Charleston

Linkdown: 9/19/19

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Bryan Furman’s next step is a stall inside a Kroger grocery store in Atlanta until he is able to rebuild his restaurant in Atlanta’s westside

John Lewis’s next step is a New Mexican place in Charleston

A murderer’s row of barbecue pitmasters will be in St. Simon’s Island in early October. Participants will include: 17th Street BBQ, The BBQ Ninja, B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque, Blackjack BBQ, Buxton Hall Barbecue, Certified Burgers and Beverage, Chef Kenny Gilbert, DL3 BBQ, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Frosty’s Griddle & Shake, Holy City Hogs, Home Team BBQ, Mama Jean’s Barbecue, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Peg Leg Porker, Pig Beach, Southern Soul Barbeque, Sugarfire Smoke House, Swig & Swine, Taqueria del Sol, Tuffy Stone and Cool Smoke, Woodstack BBQ Tavern, Red Gum BBQ, Pelican Oyster Company, Piedmont Brewing & Kitchen, Poteet Seafood, Potlikker Peanut Company, Sea Island Forge, The Southern Fork Podcast, The Local Palate, Author and Southern Living BBQ Editor Robert Moss, Smokelore Author Jim Auchmutey and Sam Jones Hologram Tour.

The final TerraVita Food and Drink Festival has a good lineup of its own pitmasters the following week in Carrboro: Sam Jones, Matthew Register, and CHristopher Prieto

Food & Wine profiles the next generation of Texas pitmasters

ZOMG

Linkdown: 8/28/19

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Robert Moss’s annual top 50 barbecue list for Southern Living is always worth a read, and this year is no different because of Moss’ inclusion of “not the usual” suspects

Coverage of the list: a SC restaurant topped the list, 8 total SC restaurants (and 3 Midlands) made the list. two Houston restaurants, only one Dallas restaurant

If Moss wasn’t busy enough, he’s got 3 recent barbecue books worth checking out from Sam Jones, Matthew Register, and Jim Auchmutey

More new Charlotte barbecue incoming:

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint’s Charleston location (its 10th) has hit the ground running according to the Charleston City Paper

It’s official: Matt Horn is opening a brick and mortar in the bay area

A “Black Tie BBQ” event is a more budget-friendly barbecue event worth checking out at next year’s Charleston Wine and Food Festival with Rodney Scott, John Lewis, Aaron Siegel, Taylor Garrigan, and Anthony DiBernardo, as well as out-of-towners Amy Mills and Matthew Register

A short article on Lexington Barbecue from the local Fox affiliate

There’s a new brisket option in the lowcountry of SC in Malone Barbecue

Rodney Scott is officially coming to Atlanta

Linkdown: 8/21/19

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Sweet Lew’s Barbeque, Buxton Hall Barbecue, Lexington Barbecue, Grady’s BBQ, and Skylight Inn BBQ all represent NC on this Thrillist list

Is the North Carolina Department of Transportation Anti-Barbecue? John Tanner things maybe perhaps so.

NC DOT, careless of the thousands of victims of The Great Wilber’s Debacle, now turns its guns on Lexington.  NC Dot has determined that the Smiley’s-Speedy’s section of Winston Road apparently gets a fair amount of traffic.  Of course it does.  It contains two barbecue places.   

Robert Moss reflects on Charleston’s dining scene so far, including the barbecue scene which went from “minor outpost to [an] acclaimed destination”

USA Today advocates for Clyde Cooper’s BBQ in Raleigh, saying its “a key stop on any tour of America’s pantheon of BBQ joints”

Bryan Furman will be at this November’s Savannah Food & Wine Festival

Can any city rival Austin’s BBQ? Austin-based food writer Rob Balon says no.

The 36th Barbecue Festival will take place October 26th in Lexington

Linkdown: 8/7/19

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A “Carolina Mustard” colorway Saucony Jazz from Sneaker Charleston

I’ve got a few quibbles with Charlotte Agenda’s 5 best barbecue spots in Charlotte; specifically 6 of the 10 barbecue spots mentioned between the top 5 and the honorable mentions

Here’s what’s next for the “Noble Smoke Campus”

Another article on Jones Bar-B-Que in Marianna, AR, which has been open since 1910

Delta Blues BBQ is a new Memphis-style barbecue truck in Oakboro that will soon open a store at an old 1930’s service station

LeAnn Mueller and Ali Clem of la Barbecue get profiled in Austin Monthly

Speaking of Austin, Southside Market & BBQ of Elgin is opening a location in the capital

Some scenes from last weekend’s Pig & Pedals Barbecue Festival in Asheboro

Details on the Blue Ridge BBQ and Brew Festival, which will determine the NC state champion in West Jefferson later this month

A summer NC barbecue bracket pitting western/Lexington-style versus eastern; you can place your votes over at the Carolina Hurricanes blog Canes Country

This isn’t barbecue related (despite the photo below), but is highly recommended 8 minute read, particularly if you have lived in Charlotte in the past 20 years

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint – Charleston, SC

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Name: Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
Date: 5/28/19
Address: 1622 Highland Ave, Charleston, SC 29412
Order: Whole hog barbecue sandwich with hoecake (link to menu)
Pricing: $

Monk: My Memorial Day weekend in the Charleston area began and ended with two great whole hog barbecue sandwiches. At the end of a weekend of drinking and eating junk food at the beach, both myself and Mrs. Monk were no in no mood to share a huge platter of meat. For a review of nearly the full menu at the Martin’s in downtown Nashville, check out our extremely positive review from last summer.

On the Monk family’s drive from the Mount Pleasant Pier to James Island, I texted Speedy to get recommendations on what to get from Nashville (something I didn’t do for Central BBQ in downtown Memphis), and he said I really couldn’t go wrong with anything. Again, seeing as how I wasn’t going to order several meats, I went with the whole hog sandwich with a hoecake as my side and a glass bottle of Cheerwine (no beer for me after the long weekend).

This was a pretty dang good sandwich that came topped with white slaw. I added a splash of vinegar sauce and Texas Pete and while this wasn’t quite on the level of the sandwich from Sweatman’s, it was still very good. Not too bad for a joint open for just a few weeks, even if it is from the well-oiled barbecue machine that is Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joints. Based on this sandwich, I can only assume that the rest of the menu would be of similar quality and thus on par with what Speedy regularly gets in Nashville.

I ordered the hoecake as my side and looking back, a cornbread pancake probably wasn’t the smartest side to order if I was trying to eat lighter. And it turns out that I had forgotten that I had actually tried one in Nashville as part of our Big Poppa Sampler platter. In our review, I did note that I would definitely get them again so thankfully, I did not regret my decision.

This Charleston location had only opened a few weeks prior to our visit but has already become a local favorite. And for good reason, as all indications point to it already being on par with other Martin’s locations due to its great food as well as its fun-looking beer garden outdoor bar area. Charlestonians should count themselves very lucky to have yet another option for whole hog barbecue (in addition to Rodney Scott and Swig & Swine in Summerville) in Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

Friday Find: Rodney Scott on Tales from the Pits at CHSWFF

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More content from Charleston Wine and Food Festival from the Tales from the Pits guys. A lot of familiar ground on Rodney Scott, with a little more focus on his recent expansion to Birmingham and any potential future expansion plans he has. Lots more podcasts to come from Tales from the Pits from the festival.

Rodney Scott grew up cooking whole hogs at his family’s general store in the small town of Hemingway, South Carolina. The tradition of hogs cooked under the direct heat of coals burned down from wood splits was the way Rodney learned to cook and still utilizes today.

As food media began to take notice of the whole hog traditions being carried on by Rodney, Hemingway would see an increase in tourists coming to try he and his family’s barbecue. Over the course of time Rodney would meet and become friends with Nick Pihakis, who encouraged Rodney to come to Charleston to open his own place. Rodney Scott’s BBQ opened in 2016 to huge success and acclaim. The city of Charleston embraced his barbecue traditions and in 2018 he became only the second pitmaster to win an acclaimed James Beard chef award.

Rodney and the Pihakis Restaurant Group continue to grow the Rodney Scott’s BBQ brand and spread more whole hog greatness across the country, the latest installment being the opening in early 2019 of a new location in Birmingham, Alabama.

Friday Find: Tales from the Pits Post-Charleston Wine and Food Festival

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I got major FOMO listening to this podcast of the Tales from the Pit guys rundown of their 5 days in Charleston earlier this month. Total FOMO. I will definitely have to try to make it out next year.

There are so many amazing events that take place during the five day Charleston Wine + Food (CHSWFF) festival and we were fortunate to be granted media access to many of them. From whiskey-centric experiences to barbecue excursions, we did our best to take in all of the sights and sounds of this incredible culinary opportunity.

This episode will give you a rundown of all of the events we covered as well as some food and drink highlights from each. We were fortunate to get to spend time with some amazing barbecue talents such as Rodney Scott, Sam Jones, Jonathan and Justin Fox, John Lewis, Anthony DiBernardo, and many more.

We’ve got some exciting interviews that we’ll be posting in the coming weeks from these events, so stay tuned for those. A special thanks to Alyssa Maute Smith and the entire Charleston Wine + Food team for putting together such an outstanding collection of unbelievable events and excursions. Be sure to follow CHSWFF on social media to get tickets for next year’s events when they are announced!

Linkdown 2/20/19

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Author Adrian Miller made his way through NC, SC, GA, and FL last week doing research for his forthcoming book “Black Smoke” and made a stop at Grady’s BBQ

The new Rodney Scott’s BBQ has opened in Birmingham and is one of three new spots to check out

While back in Charleston, Rodney flew back in town to meet with presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the Charleston store

South Carolina Tourism is breaking records in part due to the Barbecue Trail

RIP Rick Schmidt of Kreuz Market

Last weekend’s Whole Hog Summit in Kinston was a “great success”

According to Travel Channel, Memphis is a the hottest southern destination to visit in 2019, partially due to barbecue

In Memphis, you’ll be surrounded by some of the most finger-licking delicious barbecue joints in the country. Whether you prefer brisket, pulled pork, or a slab of baby back ribs, more than 100 barbecue joints across town are ready to wow you (mostly with pork since that’s what Memphis-style is all about). The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest each May draws more than 75,000 barbeque-loving attendees. While in town, sign up for a class with Memphis Barbecue Supply, including free classes on how to cook competition-quality pulled pork and pork ribs. Yum.

Meatfest: NM style

Linkdown: 1/30/19

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Vote in USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Barbecue in NC

Stamey’s Barbecue with a mini-tweet storm last week; none of which is wrong (click on the tweet below to see the rest):

Sometime it pays to have the fire chief as your pitmaster; a fire broke out in the smokehouse of Skylight Inn last week but Sam Jones was among the firefighters who put the fire out

Rock the Block in downtown Charleston is Saturday, February 23 and benefits Hogs for the Cause; Sam Jones and Justin and Jonathan Fox of Fox Bros BBQ will be in attendance

Conde Nast Travel recently profiled Birmingham and its reinvention and shouted out Rodney Scott’s BBQ, which is opening a store there in 2019

“The city caught my attention because of how pleasant it is,” says Rodney Scott, the James Beard Best Chef Southeast 2018 for his Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston. He’s set to open his next, identical concept in Birmingham first-quarter 2019. “It’s a big city, but it feels like a small town,” he says. “It doesn’t feel like New York or Chicago, but it’s just as important a food city in my opinion.”

WBTV in Charlotte recently featured the “Love Endures” mural by artist Curtis King, which was saved from demolition and now resides behind Sweet Lew’s BBQ

The New York Times’ eating guide for Atlanta for this weekend’s Super Bowl and gives Bryan Furman and B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue a shoutout for being the only whole hog joint in town

Sure, why not?

Friday Find: BBQ Mea Culpas on The Winnow Podcast

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Monk: In the first half of this podcast, some barbecue talk from Robert Moss and Hanna Raskin regarding two of Robert’s recent articles: a piece in the Charleston Post and Courier on the death (or at least decline) of the South Carolina barbecue buffet and his recent published list of Southern Living Top 50 BBQ Joints.

For the barbecue buffet article, Moss incorrectly noted that after Bessinger’s Barbecue shutting down its buffet (while still remaining open as a restaurant) there were only two more buffets left in the lowcountry. Turns out, he was wrong – and apparently people let him know about all the places he missed such as Music Man’s Bar-B-Que in Monck’s Corner and Kelly’s Barbecue in Summerville. The barbecue buffet is something you mainly see in South Carolina and I have only been to a couple in NC: Fuller’s Old Fashion BBQ in Lumberton – which has since relocated to Fayetteville from Lumberton due to flooding as a result of Hurricane Matthew two years ago – and Duke’s Old South BBQ in Leland which has since closed. I suspect if there are more barbecue buffets out there, they are more likely in the coastal plain of eastern NC since we don’t really see them in the piedmont.

In regards to his Top 50 BBQ Joints list, Moss got some grief from Texans who just couldn’t believe that a non-Texas joint was #1 on his list (Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, SC ) and that only 3 Texas joints were in the top 10. Apparently they went so far as to refer to his list as “garbage.” Seems a bit harsh, but perhaps not unexpected from Texans when it comes to barbecue – they take that ish seriously.