barbeque

The Best Barbecue Joints in Charleston – February 2024

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Monk: I’m no local, but I’ve spent my fair share of time in Charleston over the years. As Charleston’s barbecue reputation has risen, I’ve always felt like Charlotte could learn some lessons from the Holy City. From homegrown restaurants to luring big names and regional chains, it could be argued that the overall quality of barbecue in Charleston has skyrocketed beyond Charlotte in the past 5 years.

In alphabetical order, here are the ten best barbecue restaurants in Charleston along with my tiers of the rest of them. Thoughts? What should I hit on my next time in town later this spring?

Tier 1

Lewis Barbecue John Lewis brought legitimate Texas barbecue to Charleston in 2016 and instantly became a must visit for any serious barbecue fans visiting the city. Between this restaurant, another on this list, and his annual Hatch Chile Fest in October, Lewis has certainly put his imprint on the city. 464 N Nassau St, Charleston, SC 29403 lewisbarbecue.com/

Palmira Barbecue Palmira’s the new kid on the block in this top tier. Hector Garate started with popups before moving to a stall at the now shuttered Port of Call food hall. His long-awaited brick and mortar finally opened up earlier this month and is a must stop now. 2366 Ashley River Rd Building 1, Charleston, SC 29414 palmirabbq.com/

Rancho Lewis John Lewis’ other restaurant is not a barbecue restaurant per se, but the mesquite smoked beef back ribs is one of the top barbecue bites in the city. 1503 King St, Charleston, SC 29403 rancholewischs.com/

Rodney Scott’s Barbecue Every day is a good day when you get to try the whole hog and ribs from Rodney Scott at his flagship restaurant. 1011 King St, Charleston, SC 29403 rodneyscottsbbq.com/

Tier 2

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint The Martin’s Bar-B-Que restaurant group has nine restaurants located in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and South Carolina, and is one of the better (if not best) regional chains for barbecue in the southeast. Their Charleston location on James Island opened in 2019 and gave a great option for locals as well as folks on their way to Folly Beach. 1622 Highland Ave, Charleston, SC 29412 martinsbbqjoint.com/charleston

Melvin’s Barbecue Melvin’s should be applauded for seeing the light and moving back to wood from gas back in 2015, and my first visit just last year vindicated that decision for the 80 year old restaurant. 538 Folly Rd, Charleston, SC 29412 melvinsbbq.com/

Sweatman’s Bar-b-que A few years back, Sweatman’s would have be firmly in the top level, but after switching to gas they are moved down a tier. 1427 Eutaw Rd, Holly Hill, SC 29059 sweatmansbbq.com/

Tier 3

Home Team BBQ Home Team has above average barbecue in their restaurants primarily located in South Carolina (with one in Aspen!) but based on my experience they are more of a sports bar that happens to serve barbecue. Not a bad option, but there are certainly better if your focus is barbecue versus drinks and catching the game. Multiple locations hometeambbq.com/

Swig & Swine Swig & Swine has a Thursday whole hog special across their 3 restaurants in the Charleston area, and I loved their hash and rice the last time I visited while finding the pulled pork to be average. multiple locations swigandswinebbq.com/

Tier 4

Poogan’s Smokehouse Poogan’s is a pricey barbecue option off East Bay Street aimed at prying money from Charleston visitors. I found the meat to be average but the sides amazing. 188 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401 pooganssmokehouse.com/

What is your favorite Charleston barbecue restaurant? Is there any place that I missed?

A Late Night Cook with Pitmaster Matt Horn

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Monk: A short, impressionistic video of a night cook with Matt Horn before a pop-up.

Description: After the devastating loss of his restaurant to a fire, Chef Matt Horn is back, rekindling the flames that made him one of the nation’s most revered chefs through barbecue pop-ups. Follow his passion for perfecting the art of barbecue.
Directed By Jordan Horn
No Art Form @noartform9721

“Going Whole Hog” is a Celebration of South Carolina BBQ

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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.

Monk: “Let’s be clear from the start: I did not write this book; I assembled it” states author James A. Roller at the beginning of “Going Whole Hog.” And that’s definitely the right way of approaching this book of all things South Carolina Barbecue, subtitled “Mustard, Vinegar, Hash, and Smoke: Celebrating SC BBQ History Traditions, and Flavors.” In it, Roller collects recipes from a variety of sources and intersperses them with interviews and South Carolina barbecue history where he cites sources including Lake High, Robert F. Moss, Adrian Miller, Michael Twitty, and Howard Conyers among several others.

The recipes in “Going Whole Hog” more or less follow what you’d expect from a barbecue recipe book, starting with sauces and rubs before getting into the meats, sides, and ending with desserts. Where it differs from the normal book is there is a full chapter dedicated to over 20 recipes of hash, which is of course South Carolina’s definitive contribution to the barbecue world.

The recipes themselves come from a variety of sources; historic recipes, reader-submitted recipes, and some from pitmasters of current SC barbecue joints including Home Team BBQ, Swig & Swine, Lewis Barbecue, Melvin’s, and Bessinger’s. Each has a story behind it, and this comprises the bulk of the book.

The extensive recipe list in “Going Whole Hog”

The book does start off with a concise history of barbecue in the United States and repeats the claim of fellow South Carolinian Lake High that South Carolina was the birthplace of the foodway (I’ll let others debate whether that is indeed true). It then goes into the role of the black pitmaster during slavery through antebellum times, which Roller states he included at the urging of Howard Conyers among others. I applaud Roller for including this and not avoiding what can oftentimes be an uncomfortable conversation about the historic role of black pitmasters.

In addition to barbecue’s origin story, the book does include sections detailing the history behind two of South Carolina’s founding barbecue families: the Bessingers and the Dukes, who between them formed what many consider the backbone of SC BBQ restaurants. Rounding out the book, it also contains interviews with current pitmasters Rodney Scott, Jackie Hite, John Lewis, Aaron Siegel, and David Bessinger.

James A. Roller, who also runs destination-bbq.com, self-published the book and it truly is a labor of love. He began his site around the same time as us in 2012 and we have traded some messages over the years; he was gracious enough to send me a copy to help spread the word of this book which he is rightly so proud of. Its a hefty tome at nearly 300 pages and contains full color photographs, which I love to see in a barbecue book but must have come at a great initial expense to the author. Nevertheless, “Going Whole Hog” spotlights and helps cement South Carolina’s place in the modern barbecue world, and you should check it out.

For more information and ordering, visit destination-bbq.com.

From Pop Up to A Texas Monthly Top 25 New BBQ Joint

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Monk: LJ’s BBQ started as a side hustle by owners Corey Cook and Matt Lowery in 2015 and moved into a brick and mortar in 2017. Outside of the kitchen they proceeded to get the building ready by themselves to save money. This first part of a two-part video explores the origins of LJ’s before heading back to the pitroom to check in on pitmaster Josh Jalomo, who cooks by touch.

Description: LJ’s in Brenham, Texas, began as a pop up by Corey, Leah, and Matt and now it’s a Texas Monthly Top 50 joint. They talk to us about their journey.