Link

Pitmaster eyeing Durham for possible BBQ restaurant

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Update on Pitmaster Ed Mitchell, who we last heard from just after the new year. There’s also an update on the Durham location of The Pit, which is expected to open in June or July of this year.

BBQ in Durham: Pitmaster Ed Mitchell, a native of the eastern North Carolina city of Wilson who specializes in pit-cooked, whole-hog barbecue, wants to launch a restaurant in Durham.

Mitchell was a former partner in The Pit, a barbecue restaurant in Raleigh that is part of the Empire Eats restaurants, although he parted ways with the company to pursue his own ventures the spring of 2011.

Now the Raleigh-based developer behind the real estate company Empire Properties and the Empire Eats restaurant group is planning to open a second location of The Pit in Durham, but Mitchell is not part of those plans.

Instead, Mitchell said he’s planning to open his own venture with his son Ryan.

“I’m glad to be relocating in Durham,” Mitchell said. “This is a foodie town, that’s who I am.”

(via)

-Monk

Pitmaster eyeing Durham for possible BBQ restaurant

A love letter to North Carolina’s Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Dear Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge,

It’s been 10 years since I last ate at your fine establishment, but I can still see the teal blue vinyl that covers your booths and chairs. It’s a shade of blue that belongs to a different era, which is appropriate, as so do you. And of course, I can smell the hickory smoke and the sharp jabs of vinegar that accompany every tray that emerges from your kitchen.

From last November, a love letter to a Barbecue Bros favorite. (via)

-Monk

A love letter to North Carolina’s Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge

Facebook status update from Pitmaster Ed Mitchell

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Happy New Year from the Barbecue Bros!

On January 1, Ed Mitchell posted the following on his Facebook page:

2013 is the year for new beginnings. I bid you all a happy and prosperous New Year. A few months from now we look forward to helping you cheat your diet just a little and toss those weight loss resolutions right out the window. All in the name of BBQ deliciousness and good times of course! The Pitmaster and Crew returns…thank you all for the love and support and have a blessed New Year!!

I haven’t seen anything about what I assume will be a restaurant somewhere in NC, but I will be sure to pass along any information I see.

-Monk

Queen City Q Makes Best New Restaurants list for Charlotte

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Queen City Q makes Charlotte Magazine’s Best New Restaurants for 2012, which is no surprise to us since we are big fans of the place. 

The casual eatery is a partnership between veteran restaurateur J. D. Duncan (who also owns Bonterra Dining & Wine Room) and husband-and-wife team Bryan Meredith and Sue Johnston. The trio brought in pitmaster Dan “Boone” Gibson to supervise the smoker. He takes a classic approach: the barbecue here is hand pulled, mixing fatty and lean cuts. The dishes are all based on Gibson’s family recipes, which he hasn’t modified much—and the result is a restaurant that serves up tender, smoky barbecue (unsauced), along with home-style Southern sides such as a peppery green bean casserole (Gibson’s mother’s recipe), thick mac and cheese, collard greens, and three kinds of slaw.

Additionally, the description of the renovated bowling alley 10 Park Lanes also struck me as interesting

Yes, 10 Park Lanes is a restaurant inside a bowling alley. But what it isn’t—and this is a big point of distinction—is a bowling alley restaurant. You won’t find stale nachos and rubbery cheese here.

Instead, the reinvented Park Lanes is a happy mix of fun and comfort food. The space’s new look preserves and enhances the mod style of the original 1960s George Pappas bowling alley (think Mad Men mixed with a touch of futuristic styling à la The Jetsons). The menu has an emphasis on barbecue, including St. Louis–style ribs, chicken, pulled Boston butt, smoked sausages, and brisket-style prime rib. Tender and unsauced, it’s all ready to be drenched (or dotted) with the restaurant’s house-made barbecue sauces, including sweet and tangy Double Honeycomb, vinegary Piedmont Blond, smoky and spicy Coffee Jalapeno, and the mustard-based Chipotle Apricot.

I wasn’t aware of its barbecue focus, so Speedy and I will have to huddle and see if this could be blog-worthy.

Speedy edit: I’ve had the smoke sausage before and was pretty impressed. The menu has lots of stuff in addition to ‘cue, but it’s probably worth further inspection.

Queen City Q Makes Best New Restaurants list for Charlotte