D.G. Martin

Linkdown: 7/10/19

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Robert Moss drops rib knowledge in this well-researched article on the history of pork ribs

Chapel Hill’s TerraVita Food & Drink Festival will end this year but is going out with a bang in terms of barbecue; in addition to Sam Jones, [t]his year’s Hill Fire event will focus on North Carolina barbecue and bring together the state’s new generation of pitmasters, including Matthew Register of Southern Smoke, Chris Prieto of Prime Barbecue, Wyatt Dickson of Picnic in Durham, as well as other chefs who use smoke in their cooking.

Sauceman’s is relocating to Sugar Creek Brewing from its original location on West Boulevard

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RESTAURANT NEWS 🚨: @saucemans_bbq is moving to @sugarcreekbrewing. The restaurant’s last day at 228 West Blvd in South End is Aug. 31, and it’ll re-open at Sugar Creek in late September/October. . "A bigger operation is what we're excited about," manager and pit master Ed Simoes told the Agenda. "It's a good chance for us to take on a new challenge." . The barbecue joint will be going in Sugar Creek's current event space, and Ed told us the hope is to "make it look like we picked up the current location and moved it there." . Expect a bigger menu with the addition of old-school sandwiches and turkey and twice as much seating. . Hours will likely be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with shorter hours on Sunday (yes, this means the brewery will be open for lunch).

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USA Today has their list of the country’s best regional barbecue joints but somehow includes Bill Spoon’s in Charlotte for North Carolina? Ok.

Southern Smoke by Matthew Register gets reviewed by the Triangle free paper

Where to Eat Barbecue Around D.C. according to Eater

A smoker fire has closed a downtown Atlanta joint

The Story of NC BBQ exhibit is currently showing at the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer

Jim Auchmutey on the south’s most overlooked barbecue states, Alabama and Georgia

More from Auchmutey on five myths regarding barbecue

Author D.G. Martin on what should replace the closed NC barbecue (and other roadside eatery) joints

A glowing profile of Matt Horn, “the future of Bay Area barbecue”

Linkdown: 3/20/19

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D.G. Martin: “Real barbecue restaurants and small towns: Do all you can to preserve them and do not miss any opportunity to enjoy them now before they are gone.”

But could Wilber’s Barbecue actually reopen? They have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Is Philadelphia becoming a barbecue town? I’m not so sure about that…

Southern Living has come out with their best barbecue joints in every state list for 2019; Buxton Hall Barbecue wins honors for NC

This has to be a good sign for Gardner-Webb’s basketball team; can they be the next 16 seed to upset a 1 (against UVa again, nonetheless)?

Heading from Charlotte to Austin? Of course you’re going to seek out some barbecue.

Rodney Scott already making an impact beyond barbecue in Alabama

Linkdown: 2/6/19

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“Little boy found in North Carolina, that is such happy news. But in a tragic twist, he will have to spend his life eating North Carolina barbecue…”

“I welcome your vinegar-stained letters you poor flavor-deprived bastards”

Stephen Colbert

Governor Roy Cooper responded to the Colbert: “Y’all have a mustard problem”

The mayor of Lexington invited him to town for a tasting

As did The Barbecue Center in Lexington

The NC Pork Council reminded everyone of a declaration by former Governor Bob Scott

However, according to D.G. Martin, the real barbecue crisis is not Stephen Colbert slandering the good name of NC barbecue; its the closing of its classic joints

Nevertheless, across NC, a mother and son hunt for the pinnacle of smoked pork

My 31-year-old son and I spent a muggy, buggy summer week driving the Tar Heel State’s highways and back roads to search out its most flavorful pork. Tucking in our napkins at seven spots in six days, we experienced a slice of Americana as thick as the smoke that infused the meat before us, rubbing shoulders with generations of barbecue royalty in the process.

However, if you do want to become a SC Barbecue Association judge, you can learn how this Saturday in Columbia

I think we already saw this but ok!

James Beard-award winning author Adrian Miller, whose forthcoming book Black Smoke will focus on African american contributions to barbecue culture, will be in Charlotte on 2/12

Three words that you don’t hear too often together: “true,” “Miami,” and “barbecue

Barbecue in Miami can be hard to grasp or define. Other than a few places, most of what one might call barbecue here is more a Georgia-style hybrid of grilling and smoking either baby-back ribs or whole chickens. The rare spots that give brisket or pork the dozen-plus hours of pure smoke that’s synonymous with Texas or Carolina barbecue are faithfully trying to replicate an established style. With their Jupiña mop sauce, black-as-night Malta barbecue sauce, and pork belly burnt ends ($10), Briceño and Honore have finally invented a style of barbecue synonymous with Miami.

Linkdown: 6/6/18

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– I was honored to participate in a barbecue roundtable at the NC State BBQ Camp last weekend (more on that in the coming weeks); here’s a writeup from the alumni magazine from last year’s edition of the camp

– Chapel Hill author D.G. Martin knows his NC eateries (including barbecue), and Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland is his current favorite NC restaurant

– Forbes says that Bulleit Rye is the best pairing with eastern NC vinegar sauce; check out the other bourbon/whiskey pairings here

– Always save room for dessert

– Buxton Hall and Picnic have two of the best fried chicken sandwiches in NC

– Robert Moss with a nice primer on barbecue styles

Linkdown: 5/30/18

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– A quick hit on a few NC food books

– Where to eat barbecue in Atlanta, according to Eater

– The Coach 4 A Day blog visits a classic NC barbecue joint I’ve never heard of, E.H. Bar-B-Q Hut in Rennert

– The Texas BBQ Posse on the choice of fatty, lean, or both brisket

– Gear Patrol’s list of 12 Tools the Best Pitmaster Can’t Live Without includes a few selections from Sam Jones

– The makers of The Great NC BBQ Map are looking for interns

– A reminder that South Carolina’s official picnic cuisine is barbecue

– A review of The Bar-B-Que House in Surfside Beach, whose original location is in Oak Island across the border in NC

– Rodney Scott is on the cover of the latest issue of The Local Palate

Linkdown: 2/28/18

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– Billy Graham rarely passed through Shelby without stopping by Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge

– D.G. Martin with an off the cuff list of iconic NC eateries, including the aforementioned Billy Graham favorite Red Bridges

– Interesting:

– The McCall’s Bar-B-Q and Seafood in Clayton that abruptly closed recently will be replaced by Bernie’s Southern Gourmet Buffet by mid-March; barbecue will continue to be included

– More history:

– A short visitor’s guide on where to eat, drink, see, and do in Charlotte contains a few barbecue joints

– I don’t know how long this has been going on, but for folks not fortunate enough to live in the Carolinas, you’re welcome:

Linkdown: 12/13/17

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– Sad news as Midwood Smokeshack has closed in Matthews. However, there is some good news in that the employees will keep their jobs at other Midwood Smokehouse locations and FS Food Groupd will be looking to build a full service Midwood Smokehouse in the Matthews area at some point.

– D.G. Martin’s list of last minute book gifts includes one of my all-time favorite barbecue books which was just re-issued on paperback, “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue” by John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney

– Charlotte Agenda: “Noble Smoke could give Charlotte a true barbecue flagship”

– However, one recently-elected city councilwoman will not be patronizing Noble Smoke when it does open due to his support of HB2 in 2015

– Carolina Smokehouse brings western NC barbecue to Carolina Beach’s boardwalk

– Congrats to B’s Cracklin’ BBQ!

Linkdown: 12/21/16

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– Daniel Vaughn on “big city barbecue” (don’t call it “craft barbecue”)

The foundation of big city barbecue is a focus on premium quality meats, such as prime grade beef from boutique brands like Creekstone and 44 Farms. There’s a reverence toward slices of fatty brisket served without sauce. A big city meat cutter might cringe at the idea of chopping their beautiful briskets, looking down on the staple of Texas barbecue that is the chopped beef sandwich. The ribs and pulled pork (and trust me, there will be pulled pork) will likely be identified by breeds like Duroc or Berkshire. Its hard to make a decent profit, even when charging $20 per pound for that prime—or in some cases Akaushi (also known as Texas Wagyu)—brisket, so the menus are diversified with cheaper items like pork shoulder and turkey breast. You won’t find big city barbecue joint that’s a single meat specialist.

– A Pakistani website has the NC Historic Barbecue Trail on its list of best trips for foodies around the world

– A review of D.G. Martin’s book released earlier this year, North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries

– Includes brisket from Franklin Barbecue at #1

– Grant and Marie give Hillbilly Willy’s Bar-B-Que in Chattanooga another try, a place that uses Memphis-style dry rub on their ribs

– Mighty Quinn’s opens its latest outpost in…Manilla, Philippines?

– BBQ Hub has a list of whole hog barbecue restaurants across the southeast and even in Brooklyn

– The more you know

The Barbecue Bros Holiday Gift Guide 2016

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Here’s some gift ideas for the barbecue lover in your life. The bolded items are the ones I can personally recommend. Feel free to add or suggest any other gift ideas in the comments below and I’ll update the post through the holidays.

–Monk

See our 2015 gift guide here
See our 2014 gift guide here
See our 2013 gift guide here

Books

Apparel

Other

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Linkdown: 10/5/16

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– This year’s Mallard Creek Barbecue will be Thursday, October 27

In 2016, we expect to cook 14,600 pounds of pork barbecue, prepare 2,500 gallons of Brunswick stew, shred 2 tons of Cole slaw, brew 400 gallons of coffee, and entertain close to 20,000 people.  Four drive-thru take out lines will be operated for orders of one sandwich up to EXTRA large group orders.  Orders of 50-plates or more can be quickly accommodated with a call ahead to the take-out stand.

– Fox Bros BBQ is on this Food Republic list of 10 places to eat in Atlanta right now

– Charlotte Agenda checked out Midwood Smokeshack a few weeks back

– Their Raleigh sibling documented last weekend’s Whole Hog Barbecue Championship in photos and words

– The editor of the Winston-Salem Journal writes a love letter to NC barbecue but seemingly doesn’t realize that Lexington-style barbecue contains vinegar

– The Daily Show set up a barbecue food truck in Raleigh named Bone Bros Flamin’ BBQ that discriminated to people by accusing them of being “gay”; it was inspired by HB2

– Charlotte writer D.G. Martin’s book North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries is “a local traveler’s guide to local restaurants, diners, and barbecue joints”

– Martin’s book includes Asheville-area barbecue joints 12 Bones and Luella’s Bar-B-Que, writes the Asheville’s Mountain Express

– Charlotte Magazine goes to Lexington