barbecue

Linkdown 1/31/24 – The James Beard Semifinalist Nominees Edition

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Monk: The Semifinalist Nominations for this year’s edition of the James Beard Awards came out last week, and several barbecue restaurants were nominated in various categories.

Congrats to Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia (aka “West Coalumbia”) for his Best Chef Southeast Nomination. He is the second pitmaster in South Carolina after Rodney Scott to get a semifinalist nomination.

Outside of the southeast, Texas dominated the rest of the semifinalist nominations for barbecue.

In the Outstanding Chef category, David Kirkland and Ernest Servantes of Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, TX got a nomination. Daniel Vaughn believes this is a first time a pitmaster has been nominated in that category.

Barbs-B-Q in Lockhart got a nomination for Best New Restaurant:

Convenience West in Marfa was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant:

In Best Chef Texas, Geoff Ellis of Mum Foods Smokehouse and Delicatessen in Austin, Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen of Curry Boys BBQ in San Antonio, and Arnulfo Sánchez III of Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Que in Grapevine were all nominated.

In Best Chef Southwest, Tabb Singleton of Phat Tabb’s BBQ in Idabel, OK was also nominated.

Congrats to all of the nominees! Finalist nominees will be announced on Wednesday, April 3, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago

You’ll Find True ‘Cue at Old Hampton Store

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Name: Old Hampton Store & Barbeque
Date: 12/3/23
Location: 77 Ruffin Street, Linville, NC 28646
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw
Pricing: $$

Monk: Old Hampton Store & Barbeque (plus a grist mill!) is an old-time mountain country store in Linville in Avery County which is the middle of Christmas tree farm country in NC. After having tried some unique but delicious barbecue at Ridgewood Barbecue, could I possibly get lucky again with another mountain barbecue joint? For those unaware, while there is no true “mountain-style” barbecue in NC, restaurants tend to over sauce their (at many times) gas-assisted pork.

Thankfully, I arrived to find that is not the case with Old Hampton Store, and neat stacks of hickory wood are strewn about the property which also includes an art gallery on the property. Inside the main building with the restaurant, an old-time general store (think a non-corporate Cracker Barrel) is flanked by a small bar and a barbecue counter with a seating area. In that seating area is a small stage, since Old Hampton Store regularly hosts live music; unfortunately nothing on this Sunday afternoon.

My order was simple with a barbecue sandwich with a side of coleslaw. The hickory-smoked pork had a nice smokiness to it, and the bun was of a higher quality than a grocery store bread. A very tasty sandwich, indeed. Now that I’m confident in the quality, next time through I’ll be more adventurous and get some of the smoked wings or homemade pork skins with pimento cheese.

The Monk family had actually tried to visit Old Hampton Store & Barbeque a few years back after hiking nearby Grandfather Mountain, but this family-owned business does close at some point in December until late January or February. So be sure to check ahead if you are planning a visit. I hope to be back, and maybe even catch some live bluegrass.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 Hogs
Pork – 4 Hogs
Sides – 3.5 Hogs
Overall – 4 Hogs

BBQ, Fun & Mountain Music at Old Hampton Store

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Monk: The Friday’s Forever YouTube channel explores the Old Hampton Store & Barbeque as well as the art gallery on the property in this first person video. The barbecue portion of the video starts at 9:05.

Description: IN THIS EPISODE → Join us on this journey through the Old Hampton Store & BBQ and discover why it’s such a special place. Whether you’re a history buff, a foodie, or a music lover, the Old Hampton Store & BBQ has something for everyone. Don’t miss out on the delicious food, historic charm, and lively entertainment of this unique destination in Linville NC!

Linkdown: 1/24/24 – The Buc-ee’s Coming to Mebane Edition

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Monk: Daniel Vaughn (aka BBQ Snob), Barbecue Editor for Texas Monthly, made a trip to North Carolina last week (with a jag up to Norfolk) to taste what the Old North State has to currently offer in terms of Texas barbecue. Long story short, he was “blown away” by the “staggeringly good” barbecue he tasted on this trip. The stops he called out:

  • Jon G’s Barbecue – Peachland
  • Dampf Good BBQ – Cary
  • Old Colony Smokehouse – Edenton
  • Lawrence Barbecue – Durham
  • Sweet Lew’s BBQ – Charlotte
  • Union Barbecue – Charlotte
  • Redwood Smoke – Norfolk, VA

For the Charlotte area, no surprise that he remains a fan of Jon G’s, but good to see Sweet Lew’s gets a shoutout as well as newcomer Union Barbecue, whom I haven’t had a chance to try yet. Dampf Good and Old Colony are on my list as well for NC.

You may recall that Vaughn did a similar trip through South Carolina and Georgia last summer where he praised City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia and Fork Grove Barbecue in Anderson among others. I would expect a similar story in the next week or so about North Carolina, and I can’t wait to read it.

Native News

At Morris Barbeque in Hookerton in the 60s, Joe the Monkey was a regular fixture

Firehawk Brewpub is hosting a 5 course, family-style dinner featuring the smoked specialties of Chefs Scott Blackwood and Chris Coleman as well as cocktails from Mixologist Bob Peters; tickets available here

New hours for Clyde Cooper’s in Raleigh

ICYMI Buc-ees is coming to Mebane

Non-Native News

Daniel Vaughn remembers John Brotherton

City Limits Barbeque is selling their own pimento cheese now

Direct-heat ribs vs smoked ribs: who you got???