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The Five Best Barbecue Joints in Nashville – December 2020

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Speedy: When you think barbecue in Tennessee, your mind naturally goes to Memphis. While that city has a much richer barbecue history, Nashville is no slouch. After living in Music City for 3 years, I felt like it was time to put together the Nashville top 5. So, without further adieu, here are my top 5 favorite ‘cue joints to visit in Nashville:

5. Shotgun Willie’s (review)

New to the Nashville scene, Shotgun Willie’s is a Texas style joint that does everything well, but didn’t blow me away with anything in particular. Still, a very solid meal in a place where good brisket is hard to come by.  4000 Gallatin Pike Suite B, Nashville, TN 37216 sgwbbq.com

4. Peg Leg Porker (review)

One of the more well known Nashville spots, owner Carey Bringle is known on both the competition and television circuit. For my money, these are the best ribs in town. 903 Gleaves St, Nashville, TN 37203 peglegporker.com

3. Jack’s Bar-B-Que (review)

The true Nashville OG, no get no frills when you visit Jack’s, but you do get a damn good barbecue meal. This North Carolina boy considers this to be the best pork in town. Multiple locations jacksbarbque.com

2. Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint (review)

A year ago, I would’ve pegged Martin’s number one for sure, but as they’ve expanded, I’ve noted some inconsistency. Still, all the meats are good to great, the sides are top notch, and the atmosphere (especially at the downtown location) can’t be beat. A must visit in Nashville. Multiple locations martinsbbqjoint.com

1. The Oak Texas BBQ (review)

I had my first experience with The Oak earlier this year, and have made a point to find their tasty food truck two more times. Each meat I’ve had has been extremely good, including the best brisket I’ve had in Tennessee. Trust me when I say this is one food truck that’s worth seeking out. Food truck facebook.com/theoaktxbbq

Barbecue Bros Book Club: “Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South” by John T. Edge

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Not that we’re anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books.

Monk: John T. Edge’s book “Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South” is the latest in a series of similar-but-unrelated books I’ve read recently that fall into a similar bucket. That is, short profiles on classic restaurants – be they southern, soul food, barbecue joint or otherwise. What ultimately sets “Southern Belly” apart is that it covers the entire south state-by-state from East Texas to Virginia as well as the writing of John T. Edge. Man, that guy knows how turn a phrase.

Any posts or stories about John T. Edge should acknowledge the recent accusations of him. A New York Times story from the summer called him the “white gatekeeper of southern food” and noted the numerous calls from current and former staff members and contributors for him to step down as director of the Southern Foodways Alliance after 20 years in favor of a person of color. What a 12-person audit conducted over the summer ultimately led to was Edge keeping his position for the time being but promising “to make immediate improvements and launch a long-term strategic review of the nonprofit group to diversify a predominantly White staff and leadership tasked with the study of a food culture created largely by enslaved people.” Critics of the audit outcome note the lack of specificity when it comes to a plan or even a timeline for Edge’s departure. Worth following for sure if and when more specifics are announced.

In a year when the James Beard Awards was cancelled allegedly due to no black winners, it seems as if 2020 is the year of chickens coming home to roost for the historically white food institutions.

Ultimately, I decided to still read “Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South” in light of all of the recent accusations regarding John T. Edge. It’s still a worthy read and can point you to some great restaurants (at least those that are still around since the original 2007 publish date). Take that for what you will, but if you do check it out, be sure to read with eyes open.

Barbecue Bros Book Club: “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries” by D.G. Martin

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Not that we’re anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books.

Monk: For whatever reason, several of the books I’ve been checking out during quarantine are of a similar ilk. That is, books compiling profiles of different classic eateries – some North Carolina and some not, some barbecue and some not – accompanied by personal anecdotes from the author. These books can serve as guidebooks for older places that should be celebrated and visited and are usually pretty quick and interesting reads.

Which leads me to “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries: A Traveler’s Guide to Local Restaurants, Diners, and Barbecue Joints” by North Carolina author D.G. Martin. During his travels as a lawyer and politician, he had the good fortune to visit many a classic restaurant across the state of North Carolina. Originally published in 2016, an update has been put on hold due to the coronavirus calling into questions the status of many of the restaurants featured in the book. Regardless, its still a good document of the times even if it grows more and more outdated by the day.

Smartly, Martin organizes his chapters by the interstate highways that crisscross North Carolina (i.e. Interstates 26, 40, 85, 77, etc.). From there, he profiles restaurants that are easy stops off the highway and that he has personally visited, oftentimes name dropping politicians and friends along the way.

Of the 120 or so restaurants profiled, roughly 50 are barbecue joints. Predictably the chapter on Interstate 85 is heavy on barbecue, followed by 40 and 95. The usual suspects are there, but Martin covers the undercelebrated ones such as Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham, Hursey’s Bar-B-Q in Alamance County, the recently shuttered Hill’s Lexington Barbecue in Winston-Salem, and Fuller’s Old Fashion Bar-B-Q in Lumberton and Fayetteville.

After this book from D.G. Martin and similar ones from Bob Garner, the Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason, and John T. Edge (in a future book club entry), I am looking forward to a different perspective from “Soul Food Scholar” Adrian Miller in his forthcoming book “Black Smoke.” That book will focus on the contributions of black pitmasters and is scheduled to come out next year from UNC Press, the same publisher as this book. Regardless, “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries” is worth checking out and even sticking in your glovebox for future roadtrips.

Charlotte Barbecue News from the Third Quarter of 2020

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Monk: The biggest news was of course the closing of Bill Spoon’s Barbecue in late September, which I wrote a little bit about in our 9/16 Linkdown. Afterwards, the news came out that it wasn’t only the pandemic that killed them off – it had been some time coming due to an aging customer base and Spoon’s inability to attract new, younger customers that may have wanted a more full service barbecue experience. Until the end, they thought of themselves as a “traditional barbecue house” which means they only accepted cash and didn’t serve beer or wine. And they were ok with that, even if that ultimately wasn’t what Charlotte wanted. Rest in peace, Bill Spoon’s Barbecue.

July

7/6 Sweet Lew’s BBQ announces adjusted hours of operation, now Wednesday through Sunday, removing Tuesday

7/24 Sweet Lew’s Barbecue introduces an updated menu with hash now on the menu full time and house made sausage that was helped develop with advice from Garren of Jon G’s Barbecue

7/25 Noble Smoke celebrated one year of being open with an all-day party

August

8/20 Bargarita, a “new restaurant serving margaritas and BBQ tacos” opens in the former Solstice Tavern location in NoDa. No word on where or how they smoke their brisket or pork for tacos.

8/28 The Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue, “The Grandaddy of North Carolina Barbecues,” was officially cancelled for the first time in 90 years

8/31 Big Tiny’s BBQ in Mooresville celebrated four years of being open; Pitmaster John also celebrated a birthday

September

9/1 Noble Smoke introduces Taco Tuesdays

9/8 Seoul Food Meat Co will open a second location in the Optimist Park neighborhood (not NoDa as noted in their post) as part of an adaptive-reuse project called Lintmen’s

9/16 Bill Spoon’s Barbecue closed after 57 years in business

9/20 Sweet Lew’s Barbeque begins smoking whole hogs on Sundays, the only Charlotte-area restaurant smoking whole hogs as far as I am aware of

9/28 We interviewed Garren and Kelly of Jon G’s Barbecue about what it’s like to open a barbecue restaurant in the middle of the pandemic