We’re going to take off the rest of the year (on the blog at least; please follow us on Instagram if you don’t yet) and will be back in 2020 with more great new content. Happy Holidays!
See you in 2020!
Friday Find: Jim Noble Q&A from Cheshire Pork
In the video above, we also get to meet head pitmaster of Noble Smoke, Kelly O’Bryan. He’s a new face (for me at least) for Noble Smoke that I haven’t gotten a chance to meet yet but I hope to soon.
In addition to the video above, a separate Q&A with Noble is at the following link, which contains a tidbit about Noble Smoke starting to use skin-on pork butts from Cheshire Pork because “[t]he skin helps retain moisture and the size of them allows us to provide an even, smoky flavor.”
Description: We’re pretty excited about this Q&A blog post with none-other than Jim Noble of Noble Smoke in Charlotte, NC. Noble Smoke proudly serves #CheshirePork and as their Head Pitmaster, Kelly O’Bryan, says in the video below, “Cheshire Pork is the Rolls Royce of pork.“ Check out the video our team captured of what distinguishes Noble Smoke from other barbecue restaurants in the South East and then read about Jim’s barbecue style and why he chooses Cheshire Pork in the Q&A below.
Linkdown: 12/11/19
Monk: In a truly tragic and senseless act of violence, Scott Brooks, co-owner of Brooks Sandwich House in Charlotte, was killed early morning on Monday, 12/9 while he was opening the store for the day. In addition to being a thoroughly family-run restaurant (along with his twin brother David as well his niece Lauren), Brooks Sandwich House (opened in 1973 by his father C.T.) is an institution in Charlotte, a city of relatively few food institutions. While they are the place to find arguably the best burger in Charlotte, Scott along with his twin brother David should also be applauded for donating family land the city of Charlotte to help with its affordable housing crisis. Scott will truly be missed, and my thoughts are with the Brooks family.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the family’s funeral expenses if you are so inclined; read the sweet words from his niece who also worked at the store below
Charlotte-based food writer Kathleen Purvis with a profound piece on the loss of Scott and what it means for Charlotte
Kathleen also attended the candlelight vigil Tuesday night in the rain
Along with hundreds more
Charlotte Five remembered Scott by revisiting their post from a series on siblings in Charlotte food from earlier this year
Other Charlotte folks weighed in as well
City Council member Braxton Winston spent time in Monday night’s meeting mourning the loss of Brooks but was unfortunately rudely interrupted by fellow councilman Ed Driggs
The Southern Foodway Alliance mourned the loss of Scott with the reposting of their short film profiling the restaurant, which is definitely worth a view
Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro – Lexington, NC
Name: Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro
Location: 4524 NC-150, Lexington, NC 27295
Order: Regular chopped tray with “extra brown” and red slaw (link to menu)
Pricing: $
While my first two stops on the “Highway 150 Barbecue Corridor” were a bit mixed, my last stop unfortunately ended the mini-tour on a down note. I recall that Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro was at some point on the NC Historic BBQ Trail (which is how I became aware that there was another joint named Stamey’s) but that is no longer the case. Unfortunately, the Stamey’s in Tyro doesn’t compare in the least to the Stamey’s in Greensboro.
As a quick aside, while longtime owner Dan Stamey has been involved in a lawsuit due to similar naming, it apparently hasn’t been because of the Greensboro restaurant. In 1992, one of Dan’s other restaurants was Stamey’s Hog Rock Cafe and featured “pig-faced likenesses of Elvis, Tina Turner and The Rolling Stones” on the wall. Apparently, the name was too similar for the Hard Rock Cafe’s liking, and they sued owner Dan Stamey and forced him to change the name of the restaurant which resulted in a cost of $10,000. It was then changed to “Hog City.”
As for the barbecue, it was my least favorite of the afternoon. The extra brown on the barbecue was rather chewy and the barbecue was heavy on the dip. Curiously, no ramekin of dip was provided (the only one of the three that didn’t provide), but I wouldn’t have used it anyway.
Similarly, the hush puppies were not as successful as the previous two restaurants. I will note that this was the third different shape of hush puppy that day, with small orbs compared with the long cylinders of Arcadia Q and the more typical hush puppy shape at Tarheel Q.
One thing I’ve neglected on the past few reviews is the history and intertwining of these restaurants with other Lexington barbecue restaurants. This is worth pausing on for a bit. Dan Stamey’s father was Herman “Smiley” Stamey and the original owner of Smiley’s Barbecue on Highway 8 (which unfortunately will soon be closed due to highway expansion). The father of Roger Lohr, the former owner of Speedy Lohr’s BBQ of Arcadia (now Arcadia Q), was Herman “Speedy” Lohr and trained under the legendary Warner Stamey at Stamey’s Drive-In in Lexington and Old Hickory Barbecue, also in Lexington. Speaking of Warner Stamey, there is no direct relation between him and Smiley and Dan Stamey, but there is a belief that they are distant relatives.
Stamey’s BBQ of Tyro has been in business since 1973 and was not thought to last very long in that small unincorporated area west of Lexington which for a while didn’t even have a stoplight. While I wasn’t the biggest fan that day, they have served their community for over 46 years and it doesn’t seem like that will stop anytime soon.
Final Highway 150 Barbecue Corridor Rankings
Barbecue
1 – Tarheel Q
2 – Arcadia Q
3 – Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro
Hush Puppies
1 – Arcadia Q
2 – Tarheel Q
3 – Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs
