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Shotgun Willie’s Brings a Taste of Texas to East Nashville

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Name: Shotgun Willie’s
Date: 1/25/25
Address: 1500 Gallatin Pike S Suite 104, Madison, TN 37115
Order: “Tennessee style” pulled pork plate with dill pickled potato salad and honey poppy seed slaw plus a half pound of brisket and a beef sausage link (link to menu)
Pricing: $$$

Monk: Shotgun Willie’s opened up during the early days of the pandemic in 2020 and Speedy tried it in October of that year when the indoor seating was still restricted. He liked it enough, particularly the pulled pork and ribs over the brisket. In his Nashville rankings of 2020, he ranked it his fifth favorite barbecue joint in Nashville.

The Monkette’s gymnastics meet was taking place not too far away at the Gaylord Opryland, so we made an 8 minute drive on a Saturday morning and arrived shortly after their 11 o’clock opening. This location is actually not the same on that Speedy visited but its just a short 1.3 miles east across I-31E in the nearby town of Madison. It sits at the end of what looks to be a newer building sitting at the front of an older shopping center housing a former K-Mart-turned-bowling alley which is also a concert venue (I actually went to see The Get Up Kids that night with Speedy, in fact). According to the website, “[t]he new SGWBBQ is about 4x larger than its original location, with more smokers, more parking, plenty more chairs and the one thing he’s been wishing for since 2020… a mechanical bull!” I will note that the bull wasn’t operational at the time of this visit.

After I commiserated over the current form of Manchester United with the meat slicer who I believe to be the owner Bill, I went to work ordering food for my in-laws, my kids, my wife, and me. Bill kindly guided me towards the pulled pork plate when I started to order the pork and brisket by the pound, added a link, and then added sides after the fact, which saved me a little money. The kindness of Bill and his staff seemed to be a constant from the sounds of Speedy’s visit a little over 4 years ago.

Starting with the brisket as Speedy did, I was offered a choice of fatty or lean (going with fatty). Personally, I would have preferred a slightly thinner slice and one without a big vein of fat through it (though of course the latter could not be helped). It did have a nice peppery crust and on the whole wasn’t overly salty. The plate came with pickled onions and pickles and a slice of white bread so I did not hesitate in making a fold over for a few bites.

The pulled pork wasn’t dusted as aggressively as it was in Speedy’s photos and I found it to have good flavor. I shared my portion with both Monkettes (who got the queso mac and cheese as their entrees), and it was a hit with my girls.

Bill recommended the beef link (he prefers beef over pork in links), and boy he did not steer me wrong. The link (which is premade from Kiolbassa in San Antonio) had a nice snap and great beefy flavor.

Staying true to form, the sides of potato salad and cole slaw were above average. I tried a few bites of Mrs. Monk’s Brunswick stew, which she loved and I just couldn’t disagree. You can even get a Lone Star for your beer. So far, no real misses from Shotgun Willie’s.

It seems as if I’m not the only one who thinks highly of Shotgun Willie’s, as last year they were named one of the top 50 Texas barbecue joints outside the state by Texas Monthly Magazine. I’ll have to convince Speedy to check it out again and see if he’s in agreement but for me it’s among the very best barbecue joint that I’ve tasted in Nashville.

Speedy: After Monk told me about his solid experience, I decided I needed to give Shotgun Willie’s another try a few weeks later to see if it would move up the Nashville rankings (current #1: Bringles Smoking Oasis). I had a similar order to Monk, with the pulled pork sammie, brisket, and beef sausage. Like Monk, I enjoyed all, but did not find any one meat life-changing (though the cornbread muffin approached that distinction).

I enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich most, due to the heaping portion of pork that had just been pulled off the shoulder, and the good, hearty bread. The brisket and beef sausage both had really good flavor, but I agree with Monk that the brisket would be better sliced thinner, and I thought the sausage was a tad on the greasy side. Rereading my original review, I wish I had ordered a half rack of ribs, which I’ll have to save for next time.

Monk: Thanks for checking in, Speedy. This sounds like a good occasion for a refreshed Nashville Top 5. What say ye?

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

A Quick Lunch at Honeyfire Barbeque Co.’s Stall in Downtown Nashville

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Name: Honeyfire Barbeque Co.
Date: 1/31/25
Address: 5055 Broadway Place, Level 2 South Stall 8, Nashville, TN 37203 (Assembly Food Hall)
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with sweet corn pudding (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: The Monk family gymnastics travels brought us to Nashville recently, and Mrs. Monk insisted on an afternoon on Broadway on our first day in town. Arriving in early afternoon, she had already scouted out Assembly Foodhall with the assumption that it would satisfy each of our tastes; I usually get a bit of a moan from the Monkettes when I announce we are going to a barbecue restaurant and I was saving that for the next day (more on that next week).

Assembly Foodhall has a prime location in downtown Nashville around the corner from Broadway and across the street from the Ryman. It features stalls from local Nashville eateries and bars like The Pharmacy Burger, Prince’s Hot Chicken, and Hattie Jane’s Creamery over two floors and like just about every other place in Nashville, regularly features live music.

The youngest Monkette (the pickiest eater among us) got a fancy grilled cheese, Mrs. Monk and the elder Monkette shared sushi rolls, and I got a lighter lunch of a pulled pork barbecue sandwich and a side at Honeyfire Barbeque Co.

The pork sandwich was dusted with a sweet rub and a squirting of their honey barbecue sauce but that was somewhat offset by the topping of a mayo-based coleslaw. All in all, this was a fairly satisfying sandwich albeit not overly smokey. My assumption is that it was smoked in a gasser at their main location in the Bellevue neighborhood and trucked into downtown.

Speaking of the Bellevue location, Speedy actually checked out Honeyfire back in 2020 and tried a 3-meat combo of pork, brisket, and ribs. His main complaint overall was a generally high level of sweetness. Though to be fair, he did add a heap of of additional sauce onto the pork thinking it was a vinegar sauce.

The small cup of corn pudding was on the sweeter end of the spectrum while not being overly sweet, and a nice complement to the sandwich.

Honeyfire Barbeque Co. was not the main barbecue joint I was looking forward to in Nashville, but I certainly did not regret visiting as it’s decent ‘cue that is served quickly (a plus in a food hall setting). And there’s better barbecue down the street at Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ at Chief’s, but in a pinch it’ll do the trick.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

The Women of Red Bridges School Behind the Food

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Monk: Fans of old school barbecue in Cleveland county have been relying upon Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby for Piedmont-style barbecue for nearly 80 years. While originally started by Red Bridges in 1946, the restaurant is really a story of matriarchs. Red’s wife Lyttle continued to run the business after his passing in 1966, working over 12 hours each day until she retired at the age of 80. Today her daughter Debbie and granddaughter Natalie continue to carry the torch, with the same pits and same recipes.

In the below video, Al from Behind the Food TV gets schooled by Debbie, Natalie, and the men of Red Bridges Barbecue during an overnight smoke as they cook barbecue in temporary mobile pits that they used while their brick masonry pits were being repaired after a pit fire in the fall of 2024.

Along the way, we get a comprehensive history of the restaurant, Debbie’s choice of the restaurant over a modeling career, and how Natalie has slowly drug the restaurant into the 21st century as her mom has technically retired. Al also gets to prep the hush puppies and the barbecue slaw in the part of the kitchen known as “The Slaw Room.”

Needless to say, this was a very thorough schooling by the women of Red Bridges.

Description: In this epic story, the 2nd and 3rd generations of women running Red Bridges BBQ in Western North Carolina show me their almost 80 year-old tradition of cooking Shelby, NC style BBQ – and share the journey of all 3 generations of strong women defending their BBQ traditions.

Linkdown: 1/30/25 – The Joy and the Sadness Edition

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Featured

Monk: Congrats to the 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalists! They were announced a little over a week ago, and from a barbecue standpoint Christopher Prieto of Prime Barbecue was the only pitmaster from North Carolina nominated. This was his first nomination.

Impressively, Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia was nominated for a second time – perhaps the first time someone from the barbecue world has been nominated two years in an row. That’s big time.

https://twitter.com/EaterCarolinas/status/1882089244937871864

By my count, there were 8 nominations from the barbecue world. The Southeast made up 2 of those, as did Texas. The remaining nominations were from California, Mid-Atlantic, South, and in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. The full list is available here.

  • Outstanding Restaurateur – Daisy Ryan and Greg Ryan, Companion Hospitality (Bell’s, Bar Le Cote, Priedite BBQ, and others), Los Alamos, CA
  • Best Chef: California – Darryl Bell, Stateline Road Smokehouse, Napa, CA
  • Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic – Fernando Gonzalez, 2Fifty Barbeque, Riverdale, MD and Washington, DC
  • Best Chef: South – Jordan Wright, Wright’s Barbecue, Johnson, AR
  • Best Chef: Southeast – Christopher Prieto, Prime Barbecue, Knightdale, NC;
  • Best Chef: Southeast – Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC
  • Best Chef: Texas – Fasicka Hicks and Patrick Hicks, Smoke’N Ash BBQ, Arlington, TX
  • Best Chef: Texas – Evan LeRoy, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Austin, TX

Nominees for the 35h Annual James Beard Award will be announced on Wednesday, April 2, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16. Will someone from the barbecue world win Best Chef? Stay tuned and we’ll find out in a couple of months.

Native News

On the sad side of things, a trio of stories from the world of North Carolina barbecue:

Kyle Fletcher of Kyle Fletcher’s Barbecue in Lowell passed away earlier this year and leaves behind a “legacy of kindness”

Short Sugar’s in Reidsville has closed after 75 years in business

And to add to the misery, Kepley’s in the Barbecue Bros hometown of High Point will close next month after 75 years open