Monk: Over the past 7 years, Bryan and Andrew from Tales from the Pits has been churning out content on the barbecue scene in Texas and across the US. And that will continue in their fifth season starting in the coming weeks.
But! They are expanding into video with their new Cookfire Tales video series that broadens out into other food and live fire cooking outside of barbecue. Currently on Twitter and Instagram and soon on YouTube, they are starting in the near future with content from a trip to Oregon. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
Description: Season 5 of Tales from the Pits is finally underway! More episodes from the best and brightest in the barbecue world are headed your way, and tune in to this episode for details on our new project, Cookfire Tales.
A video series focused on the passionate people from all avenues of the food world who play a role in the food that ends up on your plate, with Cookfire Tales we’re going to give you wide ranging behind the scenes views of different types of cuisine and the role fire plays in so many of them. The dedicated farmers, forgers, harvesters, chefs, and artisans carrying on and evolving traditions inspires us and we know will fascinate you too.
Name: Palmira Barbecue Date: 2/4/24 Address: 2366 Ashley River Rd Building 1, Charleston, SC 29414 Order: Whole hog barbecue, hash and rice, beef cheek, slaw, and collards (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Note: a version of this review originally appeared earlier this year in The Smoke Sheet, a great national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: From the moment I first tried Palmira Barbecue at the former Port of Call food hall in Charleston in 2022, I knew pitmaster Hector Garate and Palmira were destined for bigger things than simply being one stall in a small-ish food hall (which has since closed and converted to event space). Garate was doing whole hog from locally sourced pigs, and it compared so favorably even after trying it right after spending time in Pitt County, NC. And just in case you aren’t familiar, Pitt County is home to such heavy hitter whole hog restaurants as B’s Barbecue, Skylight Inn, and Sam Jones Barbecue, all of which I tried mere days before Palmira. And yet, I continued to look back fondly on what I ate from Palmira Barbecue after that trip.
So it was no surprise to me when it was announced in late summer of 2022 that Palmira (named for Garate’s grandmother) would be moving to a permanent location in West Ashley. The original targeted opening date of March 2023 didn’t happen and in the meantime Garate went back to pop-up mode, both around Charleston as well as travelling across the country and collaborating with folks like Interstellar Barbeque in Austin, Khoi Barbecue in Houston, Bark Barbecue in Brooklyn, and Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, among others. He also helped out Khoi in the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in Lockhart last fall. Needless to say, Hector Garate stayed busy while the build out of the restaurant dragged on.
As luck would have it, I happened to be in Charleston on opening weekend in early February and was able to check out the new building on that Sunday before heading back to NC. In short, I’m happy to report that the transition from a pop-up to a brick and mortar is going smoothly from a consumer’s perspective.
Whole hog barbecue is a “standard” at Palmira, meaning its always on the menu (unless of course they have run out for the day). Garate partners with fifth-generation farmer Marvin Ross to source heritage hogs from Peculiar Pig Farms located an hour away in Dorchester. That quality certainly shines through in the meat.
Beef cheeks are another standard, and they were not available for my first trip. This is not something you typically see even in new school Texas-style barbecue joints in the Carolinas. This tender cut of meat reminds me of brisket in the way they are aggressively rubbed with salt and pepper, but they are much smaller, much more tender, and have a richer beef flavor. At Palmira, they are a must order.
In terms of other meats, barbacoa, house sausage, and ribs are the other standards with brisket, pork steaks, chicken, and beef ribs rotating in and out of the menu depending on the day.
Garate told me in 2022 that he ate hash and rice daily and while I’m not sure if that is still the case, his version continues to be one that is worthy of that distinction. Next time I stop in I will be sure to try more of the rotating sides, many of which are heavily influenced by Garate’s Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.
On this Sunday of opening weekend, the line was out the door well before opening but the line moved at a nice clip through the meat and sides line. The restaurant itself looked great, and a beautiful mural greets you on the side of the building as you enter.
For me, Palmira Barbecue was the biggest barbecue restaurant opening this first half of the year in the Carolinas and perhaps the entire Southeast. I plan to go back imminently with a bigger appetite. Based on what I experienced, it more than delivers from the jump. Run, don’t walk, to Palmira Barbecue in Charleston.
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.
Note: this article originally appeared earlier this year in The Smoke Sheet, a great national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: The Original Ridgewood Barbecue is an east Tennessee institution, founded 75 years ago by the Proffitt family in the shadows of the famed Bristol Motor Speedway. The Proffitts still own and run the restaurant that was carved into the side of a mountain in Bullock’s hollow, with a third generation of family working there now. In “The Proffitts of Ridgewood: An Appalachian Family’s History of Barbecue,” author Fred W. Sauceman (now there’s a name for a barbecue writer) tells its history as well as the stories of not only the Proffitts but many of the longtime staff many of whom have worked there for decades.
Ridgewood’s barbecue is different from what you’ll find in North Carolina or even a few hours away in Memphis. They smoke just the hams of the hog and then thinly slice them before dressing it with their famous barbecue sauce and a mayo-based slaw. It’s like nothing you’ll likely have ever tasted but it has its fans, many of whom travel from hours away. Even North Carolinians like the late NASCAR driver Junior Johnson or author John Shelton Reed (who is originally from Tennessee and is a friend of Sauceman) sing praises of its barbecue; Ridgewood is the only barbecue restaurant outside of NC mentioned in Shelton’s seminal book “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue.”
Another NC note: in the preface, Sauceman compares Ridgewood to Red Bridges Barbecue in Shelby not because of similar barbecue styles but because they are roughly the same age and have been traditionally run by strong women: Grace Proffitt at Ridgewood and Lyttle Bridges, Debbie Webb, and Natalie Webb Ramsey at Red Bridges.
In the book, Sauceman chronologically tells the story of the family’s roots in the area – the farm down the road dates back to 1856 – and how the restaurant evolved through the decades, from the building itself to what it served. As the story goes, Ridgewood originally started as a roadhouse bar before being forced to pivot when the county went dry in the 50s to a full service restaurant that served steak and eventually barbecue .
Along the way, we learn the story of how the building was physically expanded using wood from the Proffitt family farm (which also supplies the hickory for the wood-fired pits to this day), how the barbecue came to be hams instead of shoulders or whole hogs (to them, shoulders from hogs were for sausage), and how the famous secret barbecue sauce and its 20 ingredients (which only two people know how to make) was developed over time and through rigorous testing.
For the Proffitts, Ridgewood Barbecue is their legacy, and they are proud of it. And in “The Proffitts of Ridgewood,” Sauceman (who is originally from the area and teaches at East Tennessee University in nearby Johnson City) crafts a love letter to Ridgewood, which he has been visiting for decades. It is a concise but well-written book of 91 pages with plenty of full color photographs from over the decades of the family and restaurant. It makes for a quick but worthy read for any serious barbecue fan wanting to learn about an underrated barbecue joint.
Monk: Earlier this month, Ryan (aka BBQ Tourist) and Sean (aka NYC BBQ) of The Smoke Sheet invited myself, Ronald Simmons of Master Blend Family Farms, Michael “Chigger” Willard of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, and Paige Hogan of Barbecued_ to meet up at Jon G’s Barbecue for a Barbecue Saturday while they were in town from Omaha and New Jersey, respectively.
Not to be outdone, Ronald invited his friend and videographer Paul to video the experience, and this is how it turned out. Enjoy!
Description: The floodgates have opened in Peachland, NC. The Master Blend Gang, The Smoke Sheet, Barbecue Bros, Big Chigger, and Barbecued’s Paige all at Jon G’s, maxing out on a barbecue kick. Sean & Ryan, thank you so much for the honor! Tommy, Paige, and Will, it was incredible meeting you guys! Chigger, you are the man!! Thank you to the Jon G Pit crew for showing us such warm hospitality! Let’s get ready to bring the house down at 2024’s Carolina BBQ Festival. All Gas No Brakes 365!!
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
