3.5 hogs

Fumar brings more Tex-Mex flavors to Charlotte barbecue

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Name: Fumar
Date: 9/22/24
Address: Pop up at Divine Barrel Brewing
Order: Smoked brisket torta, Texas-sized Frito pie (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Fumar is the retooled barbecue pop-up concept from Brandon Belfer after the more traditional Texas barbecue of his previous concept, Smoke Show Barbecue. I tried Smoke Show in 2021 and thought it showed promise and hoped to check them out again. That unfortunately never happened and a little over a year later, Fumar was born out of a desire to bring the flavors of South Texas that Belfer grew up around outside of San Antonio into his brand of Texas barbecue.

That manifests in menu items like brisket torta sandwiches, Frito pies made with smoked chorizo, and taco packs with beef cheek barbacoa in addition to the more traditional Texas-style brisket and ribs. On this day at Divine Barrel Brewing mere steps from the old Monk condo, I tried the brisket torta and Frito pie while listening to a pretty solid Grateful Dead cover band, Grateful Dudes. Here’s a photo of them jamming out with a groovy fan.

As for the torta and specifically the smoked brisket inside the torta, I found it to be well a fairly well-smoked slice of fatty that perhaps gets lost in all the bread, pickled red onions, and guac. Admittedly, I am a newbie when it comes to tortas and with this being my second sandwich ever my feedback would be the same for both: too much bread. The bread-to-meat ratio in this sandwich was a little off for me and perhaps its a super gringo thing for me to say, but maybe if there was more of a “thinwich” style of the torta bread I would enjoy the experience more. Apologies for any blasphemy.

I loved the “Texas-sized” Frito topped with smoked chorizo, queso, pickled onions, and avocado crema. The cardboard boat that it came in was truly “Texas-sized” and is very much a shareable item. They do have a kid’s version that comes in a smaller boat and is just chorizo and queso. Either way, I think this is a must order item when checking out Fumar.

I can tell that the Tex-Mex concept of Fumar has a more focused menu that is near and dear to Belfer’s heart, and the execution shows. I look forward to trying again soon (for real, this time) and continuing to track its progress.

Ratings:
Brisket Torta – 3.5 hogs
Frito Pie – 4 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Resident Culture’s Barbecue Expands the Top Tier of Charlotte Barbecue

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Name: Resident Culture Brewing
Date: 8/14/24
Address: x
Order: Butcher’s Block Sampler with pork and brisket, red slaw, and hush puppies (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Resident Culture Brewing made waves last year when they announced they would be hiring pitmaster Edmar Simoes (formerly of Noble Smoke and Sauceman’s) to start their barbecue program out of their South End location. They rolled it out in late 2023 but it wasn’t until summer 2024 that I personally was able to check it out.

And for me, it definitely did not disappoint. While I did initially say it may be in the conversation for best barbecue in town (and possibly in the top 3) more on that in a bit and why that’s not quite the case.

The pork seemingly owed a lot to Edmar’s time at Noble Smoke, and was perfectly smoky with a nice salt and pepper bark chopped in. Of the two meats, I made sure to finish it at that sitting and would be my must-order next time I visit.

The slices of brisket had a fantastic peppery bark you’d want to see on a Texas-style brisket. No choice of fatty or lean was offered, so the three slices were all from the lean side of the brisket. On a side note, the brisket reheated nicely several days later for a leftover sandwich made of the the slices plus some of the pickles and onions offered on the side,

In terms of sides, I appreciated the choice of red or white slaw and the red slaw paired really nicely with the chopped pork and doused in some Eastern Carolina vinegar sauce from the table. The generous helping of hush puppies were also a nice surprise in terms of taste and texture.

Upon further reflection and after getting a little more information in terms of the smoking setup, I would still put Resident Culture Brewing in the top tier of Charlotte barbecue but not quite in the top 3 or even the top 5. Edmar confirmed to me that they use an Ole Hickory gasser that can add wood to get smokiness but in any case I was still impressed by how good the barbecue was. For game days or lunch stops during a South End Brewery crawl, this is certainly some very good barbecue.

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

Alston Bridges is more than just “the other Bridges”

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Name: Alston Bridges Barbecue
Date: 3/1/24
Location: 620 E. Grover St, Shelby, NC 28150
Order: Small chopped barbecue plate (with red slaw, hush puppies), Sun Drop
Pricing: $

Monk: While it’s no secret that we are a big fan of Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge here at Barbecue Bros, there is another Bridges restaurant in Shelby (no relation) called Alston Bridges. I had only visited once before, in May of 2013, so I was more than overdue for a return visit. Especially when I have a lot of Shelby natives in my life telling me that Alston’s is their preferred barbecue place and perhaps even the choice of locals. You see, Alston Bridges is tucked into Shelby and not located off a major thoroughfare, so you’ve got to work a little bit to get there. Or, of course, be a local that has been going there for a few decades.

I had even made a pledge last summer to get back to Alston Bridges so on a rainy March 1st, I finally made good on that pledge. On my return trip, I had a very similar order to what I had previously, a chopped plate with a Diet Sun Drop.

A slight diversion on Sun Drop if you will allow, as I recently realized that while North Carolina favorite beverage Cheerwine has expanded beyond its initial cult following perhaps Sun Drop is still a bit of a secret (at least based on the reaction from The Smoke Sheet duo Sean and Ryan at a separate restaurant). The original Sun Drop bottling headquarters was located in nearby Gastonia for 50 years until 2016, and along with Cheerwine I’ve long thought of it as a perfect drink to accompany a Lexington-style barbecue plate. Sun Drop is currently owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and apparently distributes it nationwide so perhaps you’ll see it soon if its not already in your market. Highly recommend, especially if you come across the cherry lemon variant.

As for the barbecue, Alston’s barbecue is very good. It’s tender and moist, with the dip mixed in providing the nice bit of tang to the meat. A small Styrofoam cup comes with some additional hot dip to add in if needed (that wasn’t the case for me). Mix in the chopped red slaw and some Texas Pete to the barbecue and its a very good bite of food.

Unfortunately, the one thing missing is the smoke, which is as a result of Alston moving away from pit smoked to gas some years ago. While I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision and while I also greatly enjoyed my meal, for me it will always be a notch less than a Red Bridges or any place that smokes over wood for that matter. I certainly don’t fault loyal customers for favoring Alston’s over Red as barbecue tribes are formed early on and are hard to break.

That said, I don’t think it will necessarily take another 10+ years before I stop at Alston’ Bridges because as I alluded to above it is a good plate of food. I stop in Shelby enough where I can mix up my visits between the two historic “Bridges” restaurants a little more equitably.

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

The Roots of SAW’s Soul Kitchen is in North Carolina Barbecue

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Name: SAW’s Soul Kitchen
Date: 7/21/23
Address: 215 41st St S, Birmingham, AL 35222
Order: Two meat combo platter with pork and sausage with collards, slaw, and cheese grits (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: SAW’s BBQ owner Mike Wilson (or SAW which is an acronym for “Sorry Ass Wilson”) originally grew up in Charlotte and in the early 2000’s was working as a sous chef at Dean & Deluca in Charlotte fresh out of culinary school at Johnson and Wales (though the Vail location, not the Charlotte one). Eventually he found himself back in Alabama – he went to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for undergrad – working at a restaurant in Birmingham and doing barbecue on the side. In 2009, an opportunity to take over a closing barbecue restaurant presented itself. Wilson opened the original location of SAW’s BBQ in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood shortly thereafter. Since 2009, SAW’s has grown to six locations in the greater Birmingham area. Those six locations include the Avondale location the Monk family (plus Monk uncles!) found itself on a recent Friday this summer while visiting family.

Each SAW’s location has a slightly different name and menu and for Avondale it’s “SAW’s Soul Kitchen” with the barbecue staples but menu offerings that are more southern soul food (think fried chicken, patty melts, and fried green tomato BLT’s). This location is a cozy, no-frills restaurant where customers order at the bar and then seat themselves either at the bar or one of the handful of tables or booths in the small-ish restaurant.

The Monk Uncles had arrived just before us and took the liberty of ordering a bowl of pork rinds that were still warm upon our arrival. They were light and tasty, and a nice way to kick off the meal.

I shared a two meat combo platter of pork and sausage with Mrs. Monk, adding a third side of collards to the vinegar-based slaw and cheese grits we ordered as our two sides that come with the meal. In terms of the meats, both were above average without being outstanding. Both come standard with a vinegary-sweet sauce that was drizzled over but I added the vinegar table sauce to the pork to further cut that sweetness. The sausage was a standard smoked sausage with no cheese or other filler besides the ground meat.

To be honest, the sides kind of outshone the meats for me. I liked the fact that SAW’s has a vinegar-based slaw (perhaps a nod to Wilson’s NC roots) and it worked with the meat as a native-North Carolinian would expect. Although I only had a couple of tastes, the cheese grits were a highlight of the meal. And the collards were Mrs. Monk-certified.

Sadly, found and owner Mike Wilson passed away in late 2020 from a heart attack at the age of 46 but the legacy of SAW’s Barbecue lives on in the six Birmingham-area locations. Based on this visit, I could see SAW’s Soul Kitchen being a regular stop if I were ever to become a resident of the The Magic City.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pulled Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sausage– 3.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs