hash and rice

Charleston’s Palmira Barbecue has made the smooth transition to restaurant

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Palmira Barbecue
Date: 2/4/24
Address: 2366 Ashley River Rd Building 1, Charleston, SC 29414
Order: Whole hog barbecue, hash and rice, beef cheek, slaw, and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Note: a version of this review originally appeared earlier this year in The Smoke Sheet, a great national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.

Monk: From the moment I first tried Palmira Barbecue at the former Port of Call food hall in Charleston in 2022, I knew pitmaster Hector Garate and Palmira were destined for bigger things than simply being one stall in a small-ish food hall (which has since closed and converted to event space). Garate was doing whole hog from locally sourced pigs, and it compared so favorably even after trying it right after spending time in Pitt County, NC. And just in case you aren’t familiar, Pitt County is home to such heavy hitter whole hog restaurants as B’s Barbecue, Skylight Inn, and Sam Jones Barbecue, all of which I tried mere days before Palmira. And yet, I continued to look back fondly on what I ate from Palmira Barbecue after that trip.

So it was no surprise to me when it was announced in late summer of 2022 that Palmira (named for Garate’s grandmother) would be moving to a permanent location in West Ashley. The original targeted opening date of March 2023 didn’t happen and in the meantime Garate went back to pop-up mode, both around Charleston as well as travelling across the country and collaborating with folks like Interstellar Barbeque in Austin, Khoi Barbecue in Houston, Bark Barbecue in Brooklyn, and Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, among others. He also helped out Khoi in the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in Lockhart last fall. Needless to say, Hector Garate stayed busy while the build out of the restaurant dragged on.

As luck would have it, I happened to be in Charleston on opening weekend in early February and was able to check out the new building on that Sunday before heading back to NC. In short, I’m happy to report that the transition from a pop-up to a brick and mortar is going smoothly from a consumer’s perspective.

Whole hog barbecue is a “standard” at Palmira, meaning its always on the menu (unless of course they have run out for the day). Garate partners with fifth-generation farmer Marvin Ross to source heritage hogs from Peculiar Pig Farms located an hour away in Dorchester. That quality certainly shines through in the meat.

Beef cheeks are another standard, and they were not available for my first trip. This is not something you typically see even in new school Texas-style barbecue joints in the Carolinas. This tender cut of meat reminds me of brisket in the way they are aggressively rubbed with salt and pepper, but they are much smaller, much more tender, and have a richer beef flavor. At Palmira, they are a must order.

In terms of other meats, barbacoa, house sausage, and ribs are the other standards with brisket, pork steaks, chicken, and beef ribs rotating in and out of the menu depending on the day.

Garate told me in 2022 that he ate hash and rice daily and while I’m not sure if that is still the case, his version continues to be one that is worthy of that distinction. Next time I stop in I will be sure to try more of the rotating sides, many of which are heavily influenced by Garate’s Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.

On this Sunday of opening weekend, the line was out the door well before opening but the line moved at a nice clip through the meat and sides line. The restaurant itself looked great, and a beautiful mural greets you on the side of the building as you enter.

For me, Palmira Barbecue was the biggest barbecue restaurant opening this first half of the year in the Carolinas and perhaps the entire Southeast. I plan to go back imminently with a bigger appetite. Based on what I experienced, it more than delivers from the jump. Run, don’t walk, to Palmira Barbecue in Charleston.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Beef cheek – 4.5 hogs
Hash – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

South Carolina is the Place You’ll Find This Dish

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: We previously featured Food YouTuber Mark Wiens when he traveled to Lexington and Pitt County in eastern NC. For this video, he stops outside of Charleston, SC for a backyard barbecue featuring chicken, pork, ribs, collards, and hash, a South Carolina specialty dish.

Description: CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – We’re just outside Charleston, South Carolina, and on Sunday, I was invited over to my friend John Haney’s (alveronbbqco8462) house for a real deal southern barbecue. It was an incredible experience, watching John and bbq and all of his side dishes including collard greens and the greatest bbq mac n cheese you’ll ever have.

Additionally, in South Carolina is the only place you’ll find hash, a mixture of all the pig bits including the face made into a stew. There’s ketchup based hash and mustard based hash, and we had a full lesson on South Carolina hash.

John Haney (Alveron BBQ) makes the best bbq grills in the United States all hand made – so definitely hit him up: (alveronbbqco8462) and he also one of the greatest legends of American bbq.

Huge thank you to John and his family for hosting my family and I on this amazing Sunday meal.

Linkdown: 7/12/23 – The Hush Puppy Queen Edition

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Featured

Monk: Cheerwine has launched their “Uniquely Southern Summer Contest” and are giving Barbecue Bros readers – some of the smartest barbecue connoisseurs around – an edge when it comes to the contest. Simply enter “BBQBROS” in the “Bonus Code” box for a bonus entry when entering the contest at the link here.

Next week’s prize is The Carolina ‘Que Collection, “an ultimate culinary adventure featuring gift cards to over a dozen barbecue restaurants across North and South Carolina. Savor the mouthwatering flavors and unique regional styles that make Carolina barbecue legendary, and see why Cheerwine and BBQ are known as the ‘Southern Handshake.'”

The grand prize of the contest is a three-day, two-night stay at the historic Brown Mountain Beach Resort, “located in the breathtaking Wilson Creek Gorge of Lenoir, North Carolina, promises an unforgettable getaway where history and natural beauty intertwine. The stay will include a Cheerwine-themed riverfront yurt and plenty of swag from the South’s favorite soda. The winner will also enjoy paddleboard and kayak excursions along Wilson Creek and more.”

The contest ends on July 30 so be sure to enter today (and don’t forget to use the code “BBQBROS”).

More info on the restaurants included in the gift card pack here:

Native News

Congrats to Grady’s BBQ on 37 years open!

B’s Barbecue is featured in this month’s Garden & Gun Magazine

Some recent interviews with Ed and Ryan Mitchell as part of their press tour on their latest cookbook: WBUR in Boston and WUNC in Chapel Hill

Mike D’s BBQ Smokehouse and Retail opens this weekend in East Durham

https://www.wral.com/story/foodie-news-big-bbq-news-in-durham/20944299/

Red Bridge’s “hush puppy queen” DeDe recently celebrated her 40th anniversary of hiring at the barbecue institution

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge has new Richardson hats in stock

Non-Native News

Looks like City Limits Q is off to a good start at their new, in-progress brick and mortar in west Columbia

From last month, CNN delves into barbecue hash

Aaron Franklin recently sat down with the Biscuits & Jam podcast

John Tanner rejoices that downtown DC is getting a legit barbecue restaurant in 2fifty Texas BBQ

Holy Smokes tickets are now on sale! The barbecue celebration returns to Waterfront Park in North Charleston in November.

How Does a Recent Trip to Swig & Swine Stack Up to Prior Visits?

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Swig & Swine
Date: 4/15/23
Address: 1217 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407
Order: Pulled pork barbecue sandwich with hash and rice (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Swig & Swine has been hit or miss for the Barbecue Bros in the past. Speedy visited this location almost exactly 9 years prior to my most recent visit and found it to be slightly above average (and presumably not just because Speedy’s phone at the time took mediocre photos).

I later checked out the Summerville location 3 years later and liked it quite a bit more. That location at the time had enough space to smoke whole hogs while also putting out some pretty credible brisket as well. Now, whole hog appears to be a Thursday only special (at least at this location) while the brisket continues to be on the regular menu.

Since then, pitmaster Anthony DiBernardo has since become sole owner of Swig & Swine, buying out his initial partners Queen Street Hospitality Group in 2019 while also co-founding the fantastic Holy Smokes barbecue festival, which I went to last year and hope to be back at again in the near future

Back to the West Ashley location, which I understand to be the first of the now three-strong chain. Coming off the Rancho Lewis experience the prior night, I wasn’t exactly in a particularly hungry state even after a short hike at the Morris Island lighthouse at Folly Beach. I opted for a simple pulled pork sandwich (yes, yes I know but that’s how its listed on the menu) with a side of hash and rice.

Comparing this with Melvin’s BBQ a few days prior, I like the pork sandwich less and the hash and rice more. The pork was large portion but a bit on the bland side even with some nice chunks of barked chopped in. Unfortunately it seemed as if it absolutely had to have one of the sauces from the table poured on. The vinegar sauce certainly helped the cause.

The hash and rice was thicker than what I had at the James Island Melvin’s with more flavor. This is actually the opposite of what John Tanner experienced on his visit so take from that what you will. For me, it was my favorite part of the meal

Had I read Speedy’s review before hand, I would have gotten some smoked wings and opted for the sausage sandwich special for that day. Whoops, shame on me.

Swig & Swine seems to do a brisk catering and bulk pick-up business on the weekend as from our view on the patio we saw several cars back in, open their tailgates, and pick up large aluminum pans of barbecue and sides. I like to imagine that they were going to a fun outdoor party. On that day, they would have enjoyed a beautiful spring low country day and some above-average-but-not-quite-transcendent barbecue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Hash and Rice – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs