Monk: WRAL’s Out and About visits Lawrence Barbecue in Research Triangle Park, where Chef Jake wood and team serve barbecue from all different regions plus fresh oysters from the NC coast and “reimagined” barbecue sides. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary of opening, and I hope to check out next time I’m in the area
Description: Located in Boxyard RTP (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) Lawernce BBQ brings the family reunion to your table.
ICYMI, Kevin’s BBQ Joints rounded up from over 120 barbecue personalities what made barbecue so special to them. We were honored that Kevin asked us to be a part of this fantastic project. While some folks focused on their earliest barbecue memories, both Rudy and I focused our answers on bites that broadened our barbecue horizons from more than just the chopped pork they grew up on in NC. Definitely worth a read.
Ayden, NC (home to Skylight Inn and Bum’s) unveils new marketing campaign: “‘Que Marks the Spot”
Noble Smoke is the only barbecue restaurant on Charlotte Magazine’s annual list of the 50 best restaurants in Charlotte
Grady’s is closed until late January for their well-deserved “winter rest”
Lawrence Barbecue as well as Lewis Barbecue in Charleston gets some love from Eater Carolinas contributors on this “Best Restaurant Meal of 2021” post
Thankfully, Pik-N-Pig’s closure will only be temporary and they aim to reopen ths year
Huli Sue’s BBQ and Grill in Asheville serves a “Hawaiian influenced take on Texas barbecue along with some other island-esque plates”
ICYMI, the Jon G’s Barbecue x Salud Beer Shop/Salud Cerveceria pizza collaboration is happening now
Barbecue options in Birmingham
Blake’s BBQ photo progress update from late December
From Lifehacker: “With my Weber, I smoked a little, grilled a lot, and learned even more—and I’d like to share my favorite dishes (and lessons) with you now, in no particular order. This is what my grill taught me over the past year.”
From last month, RIP John Mueller
Congrats to the first class of Kingsford Charcoal’s Preserve the Pit Fellowship. If you recall, the winners of this inaugural class will receive a “grant along with immersive training and one-on-one mentorship with industry leaders throughout 2021 to turn their business aspirations into a reality.” And it’s an impressive list of mentors from which they’ll get advice: Kevin Bludso, Dr. Howard Conyers, Devita Davison, Bryan Furman, Rashad Jones and Amy Mills. I look forward to seeing what happens for each of these fellows as a result of this direct mentorship. The winners ae:
And in more good news, the response to the initial call for fellows was so overwhelming that an additional 10 pitmasters were selected to receive a one-time $7,500 grant. Those winners are:
Newly drafted Chiefs WR Cornell Powell will remain an Eastern Carolina boy at heart: “All I’m going to say is that I haven’t been to Kansas City and had their barbecue yet but, I have North Carolina barbecue number 1 right now,” said Powell.
Despite the shaky opening to his article, D.G. Martin pays tribute Backyard BBQ Pit and Grady’s BBQ, who both were featured in “Black Smoke”
Grady’s BBQ get a brief profile in the blog Because of Them We Can
Sam Jones’ Whole Hog BBQ book is listed as one of Huckberry’s “6 Barbecue Books for the Budding Pitmaster”
John Tanner visits Ace Biscuit & Barbecue for both a lunch a well as breakfast
…he also checks out Beale’s Brewery, who smokes wood the old fashioned way and were conferred True ‘Cue status by John
Rodney Scott continues the publicity tour of his recent book
Houston is the best city in the country for barbecue...at least in terms of the number of barbecue restaurants on TripAdvisor
New sign for la Barbecue
RIP Scot Hudson of Hudson’s Hickory House BBQ of Douglasville, GA
Mr. Barbecue re-opened last month after two years of closure due to a fire, but thankfully owner Jimmy Carros never considered either a) closing or b) not rebuilding the wood-burning smoke pits. To quote him from the Eater story below:
“The thought never really entered my mind,” Carros said.
…
“The flavor that you get from the wood-burning pits is not easily matched,” he explained. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m not sure I can do it.”
As a classic NC barbecue fan and one who enjoyed his visit to Mr. Barbecue a few months before the fire, I heap the highest of praise to Carros for that thinking. And others appreciate it too, as Mr. Barbecue was recently recognized in the Eater’s Carolinas list of best restaurants in Winston-Salem.
Mr. Barbecue is currently open for drive-thru orders only.
Thank goodness Grady’s made it out of the pandemic; now I just need to get there
In what was (somewhat embarrassingly) one of the oldest barbecue restaurant’s in Charlotte, the Tyvola Rd. outpost of the Sonny’s BBQ chain closes this Friday
K&N BBQ makes Axios Charlotte’s list of best food trucks; and they recommend you try the pork and brisket
Picnic and Bullock’s Bar-B-Cue make Eater’s list for Durham
Adam Richman (of Man vs Food fame) visited Midwood Smokehouse last week
Black Smoke is now out, and this in except from the book; the story of Marie Jean of Pine Bluff, AR and her role in barbecue history is uncovered
John Tanner’s Barbecue Page has a fascinating story about barbecue and the law in the landmark case of Katzenbach v. McClung and Ollie’s in Birmingham
Robert Sietsema releases his latest barbecue list for NYC for Eater
Sietsema’s also got the deets on where to get a Frito Pie in NYC, including Mable’s Smokehouse in Williamsburg
I’m seeing the house made sausage trend in NC more too
Congrats to Eliana Gutierrez for one year as a pitmaster at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ