Midwood Smokehouse

Charlotte’s Got a Lot (of Barbecue Styles)

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

“Charlotte is not really in either part of North Carolina, it’s a city of newcomers and we have other people’s barbecue.“

Monk: When I think of Charlotte barbecue, more often than not I tend to have the above quote in my head from Tom Hanchett, the former historian at Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South. Charlotte’s barbecue scene has grown steadily in the twelve years since Barbecue Bros started but that growth has not typically been because of restaurants that are serving strictly traditional North Carolina barbecue.

In the spirit of the official slogan of Charlotte’s Regional Visitor’s Authority (“Charlotte’s Got a Lot”), here are the styles of other people’s barbecue you can find in the Queen City.

Texas Barbecue: Jon G’s Barbecue

Jon G’s Barbecue still remains the best barbecue available in Charlotte, and Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn thinks its even one of the top 10 Texas barbecue joints in the country (outside of Texas). I have always found Garren and Kelly Kirkman’s barbecue joint to be remarkably consistent, whether I’m at one of their weekly food truck services around the greater Charlotte area or at the restaurant in Peachland, where they’ve turned Barbecue Saturdays at their restaurant into a destination-worthy event for travelers from all across the southeast and even United States. 116 Glenn Falls St, Peachland, NC 28133 jongsbarbecue.com

Tex-Mex Barbecue: Union Barbecue

Earlier this year, Chefs Holden Sasser and Chase Young burst onto the Charlotte barbecue scene with “new school barbecue” and “Mexican flavors” in the form of their Union Barbecue food truck. Sasser is actually a Charlotte native who recently relocated back from San Francisco, where he worked in food technology and did barbecue pop-ups in his free time. Meats range from beef cheek barbacoa to pork carnitas to brisket (all served with house made tortillas) and they’ve got some seriously awesome, inventive sides. unionbarbecue.com

Midlands South Carolina Barbecue: Sweet Lew’s BBQ

In late 2023 Sweet Lew’s BBQ celebrated 5 years open, a nice milestone for the ever-changing Belmont neighborhood restaurant. One thing that’s been on the menu for a few years now is the Midlands, South Carolina specialty hash and rice (or barbecue hash or, simply, hash). There’s a lot to like about the other meats on the menu, but definitely don’t sleep on the hash. 923 Belmont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205 sweetlewsbbq.com

Kansas City Barbecue: Midwood Smokehouse

While Midwood Smokehouse is more of what barbecue author John Shelton Reed calls an “international house of barbecue” with multiple styles on their menu, they were one of the first restaurants in Charlotte to offer burnt ends smoked out of their Oyler smoker when they opened in 2011. Multiple locations midwoodsmokehouse.com

Lexington Barbecue: Resident Culture Brewing

Another recent entrant to the Charlotte barbecue scene is Resident Culture Brewing, who last year brought on Chef Edmar Simoes (previously of Noble Smoke and Saucemans) to start their barbecue program out of the South End location of the brewery in late 2023. Simoes is actually Brazilian-born but has taken to American barbecue (as evidenced by his Instagram handle “american_bbq”) and learned the ways of Lexington-style barbecue from his time at Noble Smoke. Throw some barbecue slaw and some vinegar sauce onto a bit of barbecue, and you might as well be 60 minutes north on I-85. 332 W Bland St. Suite C Charlotte, NC 28203 residentculturebrewing.com

The 5 Best Barbecue Joints in Charlotte – December 2023

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Monk: It’s hard to believe that our last Charlotte best of post came way back in 2019. Then, I speculated that perhaps some big names could open second (or even third) outposts of established barbecue restaurants in Charlotte, but that hasn’t happened. No Bryan Furman, no Sam Jones, no Rodney Scott. In my mind, only one legit barbecue restaurant has opened since then (more on that later). In terms of announcements 2024 will have at least one promising new barbecue joint in the form of Edmar Simoes (formerly of Sauceman’s and Noble Smoke) bringing true ‘cue to Resident Culture Brewing.

Unfortunately, a couple of longtime barbecue joints on the 2019 list did close: Bill Spoon’s closed in September 2020 after 57 years in operation while honorable mention Buddy’s Bar-B-Que in Belmont closed in February 2022 after 25 years open. 

Hopefully this trend does not continue because if longtime restaurants keep closing while newer restaurants don’t quite stack up, that does not pose well for Charlotte barbecue in the near term. Which would mean Charlotte is nowhere near being on the path to following in the barbecue footsteps of Charleston (much less Houston). Something to keep an eye on in 2024.

The rest of the list

Honorable Mention: The Smoke Pit

Midwood Smokehouse did open a location in Raleigh this year, but otherwise seems to have smartly slowed down when it comes to expansion. That allows them to maintain consistency of barbecue being pumped out of the onsite J&R Oyler wood-fired smokers at each site. Multiple locations midwoodsmokehouse.com

Firehawk Brewpub is the new kid on the block this time around. Opening in the spring of 2023 in Mount Holly just minutes away from the US National Whitewater Center west of Charlotte, they are not only cranking out legit wood-smoked barbecue but they’re also brewing some darn good beer as well. All in a nice setting along the banks of Dutchman’s Creek, an offshoot of the Catawba River. 309 N Main St, Mt Holly, NC 28120 firehawkbrewpub.com

Sweet Lew’s BBQ recently celebrated 5 years open, a nice milestone for the ever-changing Belmont neighborhood restaurant. They continue to be a mainstay in that neighborhood aiming to “feed the people” and recently introduced a “Mill Town Meal” where a rotating main item will be available for $5. With the quality that they have been producing for half a decade, that’s a nice price for what will surely be some delicious dishes. 923 Belmont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205 sweetlewsbbq.com

Noble Smoke expanded in 2022, but ever so slightly with a stall at Optimist Hall Food Hall. The barbecue for both locations is smoked at their original location, a barbecue palace in West Charlotte, to maintain quality. 2216 Freedom Dr, Charlotte, NC 28208 noblesmokebarbecue.com

Jon G’s Barbecue still remains the best of the best in Charlotte. They are remarkable in their consistency of product, whether it be at the restaurant in Peachland or their weekly food truck services around the greater Charlotte area. Kelly and Jon have made Barbecue Saturdays in Peachland a destination event worthy of travelers from all across the southeast and even United States. 116 Glenn Falls St, Peachland, NC 28133 jongsbarbecue.com

The Barbecue Bros’ 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: In this year’s revamped Gift Guide, we’re going for more curation and less bullet listing. Hopefully this will give you a sense of the items we truly recommend here at Barbecue Bros, whether it be t-shirts or hats, grill accessories you’ll use in the backyard, or rubs and sauces. What else have we missed? Comment below.

Charlotte-Area Barbecue Gifts

SnS Grills is a Concord-based company and not only has their own, critically acclaimed kettle and kamado smokers, they’ve also got a selection of Weber-specific charcoal baskets, drip pans, and grilling tools. Sweet Lew’s BBQ has a solid selection of hats as well as shirts, sauces, and rubs available online; similarly as does Midwood Smokehouse. Jon G’s BBQ doesn’t have merch available online (only available in person at the store), but they do sell gift cards on their website.

North Carolina Barbecue Gifts

Besides their tasty barbecue, Buxton Hall was the first North Carolina restaurant I thought of when it came to merch. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not plenty of other good options from across North Carolina. Sam Jones BBQ recently released a great Marlboro inspired “Pack of Sam” tee as well as a festive “BBQ Vacay” hat. Durham’s Lawrence BBQ has some great merch including a “Swinehurst” hat and an acid-washed hoodie. You can get hats and shirts from Stamey’s but also bottles of their dip and hot sauce. And Raleigh’s House of Swank has the always controversial “Tomato” vs “Vinegar” t-shirt. I’ve been using Carolina Brewery’s Carolina Dry Rub almost exclusively the past year and their Eastern Carolina Style BBQ Sauce is also pretty legit.

You can also get cookbooks from North Carolina authors like Sam Jones’ autographed cookbook, Matthew Register’s “Southern Smoke” cookbook, Elliott Moss’s cookbook under the Buxton Hall Barbecue name, and the 2023 release of Ed and Ryan Mitchell’s cookbook.

Books

My favorite barbecue books ever are as follows (in no particular order): Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina BBQ by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed, Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey by Robb Walsh, The One True Barbecue: Fire, Smoke, and the Pitmasters Who Smoke Whole Hog by Rien Fertel, Black Smoke: African Americas and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller, and my most recent addition the list Smokestack Lighting: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country by Lolis Eric Elie.

Honorable mention goes to Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue by Daniel Vaughn, Robert Moss’ Barbecue: The History of an American Institution, Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America by Jim Auchmutey, Wyatt McSpadden’s two Texas BBQ books with wonderful photography, and of course Aaron Franklin’s Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto.

Apparel

Fox Bros always has great designs for the shirts and hats, and have been leaning into the Grateful Dead-themed merch lately. Barbecue Wife has long sold out of t-shirts but have new patch snapback hats in. Rodney Scott’s mantra is “Every day is a good day” and you can own a t-shirt saying exactly that. There are still dark grey shirts available for Bryan Furman BBQ as well.

Grilling Tools and Accessories

No backyard cook (or even a regular indoor one) should cook without an instant thermometer and for that, my pick is the Thermapen One. You’ll also likely need grill and meat temperature thermometers, and Thermapen has a version as does Inkbird, who created the world’s first 5G thermometer. As of this writing, the Looft Air Lighter X cordless version is half off. Grill Armor heat gloves are a good option to keep your hands away from heat sources. Mrs. Monk got me this Drip EZ BBQ Prep Tub a few years back and its ingenious design collapses from a prep tub to a cutting board in seconds. Hardcore Carnivore always has good stuff, whether its butcher paper, high heat gloves, or various knives. Meat Church is another great source and also has an assortment of rubs, injections, t-shirts, and hats but also a nice Hedley & Bennett apron.

Stocking Stuffers

Are your kids sick of stopping for barbecue? Maybe this kids adventure journal from Barbecue Wife will help your cause. Cheshire Pork has a bacon ketchup, bacon jam (both regular and jalapeno), and various jerky available at their “pantry”. Weathersbeef has their “Bird,” “Beef,” and “Pork” rubs available online as well as some good looking Imperial “Beef” hats. Are you interested in a white sauce for your poultry? You could do a lot worse than Rodney Scott’s bottled version.

Happy Shopping!

Charlotte Quarterly News Roundup from July through August 2023

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: Better late than never, here’s all the Charlotte-area barbecue news you may have missed from July through September of this year

July

7/14 – Noble Smoke makes Axios Charlotte’s 25 best restaurants in Charlotte right now at #25

7/29 – A reintroduction to Garren and Kelly of Jon G’s Barbecue

August

8/8 – The Runaway Charlotte Longhorn Bull saga began, which I recapped in a linkdown

Linkdown: 8/16/23 – The Runaway Longhorn Bull Edition

8/10 – Meet Pit Boss Natasha of Firehawk Brewpub

8/13 – Meet Miss Angie of Sweet Lew’s Barbeque

8/20 – New Charlotte-area barbecue joint Firehawk Brewpub does an explainer on their unique way of doing ribs

8/29 – Slash of Guns N’ Roses is the latest celebrity to stop by Midwood Smokehouse; here he is with pitmaster Matthew Berry

September

9/9 – Sweet Lew’s Barbeque announced they will be doing “Whole Hog Sundays” during NFL season

9/11 – We published our review of Firehawk Brewpub

Firehawk Brewpub is a worthy addition to the Charlotte Barbecue Scene

9/12 – The Pitmaster Experience at Noble Smoke was announced as coming back

9/15 – The 92nd Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue was officially confirmed as on for 2023 but as drive-through only