Our State

Linkdown: 12/19/18

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Noble Smoke making progress:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Brdp03Hh_Z4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The story behind the Barbecue Wife line of cocktail mixers from Catherine Stiles, the wife of Shane Stiles of Stiles Switch BBQ in Austin

Our State Magazine interviews Chase Webb, third generation pitmaster at Red Bridges Barbecue in Shelby

Meating Street Barbecue closed this past weekend, citing lack of parking in downtown Roswell, GA

Barbecue Center will be featured on “Man Fire Food” on the Cooking Channel tonight at 9pm

From this past summer, Rodney Scott shares some of his secrets:

Interesting turn of events:

Barbecue Bros Book Club: Carolina ‘Cue by Our State Magazine

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Not that we’re anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books.

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Monk: Carolina ‘Cue is a collection of articles that appeared in Our State Magazine along with the full color photos that originally accompanied them. The stories move from west to east across the state as you read the book and while the heavy hitters – Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge, Lexington Barbecue, Stamey’s Barbecue, Allen & Son Barbeque, etc – get some coverage in the form of photos between articles, the articles themselves focus on some of the lesser-known joints in the state. And perhaps this makes sense, as the big guys have been covered the most both nationally and locally, so Our State is able to focus on the other places that haven’t had as much exposure.

Each article doesn’t focus on the food so much but rather the story behind the family and the building that makes the food – after all, it is subtitled “the people, places, and plates behind our favorite tradition”. No writer is featured more than twice but there is a cohesive voice and tone from article to article. At just under 100 pages, I breezed through the book in two short sittings but you could easily do it in one.

Carolina ‘Cue was compiled as of 2014 and features 27 restaurants in total (17 in articles, 10 in photos). In the table of contents it states that if you don’t see your favorite then they haven’t gotten there – yet. Here’s hoping a second version of the book can be published in another couple of years to continue the great storytelling project of the state’s favorite food.

Friday Find: The Charlotte Podcast Explores “Is Charlotte a BBQ Town?”

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Monk: Our State Magazine senior editor, podcaster, and writer (and former Charlottean) Jeremy Markovich joins Miller of The Charlotte Podcast to discuss NC barbecue in general before discussing specifically whether Charlotte is a barbecue town.

After a short intro, the barbecue talk starts at 5:17 with some open-ended questions about NC barbecue. Before shifting the conversation to Charlotte later in the episode, the conversation is a little unfocused (admittedly, Miller says he didn’t prep Jeremy for these questions) but covers the difference between east and west and what Jeremy’s idea of barbecue and a barbecue restaurant is.

Here’s a link to Jeremy’s fantastic story in Our State on spending 17 hours (he had planned to be there 24) at B’s Barbecue in Greenville that he begins mentioning at 14:15 when he starts discussing his top 5 barbecue places in NC; Red Bridges in Shelby, 12 Bones in Asheville (I do disagree with this pick), Skylight Inn, and Lexington Barbecue (aka the Honeymonk) all make his list as well.

While mentioning Skylight Inn (16:34), Miller discusses the idea of “porky goodness”. While I’m familiar with (and have tasted) their technique of chopping the crispy skin back into the pork, I must admit that I have never heard this term before. Granted, I have spent only a little time out east so I’m not discounting that it’s a real thing. Only that I’ve yet to come across it in my travels.

Kyle Fletcher’s in Gastonia gets a mention at 18:34. This place deserves a second chance for me, but I was somewhat unimpressed when I went a few years ago.

The Charlotte conversation begins at 21:25. I do disagree with Miller’s assertion that Midwood Smokehouse is a solid B in everything though (21:39) because I think their brisket and burnt ends are A’s and their pork and sausage is at least a B+ (I still need to try the whole hog on the new smoker at Park Road). So I think he may be undervaluing them just a little bit.

Miller brings up the idea of Charlotte as a “barbecue hub” as opposed to a “barbecue city” (22:36) due to its proximity to good barbecue in Lexington (agree), Shelby (agree), and Gastonia (huh?).  Jeremy comes back to Midwood Smokehouse at 25:26 (here’s the article he wrote for Our State) and how restaurateur Frank Scibelli has a habit of introducing foods to Charlotte. First with Mama Ricotta’s and authentic italian (including fresh mozzarella) in the early 2000’s and then Midwood Smokehouse and barbecue other than pork more recently in 2012.

While I couldn’t agree more with Jeremy’s assertion that you need to spell out “barbecue” (as opposed to say, “bbq” like they do in the podcast title) at 28:51, I can’t help but think naming a theoretical barbecue restaurant “Barbecue” is either insanely brilliant or just plain lazy. I still can’t decide.

Overall, I agree with both Jeremy and Miller that no, Charlotte is not a barbecue town but that you can find good barbecue here (I’ve certainly tried to do my homework). When I think on the question of whether Charlotte is a barbecue town, I inevitably go to a quote from Tom Hanchett, the former historian at Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South:

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

Until Charlotte is no longer a city of “other people’s barbecue”, in my opinion it will never truly be a barbecue town.

Linkdown: 10/2/13

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– North Carolina has a new law which allows the concealed carry of firearms in more businesses, but Lexington Barbecue still posts a sign prohibiting firearms on its premises

– A recap of last weekend’s Whole Hog State Championship in Raleigh

– BBQ Jew has some deets on the Allen & Son (Pittsboro, not Chapel Hill) expansion into a former Jackson Bros BBQ in Sanford

– The Red BBQ sauce from Mac’s Speed Shop beat over 250 competitors to win first place in the Tomato Sauce category at this year’s Memphis in May; you can’t have that recipe but here’s the recipe for their vinegar sauce 

– Our State magazine recently reviewed Speedy’s Barbecue in Lexington (our review here) and Blackbeard’s BBQ & C-Food in Tarboro

– The 84th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue will begin at 10am on October 24 and I hope to attend this year

A crowd of nearly 20,000 is expected to tackle 14,600 pounds of pork barbecue; 2,500 gallons of Brunswick stew; 2 tons of coleslaw and 400 gallons of coffee.