Southern Sauce Festival

Killer Q (food truck)

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Name: Killer Q (food truck)
Date: 9/19/15
Order: Pork platter with beans and coleslaw
Price: $9

When it came to food options at the Southern Sauce BBQ Festival back in September I could have gone with a sure thing in Boone’s or safer options from Sauceman’s or Moe’s, but ultimately (potentially foolishly?) went with a truck I had never heard of.

I can’t find too much on Killer Q other than a Facebook page but it appears they are a very new food truck in Charlotte with the food truck only becoming operational in early September shortly before the festival. Since then, they’ve added a BQ smoker to their impressive mobile rig.

Whichever of their smokers they used that weekend, they produced some smokey pork with some decent bark. They also managed not to serve dried out pork, quite a feat during service for a day-long festival. If this was one of their first food truck services, they are off to a pretty damn good start. As for the sides, they  were standard and thankfully did not taste as if they came straight out of a can. They do a version of a barbecue sundae which combines all three and while I did not partake on that day, based on the individual foods I imagine it to be quite tasty.

When it comes to barbecue food trucks, all I ask for is quality smoked meat and sides that aren’t an afterthought. Killer Q manages to check both of those boxes, and can be added to the list of above average barbecue food trucks in Charlotte.

–Monk

Ratings:
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hog
Overall – 3 hogs

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Photos: Southern Sauce BBQ Festival – Charlotte, NC

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Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen

A few weeks back on the last weekend of Summer, Charlotte held the Southern Sauce BBQ Festival in the shadows of BB&T Ballpark. The festival was a first time event combining two previous events – Blues, Brews & BBQ and the Charlotte Beerfest. A small-ish affair, it was mostly confined to Romare Bearden Park (where a stage with blues bands competed for a spot in a Memphis blues competition) and the stretch of Mint Street between the park and the minor league ballpark. There were a couple of the old standby barbecue food trucks – Boone’s (with a cool sign giving us a shout out!), Moe’s, Sauceman’s, Smoke & Go – along with some newer trucks I hadn’t seen before. While it would be unfavorable to compare it to the Q City Charlotte Barbecue Championships (which was held roughly on the same weekend the past couple of years but was a much bigger affair), it definitely was a nice way to spend a few hours on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

–Monk

Linkdown: 9/2/15

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– The BBC reports on black pitmasters being left out of the barbecue boom

“National press is infatuated with white, male hipster BBQ,” writes Robb Walsh on the blog First We Feast. “Believe it or not, blacks, Latinos, and women are involved in the barbecue biz too.”

– On a related note, Robert Moss’ list of the 15 most influential people in barbecue history

Here, arranged chronologically, is my list of the 15 most influential figures in American barbecue history. By “influential”, I don’t mean the best cooks or the most successful restaurateurs, necessarily. We’re talking about impact and legacy: the people who helped shape the South’s rich barbecue tradition and create and promote the diverse regional styles we enjoy today. It’s a list that cuts across lines of race and class.

– Moss also has the first part in a series for the “Best of Southern BBQ” Awards

– Just saw that Bill Spoon’s now has a barbecue food truck serving the greater Charlotte area

– La Barbecue – #1 in our recently released Austin rankings –  is moving again in order to stay open during nights for patrons of the neighborhood bars

– The Smoking Ho’s recap of the TMBBQ Behind the Pit Dinner at Snow’s BBQ

– Marie, Let’s Eat! continues his Alabama barbecue travels at Bar-B-Q Hut in Heflin and The Rocket in Jacksonville

– This list is from 2012 but worth a revisit since it has been retweeted in the past week

– The Southern Sauce Festival,  which combines the Q-City Charlotte Barbecue Championship and the Charlotte Beerfest, is one of the 10 things you must do in September, according to Charlotte Five

– From friend of the blog Johnny Fugitt, the most underrated barbecue in St. Louis

– More lists: Yahoo’s 50 best barbecue restaurants in the America by state; gotta say, some headscratchers in this one

– IT’S ALL HAPPENING:

-NPR article on how locals are turning 5-hour long lines at Franklin’s into cold hard cash

– The Daily Meal’s list of America’s 35 Best Ribs 2015 was compiled from 40 different “rib experts” and includes The Pit in Raleigh at #34; Louie Mueller takes the top overall spot (check out Rudy’s recent review here)