When I moved out of New York more than 30 years ago, there was no such thing as authentic BBQ there. (Well, as far as I knew. Feel free to prove me wrong.) But all that’s changed, as my visits to such places as Hometown Bar-B-Que and BrisketTown show. So when this episode’s guest recommended we record at John Brown Smokehouse, which Eater has called “the most faithful rendition of Kansas City-style barbecue in NYC,” I was so in.

My guest for this 28th episode of Eating the Fantastic is my former Syfy boss of more than 13 years, Craig Engler, who’s now the Co-Creator/Writer/Co-Executive Producer of the hit zombie TV show Z Nation, which was recently renewed for a fourth season on Syfy. (And would you like to see me taking a bullet in the head for Craig? Of course you would!)

Join us as we discuss what life’s like when you’re a professional game player for Nintendo, how running the Syfy Channel’s digital side led to him getting a shot at writing TV movies such as Zombie Apocalypse, why he wrote Weight Hacking, his geek guide to losing weight and getting fit, plus much more, including behind-the-scenes secrets on the past, present, and future of his hit zombie TV show Z Nation.

Here’s how you can share the BBQ—

1) Subscribe over at the iTunes store, where you’ll also find all 27 previous episodes.

2) Download the episode to the device of your choosing via the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss.

3) Or give the episode a listen right here via the embed below.

Here’s what we dug into during this episode—

Craig’s burnt ends, pork spare ribs, and collard greens

My burnt ends, brisket, baked beans, and corn bread

What’s next for Eating the Fantastic?

Coming up two weeks from now will be a deli lunch with Barry N. Malzberg, whose novel Beyond Apollo was the winner of the first John W. Campbell Award, and whose stories I published many times back when I was editor of Science Fiction Age magazine.

And don’t forget! If the two-week wait between episodes is too much for you, you can help shorten that gap by making a recurring monthly donation over at Patreon. I won’t be able to pick up the pace on my own, not with the travel, bandwidth, and meal costs associated with the show, so I’d appreciate your support as I attempt to capture all the amazing creators out there. (There are, of course, perks for all patrons.)

But don’t stress out about it. Whether or not you’re in a position to help subsidize the podcast, you can always help by subscribing to Eating the Fantastic, rating the show on iTunes, and liking us on Facebook, all actions which will boost the profile of the show and bring it to the attention of others.

Thanks, as always, for listening.