A week full of all NC barbecue content starts today!
Original Content
Happy 2nd Birthday, Barbecue Bros!
It all started with a discussion between Speedy and Monk about Charlotte’s best barbecue on our way to what was then the #1 joint in the city according to Yelp, Bobbee-O’s. That then led to this tweet:
And then our buddy Rudy, who lives in Austin, offered to be our beef correspondent:
And then it didn’t take too long to come up with the name:
All this happened in less than an hour, and then had our first review up later that afternoon and then shortly thereafter decided on our ‘noms de blog’ (Monk, Speedy, and Rudy) and two years later here we are, 67 reviews later and counting. Here’s to at least 67 reviews more.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you don’t already. Finally, feel free to leave any birthday well wishes in the comments. Thanks for your support!
-Monk, Speedy, and Rudy
Charlotte Barbecue Joint Big Board – May 2014
Big shakeup at the number one spot in our Charlotte leader board. We’ve added 5 reviews to the Charlotte rankings since December and Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen, a food truck run by a Dan “Boone” Gibson, who helped create the original Mac’s Speed Shop and Queen City Q, takes the top spot with it’s moist, tender, smokey barbecue with a perfect bark. It’s high quality brisket and sausage only help to solidify it’s ranking. Speedy and I will be revisiting Midwood Smokehouse soon for a proper re-review, and it will be interesting to see just how it stacks up on its second official review. The next best hope to challenge the top spot is Kyle Fletcher’s in Gastonia, which we have yet to review despite it winning the Charlotte Observer Barbecue Bracket in spring 2013.
What other Charlotte area joints should we check out? Feel free to weigh in on your favorite in the comments and if you present a strong enough case we will try to head there next.
-Monk
- Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen (food truck) new
- Midwood Smokehouse
- Queen City Q
- Sauceman’s
- Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
- Old Hickory House
- Elwood’s Barbecue & Burger Bar new
- Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q (Concord) new
- Smoke & Go Bar-B-Que (food truck)
- Mac’s Speed Shop
- R&R Bar-B-Que new
- Lancaster’s BBQ new
- Rock Store Bar-B-Q
- Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que
- McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon
- Rock Store Bar-B-Q (Mint Hill)
- Bobbee-O’s BBQ
- Farmer’s BBQ
- Bubba’s Barbecue
- JJR’s BBQ Shack
- City Smoke
- OooWee BBQ (food truck)
Still to review: Kyle Fletcher’s, Bar-B-Q King, Dan the Pig Man (food truck), Q2U, Fort Mill BBQ Co, R.O.’s Bar-B-Que
Previous Big Boards: December 2013, July 2013
Barbecue on Netflix Streaming
By no means is this an exhaustive list but here are the barbecue shows and episodes that I’ve found so far on Netflix streaming.
What else have I missed? Feel free to comment below if there are other selections on Netflix and I will update this post.
-Monk
Mind of a Chef S1E15 – “Smoke” (23 mins)
This series’ first season follows chef David Chang and his culinary experiences around the globe. This particular episode deals with the idea of “smoke” and in addition to short segments on barbecue styles, this episode includes ones on Allen Benton’s bacon, as well as a visit by David Chang and Sean Brock to the Louisville Slugger factory to get personalized bats made.
The North Carolina barbecue segment visited Raleigh’s The Pit back when pit master Ed Mitchell was still there and showcases whole hog barbecue. The Texas segment interviews Joe Capello, the pitmaster from City Market in Luling while in Kansas City they talk with the Doug Worgul, the marketing director of Oklahoma Joe’s. Pretty basic stuff, but well produced by ZPZ Productions (who works with Anthony Bourdain).
There is a later episode where Charleston Chef Sean Brock cooks a whole hog with Rodney Scott in South Carolina’s lowcountry that was previously available online, but unfortunately it is not on Netflix. (Update: As of 8/6/14, season 2 is now on Netflix.)
Best Food Ever S1E5 – “Buzzworthy BBQ” (42 mins)
Narrated by John Goodman, this episode counts down the 10 most “buzzworthy” barbecue joints in the US (whatever that means), although the list itself is a bit questionable. Most joints featured aren’t the traditional southern ones you might think of and they seem to want to feature joints with unique dishes like smoked salmon from a place in Washington state and BBQ nachos from a joint in Memphis. At most there are 2 legit joints on the overall list, and I suspect that the other ones each may have had a good publicist.
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown S1E4 – “Libya” (42 mins)
While there would be several better episodes from Bourdain’s previous show No Reservations, unfortunately that series is not currently available on Netflix streaming. This episode doesn’t deal directly with barbecue but ends with a poignant scene on a beach on Libya’s coast with the following voiceover quote from Bourdain:
“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”
BBQ Pitmasters – 3 seasons (42 mins)
This is clearly the most well known barbecue reality/competition show and has gone through a couple of different formats. It’s first season was filmed documentary style, following several competitors over the course of a barbecue competition season at various events. Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone were two of the competitors followed during the course of this format and would go on to be full-time judges starting in season 3 (as well as 4, which is not available). The less said about season 2 the better. I’ve tried to watch it but can’t get through a single episode.