Monk: It was just a few weeks ago when we learned of the existence of Firehawk Brewpub in Mount Holly and according to comments on their Instagram, they are opening “very very soon.” Based on this, I would expect them to be open by the end of May. This video is from the Charlotte Observer.
Description: The new Mount Holly restaurant, located in the former Fire Department building, includes a patio and outdoor greenspace to enjoy craft beer and wood-fired barbecue.
Name: Melvin’s BBQ
Date: 4/13/23
Address: 538 Folly Rd, Charleston, SC 29412
Order: Two meat combo platter with pork, turkey, slaw, and hash and rice (link)
Pricing: $$
Monk: Back in 2015, Melvin’s BBQ owner David Bessinger saw the light. As Robert Moss notes at the time in his piece for Southern Living, he saw the writing on the wall and made some changes to his two Charleston-area restaurants that had been smoking on Southern Pride gas-assisted smokers since the early 80’s. He switched to offset wood burners from Georgia-based Lang BBQ Smokers and hasn’t yet looked back. I had overlooked Melvin’s on several Charleston trips since 2015, which turned out to be a mistake after sampling their fare on a rainy Charleston weekday. Melvin’s has two Charleston-area restaurants: one in Mount Pleasant and this location I visited on James Island just a mile from the Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint that opened roughly 4 years back.
Melvin’s now has brisket on the menu, one of the big changes from 2015, but I stuck with pork and turkey with a side of hash and rice and slaw for my order. Cornbread is included with the combos and a pickle bar has an assortment of pickles and onions. All served on a Texas-style platter with butcher paper, a couple more of the changes from 8 years prior.
The pork was piled in a generous serving in the shape of a take out container, and on its own it was fresh and plenty smokey with chunks of bark chopped in. One of the non-Texas-influenced changes from 2015 was switching back to pastured pork, and while I didn’t taste their prior pork I have to assume it makes a difference. I sampled the spicy mustard barbecue sauce and while I’ll never be a huge mustard fan, I did enjoy this spicy version both with the pork and the turkey.
Opting for the lighter option of turkey instead of brisket, I was really pleased with Melvin’s version. It was perfectly moist and tender, with a nice peppery crust. Would definitely order again.
I was not getting out of Charleston with some hash, but was a bit let down by what Melvin’s served. It was a bit thinner in consistency than what I’ve tried (and enjoyed), and not as flavorful. Definitely a let down, and I had a better version of it a few days later at Swig & Swine (more on that soon). The slaw, too was also on the runny side.
Melvin’s has been family-owned by a branch of the famed Bessinger family for well over 80 years, since 1939. Had owner David Bessinger not had the foresight to switch back to all wood cooking, I wonder if they would have made it to the 80 year mark. In any case, I’m glad he did and that I finally took a chance on a joint I had wrongly be skipping over for the past few years. Give them a try if you’re in Charleston.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Turkey – 4 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs
Monk: Jake Wood of Lawrence Barbecue is launching what he hopes will be a new annual event, called Frankie Lemmon’s Gettin’ Piggy With It in support of the Frankie Lemmon School. By way of background, “Frankie Lemmon School is a NAEYC accredited, 5-star child development center that welcomes children ages 2-6 with and without disabilities.”
For the event, he’s partnering with Trophy Brewing in Raleigh and utilizing their new event venue Maywood Hall & Garden. And he’s bringing with him some heavy hitters in the world of barbecue, not only in North and South Carolina but also one from California. The full list of pitmasters and chefs:
Tickets are on sale as of of today for the May 21 event. Tickets and event information available here
AVL Today profiles two Asheville-area joints on the Historic NC Barbecue Trail: Switzerland Cafe in Little Switzerland and Hubba Hubba Smokehouse in Flat Rock
The Bone Suckin’ Sauce Peak City Pig Fest, a KCBS event, took place this past weekend in Apex
NoDa Brewing and Jon G’s Barbecue have teamed up for a fun event at their OG Taproom on April 27th…but tickets have already sold out
NoDa Brewing’s Cheerwine Ale is getting a can glow-up
Gear Patrols dives into the best charcoal grills on the market
John Tanner checks out Rodney Scott’s Barbecue to compare it to the original; his findings may surprise you
Speaking of Rodney Scott, he’s teamed up with The Spice House to create a line of spice blends available to purchase now
Swig & Swine owner Anthony DiBernardo shares an update on their upcoming Monk’s Corner location
Pig Beach’s Jeff Michner BBQ Event is coming up on April 29
Goldee’s Barbecue will soon be selling their own smokers, made in partnership with M&M BBQ Company
The caption says it all
Congrats to Daniel Vaughn on 10 years as barbecue editor for Texas Monthly
Monk: While I’ve certainly stopped into Sweet Lew’s BBQ several times since our somehow only official review from opening day in December 2018, I recently made a quick week day stop for lunch to check out how things are going.
To avoid overeating on a workday, I went with the chopped pork sandwich combo which comes with one side and a drink for $14. The chopped pork sandwich itself is a mountain of smoky pork on a potato roll and can be topped with your choice of slaw and sauce (red slaw and vinegar for me, respectively). You could probably get two respectable sandwiches out of the amount of pork so $14 is a better value than at first glance.
They didn’t have rice at that moment for what would have been my preferred side of hash and rice so I went with barbecue potatoes, an item I hadn’t had at Sweet Lew’s before. While they may look plain in the pictures they were packed with flavor from a broth of pork. Would definitely order again.
Sweet Lew’s BBQ is an ever dependable barbecue joint in the Belmont neighborhood just outside of Uptown Charlotte that is worth a stop in if it’s been awhile. They’ve also got a great covered patio for the warmer weather coming up. I’d recommend you check them out if liked me it’s been a while. I’ll certainly be stopping in short order for a full re-review.
Have you checked out Sweet Lew’s BBQ lately? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.