barbecue

Home Team BBQ – Greenville, SC

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Name: Home Team BBQ
Date: 10/2/22
Address: 815 Laurens Rd, Greenville, SC 29607
Order: 2 meat combo (pulled pork and brisket), collards, hash and rice (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: While Speedy has previously reviewed both the Sullivan’s Island and West Ashley locations of Home Team BBQ, I have never actually eaten at a Home Team BBQ myself. I’ve had drinks at the Sullivan’s island location but prior to my visit had yet to actually taste their barbecue. Home Team has very much been in expansion mode, with an additional two locations in the Charleston area plus expanding out into South Carolina with locations in Columbia and most recently Greenville. Then of course there’s their Aspen, Colorado location!

The vibe of the newest Greenville location is “sports bar that happens to serve barbecue.” They had a good tap list and were rearing to play a full Sunday early afternoon slate of NFL games. We arrived just before it got busy for Sunday lunch but the food took a while to get out to us.

Having not tried their meats but with Mrs. Monk not looking to share a big platter, I settled for the two meat combo with pulled pork and brisket. The plain pulled pork had a little bit of smoke in the bits of bark but was clearly made to have one of the many sauces added to it as opposed to eating it plain. I predictably went with the pepper vinegar and it worked fairly well.

The brisket, on the other hand, was squarely average. It was sliced thinly and the fat could have used a bit more rendering. It was also a tad on the bland side.

As far as sides went, the vinegary collards were quite good and a meal highlight. The hash and rice was a nice surprise as a side.

After my first visit to a Home Team BBQ, I find it to be what Mac’s Speed Shop in Charlotte used to be circa 2005/2006: a fun spot to watch the game, have some beers, and eat some decent barbecue. While it wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice, I would certainly visit one again.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

Friday Find: Kelsey Pribilski of “BBQuest” Wants Everyone to Know That She is Indeed a Native Texan

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Monk: While BBQuest host Kelsey Pribilski was technically born in Georgia, she wants to settle once and for all that her family is originally from Texas and she has lived there all her life minus a few years growing up in other states as an Army brat. This and some good behind-the-scenes of the show in this latest interview from Kevin’s BBQ Joints. For more on BBQuest, I reviewed season 3 in a recent post.

Description: In this episode, I sit down with Kelsey Pribilski from BBQuest which is now in its third season and is produced by the Texas Beef Council.

Linkdown: 10/5/22 – The Expansion and Collaboration Edition

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Monk: Expansion and collaboration is the name of the game in several of this week’s links. From smaller stalls from Midwood Smokehouse and Johnny Rogers BBQ & Burgers to various upcoming collaborations involving Brandon Belfer of Fumar, Lewis Donald of Sweet Lew’s BBQ, Garren Kirkman of Jon G’s Barbecue, and Jake Wood of Lawrence Barbecue, hopefully news of this nature will start to become more and more common.

Native News

Fumar (formerly Smokeshow Barbecue) is teasing a Tex-Mex pizza collaboration with Salud

Fumar’s permanent location is in front of Petty Thieves Brewing in North Charlotte

Chef Johnnie Gale is collaborating with Lewis Donald of Sweet Lew’s BBQ on November 3 as part of the Louisiana x Charlotte chef series

Midwood Smokehouse is coming soon to the Charlotte airport

Johnny Rogers BBQ & Burgers is one of the six local vendors opening today at Gibson Mill Market

The revised version of D.G. Martin’s “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries” is almost ready to go after a 2- year delay, and several barbecue restaurants were lost along the way

The Wood, Fire, Smoke Festival is coming to downtown Lenoir this Saturday: The reimagined festival is a celebration of Lenoir’s furniture heritage and commitment to art, design, and innovation. Skilled craftsmen, artisans, and chefs will converge in downtown to carve with chainsaws, pour molten metal, and cook delicious barbecue.

A short profile on Holy Smoke author John Shelton Reed from Axios Raleigh

Lawrence Barbecue is teasing a “PRETTY RADICAL ANNOUNCEMNT” with Jon G’s

Speaking of which, “Meat Jon G”

Non-Native News

“World of Flavor with Big Moe Cason” season 1 is now on Disney+; read our first impressions here

Adrian Miller accepted the Barbecue Hall of Fame’s “Impact Award” on behalf of the innumerable “Unsung Black Barbecuce Cooks” who never got their due recognition

How Pitmaster Kelly Nevarez Brought Mexican Spice to Texas Barbecue

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Monk: Kelly Nevarez of LaVaca BBQ in Port LaVaca, TX brings the Hispanic influences of her family and culture to her barbecue not only in terms of spices used in the rubs but also twists on Texas barbecue such as smoked pork and brisket tamales wrapped in butcher paper. LaVaca is very much a family operation, with Kelly’s parents Christine and Lupe very much in the mix from making blue corn tortillas to smoking the fajita meat for the steak fajitas. It seems like they have something special going on at LaVaca BBQ.

Description: At LaVaca BBQ in Port LaVaca, Texas, the Nevarez family draws from their Hispanic culture and Texas upbringing to make Big Red pork ribs, smoked pulled pork and brisket tamales, beef cheek barbacoa, steak fajitas on blue corn tortillas, and more.