered rib tips, ribs, and brisket. The price? 20 bucks.
1o minutes later, I get this Styrofoam container filled with deliciousness. Like really filled and like really delicious! As you can see in the picture, the meat is drowning in sauce, and that’s generally a big no-no for me. For some reason it worked. The sauce was some sort of rural Georgia-tasting stuff with a hint of cinnamon. Weird, but delicious! I texted John and told him it was like a love fest between my mouth, my brain, and my belly. Definitely recommended!
Kingsport, Tennessee
Broad Street BBQ – https://www.broadstreetbbq.com/ – Overall: 7.5
John’s words, “BBQ Review: Broad Street BBQ, Kingsport, TN. Brisket was decent, the rest was just ok. Will do in a pinch, but probably one and done on this one. Super nice people though!”
That’s what he said.
OK, just two BBQ reviews. Sort of sad really. 🙁
BBQ Summary
Those were two new BBQ joints to add to our list. The winner this week was Bowlegged BBQ. Pecan Lodge is still the the overall #S2Roadshow leader with a score of 9, but Bowlegged BBQ jumps in at the #2 spot! The current overall standings are listed below.
Overall Standings (at the end of #S2Roadshow Week Three):
- Pecan Lodge – 9
- Bowlegged BBQ – 8.75
- Divine Swine – 8.5
- Big Ed’s BBQ – 8.25
- Mission BBQ – 8
- Blackwood BBQ – 7.5
- Broad Street BBQ – 7.5
- Spring Creek Barbeque – 7.25
- Redd’s BBQ – 7.25
- Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ – 7
- Smoque – 6.75
- Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse – 6.75
- Red Coal BBQ – 6.75
- Hambone’s Smokehouse – 6.25
- Shakedown BBQ – N/A (wasn’t open when it was supposed to be, wasted trip)
- Hard Eight BBQ – INC (we were too full, need to go back)
Next Week’s #S2Roadshow
John and I are together again, and we’re back in Dallas! It’s going to be hard to pass up Pecan Lodge and we definitely need to visit Hard Eight again (this time we’ll eat it).
We’re heading to Dallas this week to participate in an ICI Cybersecurity Forum. Should be fun.
Stay tuned for next week’s #S2Roadshow updates! You can follow us on Twitter (@evanfrancen, @HarmonJohn, @StudioSecurity, and the #S2Roadshow hashtag) and on LinkedIn.
See you next week! If you want to collaborate with us, get in touch!