– You may have heard recently that Chipotle is out of carnitas at 1/3 of its locations, but Charlotte Magazine is glad at least several local dishes aren’t affected
Midwood Smokehouse’s ribs
You know that feeling when you get to Midwood Smokehouse a little too late, and you see someone being served the last fall-off-the-bone, flavorful rack of ribs? Yeah, let’s hope that their pork supply remains plentiful. 1401 Central Ave., 704-295-4227, midwoodsmokehouse.com.
Mac’s Speed Shop’s pulled pork
Chipotle may be able to pull it off, but barbecue joint without pork? This is one place where if we’re coming in for the smoky, Carolina-sauced pulled pork, we won’t be so happy to substitute the chicken. 2511 South Boulevard, 704-522-6227, macspeedshop.com.
– Robert Moss’s 5 great interstate highway barbecue joints includes Fuller’s Barbecue, who we visited last fall
– In Madison County, Robin Reeves is raising her heritage-breed pigs partly on whiskey mash; introducing: WhiskeyPigs
The WhiskeyPigs name refers to Troy & Sons’ spent mash, which the pigs and Reeves’ other animals slurp down for 30 days prior to slaughter. With 10,000 pounds of mash per week, the distillery produces more than enough for the WhiskeyPigs fleet. The majority of the 2-3 percent alcohol concoction is collected for another local dairy farmer’s cows.
“They’re a little bit calmer, because they’ve had a little buzz,” says Reeves of the pigs’ final month, “but they’re pretty calm as it is. It’s their personality.”
– According to Atlanta Eats, Buxton Hall’s barbecue pop-up at Kimball House in Atlanta is one of the best things they ate this week
Upcoming Asheville BBQ joint, Buxton Hall made the journey down to Atlanta on Sunday. In one word: incredible. The line was long to get to the porky goodness, but it was SO worth it. The pulled pork was perfectly cooked and I’m still thinking about the fresh bread it rested on. So, roadtrip to Asheville soon?
– Barbecue for breakfast? It’s definitely a thing in Texas.
– The latest barbecue stops for Marie, Let’s Eat! are Paul’s Bar-B-Q in Lexington, GA and Rooter’s BBQ in Athens
– The barbecue Illuminati gathered for the Whole Hog Extravaganza at 17th Street BBQ this week:
Step 1: split the backbone with hammer and hatchet. #gowholehog #SouthernBBQ That’s a 157 pounder. pic.twitter.com/RR90Lh9xci
— Robert Moss (@mossr) January 19, 2015
– Daniel Vaughn has some great photos, in particular
The ingredients in @skylightinn‘s whole hog. Pork, S&P, vinegar, Texas Pete hot sauce, skin, and various pork cuts: pic.twitter.com/DlzKjPO62G
— Daniel Vaughn (@BBQsnob) January 20, 2015
This #gowholehog plate features @skylightinn, @PitmasterPat, and @17thstreetbbq & represents a 1670 mile road trip. pic.twitter.com/CTM1U2INXN
— Daniel Vaughn (@BBQsnob) January 20, 2015
– Sugar Creek Brewing in Charlotte and Team Spearhead are having a barbecue benefit this Saturday to benefit the Charlotte Bridge Home; brisket and barbecued chicken will be served
– According to this, Kansas and Missouri are the only two states with “BBQ” restaurants at a disproportionate level of representation, according to Yelp; more explanation here
Here’s the breakdown for NC for your reference; I wonder if all those “Southern” restaurants also included barbecue
North Carolina
- Southern — 229 percent higher than national average.
- Cheesesteaks — 207 percent higher than national average.
- Hot dogs — 80 percent higher than national average.
- Chicken wings — 47 percent higher than national average.
- Soul food — 39 percent higher than national average.