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Charleston’s Palmira Barbecue has made the smooth transition to restaurant

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Name: Palmira Barbecue
Date: 2/4/24
Address: 2366 Ashley River Rd Building 1, Charleston, SC 29414
Order: Whole hog barbecue, hash and rice, beef cheek, slaw, and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Note: a version of this review originally appeared earlier this year in The Smoke Sheet, a great national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.

Monk: From the moment I first tried Palmira Barbecue at the former Port of Call food hall in Charleston in 2022, I knew pitmaster Hector Garate and Palmira were destined for bigger things than simply being one stall in a small-ish food hall (which has since closed and converted to event space). Garate was doing whole hog from locally sourced pigs, and it compared so favorably even after trying it right after spending time in Pitt County, NC. And just in case you aren’t familiar, Pitt County is home to such heavy hitter whole hog restaurants as B’s Barbecue, Skylight Inn, and Sam Jones Barbecue, all of which I tried mere days before Palmira. And yet, I continued to look back fondly on what I ate from Palmira Barbecue after that trip.

So it was no surprise to me when it was announced in late summer of 2022 that Palmira (named for Garate’s grandmother) would be moving to a permanent location in West Ashley. The original targeted opening date of March 2023 didn’t happen and in the meantime Garate went back to pop-up mode, both around Charleston as well as travelling across the country and collaborating with folks like Interstellar Barbeque in Austin, Khoi Barbecue in Houston, Bark Barbecue in Brooklyn, and Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, among others. He also helped out Khoi in the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in Lockhart last fall. Needless to say, Hector Garate stayed busy while the build out of the restaurant dragged on.

As luck would have it, I happened to be in Charleston on opening weekend in early February and was able to check out the new building on that Sunday before heading back to NC. In short, I’m happy to report that the transition from a pop-up to a brick and mortar is going smoothly from a consumer’s perspective.

Whole hog barbecue is a “standard” at Palmira, meaning its always on the menu (unless of course they have run out for the day). Garate partners with fifth-generation farmer Marvin Ross to source heritage hogs from Peculiar Pig Farms located an hour away in Dorchester. That quality certainly shines through in the meat.

Beef cheeks are another standard, and they were not available for my first trip. This is not something you typically see even in new school Texas-style barbecue joints in the Carolinas. This tender cut of meat reminds me of brisket in the way they are aggressively rubbed with salt and pepper, but they are much smaller, much more tender, and have a richer beef flavor. At Palmira, they are a must order.

In terms of other meats, barbacoa, house sausage, and ribs are the other standards with brisket, pork steaks, chicken, and beef ribs rotating in and out of the menu depending on the day.

Garate told me in 2022 that he ate hash and rice daily and while I’m not sure if that is still the case, his version continues to be one that is worthy of that distinction. Next time I stop in I will be sure to try more of the rotating sides, many of which are heavily influenced by Garate’s Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.

On this Sunday of opening weekend, the line was out the door well before opening but the line moved at a nice clip through the meat and sides line. The restaurant itself looked great, and a beautiful mural greets you on the side of the building as you enter.

For me, Palmira Barbecue was the biggest barbecue restaurant opening this first half of the year in the Carolinas and perhaps the entire Southeast. I plan to go back imminently with a bigger appetite. Based on what I experienced, it more than delivers from the jump. Run, don’t walk, to Palmira Barbecue in Charleston.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Beef cheek – 4.5 hogs
Hash – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

Buxton Hall Barbecue’s 2023 closure was the latest blow for NC whole hog barbecue

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Note: A version of this article originally appeared late last year in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.

Monk: In late October of 2023, Asheville’s Buxton Hall Barbecue officially announced that it will close for good after service a few weeks later on November 22nd, 8 years after bringing whole hog to Asheville’s South Slope neighborhood. 

This closure came roughly 15 months after Elliott Moss, who was instrumental in the creation and initial branding of Buxton Hall, abruptly left the restaurant as its pitmaster. Chef Nick Barr immediately took over as Executive Chef for Buxton Hall in July 2022 until the restaurant’s closing in late 2023.

Moss started the journey that became Buxton Hall Barbecue in 2013 in what was originally called “Buxton Hill Barbecue” (note the i), which promised to bring “All wood, Pit Smoked, Pastured Whole Hog Barbeque & Heirloom Southern Fare” to Asheville. It was originally announced as a partnership between Moss and Rodney Scott, then of Scott’s Bar-B-Q before starting Rodney Scott Barbecue in 2017, which made sense when you consider that Moss has family roots in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina where Scott is also from. 

However, that original concept was confirmed as not moving forward a few months later in September 2013 via Twitter, with Moss starting to presumably work with the Chai Pani Restaurant Group on what would eventually become Buxton Hall Barbecue (note the a).

Buxton Hall finally opened in August 2015 to great acclaim, with Moss smoking the local, pasture-raised hogs from Vandele Farm in a North Carolina-made BQ Smoker situated in an open kitchen. In addition to the whole hog, Moss’s influence was seen throughout the menu whether it be chicken bog, a chicken and rice dish from eastern South Carolina, or waffle fries, harkening back to his time working at a Chic-Fil-A in Columbia, SC. The restaurant was an instant success, and soon it was named as a “Best New Restaurant” by Bon Appétit magazine. Moss wrote a barbecue book named “Buxton Hall: Book of Smoke” that was released in October 2016 and continued to be the face of the restaurant, appearing at barbecue festivals from coast to coast under the Buxton Hall Barbecue banner.

The success continued until the entire food industry was hit by the COVID pandemic starting in March of 2020, which began a period of challenges for the restaurant. The dining room was closed from March until July 2020 before a fire forced the restaurant to temporarily close and rethink its approach to smoking whole hogs indoors. It used the period to finish repairs and install new equipment, including a new Texas-style offset smoker designed and built by Moss. The dining room reopened over a year later in August 2021 and less than a year after that Moss announced that he had left the restaurant in July 2022.

Since then, Moss took 13 months to open his next restaurants – Regina’s Westside and a sandwich shop called Little Louie’s – but left those less than 6 weeks after their opening in the summer of 2023. He has since been working barbecue pop-ups under the name Moss and Moore Barbecue and has recently traveled to Texas to collaborate with Fort Worth’s Cattleack Barbecue. He is also utilizing his welding experience and is now building pits and grills as co-owner of the Velvet Moss Company, which recently released a portable grill called “The Priscilla.”

This unfortunately marked another setback for new school North Carolina whole hog barbecue. Wyatt Dickson exited Durham’s Picnic after 7 years and his other concept Wyatt’s Barbecue never opened in Raleigh after pandemic setbacks. Jake Wood has opened Lawrence Barbecue in Durham to great success but opted not to do whole hog and instead focused on a menu featuring all styles of barbecue in addition to oysters. And of course there’s Ed Mitchell, who recently released a barbecue cookbook but whose whole hog barbecue restaurant The Preserve still hasn’t opened in Raleigh. 

In February 2024, the Chai Pani Restaurant Group moved its flagship restaurant Chai Pani into the space formerly occupied by Buxton Hall. With that, it officially closed the book on Buxton Hall Barbecue which for many of the past few years was the westernmost whole hog outpost in the state of North Carolina.

However, not all is lost in terms of whole hog barbecue. In March of 2024, Elliott Moss posted an announcement on his Instagram about his future plans. Unfortunately, after 17 years Moss and his wife Jennifer are leaving Asheville, a city which he’s undoubtedly had a huge impact from a food perspective.

On the bright side, Moss will be continuing in whole hog barbecue. While the details and location are not known at this point and will be shared “a little down the road,” that is extremely promising news because I adamantly feel that the barbecue world is better with Moss active in it.

In the meantime, you can catch him and his food at the Carolina BBQ Festival in Charlotte on April 5-6. Tickets are on sale now and it features a great lineup for the 3rd year running.

Alston Bridges is more than just “the other Bridges”

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Name: Alston Bridges Barbecue
Date: 3/1/24
Location: 620 E. Grover St, Shelby, NC 28150
Order: Small chopped barbecue plate (with red slaw, hush puppies), Sun Drop
Pricing: $

Monk: While it’s no secret that we are a big fan of Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge here at Barbecue Bros, there is another Bridges restaurant in Shelby (no relation) called Alston Bridges. I had only visited once before, in May of 2013, so I was more than overdue for a return visit. Especially when I have a lot of Shelby natives in my life telling me that Alston’s is their preferred barbecue place and perhaps even the choice of locals. You see, Alston Bridges is tucked into Shelby and not located off a major thoroughfare, so you’ve got to work a little bit to get there. Or, of course, be a local that has been going there for a few decades.

I had even made a pledge last summer to get back to Alston Bridges so on a rainy March 1st, I finally made good on that pledge. On my return trip, I had a very similar order to what I had previously, a chopped plate with a Diet Sun Drop.

A slight diversion on Sun Drop if you will allow, as I recently realized that while North Carolina favorite beverage Cheerwine has expanded beyond its initial cult following perhaps Sun Drop is still a bit of a secret (at least based on the reaction from The Smoke Sheet duo Sean and Ryan at a separate restaurant). The original Sun Drop bottling headquarters was located in nearby Gastonia for 50 years until 2016, and along with Cheerwine I’ve long thought of it as a perfect drink to accompany a Lexington-style barbecue plate. Sun Drop is currently owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and apparently distributes it nationwide so perhaps you’ll see it soon if its not already in your market. Highly recommend, especially if you come across the cherry lemon variant.

As for the barbecue, Alston’s barbecue is very good. It’s tender and moist, with the dip mixed in providing the nice bit of tang to the meat. A small Styrofoam cup comes with some additional hot dip to add in if needed (that wasn’t the case for me). Mix in the chopped red slaw and some Texas Pete to the barbecue and its a very good bite of food.

Unfortunately, the one thing missing is the smoke, which is as a result of Alston moving away from pit smoked to gas some years ago. While I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision and while I also greatly enjoyed my meal, for me it will always be a notch less than a Red Bridges or any place that smokes over wood for that matter. I certainly don’t fault loyal customers for favoring Alston’s over Red as barbecue tribes are formed early on and are hard to break.

That said, I don’t think it will necessarily take another 10+ years before I stop at Alston’ Bridges because as I alluded to above it is a good plate of food. I stop in Shelby enough where I can mix up my visits between the two historic “Bridges” restaurants a little more equitably.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Haywood Smokehouse Brings Texas BBQ to the Mountains of NC

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Name: Haywood Smokehouse
Date: 1/27/24
Address: 403 Haywood Rd, Dillsboro, NC 28725
Order: 2-meat combo platter with pork and brisket plus cole slaw and collards  (Link to menu)
Price: $$$

Monk: After some really positive experiences at Ridgewood Barbecue and Old Hampton Store in late 2023, could my luck with mountain barbecue continue into early 2024 at the Dillsboro outpost of Haywood Smokehouse?

Haywood Smokehouse is a small three-restaurant mini-chain with other western NC locations in Waynesville and Franklin. They specialize in Texas barbecue and at least in Dillsboro smoke with hickory wood using a gas-assist smoker located just off their small parking lot.

Open the door into a cozy dining room, and you are greeted by wood paneling and wood tables. As with many NC barbecue joints back east, you are greeted in short order by a waitress to take your drink order and within just a few minutes of sitting you have placed your food order as well.

For my two meat combo, I selected pork and brisket and all of our orders were brought out rather quickly. No complaints there. As for either meat, while slightly above average, neither the chopped pork nor the brisket stood out. The pork had plenty of bark chopped into a coarsely chopped but the brisket could have used some trimming and in fact some of it was unrendered as if it had been sitting for awhile (possibly overnight?).

For sides, the story continued with neither the cole slaw nor the collards standing out and if either were pre-packaged or semi-homemade (Sandra Lee style) it wouldn’t have surprised me.

Alas, it would not be a three-peat for mountain barbecue. While Haywood Smokehouse is fine, it doesn’t reach the heights of either Ridgewood or Old Hampton Store in large part due to its use of a gas-assisted smoker.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Pulled pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs