Linkdown: 10/17/18

– A piece on Sam Jones helping out in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence

“Everybody can do some good, not just for hurricane relief but in general. You don’t have to be a cook. You ain’t got to be a millionaire or an orator. … Everybody possesses some type of talent or skill. There is something you can do.”

– The Smoking Ho has some photos from the Woodlands BBQ Festival, where some of Houston’s best barbecue restaurants showed out

– Dallas News staff writer Ben Baby provides an uninformed answer about Texas vs Carolina barbecue in this mailbag column

A: As much as I like the Carolinas and the people it produces (like KAGS-TV’s Matt Trent), this isn’t even up for debate.

Carolina barbecue is essentially all about pulled pork and the sauces. Both are enjoyable. But both of those items exist in Texas.

I’m not going to pretend like I’m a barbecue expert, but I know very few places do brisket as well as us. And there’s nothing like ripping apart marbled, fatty brisket and enjoying it with your meal (if you have some homemade tortillas for the brisket like at 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio, it’s a game-changer).

I like Bojangles a lot. I’m sure Cook Out is fine. But when it comes to food from the Carolinas, I draw the line at barbecue.

– Midwood Smokehouse has the best crinkle cut fries in Charlotte, according to Charlotte Agenda

– From last week’s photo, here’s the story behind what Bill Murray actually ate and drank from Midwood Smokehouse

– Hoodline’s list of five best barbecue restaurants in Charlotte is based on Yelp data and contains a korean BBQ restaurant (Let’s Meat) and the just average McKoy’s Smokehouse

– Jim Shahin’s latest is on New Orleans barbecue

– The Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown took place this past weekend in Rocky Mount

– This viral marquee sign at Little Pigs in Asheville is fake news

– Here’s what to expect at The Barbecue Festival later this month

– Say what now?

Linkdown: 1/24/18

– Three Charlotte barbecue restaurants make this fries list, including The Improper Pig’s sweet potato waffle fries, Midwood Smokehouse’s pimento cheese fries, and Seoul Food Meat Co.’s kimchi fries

 

– Bob Garner’s latest for The Daily Reflector waxes poetic on The Angus Barn in Raleigh

– For these cold we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks, Midwood Smokehouse has seven new soups for the soul including the loaded baked potato with pulled pork and brisket and a brunswick stew

– Men’s site The Manual has a podcast on barbecue and booze

Finally, the conversation turns toward what the panel was all waiting for: booze pairings. Slaughter suggests (and the guys all agreed) the best booze pairing for barbecue is a definitely a whisk(e)y with a smokey, peaty flavor. Scotch is possibly the most appropriate since it calls back to the smokiness of the meat. The group also touches on wine pairings, emphasizing that a bolder, heavier, red wine is best, such as a Zinfandel or a Napa Cabernet.

– RIP

– Bib’s Downtown in Winston-Salem contributed some comfort food recipes for the local Fox affiliate

– Keanu voice: Whoa.

Linkdown: 5/11/16

– We were fortunate enough to be considered “experts” (shh…don’t tell them) and submitted nominees for 10Best.com’s Best BBQ Pork Sandwich in NC contest. Voting ends June 6 at 12pm ET.

– Some coverage of the 10Best contest from Pitt County, Asheville, and Garland

– Creative Loafing profiles Seoul Food Meat Co.

– Over at Marie, Let’s Eat!, Grant visits the last remaining Old Hickory House, located in Tucker, GA, as well as Big Cove BB-Q in Owens Cross Roads, AL

– Whole-hog Carolina barbecue converts Louisiana-native Rien Fertel

Mr. Fertel locates the birthplace of whole-hog barbecue in eastern North Carolina. In aptly named Pitt County, he visits three whole-hog establishments. The agriculture-and-livestock-rich region, he says, is “a bastion, or pit, as it were, where the nation’s oldest vernacular barbecue tradition has been slowly smoking for nearly two centuries.”

– Matthew Odam recently went on a 16-stop barbecue tour throughout Texas

– Midwood Smokehouse’s crinkle cut fries makes this list of best fries in Charlotte from Charlotte Agenda

– Always worth a link: