Monk: Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Editor of Texas Monthly, made an epic barbecue road trip through South Carolina and Georgia for the past two weeks. Here are some highlights:
First off, Daniel doesn’t appear to be a huge fan of mustard sauce
Mostly too sweet, and too much of it. Liked it best (flavor and amount) at Hite’s BBQ in West Columbia
Besides Slow Fire in Savannah, here are the other places he hit in Georgia:
Wood’s Chapel, Rodney Scott’s, Fox Bros, Heirloom, DAS BBQ in ATL, Sock’s Love in Cumming, Southern Soul in St. Simons island, and Slow Fire in Savannah
And finally, in case you had any illusions to the glamorous realities of being a BBQ editor:
I get this a lot. You would not enjoy it. I drove almost 700 miles in SC in 2 days because of various opening days and times. That whole state is half that wide. I eat like it’s my job. I sometimes bring my kids on trips just so I’ll focus less on just BBQ https://t.co/Kn8duJ0C9U
The 39th Lexington Barbecue Festival will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023
As of early July, Hickory has a new wood-smoked barbecue joint named Hughes Q
The restaurant’s menu is limited to barbecue staples: pulled pork, chicken, turkey, brisket and ribs alongside traditional sides such as fries, potato salad, slaw and https://t.co/edR2CpWOnA said the smoking times https://t.co/Y7PurRBjz0
— Hickory Daily Record (@Hickoryrecord) July 26, 2023
Prime Barbecue is in the middle of taking a well deserved week off
Monk: Cheerwine has launched their “Uniquely Southern Summer Contest” and are giving Barbecue Bros readers – some of the smartest barbecue connoisseurs around – an edge when it comes to the contest. Simply enter “BBQBROS” in the “Bonus Code” box for a bonus entry when entering the contest at the link here.
Next week’s prize is The Carolina ‘Que Collection, “an ultimate culinary adventure featuring gift cards to over a dozen barbecue restaurants across North and South Carolina. Savor the mouthwatering flavors and unique regional styles that make Carolina barbecue legendary, and see why Cheerwine and BBQ are known as the ‘Southern Handshake.'”
The grand prize of the contest is a three-day, two-night stay at the historic Brown Mountain Beach Resort, “located in the breathtaking Wilson Creek Gorge of Lenoir, North Carolina, promises an unforgettable getaway where history and natural beauty intertwine. The stay will include a Cheerwine-themed riverfront yurt and plenty of swag from the South’s favorite soda. The winner will also enjoy paddleboard and kayak excursions along Wilson Creek and more.”
The contest ends on July 30 so be sure to enter today (and don’t forget to use the code “BBQBROS”).
More info on the restaurants included in the gift card pack here:
Native News
Congrats to Grady’s BBQ on 37 years open!
B’s Barbecue is featured in this month’s Garden & Gun Magazine
Hash is a barbecue tradition practiced almost exclusively in the Palmetto State. Find out the secrets of this South Carolina sensation. https://t.co/A9pixMpDuc
Aaron Franklin recently sat down with the Biscuits & Jam podcast
Aaron Franklin is a BBQ legend, as well as a guy who’s led something of a smoked meat renaissance in Texas, but he started out as a musician before BBQ took over. On Biscuits & Jam, he talks about building @franklinbbq, his third cookbook, and more: https://t.co/hPUMhCTtbZpic.twitter.com/DGcV1W80BB
Name: Rodney Scott’s BBQ Date: 6/18/23 Address: 1011 King St, Charleston, SC 29403 Order: Two meat combo platter with whole hog and ribs with hush puppies and coleslaw, wings (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: In my first and only visit to Rodney Scott’s BBQ 6 years ago, while I loved the whole hog I noted in that review that I should have tried the ribs. Speedy’s review the following year further reinforced that notion, although he wasn’t effusive in his praise. Knowing that I was going to be able to force Mrs. Monk into going to Rodney Scott’s while in Charleston this past Father’s Day weekend, I was not going to throw away my shot.
Let’s start our review with those ribs, shall we. In the two meat combo platter I got a generous serving of 5 bones and boy let me tell you they were big, meaty spares. Each bone was perfectly cooked, allowing for bite marks without the meat falling completely off the bone. And while there was a slight glaze, these bones weren’t oversauced and had great flavor. I was glad I ordered them but reader, I must admit that I could only finish three of the five.
The whole hog was as good as I remembered and with the barbecue of the Hemingway Scott’s a distant memory, I was able to judge it on its own merits. Great texture and while I accidentally poured a little too much Rodney’s sauce, a slightly spicy vinegar pepper sauce, onto my tray the pork soaked it right up while not getting overwhelmed.
Mrs. Monk, our friend Mo, and I shared the half dozen wings and all noted aloud how good they were. They were smoked before being freshly fried right before they were delivered to our table. Which led to crispy wings with a nice flavor – you might say sweet with a little heat – that paired nicely with the Alabama white dipping sauce.
The hush puppies were light and crispy, clearly also having just been freshly fried just prior to being served to us. The mayo slaw was standard.
On this Charleston Saturday in June, we sat outside at a picnic table painted in the signature blue of Rodney Scott’s and found it to be quite pleasant in the shade. So much so that we lingered long after finishing our food, generally unaffected by any Charleston swampiness in the air. The barbecue met all expectations and if you’re looking to get something besides beef at a barbecue joint in Charleston, Rodney Scott’s BBQ is your best bet.
Name: Swig & Swine Date: 4/15/23 Address: 1217 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407 Order: Pulled pork barbecue sandwich with hash and rice (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: Swig & Swine has been hit or miss for the Barbecue Bros in the past. Speedy visited this location almost exactly 9 years prior to my most recent visit and found it to be slightly above average (and presumably not just because Speedy’s phone at the time took mediocre photos).
I later checked out the Summerville location 3 years later and liked it quite a bit more. That location at the time had enough space to smoke whole hogs while also putting out some pretty credible brisket as well. Now, whole hog appears to be a Thursday only special (at least at this location) while the brisket continues to be on the regular menu.
Since then, pitmaster Anthony DiBernardo has since become sole owner of Swig & Swine, buying out his initial partners Queen Street Hospitality Group in 2019 while also co-founding the fantastic Holy Smokes barbecue festival, which I went to last year and hope to be back at again in the near future
Back to the West Ashley location, which I understand to be the first of the now three-strong chain. Coming off the Rancho Lewis experience the prior night, I wasn’t exactly in a particularly hungry state even after a short hike at the Morris Island lighthouse at Folly Beach. I opted for a simple pulled pork sandwich (yes, yes I know but that’s how its listed on the menu) with a side of hash and rice.
Comparing this with Melvin’s BBQ a few days prior, I like the pork sandwich less and the hash and rice more. The pork was large portion but a bit on the bland side even with some nice chunks of barked chopped in. Unfortunately it seemed as if it absolutely had to have one of the sauces from the table poured on. The vinegar sauce certainly helped the cause.
The hash and rice was thicker than what I had at the James Island Melvin’s with more flavor. This is actually the opposite of what John Tanner experienced on his visit so take from that what you will. For me, it was my favorite part of the meal
Had I read Speedy’s review before hand, I would have gotten some smoked wings and opted for the sausage sandwich special for that day. Whoops, shame on me.
Swig & Swine seems to do a brisk catering and bulk pick-up business on the weekend as from our view on the patio we saw several cars back in, open their tailgates, and pick up large aluminum pans of barbecue and sides. I like to imagine that they were going to a fun outdoor party. On that day, they would have enjoyed a beautiful spring low country day and some above-average-but-not-quite-transcendent barbecue.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
