Linkdown: 10/26/21

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Not to be outdone by the recent introduction of the BBQ Bowl between Campbell College and Gardner-Webb University in NC, The Battle of the Bones rivalry between Memphis and UAB and the spectacular ribs trophy you see below is coming back!

As a result of the latest rounds of conference alignment, the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) will be joining the University of Memphis in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) as a part of a massive expansion with 5 other schools that will expand the conference to 14 teams. Of course, this is just the latest domino to fall after Texas and Oklahoma announced its move to the SEC which led to Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston leaving the AAC to join the Big 12.

Regardless of all that, clearly the main takeaway here is that The Battle for the Bones is back, baby! Or kind of…there might be a chance that the original trophy (which reportedly weighs almost a 100 pounds) is lost somehow? That appears to be the rumor according to some tweets I’ve seen on the internet. Surely the internet wouldn’t lead me astray, would it?

Regardless, let’s either find that ribs trophy or create a near-facsimile and get this rivalry back on track. AAC fever, baby!

Native News

A lucky reporter is going to get to experience some Peachland Saturdays at Jon G’s

While Pik N Pig rebuilds its restaurant in Carthage damaged by fire, they were at the NC State Fair in Raleigh serving barbecue out of their log cabin booth as they have done since 2006

Potential new NC flag?

Non-Native News

Must read thread from Evan LeRoy in the wake of being named #5 in Texas Monthly’s Top 50

Bobby’s BBQ in Fountain Inn, SC celebrated 3 years open last weekend

Denver-based Smōk recently opened its 3rd location (and first outside of Denver) in Fort Collins, CO

Rusty’s Bar-B-Q in Leeds, AL was recently revisited by John Tanner

Pig Beach has opened a Queens location in Astoria

Williamson’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood – Chadbourn, NC

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Name: Williamson’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood
Date: 9/26/21
Address: 1011 N Brown St, Chadbourn, NC 28431
Order: From the buffet: pork, hush puppies, cole slaw, mac and cheese, banana pudding (link to menu)
Pricing: $

Monk: Heading back from the beach on a Sunday, there’s usually just a few options for barbecue. Williamson’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood in Chadbourn is one of them, and a buffet at that. A barbecue buffet (usually including seafood) is a phenomenon I’ve encountered almost exclusively in the sandhills of eastern North Carolina, and I’ve previously checked out Fuller’s in Lumberton (now closed) and Pembroke.

Williamson’s is a small roadside shack off state road 410 near Highway 76 in Chadbourn that has both a dining room and a drive through. If you are dining in, you pay for you buffet at the cash register before grabbing your plate and going through the buffet line with options ranging from barbecue to various fried fish options.

I stuck with typical barbecue fare with their eastern style pork, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and hush puppies. Nothing wowed me but all were solid except for the hush puppies, which were fantastic.

I went back to the dessert bar before I left and grabbed some of their amazing banana pudding, the highlight of the meal.

Williamson’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood does a passable version of eastern NC barbecue but much like Joe’s Old Fashioned Barbecue from earlier on my trip, it was all tang and no smoke.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Friday Find: “How Chef Yia Vang Honors Hmong Cooking With Open Fire Feasts”

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Monk: Chef Via Yang’s happy place is outdoors cooking over a live fire, with proteins like chicken, pork butts, and beef ribs in the Hmong flavors of his heritage. Whether its on his makeshift direct grill on concrete blocks or his multi-thousand dollar Grillworks Asador, Yang gets it done, even in the rain.

Description: Chef Yia Vang of Vinai in Minneapolis tells the story of his culture and the Hmong people through open fire cooking and feasts.

Linkdown: 10/20/21

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The Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ joint list was published on Monday morning, and predictably it set the Barbecue Twitter world on fire. The list itself was quite a feat, with “32 Texas Monthly editorial staffers and 3 freelancers visited 411 barbecue joints over eight weeks during the spring and summer, driving many thousands of miles in the process.” This was the sixth quadrennial list published by the magazine, and according to Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn, the average age of the barbecue restaurants on the list dropped from 15 years to 10 years form the 2017 list. Number one on the list in particular may surprise many folks, but I won’t spoil it for you quite yet.

Here’s the full thread of content published in the magazine and online. Starting with the list:

Plus the 50 honorable mentions…

How the list was made in the words of the Texas Monthly Editor, Dan Goodgame…

Tales from the brave-but-lucky souls who went on the trail…

Corn was ever-present as a side…

Yes, sauce is no longer a four-letter word…

Non-Native News

Goldee’s BBQ in Fort Worth landed at #1 on the list

Here’s the first review of Goldee’s in Texas Monthly, from August 2020

Houston’s Truth BBQ landed at #3 on the list

Is Houston the state’s new barbecue capital?

Evan LeRoy was pumped that LeRoy and Lewis ended up at #5

The Smoking Ho has a helpful spreadsheet of the Top 50 and the hours of operation

The Texas Monthly BBQ Finder app has been updated, so get on the trail!