Linkdown: 8/29/23 – The Taylor Swift x Barbecue Festival Edition

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Monk: Did you know that Taylor Swift played at the Lexington Barbecue Festival in 2006?

Here’s a brief Tik Tok about it:

There’s some very grainy pre-iPhone concert footage available on YouTube.

Here’s some audio of Swift’s song “Tim McGraw”:

Anywho – this year’s edition of the Lexington Barbecue festival will be in downtown Lexington on Saturday, October 28th. Chances that the next Taylor Swift will be playing there this year…?

Native News

Slash from Guns N’ Roses visited Midwood Smokehouse while the band was in Charlotte for a concert

As a PSA, Jon G’s is closed this Saturday

Non-Native News

Maybe Texas barbecue isn’t all that expensive, comparatively-speaking

City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia, SC has a great to-go option for football tailgates this Fall

Thoughts or preferences?

John Markus of “BBQ Pitmasters” fame gets a positive Zagat review for Markus Hilltop BBQ in Hudson Valley

The TM BBQ Fest will be November 4-5 in Lockhart; ticket information at the link below:

Houston-specific coverage on the festival

Good advice this:

Ruben Santana is the BBQ King Of Brooklyn

Monk: In the world of fusion barbecue, Dominican-style Texas barbecue is fairly unique combination. Since 2020, Ruben Santana has been running Bark Barbecue which combines those two cuisines to seemingly delicious results. From Munchie’s Street Food Icons series.

Description: Ruben Santana is the owner and pitmaster of Bark Barbecue, a Texas-style BBQ pop up in NYC with a Dominican twist. As a Queens native of Dominican descent, Ruben smokes brisket, ribs, and other meats in the classic Texas style, while adding his own Dominican flair to the spice rubs and sides, which include arroz con gris, maduros, and more. Ruben, who previously worked in the HVAC and automotive industry, started Bark Barbecue out of his backyard in 2020. Now he’s selling out at some of the biggest food festivals in America and is becoming a leader in the NYC BBQ community and beyond. Follow his Instagram, @bark_barbecue, to see where he’ll be popping up next.

How a Master Chef Is Roasting Whole Suckling Pigs in the Middle of NYC

Monk: Eater’s Smoke Point focuses on a wood-fire restaurant in New York City called Peasant, where the chef is roasting whole suckling pigs on a rotisserie wood-fire oven. Those suckling pigs are then portioned into a whole pig dinner that has to be ordered 24 hours in advance.

Description: At NYC’s Peasant, chef Marc Forgione took over from chef Frank DeCarlo after over 20 years, and has kept the idea of wood-fire cooking in NYC alive. The restaurant’s menu includes a whole pig dinner that must be ordered 24 hours in advance of the reservation, as well as wood-fired oysters, Piedmontese steak tartare, and many handmade pastas.

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

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Monk: As a result of some severe storms in the Charlotte area last week, a 900 pound longhorn bull got loose in west Charlotte and ran free for 4 days.

It would re-emerge once a day or so but no one was ever able to pin it down. It quickly soared to the top of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD’s most wanted (animals) list.

it wasn’t until the fourth day that the bull was found and euthanized by a hunter hired by the owner. No word on whether any barbecue was able to be made as a result.

Rest in Power, Runaway West Charlotte Longhorn Bull of 2023.

Native News

Midwood Smokehouse is the only barbecue restaurant in the CharlotteFive’s Reader’s Choice Poll for tacos

NC-based Cheerwine is now available at 4 Rivers Smokehouse restaurants across Florida

Speedy’s is back from vacation

Have you tried livermush before? This NC delicacy is not barbecue but is made from pig: “they ground pig’s liver and head meat and mixed it with cornmeal, salt, pepper, and sage to form something akin to a caseless sausage”

Non-Native News

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John Tanner checks out Big Bad W Pit BBQ in Stafford, VA

Plus, is ZZQ the best brisket east of Texas?

POV: How to navigate City Limits Q’s queue (or is it que?)

Dispatch from an epic taco road trip from the Tales from the Pits guys

Tacos for the Cause this week at Fox Bros Bar-B-Q

J.C. Reid’s latest column is on beef brands

This year’s Pig Island NYC is September 9

ICYMI, this week’s episode of “BBQ USA” featured the Jeff Michner benefit at Pig Beach