Charlotte

Roadtrip Idea: Western NC Historical Barbecue Trail

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Idea for a future barbecue road trip: Charlotte to Carolina Bar-B-Que in Statesville to Deano’s in Mocksville (although it appears that it has been removed from the trail) and finally M&K Barbecue in Granite Quarry and back to Charlotte

We’ve been trying to hit all of the joints on the NC Historical Barbecue Trail, and this would be a way to knock out 3 joints in a day (albeit a very full day both driving and stomach-wise). Who knows if I will ever have time to make this trip, but it’s fun to daydream.

Total trip time: 2 hours, 21 minutes (not including eating time)

Link to Google Map Trip

-Monk

Linkdown: 3/12/14

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– So there’s this: The 10 Best Barbecue Chains in America

– Big Wayner checks out Whispering Pines, a hidden jewel of barbecue joint that still cooks over wood in Albemarle

– Fervent Foodie has the lowdown on the new brunch menu at Elwood’s Barbecue & Burger Bar in Ballantyne

– TMBBQ’s Austin barbecue guide for those in town for SXSW (jealous)

– There are two ways to win a ticket to the NC BBQ Map launch party at NoDa Brewing this summer

– Bob Garner is having a book signing for his barbecue book March 19 in Pittsboro

– Taste Trekkers offers up Five Unique Barbecue Experiences in Atlanta and an interesting perspective on barbecue in the city in a post guest-written by Grant from Marie, Let’s Eat!

One of the meanest things that has ever happened in the last forty years of people writing about regional food was somebody, somewhere, up and decided that Atlanta, Georgia was not a barbecue city. Since then, scores of misinformed food writers have made the poor decision to give the Peach State short shrift and focus on barbecue in other places. Make no mistake, I bow to nobody in my admiration of the awesome barbecue traditions of Texas, Memphis, North Carolina, and all points in between. But this nonsense that Atlanta’s not a barbecue town, that Georgia’s not a barbecue state, has gone on long enough.

– The newly-formed NC BBQ Association is hosting a cooking school next Saturday at Mac’s Speed Shop in Charlotte.

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CHARLOTTE EATS: Old Hickory House

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In light of the recent fire at Old Hickory House, linking this old blog post from Charlotte Eats, who calls it a “Hall of Fame Eatery.”

One of the best places to get Lexington-style barbecue in Charlotte is the legendary Old Hickory House. The Old Hickory House (originally just called “The Hickory House”) has been run by the Carter family since its inception in 1957. It was originally located on Thrift Rd (near the intersection of Freedom Dr and Morehead St). In 1972, the restaurant was moved to its current location near UNCC. Very little has changed over the years—the dining room still sports the Consetoga wagon lamps over each booth, the wood saws and longhorn-bull horns still adorn the walls, and the famous wood fire pit (that’s part of the dining room) still cooks the meats. Even the turquoise dining room chairs are original.

I disagree with their Lexington-style categorization of the barbecue at Old Hickory House but the history is interesting nonetheless.

There has been no update as far as I can find and as of last week when I drove by, the door still has a sign saying it is closed as of 2/24/14. In any case, hopefully this won’t be the end of Old HIckory House in Charlotte.

-Monk

CHARLOTTE EATS: Old Hickory House

Jake’s Good Eats – Charlotte, NC

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Name: Jake’s Good Eats
Date: 2/28/14
Address: 12721 Albemarle Rd Charlotte, NC 28227
Order: Pit smoked barbeque plate with white slaw, Texas toast, pasta salad, Yuengling (link to menu)
Price: $12

While not a true barbecue joint, Jake’s Good Eats is a southern restaurant that serves barbecue among other southern staples like fried bologna, fried flounder, and meatloaf. It is housed in an old historic Gulf gas station and has been featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” so there’s that.

Now I don’t normally find myself in east Charlotte outside of 485, but I happened to be buying a bicycle via Craigslist nearby and had 30 minutes to kill. Naturally, I can’t help myself if there’s even a chance of barbecue (just ask my wife), so I stopped in to try it and have a beer.

The barbecue is eastern style with a slight kick but I found it to be too moist, almost as if it was cooked in a crock pot (whatever it was cooked in, its definitely roast pork). It certainly wasn’t cooked in a smoker, because there was zero smoke to it. Other than the slaw (a white slaw at that), the other sides weren’t really barbecue sides but were average.

It may seem harsh to judge Jake’s Good Eats based solely on its barbecue, but that’s kind of what I do. If I were judging it as a whole, I would be much more favorable as it does have a lot of things going for it in a part of Charlotte that (I’m assuming) doesn’t have much of a food scene. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend going solely for the barbecue.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs

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Jake's Good Eats on Urbanspoon