Always love a good infographic, especially if it is barbecue-related.
-Monk
barbecue
Music City Southern Hot Wing Festival
Undoubtedly, the best part of the Music City Southern Hot Wing Festival was meeting Myron Mixon, who couldn’t have been nicer. He was there filming an episode of BBQ Pitmasters, a favorite show of the Barbecue Bros. I told Myron that I was from close by Lexington, and he told me that he loved Lexington and that they’d be filming in Charlotte in two weeks at the BBQ and Blues Festival, and that his team would be competing there. I was thinking of going anyway, but this just sealed the deal. I got glimpses of Tuffy Stone and Aaron Franklin, but didn’t get a chance to chat with either one. Hope to in Charlotte.
As for the wings, I was pretty disappointed. There were only a dozen or so vendors, and several of them were not sufficiently prepared with enough wings for the crowd. I probably sampled wings from six vendors, with my two favorites being from Corner Pub and 3 Star BBQ, both of whom smoked their wings. However, nothing I ate really jumped out at me. Too bad I didn’t get to sample whatever the teams on BBQ Pitmasters were smoking.
-Speedy
Rock Store Bar-B-Q – Mint Hill, NC
Name: Rock Store Bar-B-Q
Date: 8/10/12
Location: 7032 Brighton Park, Mint Hill, NC 28227
Order: BBQ Pork and Brisket combo plate, hush puppies, beans, sweet tea (link to menu)
Bill: $9.75
Trying to take feedback from Speedy to heart, on this visit to the Mint Hill location of Rock Store Bar-B-Q (click here for the review of the original Stallings location) I ordered a combo platter of both BBQ pork and brisket. I still haven’t had the ribs at either place, so while I made some effort, I fear that it will all be in vain in the eyes of both Speedy and Rudy.
As opposed to the original location, a stand-alone historic gas station structure, the Mint Hill restaurant is located at the end of a strip mall in what looks to have been a former Jersey Mike’s (I tend to have a keen eye for Jersey Mike’s since Speedy and I worked at one in high school for several years).
As you walk up to the front door to this location, you are greeted by a decal that states “Wood Smoked Daily” before you actually do get a whiff of smoke when you enter the door. I still wasn’t able to determine if this is due to the use of a stick burning smoker or an electric or gas burner with wood chips. However, I remain skeptical of there being a stick burner in a strip mall, so I am still working off the gas or electric smoker theory.
Nevertheless, I walked up and ordered a BBQ pork combo plate, adding brisket with my two sides being hush puppies and beans. Unfortunately, the pork was as dry as the sandwich at the original location so again, sauce was a must. A healthy dose of their tangy Stallings Secret sauce worked best with the pork, but I did notice a pool of grease collecting at the bottom of the styrofoam plate. Not the most appetizing visual for lunch.
As I suspected from my visit to the other location, the brisket here is actually coarsely chopped in the same manner as the pork. And it is just as dry. To my surprise, I found that the Carolina Gold mustard-based sauce actually worked best with the brisket but overall it was pretty unremarkable. However, thankfully there was no pool of grease here.
The hush puppies were a nice surprise, as they weren’t available at the original location. They were big and fluffy and the best part of the meal. The BBQ beans were passable but I didn’t eat too much of them, focusing on the meat and hush puppies.
So while this time around I did get more than my usual portions in the interests of the Barbecue Bros and left with a full belly. Unfortunately it was a belly full of average-at-best barbecue.
-Monk
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs
Bill Spoon’s Barbecue – Charlotte, NC
Name: Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Date: 7/28/12
Location: 5524 South Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: Monk: Daily Special – small barbecue plate with hush puppies, mustard slaw, mac and cheese, sweet tea; Speedy: Large BBQ special – hush puppies, mustard slaw, onion rings (link to menu)
Bill: Monk – $10; Speedy – $11.50
Monk: In terms of Charlotte, Bill Spoon’s Barbecue is pretty much the closest thing we have to a well-respected, old school barbecue joint. Since 1963, first Bill Spoon himself and now his grandson Steve Jr. has been cooking whole hog, eastern-style NC barbecue on South Blvd. Which in itself is a bit odd considering Charlotte is much closer to Lexington than it is to the eastern part of the state. Nevertheless, despite having lived in Charlotte since 2005 and being well aware of this place, this past weekend was my first visit to Bill Spoon’s. Inside, it definitely looks the part of a proper barbecue joint with wood-paneled walls, white and yellow checked table cloths, and zero frills.
Speedy: Bill Spoon’s has several things on the menu – chicken tenders, fried flounder, etc, but the only real barbecue items are the pulled pork (the signature dish) and the chicken. The restaurant is well respected in Charlotte, with people mentioning it frequently when barbecue comes up in conversation. Like Monk, I had not been despite living in the city for six years, even though it was always on my list of places to try. This sweltering Saturday seemed like as good a time as any.
Monk: Mrs. Monk and I were a few minutes late but before we had arrived so the table could order, Speedy and our other friends had already gotten the first of several baskets of hush puppies (many times fresh out of the deep fryer). That’s right, bottomless made-from-scratch hush puppies – just say the word and they will bring you baskets on baskets on baskets. And that is definitely a beautiful thing – especially when they are as good as the ones here.
Rudy: Whenever a place does this I first get excited…then I start to think they want me to fill up on these and distract me from the barbecue. Hopefully you were able to stay on track and get your fill on the meat.
Monk: *pfft* Please, we aren’t amateurs here.
Speedy: Bill Spoon’s cooks whole hog, which is different than my preferred shoulder-only sampling. However, it’s hard to find too much to complain about when talking about the pork I was served at Bill Spoon’s. It had good flavor, was tender, and had a nice hint of smoke. Overall, I was pleased, though I’m not sure it lived up to some of the accolades I’ve heard from people in Charlotte (who obviously have not been to Lexington).
Monk: The barbecue at Bill Spoon’s doesn’t necessarily need the eastern NC vinegar sauce found on each table, but as a good sauce should, it enhances the pork nicely. I agree that it had good smoke, no doubt attributable to the smokehouse out back.
Speedy: Agreed. I also added some Texas Pete to mine to get a little bit of a kick. None of the sides got me too excited, unless you count the hushpuppies. But Monk, tell them about the slaw…
Monk: Bill Spoon’s is unique in that it actually serves a mustard-based slaw (with some vinegar), as opposed to the typical red vinegar slaw or white mayonnaise slaw. Our disdain for mustard sauce is well documented here, but this was the first time I had seen or even heard of a mustard slaw. I probably liked it a little more than Speedy, but we both agreed that it was better than mayonnaise slaw but not nearly as good as red slaw.
Rudy: I don’t get why places feel they need to put their spin on something as basic as slaw. Just do it the way it’s always made and do it well.
Speedy: The slaw confused me more than anything else. I thought it was OK, but I didn’t feel the need to finish it, like I do with a good red slaw. I wasn’t disappointed in the meal at all, but I feel if you focus your smoking on one item, you should do it really, really well. I don’t think that was the case here, even though the pork was good. If definitely does not supplant Midwood Smokehouse as my favorite ‘cue joint in Charlotte.
Monk: For whatever reason, it took me over 7 years to make my first trip to Bill Spoon’s. Though I will always prefer Lexington style, with its solid, eastern NC barbecue I expect that it will be much, much sooner than 7 years for me to make a return trip.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Chopped Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs
