Our State Magazine’s February issue has a big write up on 26 Essential NC Barbecue Joints
Vote once a day between now and February 25
Steve Raichlen’s upcoming book on brisket comes out in April; here’s a book review
Speaking of Texas barbecue, Daniel Vaughn’s list of the best sausage wraps in Texas (aka #roadsausage)
J.C. Reid on the rise of vertical smokers where space is a little more limited
Relevant Instagram tips for some…
Monk: The last (and only) time I had visited Richard’s Bar-B-Q in Salisbury was nearly 5 years ago and I mostly enjoyed my meal there, preferring it to the other Salisbury joint on the NC Barbecue Trail, Wink’s King of Barbeque.
Richard’s was the choice for a Monk family lunch meet up over the holidays, providing an in-between spot between Charlotte and Pittsboro.
Pulling in, the one thing that struck me was the spelling of “Bar-B-Q” on all of Richard’s signage. By my recollection, you tend to see “barbecue,” “bbq,” “barbeque,” “bar-b-que,” or “bar-b-cue” spellings more often, but even thought its clearly a valid spelling, I don’t recall really noticing “bar-b-q” in too many places in my travels. A minor thing for sure, but perhaps worth noting in the future.
As for the ‘cue itself, I found the barbecue to have the necessary smoke but lacking the tang and spice I noted on my previous visit. Ditto for the red slaw. Thankfully, the large hush puppies were just as good as I remembered and I ate them until I was well beyond stuffed. In any case, my family and I enjoyed our meal as we lamented the recent closing of Allen & Son in Chapel Hill – most of us, anyways. My aunt said she found that one subpar and preferred the Pittsboro location much more. Now, even though Chapel Hill is gone, I will have to investigate Pittsboro. In any case, back to Richard’s – I still chuckle at the use of large coffee filters as part of the serving apparatus for the trays. Hopefully they won’t fall victim to the recent trend of NC barbecue joint closings anytime soon.
âLittle 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…â
âI welcome your vinegar-stained letters you poor flavor-deprived bastardsâ
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 Stateâs 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 JupiĂąa mop sauce, black-as-night Malta barbecue sauce, and pork belly burnt ends ($10), BriceĂąo and Honore have finally invented a style of barbecue synonymous with Miami.
Kevin Pang, formerly of the Chicago Tribune and now of the AV Club’s food blog The Takeout, took a barbecue road trip from Chicago to the Carolinas and back in 2010 and documented it on the BBQ Roadtrip Tumblr. Here, he interviews Keith Allen of the recently departed Allen and Son Barbecue in Chapel Hill to discuss his philosophy on barbecue.
Side note: I remember devouring this roadtrip blog in on sitting back when we first started our blog. What a cool trip, and I could only wish for someone to pay the Barbecue Bros to take a similar trip.
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
âThe city caught my attention because of how pleasant it is,â says Rodney Scott, the James Beard Best Chef Southeast 2018 for his Rodney Scottâs BBQ in Charleston. Heâs set to open his next, identical concept in Birmingham first-quarter 2019. âItâs a big city, but it feels like a small town,â he says. âIt doesnât feel like New York or Chicago, but itâs just as important a food city in my opinion.â
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?
Name: The Honey Hog
Date: 12/28/18
Address: 4629 Fallston Rd, Lawndale, NC 28090
Order: Chopped pork combo platter with red slaw, fries and a sample of chopped beef brisket, appetizer of cheese curds
Monk: The Honey Hog is a farm-to-table restaurant in the tiny town of Fallston (about 20 minutes north of Shelby) that this past summer brought on Johnny Ray as a managing partner and pitmaster to add wood smoked barbecue to their menu on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Interestingly, Johnny is doing whole hog each of those days with pork ribs on Friday nights and central Texas-style brisket on Saturday nights.
The Honey Hog uses a thicker barbecue sauce that Johnny Ray has been selling in grocery store across the state and the chopped pork comes pre-sauced with it. Itâs possible that I missed it, but I didnât see this indicated on the menu and I donât usually prefer my barbecue pre-sauced. This was no exception. In this case, it was hard to detect any smoke and I have to admit I was a little disappointed.
Well before central-Texas brisket made its way east of the Mississippi, chopped beef was something commonly found in the western part of NC heading towards the mountains. The Honey Hog didnât have a combo on the menu so instead of ordering a full order of the chopped beef they were kind enough to provide me a sample with my meal. I could taste the smoke more on the beef, which did not come with the sauce, but it still wasnât for me.
My sides of red slaw and fries were fine but the best part of the meal was the cheese curds I ordered as an appetizer. Those things were ridiculous and are apparently a big favorite of regular customers.
I didnât love my lunch on this day but from what I can tell on social media The Honey Hog is probably be worth a second visit to try the ribs or brisket specials. And Iâll retry their whole hog, making sure to request the sauce on the side.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance â 3 hogs
Pork â 2.5 hogs
Chopped Beef â 2.5 hogs
Sides â 2.5 hogs
Overall â 2.5 hogs
The co-founder of True Cue joins the Kevin’s BBQ Joints podcast to give a “city guide” for the entire state of NC.
John Shelton Reed, sociologist and essayist, author or editor of twenty books, most of them dealing with the contemporary American South, guides us through North Carolina for BBQ spots in the major cities as well as way off the beaten path for incredible finds.
BBQ Joints discussed:
Lexington Barbecue: http://www.lexbbq.com
Smiley’s Lexington BBQ: https://bit.ly/2GwQajp
Bridges BBQ Lodge: http://www.bridgesbbq.com
Stamey’s Barbecue: http://stameys.com
Skylight Inn BBQ: http://www.skylightinnbbq.com
Sam Jones BBQ: http://www.samjonesbbq.com
Bâs Barbecue: https://bit.ly/2Gu7PrN
Wilber’s Barbecue: http://www.wilbersbarbecue.com
Picnic Durham: http://www.picnicdurham.com
Buxton Hall BBQ: http://www.buxtonhall.com
Southern Smoke BBQ: http://southernsmokebbqnc.com
The Campaign for Real Barbecue: http://www.truecue.org
Contact True Cue: http://www.truecue.org/contact
Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue: https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Smoke-Nor…
NC BBQ Society Trail: http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/bbqmap/tr…
Long Leaf Politics: True North Carolina Barbecue hurting. Would a state law help?
This might be a story in the affirmative and while I never made it there myself, by all accounts Bill Ellis Barbecue in Wilson was an eastern NC institution. It unfortunately closed quietly last week after 55 years in business and follows an unfortunate trend after closures at Allen & Son in Chapel Hill and Q Shack in Raleigh
More on NC barbecue; I’m not sure what prompted this but Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro with a mini-thread laying down the truth:
Dream job, and not just because of the barbecue:
Mighty Quinn’s is looking to continue expanding in 2019
HOORAY BRISKET
Yea…just, no
Rien Fertel remembers Douglas Oliver, pitman for Sweatman’s BBQ in Holly Hill, SC, who died in the fall of 2017
Name: Field House Bar-B-Que
Date: 12/18/18
Address: 1907 S Cannon Blvd, Kannapolis, NC 28083
Order: Chopped barbecue plate with slaw, fries, and hush puppies; Cheerwine
Monk: I first heard of Field House Bar-B-Que in Kannapolis in regards to a 2017 name change from its original name of Varsity BBQ & Ice Cream after being sued by The Varsity in Atlanta. How a one store NC barbecue restaurant in operation since 1998 could be confused with the classic burgers chain two states away baffles me, but nonetheless Field House opted to change the name rather than going through a lengthy legal process.
As for the food itself, as best I can tell Field House uses a gasser but manages to get some decent smoke on the pork. While I ordered the plate with fries, they do serve Lexington-style trays which you donât see too often on the stretch of highway between Salisbury and Shelby. Next time Iâll try to avoid the temptation of fries and just get the tray with pork, slaw, and hush puppies on the side.
Speaking of slaw, they do offer a choice of red slaw as well as white slaw so you can keep your Lexington tray traditional. I appreciate that the hush puppies are scratch made and not some frozen nonsense.
As best I can tell, nothing really changed in fall 2017 when Varsity Bar-B-Que was renamed to Field House Bar-B-Que (the old sign is even still out back). For local Kannapolis-ians (Kannapolites?), that appears to be a good thing. The old name does live in on the back of each waitressesâ shirts, however, which are styled as jerseys with âVarsity Teamâ as the player name above a â98â as the block style jersey number. Nicely played, Field House. Nicely played.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance â 3 hogs
Pork â 3.5 hogs
Sides â 3.5 hogs
Overall â 3.5 hogs
More whole hog in Texas; Buck’s BBQ in Houston is doing one on Sunday
Also making its way to Houston is smoked bologna
Midwood Smokehouse’s Roadhouse burger with a patty made of a mix of brisket and chuck lands at #13 on Charlotte Agenda’s best burgers in Charlotte list
Stubbs and Son BBQ in Sanford (no apparent relation to Stubbs BBQ in Austin) makes eastern NC barbecue and has plans to both expand the menu as well as the dining room
Wide Open Country’ list of 18 Texas joints you need to try before you die
A humorous take on the suburban SMOKEBOY dad club
How a Chicago food writer learned to love pimento cheese from the former president of the SC BBQ Association, Lake High
Anyone interested in a t-shirt?
