Monk: After over 200 episodes of Tales from the Pits, in this episode we get to know the guys behind the podcast a little better. And what better way for that to happen than for them to interview each other? Andrew and Bryan each pose 10 questions to each other that neither was aware of before hitting record.
The questions start off predictably around barbecue before delving into more personal stories about celebrity encounters and favorite concerts, which is where there listener gets an even better sense of them as people outside the context of barbecue.
While technically this is the first time they’ve done a podcast in this format, I do feel like that its along the lines of the conversations they’ve been having over the past seven year. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.
Description: In this episode we do something we’ve never done: interview each other. We chose ten random questions to ask one another with neither of us having any indication as to what the questions would be before recording.
This is a fun one that goes off on some tangents and includes a challenge we hope Daniel Vaughn takes us up on!
Name: Union Barbecue Date: 8/17/24 Location: N/A Order: Carnitas, brisket, Smoky Sweet, Golden Beet Salad, The Big Deborah Pricing: $$
Monk: In recent years, the Charlotte barbecue scene has seemingly embraced Mexican or Tex-Mex flavors into Texas-style barbecue. Way back in the before times of January 2020, Midwood Smokehouse brought Miguel Vidal of Valentina’s Tex-Mex Barbecue in Austin to Charlotte for a few days for some consultation and their current menu is a reflection of that between the Yucatan ribs, taquitos appetizer, and their updated offerings of “Tex-Mex Tacos.”
There’s also Fumar (which is the rebrand of Smoke Show Barbecue) from Chef Brandon Belfer, who offers “taco packs” with beef cheek barbacoa and home made tortillas alongside specials that can include brisket tortas and Frito pies.
Then, earlier this year a new food truck called Union Barbecue from Chefs Holden Sasser and Chase Young burst onto the Charlotte barbecue scene with “new school barbecue” and “Mexican flavors.” They even got a mention from Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn in a February post on his NC travels that praised their “smoky and spicy” beef cheek barbacoa.
Sasser recently relocated from San Francisco (where he was where he working by day in the food technology industry and spending nights and weekends doing barbecue pop-ups) to Charlotte, but he is no stranger to the city as he is the son of Tom Sasser who owns the Burke Hospitality Group whose restaurants include longtime Charlotte staples such as Mimosa Grill and the recently departed Harper’s. But make no mistake about it, Holden and Young can smoke their version of Tex-Mex barbecue well. At a recent food truck stop at Birdsong Brewing, I finally got a chance to try their wares.
For this stop, their protein menu consisted of barbacoa, al pastor sausage, carnitas, brisket, and a smoked pork chop. Seeing as I was with the wife and kids, I had a hard time picking two that I know would make up a sensible lunch order so I went with the brisket and carnitas. Based on the success of these, I’ll be trying each of their other proteins next time around.
The carnitas came in a boat and were topped with salsa verde and pickled onions. Put this into a homemade tortilla and you’ve got a great taco but its also quite good on its own.
The brisket order came with a slice of both fatty and lean, which I was happy to see was the default. Both slides were perfectly moist with a peppery bark. There was a big vein of fat running through the fatty slice that could have been a little more rendered but by no means was it disqualifying. Magnificent brisket.
Don’t sleep on the sides, as both the Smoky Sweet potato topped with smoked crema, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and tajin and the Golden Beet Salad served cold were some of the best barbecue sides I’ve had in recent memory.
And especially don’t sleep on The Big Deborah if you’re a fan of oatmeal cream pies. It’s the best dessert I’ve had all year and its a great value for just $4.50.
In last week’s review of Resident Culture Brewing’s barbecue program, I noted how it was helping to expand the top tier of Charlotte barbecue. Well, with Union Barbecue, it has solidly displaced some of the top joints in the city. Behind only Jon G’s Barbecue, for me it is the best barbecue in Charlotte. Seek it out and you won’t be disappointed.
Name: Resident Culture Brewing Date: 8/14/24 Address: x Order: Butcher’s Block Sampler with pork and brisket, red slaw, and hush puppies (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: Resident Culture Brewing made waves last year when they announced they would be hiring pitmaster Edmar Simoes (formerly of Noble Smoke and Sauceman’s) to start their barbecue program out of their South End location. They rolled it out in late 2023 but it wasn’t until summer 2024 that I personally was able to check it out.
And for me, it definitely did not disappoint. While I did initially say it may be in the conversation for best barbecue in town (and possibly in the top 3) more on that in a bit and why that’s not quite the case.
The pork seemingly owed a lot to Edmar’s time at Noble Smoke, and was perfectly smoky with a nice salt and pepper bark chopped in. Of the two meats, I made sure to finish it at that sitting and would be my must-order next time I visit.
The slices of brisket had a fantastic peppery bark you’d want to see on a Texas-style brisket. No choice of fatty or lean was offered, so the three slices were all from the lean side of the brisket. On a side note, the brisket reheated nicely several days later for a leftover sandwich made of the the slices plus some of the pickles and onions offered on the side,
In terms of sides, I appreciated the choice of red or white slaw and the red slaw paired really nicely with the chopped pork and doused in some Eastern Carolina vinegar sauce from the table. The generous helping of hush puppies were also a nice surprise in terms of taste and texture.
Upon further reflection and after getting a little more information in terms of the smoking setup, I would still put Resident Culture Brewing in the top tier of Charlotte barbecue but not quite in the top 3 or even the top 5. Edmar confirmed to me that they use an Ole Hickory gasser that can add wood to get smokiness but in any case I was still impressed by how good the barbecue was. For game days or lunch stops during a South End Brewery crawl, this is certainly some very good barbecue.
Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
July marked the official start of barbecue on summer TV, with the return of a couple of fan favorites in BBQ Brawl and Barbecue Showdown. While both are barbecue competition shows at heart, each is doing a slightly thing and has different strengths. Before we figure out which barbecue show is right for you, let’s set the stage for each.
BBQ Brawl returned for its fifth season on Food Network and notably, former Top Chef season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio replaced Anne Burrell as a captain. Otherwise Bobby Flay and Sunny Anderson remained as captains from previous seasons and judges Brooke Williamson, Rodney Scott, and Carson Kressley all returned. The setting stayed the same, taking place at Star Hill Ranch outside of Austin, TX.
In terms of gameplay, while the bottom two teams still switch after the first competition, the show introduced a new wrinkle in the form of a “franchise player” who stays with their initial captain no matter what. The ultimate winner wins the title of “Master of Cue” and gets a Food Network digital deal.
Barbecue Showdown dropped all of its third season on Netflix and its host (Michelle Buteau) and judges (Melissa Cookston and Kevin Bludso) all remained the same from season 2. And the competitors still vie for the title of “Barbecue Showdown Champion,” $50,000 in prize money, and a new offset smoker.
Barbecue Showdown moved Georgia locations of the competition set, resulting in what appears (to me at least) to be an upgraded set in addition to an upgraded graphics package. This all might be as a result of having taken on some new sponsors, as for instance several beer brands are prominently named and featured in an early episode.
But back to the original question: if pressed for time, which one should you watch? Well I guess that all depends on what you’re looking for…
If you’re looking for proven barbecue talent: pick BBQ Brawl Included among its contestants are restaurateurs including Hugh Mangum (co-owner of Mighty Quinn’s BBQ with locations in the US and worldwide), a James Beard Award-nominee (Bruce Kalman), and a BBQ Hall of Fame member in Ray Lampe (more commonly known as “Dr. BBQ”). They’ve even got a prior runner-up of “Barbecue Showdown” season 2 in Logan Sandoval.
On Barbecue Showdown this season they introduced guest judges, Top Chef-style, which is a welcome addition to Melissa and Kevin. Tuffy Stone appears early in the season and Matty Matheson and speaking of which, former Top Chef-testant Kwame Onwuachi join in later episodes.
If you’re looking for storytelling: pick Barbecue Showdown Whereas it seems that Barbecue Showdown‘s focus is less on known talent and more on the storytelling of contestants who are backyard smokers or are newer in their restaurant careers. You watch less-seasoned cooks make pretty glaring mistakes in their cooking. Notably Tung and Luis in the first couple episodes of the season.
But there’s also the emotional investment that comes with seeing someone overcome mistakes, scrape through early rounds, and start to figure things out and make a run in the competition. Of the two shows, you’re more likely to see that with Barbecue Showdown.
If you’re looking for colorful characters: pick BBQ Brawl New captain Michael Voltaggio brings a chaotic, wild card energy with his hair and outfits but ultimately seems to be a great mentor and collaborator with his team (which has paid dividends early on).
Captain Sunny seems to have found a lane in poking fun at Bobby Flay every chance she gets, sporting a couple of different custom shirts stating “Crispy Rice isn’t BBQ” and “Crispy Rice is Bobby’s Binky” in the first two episodes and just generally needling him at every opportunity.
Brawl contestant Noah Sims did bring some spaced-out energy with his tie-dyed overalls and shirt, hippie bandanas, and general laid back vibe but unfortunately did not last too long in the competition.
And then of course there is head judge Carson Kressley who may be a slightly divisive figure in terms of his antics but I think has always done a great job in his dual capacity as host and judge.
On Barbecue Showdown, I will note that the Egyptian Cowboy Kareem El-Ghayesh (also known as “KG”) is not only a fun character to watch but in early episodes is also performing at a high level.
If you’re looking to binge the latest season: pick Barbecue Showdown As is consistent with their model, Netflix dropped all eight episodes of Barbecue Showdown at once. If you want to scratch that itch immediately or perhaps within a couple of multi-hour sessions, it is definitely the show for you.
And then, if you want to revisit (or even watch for the first time), the two previous seasons are right there waiting for you. Of course, it should be noted that the previous four seasons of BBQ Brawl are also available on Max.
So there you have it. Whether its barbecue talent, storytelling, characters, or the desire to binge the season, between BBQ Brawl and Barbecue Showdown you should be covered when it comes to barbecue television in these late summer months.
BBQ Brawl airs Monday nights at 9pm ET on Foot Network and is also available the next day on Max. All episodes of BBQ Showdown are available now on Netflix.
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