Lewis Barbecue officially announces their second restaurant in Greenville, taking over the space previously occupied by Tommy’s Country Ham House. So for folks in the Charlotte area (i.e. me), Lewis’ central Texas-style brisket, hot guts, sausage will be about half the distance you previously had to travel to Charleston. And this is a very good thing. Lewis Barbecue Greenville will open sometime in early 2022.
In addition to the Lewis Barbecue expansion news, it was recently announced that his Juan Luis Tex-Mex concept will take over the former Workshop food hall in Charleston. It was an original food stall tenant at the food hall but recently the trailer had been parked in the courtyard at Lewis Barbecue. Based on these recent moves, Lewis is certainly building the foundation for a food empire in South Carolina.
Charleston’s ‘Border Cuisine’ Spot Juan Luis to Expand into the Workshop Space https://t.co/7Zmj7lkoWH
A sneak peak inside the recently opened Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh
More than two years in the making, Sam Jones BBQ will soon have its grand opening, kicking off the Triangle’s great barbecue bonanza. https://t.co/89IU5sLOUD
“Under this partnership structure, Mighty Quinn’s licenses Otto’s Tacos name and fulfills orders from it’s kitchen. Customers then receive their digital order from Otto’s Tacos using first- or third-party platforms.”
10 must-read cookbooks by Black authors to buy right now including upcoming barbecue books from Rodney Scott and Adrian Miller, according to the Austin American-Statesman
Texas Monthly interviews Kevin Bludso, who is ready to mentor the next generation of black pitmasters
The most recent barbecue cookbook by a Black author wasn't published this century. For pitmaster Kevin Bludso, that depressing gap is what makes this moment in barbecue so important. https://t.co/Y3FGthZKfV
Met up with Kevin Bludso for a great conversation in Corsicana, which he now calls home. We shared a BBQ meal at K&K BBQ where the chopped beef & sausage sandwich (the Pastor) and the stuffed potato were standouts. pic.twitter.com/1ilQZanbX7
Last week, an article that former Charlotte Observer food writer Kathleen Purvis did for Charlotte Magazine appeared online. It digs into Chef Jim Noble and his complicated stature in Charlotte’s restaurant landscape. On one hand, he is a well-respected and successful chef and restaurateur whose philanthropic pursuits include his King’s Kitchen restaurant that employs people who are under normal circumstances considered unemployable due to poverty, homelessness, or addiction. He is also a reverend who leads bible study at that same restaurant. On the other hand, he has a religiously conservative view on gay rights and was one of only two restaurateurs who officially supported House Bill 2 (or HB2) passed by the NC Legislature in 2015 that required transgender people to use the bathroom that conformed with the gender on their birth certificates, essentially wiping out a nondiscrimination ordinance enacted shortly before by the Charlotte City Council.
From there, Purvis zooms out to explore some of the history of discrimination in the south in both the past and the present. I won’t recap it here, but it’s definitely worth a read.
It should be noted that while Noble declined to be interviewed for Purvis’s story there is no record of Noble’s restaurants discriminating against anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. But that doesn’t mean that potential patrons of his restaurants (which, in addition to Noble Smoke includes two Rooster’s Kitchen locations and Bossy Beulah’s) won’t take his views into account in deciding whether or not to spend money there, regardless of whether they are part of the LGBTQ+ community or not.
I haven’t made a decision either way, but it certainly has been and will continue to be on my mind going forward.
Chef Jim Noble and an Ever-Changing Charlotte: He's one of this city’s most successful, innovative, and philanthropic restaurant owners—and a lot of people won’t set foot in his eateries. Via @kathleenpurvis: https://t.co/Gb2KyO6WdN
Eater Atlanta’s Mike Jordan speaks to a number of Atlanta-area pitmasters to get their take on “Georgia-style” barbecue, with the consensus that there is a style, but that you have to get out of Atlanta to try it and its not quite up there with the other “major” styles of barbecue.
A handful of Georgia pitmasters consider what makes their state’s smoked meat traditions unique https://t.co/WAkK0fFcUW
The question of “what even is Georgia barbecue” seems to come up every few years and while I’m far from an expert when it comes the Peach State, I follow the lead of people who know more than me. Robert Moss notes in his latest issue of The Cue Sheet that Jordan didn’t quite venture far enough outside of Atlanta to get a true sense of Georgia-style barbecue. That is, chopped barbecue sandwiches, Brunswick stew, cole slaw, and sometimes a regional dish called chicken mull from the Athens area.
Finally, to get an even more impassioned defense of Georgia barbecue, I highly recommend you read our friend Grant’s missive from a few years back over at Marie, Let’s Eat. Grant knows more about Georgia barbecue than just about anyone out there, having done the legwork to travel to the farthest corners of the state in search of true barbecue. When it comes to Georgia barbecue, heed his word. In particular, he urges you to explore the Athens area:
What you might want to do is start in Athens, because some of the best barbecue in the country can be found here. Not too many people pish-poshed this notion, but a couple did, so let me be very clear: I think that Memphis is one of this country’s best barbecue cities. It’s home to Payne’s, Leonard’s, and the Bar-B-Q Shop, and they’re all amazing, and there are at least a dozen other darn good places there. I agree that Lexington NC is certainly one as well. I have only been here three very short times, but I’ve had four downright excellent meals and would love to return for a very long trip. I’m perfectly prepared to accept that Lockhart TX is one. It is unlikely that I will visit anytime soon, but I can believe the hype I hear. Its advocates are reliable correspondents. Kansas City, quite probably. Calvin Trillin believes in Arthur Bryant’s, and if you haven’t figured out how much debt I owe Trillin, you’re not paying attention.
So I’m not dismissing any other city when I say that the Athens area deserves to be given the same accolades. There’s room for it as well. I’ll say that the triangle formed by Zeb’s in Danielsville, Paul’s in Lexington, and Hot Thomas in Watkinsville is the region that I mean, and those three remarkably good restaurants are all in my top twenty somewhere. (They’re actually not in my top ten, about which more in a moment.) The photos accompanying this story come from our last weekend in Georgia before the move. We revisited Paul’s and Hot Thomas, along with Bill’s, which is just across the Clarke County line, outside of Hull, and Scott’s & BJ’s, the only one of these four with an actual Athens address.
(Not so) coincidentally, here’s Eater Atlanta’s list of best barbecue restaurants in the area they rolled out along with the “What is Georgia Barbecue?” article.
Here are 22 barbecue restaurants around Atlanta to consider for smoked meats, mac and cheese, and collards https://t.co/AWL7pu1CIc
Adding Perry’s Pig Pickin’ BBQ in Mint Hill to my list
You've heard of Perry's at SouthPark. But have you heard of Perry's of Mint Hill? 1 of the 4 Perry brothers chose not to go into the jewelry business and instead runs a convenience store that sells bait, BBQ and cigarettes. @CristinaBolling with the story. https://t.co/DRzQCikCFk
How to make John Lewis’ green chile barbecue sauce at home, courtesy of Eater
Helen’s Bar-B-Que, by John T. Edge
3-4 times a year, I drive to see Helen Turner of Helen's Bar-B-Que in Brownsville, Tennessee. Really proud to see my piece about her is still on the wall — https://t.co/drb0KKoIMgpic.twitter.com/1yi35Hk5tA
I was happy to get a text from Garren Kirkman of Jon G’s Barbecue a few weeks back saying that famed Charlotte food writer Kathleen Purvis had finally come to check them out (although he didn’t know it at the time). And the verdict is in: Kathleen agrees with what we’ve been saying for years: Jon G’s is legit, particularly that brisket. Check out the rest of her top 5 at the link below.
I’ve been out eating barbecue again, Charlotte. And now, can a girl get a nap? https://t.co/HOnKvD0TTI
Even with the Barbecue Festival cancelled, the annual release of Fine Swine Wine from Childress Vineyards goes on, with Bob Timberlake once again contributing pig art; “This year’s blend features rich, bright flavors of cherry and ripe strawberry. Soft and smooth tannins provide an enticing pallet for the smoky, Lexington barbecue flavors.”