Linkdown

Linkdown: 3/17/21

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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: 3/10/21

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This week marks the one year anniversary of the lockdown due to COVID-19. However, with the light at the end of the tunnel seemingly in sight (don’t let up now, though!), it’s fun to start thinking about all the things we used to take for granted that we will once again soon be able to do. Things like concerts, having a beer at the bar, lazily perusing the used section at a record store, and perhaps most pertinent, having huge parties centered around smoking and/or grilling.

In this article from Munchies, the author fantasizes about days to come and gives recommendations for smoking and grilling accessories to stock up in advance. He gets a quote from Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly (whom he mistakenly refers to as David) about how he plans to smoke a whole hog on cinderblocks in his backyard once its safe to do so and I couldn’t be more in. I have been itching to do it again after my first successful attempt Father’s Day 2019 and I’m now officially in planning mode for that to-be-determined day.

So let it be known: whole hog party at the Monk residence this Fall. Mark it down.

Native News

More coverage of The Preserve’s delivery service which began last Friday

…Though it looks like they have a few kinks to work out; as I wrote last week, let’s hope they do

Dank Burrito owner Chef Clarke Merrell has opened Social Q Smokehouse in Morehead City, a restaurant “years in the making”

Sweet Lew’s Barbeque and Midwood Smokehouse make the Eater list for Charlotte

Non-Native News

*Raises hand*

More coverage of Rodney Scott’s and Adrian Miller’s upcoming books

https://twitter.com/soulphoodie/status/1369086042062663683

The BBQ Review visits Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston

And now, for dessert

Did someone say “drive thru banana pudding?”

Linkdown: 3/3/21

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Ed Mitchell is back in the barbecue game as of this Friday, albeit not quite in the way that we’ve been waiting more than a year for. With the opening date of The Preserve up in the air, Ed and team have opted to open a “delivery only ghost kitchen” (previously referred to as a “pop up”) starting this Friday, March 5. Which is, of course, over a month after their original date to open this part of their business on January 22.

Let’s hope this goes smoothly because in a since-deleted reply The Preserve’s official Facebook account stated that they were not going to open until next year “after things cooled down” (I’m paraphrasing here). If that’s the case, then that is the latest setback in a series of setbacks for Mitchell whose original Raleigh restaurant in the Brier Creek area never came to fruition in the years since his Durham restaurant shuttered in 2015. I am rooting that their delivery business goes well, but would feel a lot better if they were still charging forward with opening a restaurant this year. Nevertheless, I hope Raleigh folks will support The Preserve in earnest starting this weekend.

Native News

Buxton Hall makes Eater Carolina’s list of best restaurants in Asheville

ICYMI

Non-Native News

J.C. Reid on barbecue-adjacent stews (paywall)

La Barbecue has collaborated with Zilker Brewing Co for a pilsner perfect for pairing with smoked meats

AGL’s Craft Meats is hoping to be the first to use traditional open-air smokers in LA County

Orlando Magazine has a feature on barbecue in their March 2021 issue

Linkdown: 2/24/21

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After a few weeks in soft open mode, Sam Jones BBQ’s downtown Raleigh location has finally opened; the latest opening towards Raleigh staking its claim as a modern barbecue capital. Next up in some order is Ed Mitchell’s The Preserve, Wyatt’s Barbecue (from the team behind Picnic in Durham), Lawrence Barbecue, and Longleaf Swine. More coverage on Sam Jones BBQ can be found in this article from industry trade publication QSR Magazine.

In the next few months, a visit to Raleigh will certainly be called for, as our Capital brethren continue to beat out the Queen City in barbecue openings. Step up your game, Charlotte!

Native News

Robert Moss explores the origin stories of 5 southern sauces, including Scott’s Barbecue Sauce from Goldsboro which is available across the US thanks to its distribution via Wal-Mart

Moss went into even more detail in his weekly Cue Sheet newsletter

Jon G’s has your St. Patty’s Day dinner plans solved as they will be slinging cue from their food truck at Waxhaw Taphouse

Non-Native News

Sad news out of Memphis’s Rendezvous

“Black Smoke” author Adrian Miller will be on an online Zoom interview this Friday (2/26) with Delaware Libraries that is free to the public

La Barbecue is moving, and will have a lot more space to work with at their new location

Goldee’s Barbecue in Forth Worth gets some love from the Dallas Morning News

RIP to a Kansas City barbecue legend, L.C. Richardson

Robert Sietsema’s top pastrami in NYC may surprise you, as it comes from a barbecue joint and beats out the world famous Katz’s Deli

Just gonna leave this here