Charlotte

Linkdown: 2/11/15

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– Our State ruminates on the barbecue sandwich, deconstructed

– In this week’s blog for The Daily South, Robert Moss profiles a NASA scientist by day, and whole hog barbecue pitmaster by night

A career in engineering took Howard Conyers a long way from Paxville: to an undergraduate degree at North Carolina A&T followed by a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke, and then to Louisiana. “I finished my Ph.D. and took my first job at Stennis,” Conyers says. “I lived in Slidell for a year and then moved to New Orleans.” Somewhere along the way, he started to miss his family’s style of whole hog barbecue. “I realized I had left something back home that is unique and special,” he says.

– Tyson Ho writes about the importance of mentors – barbecue and otherwise – in his latest blog for Serious Eats; he also spills the beans on the origins of the name Arrogant Swine

(If you’re wondering, the name came about when we were trying to find a pig-based url for my website. A whole hog joint needs a pig name, and url squatters had most of them. I tried every color pig.com, every variant spelling of hog, all to no luck. Then one day I walked past a poster for a beer called the “Arrogant Bastard Ale.” I wondered if Arrogant Swine was available, and it was, so that became my name.)

– Smoke Modern Barbeque is a new barbecue restaurant in Huntersville from Charlotte restaurateur Dennis Thompson, who is involved in Firebirds Wood Fire Grill and Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar; it opened on Monday

– …aaaand they already have a second location planned, slated to open in July in Ballantyne

– In more expansion news, Queen City Q is opening a second location in Matthews

– Sad news out of DC, as barbecue legend Mr. P (originally from NC) was taken off of life support earlier this week

– TMBBQ goes deep on best naner pudding in Texas, though I disagree with their assertion on NC naner pudding – its been served cold everywhere I’ve ever been

First, though, let’s talk about what unifies banana pudding in Texas. That’s temperature. If you venture over to North Carolina, it’ll come piping hot and covered in meringue, but in Texas it’s served straight from the fridge.

– JC Reid from the Houston Chronicle talks about the importance of wood and smoke (via TMBBQ)

– In other Texas barbecue news, The Dallas Observer is looking for a barbecue writer

– Smoky Oak Taproom, a Charleston barbecue restaurant with an impressive tap list, to open a location in Florence, SC

– Want to win a $100 gift card to The Pit Durham?

Linkdown: 2/4/15

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– This NY Times article on the sisterhood of women chefs in NC is great, though I don’t really get the following line on “barbecue kids” – is this a euphemism for “hipsters”?

Ms. [Nathalie] Dupree, who lives in Charleston, put it a little more bluntly. “North Carolina has always been a place where food was very important, but the men were always more interested in the macho-boy stuff that attracts the barbecue kids these days,” she said. “So the women were free to make all the rest of the food.”

– Tyson Ho checks in with his latest blog entry for Serious Eats on how he picks and scavenges for equipment and other goods when another restaurant closes

– This post on how to help your local bbq joints was written with Texas joints in mind due to beef’s historically high prices, but can apply to local joints wherever you happen to be

– “Barbecue sandwich” is one of 16 sandwiches in Our State Magazine’s Southern Sandwich Tournament; here is their travel guide to each sandwich

– Destination BBQ’s blog has a map that helps make finding SC BBQ easier

– Home Team BBQ is opening a downtown Charleston location by Labor Day 2015

– From last summer, 5 questions with Bethanie Schemel of KC Barbecue Tours in Taste Trekkers (our list is here btw)

– Queen City Q is celebrating 3 years of being open next week with the special release of Susie Q Smoked IPA from Birdsong Brewing, named after the owner of the restaurant

– Speaking of beer and barbecue, NoDa Brewing and Midwood Smokehouse are coming together for a Texas-themed “Crossroads Cue Supper” with James Beard-winning author Robb Walsh; Speedy and I attended a similar event a little over 1.5 years ago with Sam Jones of Skylight Inn

– This week, Marie, Let’s Eat! checks out Porkie’s Original BBQ, a north Alabama joint in central Florida

– Last weekend, a barbecue was held to help benefit a local Charlotte firefighter battling cancer

– Two competitions have been posted on the NC BBQ Association website, one of them being the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival in Charlotte in May (our photos from last year)

– Scott’s Bar-B-Que is one of Thrillist’s best 13 restaurants in the south

Scott’s Bar-B-Que

Hemingway, SC
If you’ve never driven to the middle of the countryside or just a teensy town whose closest large city is the #1 destination for 19-year-old Spring Breakers along the Carolina coasts, just for a lunch of smokey pulled pork, you’re lazy, but also it’s time to take a trip to Scott’s. The Variety Store and ‘cue spot has been operating since’72, and it’s truly a family affair with son Rodney as the pitmaster that brought them to national fame. Order a 1/2lb of pork, slow-smoked and well-seasoned overnight, get your sauce spicy — you finally took this pilgrimage, so make the best of it — ask for crispy, fresh-fried pork rinds like you’re a regular in the know, and, then, whatever you do, remember to get at least 2lbs of pork and a gallon of sauce to go. Because, sadly, you aren’t a regular, but you’ll want to eat like you are as long as possible.

– Via TMBBQ, Live Oak Barbecue in Austin has closed; Rudy tried it about a little over a year ago and was not a fan

– Finally, if you feel so inclined we’d be honored if you would vote us for Best Local Blog under “Media – Best Local” in Charlotte Magazine’s annual Best of the Best Awards

Mac’s Speed Shop – Charlotte, NC (Steele Creek)

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Name: Mac’s Speed Shop (Steele Creek)
Date: 1/25/15
Address: 2414 Sandy Porter Rd., Charlotte, NC 28273
Order: Small pork platter with collards and cole slaw (hush puppies included) (link to menu)
Price: $11

Speedy and I have previously lamented Mac’s Speed Shop and how far it had fallen off in our eyes since we first started going there in 2005. This might have something to do with the fact that they’ve gone full franchise, with five locations in the Carolinas from Charlotte to Fayetteville and even Greenville, SC. Franchising can sometimes have the effect of lowering quality across the board, and I’ve felt that to be the case for Mac’s. But hey, when you’re in Fort Mill on a Sunday and have been given the green light for barbecue you take what’s nearby and open at 11am.

Seeing as this was Sunday morning and Speedy and I had just met with the Marie, Let’s Eat! crew at Midwood Smokehouse the night before, I opted for just the pork platter (also, Mrs. Monk wasn’t interested in splitting the combo platter with me). The pulled pork comes pre-sauced with their Carolina BBQ sauce and while it is tender and moist, it isn’t very smokey. Particularly when I compare it to the wood smoked barbecue at Midwood Smokehouse the night before. But, other than the noticeable lack of smoke, the pork was still decently tasty in its own right.

I’ve mentioned before, but I love the hush puppies that Mac’s serves with the side of honey butter on the side. Plus, the hush puppies themselves were hot and fresh out of the fryer. Seeing as how this was two meals of barbecue in two for me, I went with the slightly healthier choices of slaw and collards. The slaw is a mayo and vinegar concoction and is really pretty good. The collards had real nice flavor and when I wasn’t able to finish much of mine Mrs. Monk was more than happy to have them boxed up for leftovers.

As I read back on our review of the original location of Mac’s Speed Shop, I can’t help but feel as if we may have been a touch harsh (though I do remember the brisket being as bad as we rated it). I will say that this location is very reminiscent of the original South Blvd location and that means plenty of tv’s, a good beer list, and a nice looking outdoor patio (not that anyone was out there on a sunny but chilly January morning). On this visit and at this location, I have rated it just a tad higher than our review of South Boulevard. However, you could still do a fair amount better in Charlotte for barbecue and unfortunately it’s not nearly as good as it used to be.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs
Mac's Speed Shop BBQ on Urbanspoon

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Photos: Meeting the Marie, Let’s Eat! Crew at Midwood Smokehouse

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Last weekend, Speedy and I were fortunate enough to meet up with Grant of Marie, Let’s Eat! (plus the rest of his crew) at Barbecue Bros favorite Midwood Smokehouse. You see, he was kind enough to reach out to us a few months back since they were planning to do one of their crazily awesome day trips to the Carolinas (I don’t want to spoil it too much, but in addition to Midwood they also stopped by Mac’s, two seafood restaurants in Fort Mill, as well as a barbecue restaurant and ice cream place in Gastonia – those chapters should be posting on this blog in the coming weeks), and we were more than happy to meet him at our favorite barbecue restaurant in Charlotte.

In addition to eating barbecue (for the record: Grant – pork; Speedy – burnt ends; Monk – brisket; with some sharing of course), we talked barbecue road trips, discussed Atlanta and Charlotte, got a brief pit tour by an associate manager, and stopped by Lunchbox Records after we finished up. All in all, a pretty great way to spend a couple of hours with some new friends. I’m not sure when I’ll be in Atlanta next, but whenever that is I hope to share another barbecue meal with Grant.

–Monk