3.5 hogs

Jimmy’s Smoke House continues the Lexington barbecue tradition in Welcome

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Jimmy’s Smoke House
Date: 5/14/26
Address: 6043 Old U.S. Hwy 52, Lexington, NC 27295
Order: Chopped barbecue tray with fries, BBQ slaw, and baked beans with Cheerwine (link to menu)
Pricing: $

The building on Old US Highway 52 in Welcome, NC has gone through a bunch of changes in the past 3 years. After operating as Rick’s Smokehouse for about 7 years, that restaurant closed and Cafe 71 Smokehouse took its place in late 2022. While each operated under different ownership, I was impressed by the quality of both wood-smoked barbecue places in the Lexington tradition.

Cafe 71 abruptly closed before I published my review, so rather than focusing on the positive aspects of the barbecue, I attempted to read the tea leaves as to what went wrong. However, it did emerge that new owners Candy Martin and James Sink, Jr. were going to take the restaurant space over and operate as Jimmy’s Smoke House with the longtime cook from both Rick’s and Cafe 71 in the kitchen, Glenn “Speedy” Holbrook (yet another Lexington-area “Speedy” after Speedy’s Barbecue and Speedy Lohr’s). Three years later, I finally checked it out.

Martin and Sink named the restaurant for Sink’s father and opened the business in spring of 2023 and kept the same ethos when it came to the barbecue – wood smoked Lexington-style – as well as much of the same menu. One positive change she did make was moving to freshly made burgers instead of frozen patties, though I did not try it this time.

On this day, I was talked into the chopped barbecue tray. Speaking of which, they have also made the change to aluminum trays very much in the spirit of Texas barbecue. I’m on the fence as to whether this aesthetic decision is a positive change but it in no way impacts the quality of the food.

As for the barbecue itself, I did not enjoy it as much as I recalled enjoying the chopped pork at Rick’s and Cafe 71. The wood smoke pits were firing away at lunch time but for me the pork just didn’t have it on this day even after combining it with the slaw on a bun to create a sandwich with some dashes of Texas Pete thrown in for good measure.

Through some miscommunication between myself and the waitress, I got a bun on the side instead of hush puppies. I didn’t feel like waiting for an order of hush puppies but I’ve read that they switched to donut-shaped hush puppies instead of oblong. Next time. The sides I did get were standard issue crinkle cut fries, a BBQ slaw with a shade of deep red, and baked beans. Perhaps I was bummed because I didn’t get my order right but all were, let’s say, fine.

That’s not to say Jimmy’s Smoke House is not worth trying. It’s a family-owned business that by all accounts is doing things the proper way a restaurant should and thus should be supported by the community since we shouldn’t take these places for granted. I’m certainly willing to try them again the next time I find myself between Winston-Salem and Lexington.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Previously:

Rick’s Smokehouse – Lexington, NC
Cafe 71 Smokehouse Closed Abruptly Amidst Allegations of Mismanagement

Fumar brings more Tex-Mex flavors to Charlotte barbecue

/ Barbecue Bros / 2 Comments

Name: Fumar
Date: 9/22/24
Address: Pop up at Divine Barrel Brewing
Order: Smoked brisket torta, Texas-sized Frito pie (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Fumar is the retooled barbecue pop-up concept from Brandon Belfer after the more traditional Texas barbecue of his previous concept, Smoke Show Barbecue. I tried Smoke Show in 2021 and thought it showed promise and hoped to check them out again. That unfortunately never happened and a little over a year later, Fumar was born out of a desire to bring the flavors of South Texas that Belfer grew up around outside of San Antonio into his brand of Texas barbecue.

That manifests in menu items like brisket torta sandwiches, Frito pies made with smoked chorizo, and taco packs with beef cheek barbacoa in addition to the more traditional Texas-style brisket and ribs. On this day at Divine Barrel Brewing mere steps from the old Monk condo, I tried the brisket torta and Frito pie while listening to a pretty solid Grateful Dead cover band, Grateful Dudes. Here’s a photo of them jamming out with a groovy fan.

As for the torta and specifically the smoked brisket inside the torta, I found it to be well a fairly well-smoked slice of fatty that perhaps gets lost in all the bread, pickled red onions, and guac. Admittedly, I am a newbie when it comes to tortas and with this being my second sandwich ever my feedback would be the same for both: too much bread. The bread-to-meat ratio in this sandwich was a little off for me and perhaps its a super gringo thing for me to say, but maybe if there was more of a “thinwich” style of the torta bread I would enjoy the experience more. Apologies for any blasphemy.

I loved the “Texas-sized” Frito topped with smoked chorizo, queso, pickled onions, and avocado crema. The cardboard boat that it came in was truly “Texas-sized” and is very much a shareable item. They do have a kid’s version that comes in a smaller boat and is just chorizo and queso. Either way, I think this is a must order item when checking out Fumar.

I can tell that the Tex-Mex concept of Fumar has a more focused menu that is near and dear to Belfer’s heart, and the execution shows. I look forward to trying again soon (for real, this time) and continuing to track its progress.

Ratings:
Brisket Torta – 3.5 hogs
Frito Pie – 4 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Resident Culture’s Barbecue Expands the Top Tier of Charlotte Barbecue

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Resident Culture Brewing
Date: 8/14/24
Address: x
Order: Butcher’s Block Sampler with pork and brisket, red slaw, and hush puppies (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Resident Culture Brewing made waves last year when they announced they would be hiring pitmaster Edmar Simoes (formerly of Noble Smoke and Sauceman’s) to start their barbecue program out of their South End location. They rolled it out in late 2023 but it wasn’t until summer 2024 that I personally was able to check it out.

And for me, it definitely did not disappoint. While I did initially say it may be in the conversation for best barbecue in town (and possibly in the top 3) more on that in a bit and why that’s not quite the case.

The pork seemingly owed a lot to Edmar’s time at Noble Smoke, and was perfectly smoky with a nice salt and pepper bark chopped in. Of the two meats, I made sure to finish it at that sitting and would be my must-order next time I visit.

The slices of brisket had a fantastic peppery bark you’d want to see on a Texas-style brisket. No choice of fatty or lean was offered, so the three slices were all from the lean side of the brisket. On a side note, the brisket reheated nicely several days later for a leftover sandwich made of the the slices plus some of the pickles and onions offered on the side,

In terms of sides, I appreciated the choice of red or white slaw and the red slaw paired really nicely with the chopped pork and doused in some Eastern Carolina vinegar sauce from the table. The generous helping of hush puppies were also a nice surprise in terms of taste and texture.

Upon further reflection and after getting a little more information in terms of the smoking setup, I would still put Resident Culture Brewing in the top tier of Charlotte barbecue but not quite in the top 3 or even the top 5. Edmar confirmed to me that they use an Ole Hickory gasser that can add wood to get smokiness but in any case I was still impressed by how good the barbecue was. For game days or lunch stops during a South End Brewery crawl, this is certainly some very good barbecue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Alston Bridges is more than just “the other Bridges”

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Alston Bridges Barbecue
Date: 3/1/24
Location: 620 E. Grover St, Shelby, NC 28150
Order: Small chopped barbecue plate (with red slaw, hush puppies), Sun Drop
Pricing: $

Monk: While it’s no secret that we are a big fan of Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge here at Barbecue Bros, there is another Bridges restaurant in Shelby (no relation) called Alston Bridges. I had only visited once before, in May of 2013, so I was more than overdue for a return visit. Especially when I have a lot of Shelby natives in my life telling me that Alston’s is their preferred barbecue place and perhaps even the choice of locals. You see, Alston Bridges is tucked into Shelby and not located off a major thoroughfare, so you’ve got to work a little bit to get there. Or, of course, be a local that has been going there for a few decades.

I had even made a pledge last summer to get back to Alston Bridges so on a rainy March 1st, I finally made good on that pledge. On my return trip, I had a very similar order to what I had previously, a chopped plate with a Diet Sun Drop.

A slight diversion on Sun Drop if you will allow, as I recently realized that while North Carolina favorite beverage Cheerwine has expanded beyond its initial cult following perhaps Sun Drop is still a bit of a secret (at least based on the reaction from The Smoke Sheet duo Sean and Ryan at a separate restaurant). The original Sun Drop bottling headquarters was located in nearby Gastonia for 50 years until 2016, and along with Cheerwine I’ve long thought of it as a perfect drink to accompany a Lexington-style barbecue plate. Sun Drop is currently owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and apparently distributes it nationwide so perhaps you’ll see it soon if its not already in your market. Highly recommend, especially if you come across the cherry lemon variant.

As for the barbecue, Alston’s barbecue is very good. It’s tender and moist, with the dip mixed in providing the nice bit of tang to the meat. A small Styrofoam cup comes with some additional hot dip to add in if needed (that wasn’t the case for me). Mix in the chopped red slaw and some Texas Pete to the barbecue and its a very good bite of food.

Unfortunately, the one thing missing is the smoke, which is as a result of Alston moving away from pit smoked to gas some years ago. While I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision and while I also greatly enjoyed my meal, for me it will always be a notch less than a Red Bridges or any place that smokes over wood for that matter. I certainly don’t fault loyal customers for favoring Alston’s over Red as barbecue tribes are formed early on and are hard to break.

That said, I don’t think it will necessarily take another 10+ years before I stop at Alston’ Bridges because as I alluded to above it is a good plate of food. I stop in Shelby enough where I can mix up my visits between the two historic “Bridges” restaurants a little more equitably.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs