Winston-Salem

Linkdown: 4/28/21

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Mr. Barbecue re-opened last month after two years of closure due to a fire, but thankfully owner Jimmy Carros never considered either a) closing or b) not rebuilding the wood-burning smoke pits. To quote him from the Eater story below:

“The thought never really entered my mind,” Carros said.
…
“The flavor that you get from the wood-burning pits is not easily matched,” he explained. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m not sure I can do it.”

As a classic NC barbecue fan and one who enjoyed his visit to Mr. Barbecue a few months before the fire, I heap the highest of praise to Carros for that thinking. And others appreciate it too, as Mr. Barbecue was recently recognized in the Eater’s Carolinas list of best restaurants in Winston-Salem.

Mr. Barbecue is currently open for drive-thru orders only.

Native News

Thank goodness Grady’s made it out of the pandemic; now I just need to get there

In what was (somewhat embarrassingly) one of the oldest barbecue restaurant’s in Charlotte, the Tyvola Rd. outpost of the Sonny’s BBQ chain closes this Friday

K&N BBQ makes Axios Charlotte’s list of best food trucks; and they recommend you try the pork and brisket

Picnic and Bullock’s Bar-B-Cue make Eater’s list for Durham

Adam Richman (of Man vs Food fame) visited Midwood Smokehouse last week

Non-Native News

Black Smoke is now out, and this in except from the book; the story of Marie Jean of Pine Bluff, AR and her role in barbecue history is uncovered

John Tanner’s Barbecue Page has a fascinating story about barbecue and the law in the landmark case of Katzenbach v. McClung and Ollie’s in Birmingham

Robert Sietsema releases his latest barbecue list for NYC for Eater

Sietsema’s also got the deets on where to get a Frito Pie in NYC, including Mable’s Smokehouse in Williamsburg

I’m seeing the house made sausage trend in NC more too

Congrats to Eliana Gutierrez for one year as a pitmaster at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ

Linkdown: 3/17/21

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Featured

Mr. Barbecue has finally re-opened for takeout in Winston-Salem as of this past Monday, nearly 2 years after it closed due to a pit fire. As I wrote in the February 3 linkdown, this is definitely a win for classic, wood-smoked NC barbecue joints. I do have to admit, I was a little worried after they didn’t open by the end of February as they had initially announced but a few weeks delay can be excused. Mr. Barbecue is now open Mondays to Saturdays from 10:30am to 9:30pm.

Native News

Reminder: Jon G’s Barbecue food truck will be at Waxhaw Taphouse today for St. Patty’s Day starting at 5pm

Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham makes this list from Southern Living’s Robert Moss

For Moss’s iconic dish for NC, he selects the humble barbecue tray from the Piedmont region

More coverage of the inaugural Pinehurst Barbecue Festival which will take place on Labor Day Weekend of this year; Chef Joe Lumbrazo of Backyard Bistro restaurant and Ashley Sheppard of the historic Pik N Pig Restaurant in Carthage have joined Ed Mitchell as pitmasters for the event

Barvecue, producers of wood-smoked, plant-based barbecue, has broken ground on the world’s largest plant-based smokehouse in Cornelius; dubbed the “Carolina Smokehouse” the 10,000 square foot facility plans to open in July of 2021

Mac’s Speed Shop and Noble Smoke have two of the best patios in Charlotte

Non-Native News

Evan LeRoy reflects on a year of pandemic barbecue

Rodney Scott’s recipe for leftover barbecue and grits is featured in Parade Magazine

Matt Horn is adding burgers to his budding barbecue empire

Adrian Miller featured in Stanford Magazine as the “bard of “barbecue”

My body is ready:

Linkdown: 2/3/21

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Shortly after my first visit to Mr. Barbecue in Winston-Salem in March of 2019 (which I greatly enjoyed), a spark caught fire in the pit house and nearly burned the entire restaurant down. Last I had heard, it was on track for a May 2020 opening and brick was being laid in the smokehouse but clearly that didn’t happen as scheduled (which can be excused during a pandemic, of course). Thankfully, the silence was not a bad omen as WXII is reporting that Mr. Barbecue will reopen later this month.

This will be one in the win column for classic, wood-fired NC barbecue joints, a sometimes rare occurrence these days. Of course, Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro came back from the dead last year under new ownership and there are a host of new or announced restaurants that are smoking barbecue the old fashioned way (most of which seem to be in the greater Raleigh area). But more often than not, these older joints are closing (see Allen & Son, Bill Spoon’s, Bill Ellis Barbecue, The Original Q Shack, among others). But not today, Satan. Not today.

Now, just cross your fingers and toes until late February…

Native News

Sam Jones BBQ has finally opened in Raleigh and is currently in a “soft open” mode

Lawrence Barbecue is hosting a Mardi Gras Party on February 16

More on Lagoon, the sister “leisure bar” to Lawrence Barbecue

Bill Ellis Barbecue, which closed 2 years ago, is going on the auction block as part of a parcel of land in Wilson

Another delay for The Preserve; the pop-up from Ed and Ryan Mitchell has been pushed back to March 5 from late January

Big Mike’s BBQ is opening a location in downtown Cary after expanding to Apex last year

Make your own Cheerwine barbecue sauce with Cheerwine syrup

Non-Native News

Smokejack in Alpharetta, GA is a “must-visit” according to The BBQ Review

Moe Cason has announced his plans for a barbecue restaurant in Des Moines, IA, and pulls no punches when it comes to other restaurants in the area

How Franklin Barbecue has adapted to barbecue during a pandemic

Linkdown: 3/11/20

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Mr. Barbecue is still on track to reopen in mid to late-May and the block mason started working on the pits as of early last week

Charlotte-based Mac’s Speed Shop names former Del Frisco’s vice president of operations George Shang Skipper as its president with the charge to expand their barbecue business

Duke’s Mayonnaise expands to barbecue sauce

Pik-N-Pig in Carthage is the rare combination of an airport-slash-barbecue joint

Franklin Barbecue Pits is targeting to begin shipping their first units by Memorial Day

Picnic is an essential restaurant in Durham, according to the News & Observer

The 10 best barbecue spots in Richmond according to travel site Trip Savvy

Micklewaith Barbecue’s Smithville location has closed after one year

Details on Carey Bringle’s new barbecue restaurant, called Bringle’s Smoking Oasis, which will focus on barbecue not-native to Tennessee and is eyeing a September opening

The stories behind six Charlotte-area barbecue joints; a re-up from last year from Charlotte Magazine