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My Former Food Filled Life
My culinary bad assery is business based. Now while a sista don’t cook on purpose, I was the business behind Bigmista. With my husband as the cook and face, we took Bigmista’s from a Farmers Market stand in Watts to two restaurants and a catering company.
Our success landed my husband on season 2 of Barbecue Pitmaster, The Ultimate BBQ Showdown and a national commercial for Arby's.
We were both on The Great Food Truck Race, Man Fire Food and multiple segments of Good Day LA. We were featured in the food section of the L. A. Times, on Jonathan Gold's 99 Things To Eat Before You Die and his 99 Restaurants To Eat. We didn't even have a restaurant for that last one.
We catered for Kate Hudson, Morena Baccarin and Sofia Coppola. We also catered for the sets of The Office, The Exes, Dexter and something else I can't remember.
The Bigmista brand lives on with my husband who is now a content creator for food, bourbon and jazz. We closed up shop in 2018 yet we still get emails and request for our return and our products.
NOW THAT'S BEING BRANDEDAF!
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Long Beach's Famed Bigmista's Barbecue
Set to Close up Shop
Shortly after it was announced they were closing up their vastly underrated breakfast joint, Neil and Phyllis Strawder have announced that they will also be closing up their flagship endeavor, Bigmista's Barbecue
Watch Bigmista’s Owner Phyllis Strawder
Thank a Yelper for Her One Star Review
Neil Strawder and his wife spent years hustling farmers markets, barbecue competitions, and TV appearances to get to where they are now, with a successful restaurant life down in Long Beach — and
Long Beach Lunch: Bigmista's Barbecue &
Sammich Shop + Bigmista's Morning Wood
Breakfast tacos, schmreakfast tacos. Why isn’t anyone talking about the other side of Texas breakfast? The one that makes me long for mushy sweet potatoes and shredded brisket hash slathered in rich maroon
We Ate $7 Vs. $68 American BBQ Ribs To
See Which Was Worth The Price
The rules? Try three different BBQ ribs from three different restuarants at low, medium, and high price points to find out which one was the most Worth It!
The first BBQ joint was Bigmista's Barbecue
Bigmista’s Barbecue: Fire it up!
The Torrance farmers market is in full bloom: pluots mottled with patches of red and green, bottles of fresh-pressed pomegranate juice, eggplants as thick as tree trunks. Weekenders huddle under canopies clutching pupusas and plates of pad Thai, the electric hum of a blues man’s guitar and the distant patter of steel drums colliding in the air above. The market’s meat seekers, however, are unfazed by the clamor, eyes affixed to the brisket being carved at Bigmista’s Barbecue.