Austin, TX
A Taste of Louisiana Makes Its Way to Austin at Parish Barbecue
Holden Fulco is no stranger to Central Texas barbecue. He’s got a resume that could appease even the staunchest of brisket enthusiasts. His foothold in the world of smoked meats and sides started at Franklin Barbecue in 2019. After a brief but impactful stint where he says he “learned a lot about how green” he was, Fulco moved over to Interstellar BBQ in early 2020, two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. With the restaurant closed during the height of COVID, Fulco remembers staff tinkering with recipes and taking the time to “try new things, and throw stuff against the wall to see what stuck,” he says. He’s also worked with Pinkerton’s Barbecue, opening its San Antonio location. Now, Fulco is ready to open his own barbecue spot.
Parish Barbecue was born as a series of pop-ups and became his first food truck, launched on March 22, 2025, in collaboration with Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches. The Louisiana-influenced dishes at Parish Barbecue come, in many cases, straight from the recipes of dishes he ate while growing up. The meats include Central Texas beef sausage that he calls “the most traditional thing on the menu.” The brisket, from Creekstone Farms, is coated in Tabasco and finished with Cajun seasonings. The pork ribs get the same treatment as the brisket, plus a bath in Tabasco-infused vinegar and a glaze finish made from Steen’s cane syrup. The ham, made from Creekstone pork butts (Fulco believes his is the only place serving it in Texas), is served with a Creole mustard glaze. “Your traditional ham comes from the leg, which is a lot leaner,” he says. “I wanted to be more luxurious than that… It’s got a lot of moisture, and the fat is nice and creamy.”
The most unusual meat on the menu is the pulled duck with spiced cracklins made from the duck skin. Duck hunting was big in Fulco’s family. “The idea behind it is to do something like pulled pork, because I honestly think pulled pork is boring,” Fulco says. The duck’s skin is removed and used for the cracklins, while the duck itself is seasoned with orange zest and orange pepper, then smoked for three hours. To finish, they confit the meat and coat it in duck fat, fresh orange juice, more orange zest, and Steen’s Cane Vinegar (this light molasses-style syrup also turns up in the ham glaze and the brownies on the dessert menu). Finally, the dish is sprinkled with the crisp skins.
The crawfish cornbread dressing leads the sides, a traditional Louisiana dish Fulco describes as “Thanksgiving meets Mardi Gras.” It contains “all the best things about etouffee” — that is, the cheese, the Cajun holy trinity (minced onion, celery, and bell pepper), and Cajun seasoning mixed with crumbled cornbread. Right now, the team is baking it in their smokers due to limited space in the food truck’s pits. The pimento macaroni and cheese, another hit closely inspired by Interstellar’s recipe, is made by blending slices of red peppers into the dish with pimento cheese and then topping it with Zapp’s Voodoo Chips, a Louisiana favorite. There’s also an Acadiana (a mash-up of Acadian and Louisiana) potato salad, with potatoes boiled in crawfish boil seasoning before it is chopped and slathered in a combination of mayo, Creole mustard, chopped eggs, olives, and topped with green onion. “It’s a little sweet, and a little vinegary… It’s definitely not your traditional picnic [variety],” Fulco says.
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Acid, like the vinegary notes in the potato salad, features big on the sides menu. There’s the Parish Pickle Plate, featuring seasonal pickled vegetables to give diners something to help cut through the richness and fat inherent in smoked meats. The remoulade vinegar slaw is a statement — Fulco, who strongly prefers a vinegar-based slaw to mayo, lets the cabbage sit to soak in for a few hours. The Creole tomato salad, available seasonally, offers a nice acidic bite. All of the sides, except the crawfish dressing, are vegetarian. For those who don’t eat meat, there is also a blackened veggie muffuletta made with a blackened cauliflower steak, smoked eggplant, Provolone, and olive salad. The smoked red bean dip, made with confit green and red bell peppers, garlic, the Cajun trinity, and refried camellia red beans, is served cold because that’s how Fulco says it tastes best. “In New Orleans, red beans and rice is a big deal,” Fulco says.
Fulco says he’s careful about sourcing his food because he prioritizes humanely raised and sustainable farms and ranches with high-quality products. While he tries to get locally-raised meats and vegetables, he is currently working with the Kansas City-based Creekstone Farms, a significant brisket producer that he notes Franklin previously used. “They have probably the most ethically raised beef you can get that isn’t from Texas,” Fulco says, noting that he is currently in talks with Texas-based company, Heartbrand Beef.
Fulco is comfortable in the barbecue world after so many years working at it; this wasn’t always his plan. He got his business degree and even toiled around in real estate before deciding barbecue was his passion. He wanted to make it his career. This pivot horrified his parents, he says, but the business degree informed his search for the right opportunity to come around. The owners of Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches already had the food truck and were looking for a business partner to run it. Fulco was looking for an easy start-up and a food truck. Thankfully, Batch had already paid for one. “They invested in the business by getting us a little walk-in cooler that’s right behind our trailer, which has helped a ton for storage and prep,” Fulco says.
Parish and Batch’s owners have also teamed up to produce their own beer, the Parish Weisse, a Berliner Weisse-style brew that Fulco says goes great with barbecue. “We’re going to make some different syrups, depending on the time of year, that the bartender can add in. We may even do a Hurricane-flavored one,” Fulco says.
Correction: Thursday, April 3, 2025, 4:01 p.m.: Holden Fulco’s name has been updated throughout.
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — Between carpool, homework, and after-school activities for her two teenage daughters, Suzanne La Follette fits in chemo.
As she and her partner move through daily life, they’ve had to navigate cancer treatments and a legal system surrounding workers’ compensation.
“To have this on top of it has been really overwhelming,” La Follette said.
The Austin Fire Department lieutenant of nearly two decades said she was diagnosed with terminal uterine cancer last May. She explained in November 2025, the City of Austin denied her workers’ compensation claim, classifying her cancer as a “disease of life” rather than an illness tied to her work as a firefighter.
“I have no regrets (about) becoming a firefighter,” La Follette said. “But I do think this job absolutely caused the cancer.”
Her case highlights concerns by firefighter associations across the state and the need to strengthen Texas’ presumptive cancer laws, particularly to ensure women firefighters are covered.
Focus on cancers impacting women
La Follette, 46, appealed the city’s decision.
In April, a ruling affirmed that her cancer is occupational, making her eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. A city spokesperson said it’s not appealing the judge’s decision.
“All workers’ compensation claims are unique and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This process ensured that Lt. La Follette’s case was reviewed and considered by a neutral third party,” said the statement to KXAN investigators. “We are thankful for the clarity provided by the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation and appreciate Lt. La Follette’s years of service to this community.”
Under Texas law, certain cancers are presumed to be job-related for firefighters, but cancers specifically impacting women, including uterine cancer, are not listed.
It’s why state lawmakers want to study the issue and have directed the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to compare cancer rates of women firefighters across the state to other women, focusing on ovarian, cervical, uterine and breast cancers. A report due to the Texas legislature by September must include the results of the study and any recommendations.
DSHS said the agency is using Texas Cancer Registry data to compare all cancers, and those specific to women, among women who are firefighters and those who are not. The Texas Commission on Fire Protection explained the agency has shared data with the state health department on more than 40,000 firefighters in Texas to correlate the data, which does not include occupations. The data will allow DSHS to identify women employed as firefighters.
“There have been many studies which show a link to increased risk of cancer amongst male firefighters for a broad range of cancers; however, until now, there were not enough female firefighters in the state to do a meaningful study into the increased risk these women face to female-specific cancers, such as ovarian and breast cancers,” said State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, one of the authors of the legislation which became law last legislative session.
Patterson said the new law does not change existing code or policy, but the state will study whether certain cancers should be added to preemptive measures, as other specific cancers have been.
‘Left by the wayside’
Firefighter associations are advocating for statewide changes to cancer protections for firefighters.
“They could get it through the exposure to carcinogens on the fire ground, benzene, diesel exhaust in the fire station, if they don’t have that taken care of,” explained John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters.
The association has almost 21,000 members and points to gaps in research, which has historically focused on men.
“They’ve (women) been kind of left by the wayside quite frankly over the years,” said Riddle. “And we need to fix that.”
Though the number of studies into cancer rates impacting female firefighters are limited, one out of Florida is similar to what Texas is hoping to learn.
A study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2020 examined cancer risk in over 100,000 Florida firefighters over three decades.
The study found women firefighters had a 154% increased risk of brain cancer, a 142% increased risk of thyroid cancer and a 68% greater risk of melanoma compared to women who were not firefighters. The authors of the study explained more research is needed to focus on a larger number of women firefighters diagnosed with cancer.
It’s what another national study currently underway hopes to do.
The Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is focusing on women firefighters and evaluating factors associated with the increased risk for cancer, reproductive health outcomes and stress in the fire service. As of early May, more than 1,400 women firefighters have enrolled in the study from across the country, over 170 from Texas.
“I’ve really been optimistic that we can make some change,” La Follette said, hearing about the ongoing studies. “The more research we gather, the more we realize… that cancer is an occupational hazard of firefighting.”
AUSTIN, Texas — A man walking his dog with his son was fatally shot by a neighbor Friday evening in Northwest Austin, police said.
Billy Carlisle, 41, was shot at the intersection of Gardenridge Hollow and Wallace Drive at approximately 6:06 p.m. May 8. Austin-Travis County EMS attempted lifesaving measures, but Carlisle was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m.
Hunter Buchmeyer, 36, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
According to APD, Carlisle was walking his dog with his son when he and Buchmeyer, also walking his dog, got into a verbal altercation. The two neighbors had “prior history,” APD said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | APD investigating deadly shooting in NW Austin; suspect in custody
The dispute escalated to the point that Buchmeyer called 911 to report the altercation before shooting Carlisle. According to police, Buchmeyer yelled at someone to “get back” before the call disconnected.
Buchmeyer remained at the scene and attempted CPR on Carlisle before officers arrived.
No charges have been filed. APD said the investigation remains open.
The case is being investigated as Austin’s 23rd homicide of 2026.
Anyone with information is asked to contact APD at 512-974-TIPS or submit an anonymous tip through Capital Area Crime Stoppers at austincrimestoppers.org or 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for information leading to an arrest.
There was a significant reduction in the number of antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island in 2025, according to a national Jewish advocacy group.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, there were 26 antisemitic incidents in the state last year. That’s down from the 52 incidents counted by the group in 2024.
Samantha Joseph, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, says a big reason for the reduction is a steep decline in antisemitism on college campuses.
“It shows that campus administrators are taking their responsibilities very seriously to provide a safe environment for all of their students,” said Joseph.
Brown University had over $500 million in federal funding frozen by the Trump administration last year following investigations into alleged antisemitism on campus. The funding was restored after Brown reached a settlement with the administration.
The reduction in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island reflects a wider trend in New England as a whole. According to the ADL’s report, there were 400 antisemitic incidents in the region in 2025, compared to 638 the previous year.
While she’s pleased about the overall drop in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island, Joseph says a number of concerning trends continue to persist. In particular, the state is still seeing more anti-Jewish incidents than it did prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel that launched the Gaza War in 2023.
Joseph is also concerned about the violent nature of local incidents of antisemitism.
“Even though overall incidents are down, assaults are up and assaults with a deadly weapon are up significantly,” said Joseph. “Our communities remain concerned for their safety, and our work is far from done.”
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