The Smoke Sheet

Charlotte Barbecue News from the Second Quarter of 2022

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Monk: The biggest barbecue news in Charlotte from April to June was surely the inaugural edition of the Carolina BBQ Festival held in late May. You can revisit my recap of the memorable day here:

The festival sold out of all tickets for this year’s edition and Lewis Donald has some big plans for next year. More news on that front should be coming in the next few days or weeks according to a recent Instagram post. Follow them on Instagram to find out as soon as its posted.

The rest of the Charlotte barbecue news from the past 3 months:

April

4/4 In news you don’t like to see, Noble Smoke and a neighboring business The Good Life got involved in a parking dispute

4/5 The owners of Seoul Food Meat Co open a fast casual wing-focused restaurant in South Park

4/25 Axios Charlotte names The Smoke Pit as one of the recommended places to eat when in Concord just north of Charlotte

May

5/10 The inaugural Carolina BBQ Festival officially sells out weeks ahead of its debut

5/24 The Carolina BBQ Festival in photos

5/25 Sweet Lew’s BBQ makes this list from Thrillist on the “57 American barbecue joints to visit right now”

June

6/1 We collaborate with our friends at The Smoke Sheet to recap the Carolina BBQ Festival

6/3 The fan favorite G’s Burger is taken off the Jon G’s Barbecue menu for a “short hiatus”

6/5 Midwood Smokehouse and Jon G’s Barbecue are two of the 13 barbecue restaurants included in Cheerwine’s Carolina ‘Cue Tour

6/5 Not to be outdone, Gaston County launches a barbecue trail of their own. The Gaston County Cue Trail has 7 barbecue restaurants on the list, the oldest of which even opened back in 1946

6/25 Sweet Lew’s BBQ collaborates with Chef Corey Siegel on a sandwich pop-up

6/26 Jon G’s Barbecue headed to Charleston for a pop-up with Palmira BBQ at Hobcaw Brewing

6/30 The Charlotte Observer posts their latest list of Charlotte-area barbecue joints; some good, some not so good on the list but that’s a reflection of Charlotte barbecue more than anything else.

Linkdown: 4/6/22

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Featured

Going into Monday night’s NCAA Championship game, Governor Roy Cooper made a bet with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly as governors tend to do in these types of situations. The wager? Kansas City steaks vs Wilber’s BBQ. You may be aware that UNC lost to Kansas 69 to 72 after leading by 15 at the half, surrendering the largest lead in NCAA championship game history. You absolutely hate to see it.

John Tanner blames UNC’s NCAA Championship loss Monday night on said barbecue bet. Wilber’s gave Kansas players too much motivation!

Meanwhile, a few days earlier, the Duke-UNC Final Four matchup on Saturday night inspired a barbecue bet of its own between Durham County and Orange County sheriffs. No word or photos have surfaced yet of Durham County sheriffs ordering barbecue in UNC gear, but I look forward to that update.

Native News

The latest from the parking lot dispute between Noble Smoke and The Good Life

Sweet Old Bill’s and Biscuit Brisket & Beer are food options when visiting High Point

Seoul Food Meat Co has opened a fast casual Korean wing concept in SouthPark: Bit by Seoul

Non-Native News

Tales from the Pits gives the lowdown on the “rib cut” from Hite’s BBQ in West Columbia

Last week’s Smoke Sheet featured a story from Bryan Suddith on whole hog and Rodney Scott’s BBQ

The State Line Celebration at Carowinds will run on select dates April 9-May 8 and will feature both NC and SC barbecue

Duke’s Barbecue of Beaufort is one of four options to get barbecue in Beaufort County, SC

Houston’s newest barbecue restaurant J-Bar-M BBQ impresses

Ever wonder why barbecue joints are covered in stickers?

Friday Find: “Gatlin’s BBQ is Building a Legacy as one of Houston’s Best BBQ Joints”

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Monk: “BBQ Brawl” season 2 winner Erica Blaire Roby has joined forces with The Smoke Sheet newsletter on her web series “The Pit Stop with Blue Smoke Blaire.” In this episode she is in Houston speaking with business partners Greg Gatlin and Michele Wallace of the renowned barbecue restaurant Gatlin’s BBQ. She gets their backstory on how they each stumbled into the restaurant business after starting off in the corporate world.

On a side note, its good to see our friends at The Smoke Sheet getting more and more into the video game. Check out the rest of their videos at their YouTube Channel and subscribe here.

Description: Pitmaster Erica Blaire Roby (otherwise known as Blue Smoke Blaire) was recently crowned Master of Cue on Season 2 of the Food Network show BBQ Brawl. In this episode of her new web series The Pit Stop with Blue Smoke Blaire, she visits with Greg Gatlin and Michelle Wallace of Gatlin’s BBQ, one of Houston’s most highly-acclaimed BBQ joints. They discuss their journey from the corporate world into the world of BBQ and how they are building a lasting legacy in their community.

Linkdown: 11/24/21

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Native News

The history behind hush puppies, which I will never refer to “red horse bread”

Not so fast, my friend: After announcing that its Lake Norman location was going to close, Mac’s Speed Shop announced plans for the restaurant to stay open as a smaller location after an outpouring of love from the community

John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog expands his list of good local places off I-95 from Virginia to Key West

In total copycat fashion, Eater comes out with their own list

Non-Native News

The Smoke Sheet checks out the DFW barbecue scene in person

John Tanner checks out Meat BBQ in Lansing, Michigan while crossing that state off his list

Franklin Barbecue finally reopened for in-person dining yesterday

Austin barbecue food truck Distant Relatives is one of the 11 best new restaurants in the country, according to Eater

Grilling szn is here, writes J.C. Reid

The Troubadour Festival looked pretty sweet

So did Holy Smokes…