Robert Jacob Lerma

Linkdown: 3/2/22

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North Carolina has lost another classic barbecue joint; Smiley’s Lexington BBQ officially closed this past weekend as a result of the NC DOT widening of Winston Road. Restaurant owner Steve Yountz and his wife, Tena, have no official plans to relocate the restaurant as of now but are not ruling it out either, depending on how much money they get from the state. For now, they are going to take some time to evaluate their options.

The building housing Smiley’s has been a barbecue restaurant for over 70 years and according to Yountz, ““It’s the oldest pit-cooking restaurant in Lexington. We’re still using the original pits.” Before Yountz opened Smiley’s in 2002, it operated as Southern Barbecue from 1963 to 1998 and started as Dan’s in the 1950’s.

This NC DOT project, first announced in 2018 and not set to begin until July 2023, actually has two victims as Speedy’s Barbecue the next block over is also closing due to the road widening.

Native News

Through the Preserve the Pit fellowship, Ron Simmons of Master Blend Farms in Kenansville was able to add 56 acres to his family farm and add barbecue catering as a side gig

Big Belly Que in Chapel Hill is pivoting to Italian for the time being

Lechon Latin BBQ is a new-ish, Latin-focused barbecue restaurant at Raleigh’s Triangle Town Center

Noble Smoke’s second location at Optimist Hall opens this Sunday

Congrats to Garren and Kelly from Jon G’s, who 2 years ago on Sunday closed on the former Barbee’s Barbecue location, which they would open in June 2020 just a few months into the pandemic

Non-Native News

Texas barbecue James Beard semifinalists

Robert Sietsema’s latest barbecue guide for Eater NY

Juicy Lucia and Di Fara Pizzeria will be located in the former Corner House BBQ on Staten Island

Virgie’s is back

Lewis Barbecue is set to open their Greenville location this summer

Snow’s Barbecue by Robert Jacob Lerma for Huckberry

According to Dave Grohl, salt and pepper is all the rub you need for a great brisket

Aaron Franklin’s Hot Luck Festival is back and has added NC band Superchunk to its music lineup

Here’s a list of the chefs that will be at Hot Luck

Should we call this the Memphis Airport Barbecue Challenge?

Friday Find: BBQ Tourist joins Kevin’s BBQ Joints to discuss his recent Texas trip

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Monk: Friend of the blog and co-founder of The Smoke Sheet Ryan Cooper (aka BBQ Tourist) chats with Kevin in this podcast about his recent Texas trip to Austin for Robert Jacob Lerma’s huge barbecue party and then his exploration of the Fort Worth barbecue scene.

Description:
In this special episode I chat with Ryan Cooper(@BBQTourist: https://www.instagram.com/bbqtourist) who by day works for the National Park Service, but by night(and off hours) is co-founder of The Smoke Sheet(https://www.bbqnewsletter.com) and travels the country searching out incredible barbecue. We talk about his recent 10 day trip to Texas (from Nebraska where he lives) where he visited 20 BBQ joints and went to what is possibly the best BBQ party of the year (Robert Jacob Lerma’s Summer BBQ Bash).

The journey begins when he picks up Chris Bengston from Common Descent Provisions (https://www.commondescentprovisions.com) and ends with a through visit to all of the latest BBQ spots opening in Fort Worth and Arlington. For reference, here’s a list of his stops:
1. Boss Hog’s BBQ and Bail Bonds: https://bit.ly/2lfUWMh
2. Brothertons Black Iron BBQ: https://www.facebook.com/PFTXBBQ/
3. Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ: https://www.valentinastexmexbbq.com/
4. Interstellar: https://www.facebook.com/Interstellarbbq
5. The Switch: https://www.theswitchdripping.com
6. Smitty’s Market: http://smittysmarket.com
7. Kreuz Market: https://kreuzmarket.com
8. City Market Luling: http://www.lulingcitymarket.com
9. Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que: https://www.brettsbackyardbarbque.com
10. Louie Mueller BBQ: https://www.louiemuellerbarbecue.com
11.Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden: https://www.bangersaustin.com
12. Panther City BBQ: http://www.panthercitybbq.com
13. Flores Barbecue: https://www.facebook.com/FloresBarbecue
14. Smoke-A-Holics BBQ: https://www.smoke-a-holicsbbq.com
15. Derek Allan’s Texas BBQ: https://derekallansbbq.com
16. Hurtado Barbecue: http://hurtadobbq.com
17. Zavala’s Barbecue: http://www.zavalasbarbecue.com
18. Lillian’s Barbecue: https://www.facebook.com/lilliansbbq
19. Dayne’s Craft Barbecue: https://daynescraftbarbecue.com
20. Goldee’s Barbecue: https://www.facebook.com/goldeesbbq/

Linkdown: 2/1/17

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– Put your barbecue knowledge to the test (I got 80/100)