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In one of the latest signs of a return to normalcy, 60 teams participated in last weekend’s 40th Annual BBQ on the Neuse Festival, the world’s largest whole hog competition. Attendance was larger than expected, with upwards of 15,000 attendees (vs an expected 5,000) coming to downtown Kinston to enjoy barbecue, music, and a little rainy weather (at least on Friday night).
In terms of winners, contestant Amy Bell had a good year, winning first overall in product quality and sauce. The rest of the winners here:
Next year’s event will be held on May 6-7.
Native News
Indy Week reviews the Raleigh location of Sam Jones BBQ, which doesn’t even have a freezer on site
Daniel Vaughn spent a little over a week in NC and ended his tour at Jon G’s Barbecue this past Saturday where I was fortunate enough to meet up with him
Non-Native News
Congrats to Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ on their new space in Buda, about 15 minutes south of their current location in South Austin
Juan Luis from John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue makes this list
A few shows with barbecue-focused episodes – Ugly Delicious, Cooked, Taco Chronicles, The Chef Show – are on this list from The Manual
Bon Appetit has an essay from Black Smoke
But of course Texas has a state high school barbecue championship
It’s not everyday that a barbecue restaurant gets featured in Architect Magazine; in this case its Black Hog BBQ in Ashburn, VA