Monk: Chef Via Yang’s happy place is outdoors cooking over a live fire, with proteins like chicken, pork butts, and beef ribs in the Hmong flavors of his heritage. Whether its on his makeshift direct grill on concrete blocks or his multi-thousand dollar Grillworks Asador, Yang gets it done, even in the rain.
Description: Chef Yia Vang of Vinai in Minneapolis tells the story of his culture and the Hmong people through open fire cooking and feasts.
Monk: Johneric uses Filipino flavoring in a Cookshack smoker at The Park’s Finest BBQ in Los Angeles to produce some delicious barbecue to feed the locals in Angelino Heights in LA.
Description: At The Park’s Finest in LA, the cuts of meat used in traditional American barbecue meet Filipino seasonings and sauces to make dishes like coconut beef, timuay beef tri-tip, and a smoked and seasoned meaty beef short rib.
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
Monk: After nearly a year of various stages of lockdown and a big spike in COVID cases in January, the first quarter of 2021 had mostly positive news as restaurants managed through relaxed restrictions starting in March.
Here in Charlotte, restaurants are finding new and different ways to diversify their food offerings to attract customers and some are even in expansion mode. Let’s hope that trend continues into Q2.
1/5 North State BBQ announces it is opening a second location in Lake Norman off Statesville Rd
1/10 RayNathan’s in Gastonia celebrated their 2 year anniversary
1/13 Sweet Lew’s BBQ hires its first “barbecue apprentice” in Keywon Dooling from the local culinary school at Central Piedmont Community College
1/29 Jon G’s Barbecue gets their first national magazine feature
2/7 Pitmasters from Bobby’s BBQ, City Limits Barbeque, and Fork Grove BBQ have a “barbecue Saturday Texas BBQ Pitmaster Meatman meat-up” meet up at Jon G’s Barbecue
2/12 Jon G’s Barbecue introduces some awesome Coors Banquet Beer-inspired t-shirts
2/15 Noble Smoke launches taco kits now available every Tuesday
2/16 Bar-B-Q King makes this list of “50 must-try cheap eats in Charlotte under $10” from Axios Charlotte (formerly Charlotte Agenda)
2/24: Axios Charlotte posts their list of the 4 best barbecue spots in Charlotte, with another 4 worth the drive; we even get a brief shoutout in reference to Jon G’s
3/1 Jon G’s Barbecue acquired their restaurant one year ago on 3/1; they would open for business about 3 months later
3/2 Roddey’s BBQ food truck in Rock Hill changes locations
3/3 Noble Smoke introduces the “Mini Mary,” a smaller version of their “Miss Mary” platter that feeds 4
3/4 Sweet Lew’s Barbeque and Midwood Smokehouse make the Eater list for Charlotte
3/9 Mac’s Speed Shop and Noble Smoke have two of the best patios in Charlotte
3/12 Sweet Lew’s Barbeque announces a “Bootcamp and BBQ” event on April 17
3/19 Noble Smoke introduces “The Noble Smoke Pitmaster Experience” where you can learn from their pitmasters for the somewhat steep price of $500 a spot; the initial spots have since sold out
“We are offering an exclusive opportunity to learn the step-by-step process of smoking meat first-hand from our pitmasters, Stuart and Ed. You get to take home the meats of your labor which includes a whole brisket and pork butt (5 lbs each). But that’s not all! 3 sauces, a hat, a pitmaster t-shirt, lunch, and a post-smoke beer are also included.“
3/19 Charlotte-based Mac’s Hospitality Group, the parent company of Mac’s Speed Shop, eyes growth across the Southeast in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Florida under the leadership of recently-hired president Shang Skipper
3/19 Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ will open a location of its fast casual concept in Concord in the coming weeks