Linkdown: 3/8/23 – The “Cooking with Gas” Edition

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Monk: Southern Living readers pick their favorite barbecue in each state in the South for the annual “Best in the South” issue. While Robert Moss provides a foreword, please remember that this is a reader chosen list and not his South’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints list. So address your ire at the masses and not Moss’ inbox.

Moss does note that half of the 14 are repeat, with the other half being new to the list. For North Carolina, the reader’s pick this year was Lexington Barbecue but it was not a repeat winner as last year’s choice was Buxton Hall Barbecue.

Check out the Southern Living reader’s pick at the link below.

Native News

Steve and Gerri Grady get profiled in the local paper, the Mount Olive Tribune

Eat Raleigh checks in at Longleaf Swine and they are also a fan

Congrats to Black Powder Smokehouse on their Asheboro location, their second store

Midwood Smokehouse is doing pork versions of birria tacos

Tickets are now on sale for the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival taking place Labor Day weekend

Non-Native News

Hector Garate of Palmira BBQ is headed to Austin later this month for a collaboration with Interstellar BBQ

Sweatman’s Barbecue in Holly Hill has made the switch to gas

Howard Conyers is hosting The Roots of BBQ Invitational Memorial Day weekend in Paxville, SC (ticket link)

NYC BBQ checks out the relocated Pig Beach in Queens and found that “the quality has not declined a bit even with the big changes the past few months”

Memphis in May will be back at Tom Lee Park for this year’s event

Linkdown: 3/1/23 – The “Cracker Barrel of Barbecue” Edition

Monk: Dave Grohl has popped up once again in barbecue, this time cooking “ribs, brisket, cabbage, coleslaw, and beans” for a LA homeless shelter. He spent a whopping 16 hours cooking and serving and paid for all of the food himself according to this article from Uproxx. Grohl’s love of barbecue is well-documented but he had been somewhat quiet on the barbecue front the past few years.

The CFO of the Hope of the Valley homeless shelter Rowan Vansleve posted a photo of Grohl preparing food in the rain and wrote, “In the middle of the storms this week. This is Dave Grohl cooking over 500 servings of the best barbecue for those living in our shelters. That’s class.”

We don’t deserve Dave Grohl.

Native News

John Tanner stops by Skylight Inn for the first time in a while and while some things may have changed, the important things have not

Robert Moss likes what he tasted from the chopped pork trailer at Jon G’s Barbecue; best of all, no line

Lawrence Barbecue and Jon G’s Barbecue are collaborating with N. Sea Oyster Co on an oysters and barbecue party for St. Patty’s Day

Black Powder Smokehouse‘s Asheboro location is now opening next week on March 7

Not sure if being known as the “Cracker Barrel” of barbecue is a good thing, tbh but Mike D’s BBQ is coming to Easter Durham

Let’s hope Jimmy’s Smoke House, in the restaurant space formerly occupied by Cafe 71 Smokehouse and Rick’s Smokehouse, sticks around for awhile

Linkdown: 9/28/22 – The Old School Icons and Impressive Newcomers Edition

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Monk: For the first time in 3 years, Contributing barbecue editor Robert F. Moss presents his list of the South’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints. And of course, a lot has changed. There’s the little matter of the global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the restaurant business for the past 2.5 years and has probably accelerated some restaurant closings that might have been able to hang on a little longer. But notably, the only closure from the 2019 version of the list is Bryan Furman’s B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque in Atlanta and Savannah. Fear not, as Bryan Furman BBQ is in the works.

As expected, there’s also a decidedly Texas bent to the list which reflects the national trend. Even in proud barbecue states like North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia is represented by Texas-style joints.

Note that this differs from the annual “South’s Best” Reader’s list published in the spring.

By the Numbers:

  • Texas: 15
  • South Carolina: 9
  • North Carolina: 8
  • Tennessee: 6
  • Alabama: 3
  • Georgia: 3
  • Missouri: 2
  • Arkansas: 1
  • Florida: 1
  • Kentucky: 1
  • Maryland: 1

Not surprisingly, Texas tops the list with 15 entries. Texas barbecue is rapidly becoming the national barbecue style and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. This lost provides a good roadmap of places I still need to try, such as Valentina’s, Burnt Bean, Blood Bros, Tejas among many others.

South Carolina takes second with 9 joints and while Moss is a SC-based writer, I’m a little surprised its so well represented on the list. However, I am especially happy to see Palmira BBQ in Charleston make the list.

North Carolina takes home the bronze with 8 joints including newer-school joints like Prime Barbecue and Sam Jones Barbecue alongside classics like Skylight Inn, Stamey’s, Lexington #1, and Grady’s.

Locally, no Charlotte-area joints make the list and in particular I’m surprised that Jon G’s Barbecue is not on the list. Not only because I’m such a fan but also because Moss wrote so glowingly about it after his visit. The same could be said for Lawrence Barbecue, for that matter. If I had to guess, it probably came down to Jon G’s, Lawrence, Palmira, and Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, NC for two spots on the list.

Barbecue lists are inherently controversial but with Robert Moss you know he’s at least doing the leg work and traveling to each of these joints in his list. Some slight SC-bias aside, it’s a very solid list.

What are your thoughts? What joints did Moss not included? How many of the list have you been to? I’ve been to a respectable-but-still-lacking 18 of the 50.

Linkdown: 7/27/22

Native News

Phar Mill Brewing and BBQ in Harrisburg has an opening date for their downtown Concord location

Pitmaster Stuart Henderson from Noble Smoke captured in action

Lawyer Duane Bryant has opened DK Bones Barbeque in High Point in the middle of a food dessert

Lechon Latin BBQ makes Eater Carolinas’ latest Heatmap

Spectrum 1 checks in on Barvecue

Non-Native News

King BBQ from the owners of Jackrabbit Filly will offer “Chinese-style barbecue with a heavy influence of North Carolina”

World of Flavor with Big Moe Cason premiered on National Geographic this past Monday and the first episode takes place in Charleston and features visits to Rodney Scott’s BBQ and Lewis Barbecue as well as Moe cooking at last year’s Holy Smokes BBQ Festival

Congrats to Palmira BBQ on one year

Robert Moss reviews Palmira BBQ for the Charleston Post and Courier

Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue, which smokes eastern NC whole hog, is featured in this feature on Minnesota barbecue from Texas Monthly

Adrian Miller checks in on Jones BBQ for what is likely the last time in the Jones sisters era

BBQuest is coming back for a third season

Congrats to Panther City BBQ on their recent Guinness World Record