Linkdown: 3/11/15

– The history of naner pudding, the perfect dessert for barbecue

The latest entry in Arrogant Swine’s fantastic How I Built a Barbecue Restaurant in Brooklyn series why restaurants never open on time due to contractors, gas companies, and silly bureaucracy

– In anticipation of this week’s ACC Tournament which started last night (weird), here’s Syracuse.com’s guide to the best eats in the ACC that includes Greensboro (site of this and many many other ACC Tournaments):

Stamey’s (two locations, including 2206 High Point Road, Greensboro, 336-299-9888, @stameysbarbecue)

Especially recommended. Just an old-fashioned southern BBQ establishment, this Stamey’s location is right across the street from the coliseum. It’s packed during the ACC tournament — as well as around lunch on most days. The chopped pork barbecue sandwich (with the slaw on top, naturally) and hush puppies is a great choice, as is the barbecue chicken. Word to the wise: If you want to have dinner there Wednesday or Thursday, leave with four minutes left in the second game of the afternoon session. Otherwise, you’ll wait for a while.

A profile on TMBBQ Editor Daniel Vaughn by Lucky Peach magazine; plus his 3 favorite “fusion-y” places in Texas

– Lucky Peach also spends a day with Aaron Franklin

– Re: Arrogant Swine: Is the Best Brunch in Bushwick Built on Carolina ‘Cue?

– Robert Moss has a short recap of the Cross Culture BBQ event at last weekend’s Charleston Wine + Food Festival

– SXSW Barbecue:

An appreciation of Alabama barbecue, by Daniel Vaughn of TMBBQ

– Menswear blog Red Clay Soul has started their own Georgia barbecue bracket

Today we are kicking off the 1st Annual Georgia BBQ Bracket Challenge with our friends at Peach State Pride.  This should be a GREAT event, and will last until Masters Sunday.  That’s right…five weeks.  We have picked 64 BBQ spots in Georgia (a much tougher task than you’d think), and built a bracket.  There are four regions – named after BBQ sauce flavors: Hot, Mild, Sweet, and Vinegar.  16 spots per region.  We’ll spend one week per region, and the final four will fight it out during Masters week.

– Details on the next NC BBQ Association class

Linkdown: 1/7/15

– More on the closing of Jimmy’s Barbecue, whose closing “signals change with barbecue” in the Lexington area

The closure of Jimmy’s continues a change in the local barbecue scene. Five years ago, seven restaurants participated in the annual Barbecue Festival. The closing of John Wayne’s Barbecue and Whitley’s Barbecue dropped the number to five, and now it will fall to four. The remaining restaurants and festival organizers may want to consider adding some of the county’s other barbecue restaurants to gain more manpower and food for the annual event.

– Yahoo! Travel calls The Barbecue Festival in Lexington the “can’t-miss event” in North Carolina

– Red, Hot, and Blue is opening a second RDU location, this time in Cary

A look back at the Kansas City bbq scene in 2014 (h/t @mossr)

A Reuter’s article on Daniel Vaughn, BBQ snob, from a few week’s back

“When I saw him walking up, I was a bit nervous. He can make or break a business,” said Matt Proctor, the pit master and owner of Stillwater.

– Is this guy (the so-called “brisket bandit”) kind of like the Robin Hood of brisket? Update: looks like he’s been caught as of Monday

– Speaking of brisket, it is more expensive than ever

– Our review posted earlier this week, but here are 8 things you need to know about The Improper Pig from Charlotte Five

– The SC BBQ Trail now has an interactive map:

– File this under “The More You Know”:

Linkdown: 10/8/14

– Congrats to Marie, Let’s Eat! on their 300th barbecue review, Blind Pig in Jackson, GA

– The NC Whole Hog Champion was crowned after this past week’s championship in Raleigh, and congratulations to Grillfather Cooking Team of Roanoke Rapids, captained by Ernest Twisdale

A man and his two sons also participated as contestants in the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship this past weekend in Raleigh

– Charlotte Observer writes up next week’s Q City Charlotte BBQ Championship, which for the first time this year is a NC BBQ Association event

– Uncle Ho nears the opening day of Arrogant Swine

The first issue was getting my hogs. I have specific heritage breed pigs shipped up from North Carolina. Getting the logistics set up for them to arrive in time for me to cook is harrowing indeed. There’s really no last minute supplement either—it’s not like I can wander into any random supermarket and pick up a 200-pound pig if my delivery falls through.

Cook too much and you waste money. Cook too little and you not only lose sales, you also sour relationships with customers who made the trip to see you. It’s basically spinning a roulette wheel with over $20,000 all on red. If that’s thrilling to you, you’re in the right place. I, on the other hand, needed a midwife next to me reminding me to breathe while placing my orders.

– Congrats to BSA Troop 33 for winning Creative Loafing’s Critic’s Choice for Best Barbecue (huh?); meanwhile, Midwood Smokehouse wins the reader’s choice for best barbecue

– The Great NC BBQ Map gets more coverage, this time from Paste Magazine

– Mac’s Speed Shop buys a former auto shop in Greensboro and plans to expand there

– Charlotte Business Journal interviews Mike and Anna Hicks, owners of Carolina BBQ in Spartanburg, SC

– Here and Now reports on how politics and barbecue are intertwined in North Carolina

Scott’s Bar-B-Que gets mentioned in yet another barbecue list (via)

– John Lewis of la Barbecue to open a barbecue restaurant called Lewis Barbecue in Charleston next spring and as a result I just so happen to be planning a trip to Charleston for the late spring/early summer

– Speaking of John Lewis and Charleston, this:

– Charlotte, NC is the #1 “Best Big-City Bargain” according to Money Magazine and Midwood Smokehouse gets a brief shoutout