Vencil Mares, a legendary pitmaster of Central TX and a war hero, opened the Taylor Cafe in 1948 after fighting in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Every week he could be seen fighting the Battle of the Pits in Taylor, TX. I particularly love this painting of Craig’s as it is both a portrait of a war hero and a pitmaster, but also a tender moment where you can see Vencil just relaxin’, possibly chatting up a customer who came in for Sunday BBQ chicken. Vencil looks out tenderly, the background nothing more than the rawness of the panel board it is painted on, the movement in the grain echoes the movement of the smoke from the pit. You can feel it, smoky, Sunday. Craig painted this some years back when we lived in Central Texas, the heart of great BBQ country. He was obsessed by the BBQ pits of the region and we drove many a Sunday mile to feast on the best and most authentic. Often a battle would ensue between us when company would come to town over which BBQ joint to take them to, as getting there was a journey in itself. One of Craig’s favorites was the Taylor Café because of it’s authenticity and perhaps the hope of catching a glimpse of the man himself. Vencil may be gone from this Earth since 2019, but his memory lives on as a legend of the pit. – Val
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