Kathleen Purvis

Linkdown: 4/19/17

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– READ THIS NOW: This doozy of an article in this week’s New Yorker from James Beard-nominated writer Lauren Collins explores America’s most political food; it was based on a Charlotte Observer article from the awesome Kathleen Purvis on Maurice’s Piggy Park from last December

In 1964, Maurice Bessinger was the president of the National Association for the Preservation of White People. On August 12th of that year, Anne Newman and a friend drove to the West Columbia Piggie Park. They stopped outside the lot for curbside service. A waitress emerged and, seeing that they were black, returned to the building without speaking to them. Then a man with a pad approached the car but refused to take their order, even though white customers were being served. In Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., the district court asserted that “the fact that Piggie Park at all six of its eating places denies full and equal service to Negroes because of their race is uncontested and completely established by evidence,” but it concluded that the restaurants, because they were principally drive-ins, weren’t subject to the public-accommodation provision of the Civil Rights Act. When a higher court reversed the ruling, Bessinger appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that being forced to serve black people violated his religious principles. He lost, in a unanimous decision.

– The Atlanta Journal Constitution reviews Texas-style Das BBQ; our review to come in a couple of weeks

– A sneak peek at the Juan Luis menu from John Lewis; the Tex-Mex spinoff will open in downtown Charleston later this spring

– A McRib-style sandwich made with actual smoked rib meat

– Grant tries some decent chopped beef at Hwy 58 BBQ in Ooltewah, TN

– Eater: 17 Essential Dallas-Fort Worth Barbecue Destinations

– Chef Vivian Howard’s favorite barbecue restaurants include B’s Barbecue and Skylight Inn

– Confirmation that Chef Jim Noble’s barbecue restaurant has gone mobile

– Fuller’s Old Fashioned Barbecue has reopened in Fayetteville after the original Lumberton location closed due to damage from Hurricane Matthew

– EDIA Maps is selling a NC BBQ and Beer Map combo pack

 

Linkdown: 2/22/17

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– Congrats to chef/pit master Elliott Moss on his James Beard nomination for Best Chef: Southeast

– Could he win it like Aaron Franklin did two years ago?

– Marie, Let’s Eat! (the blog) turned 7 so they counted down the best barbecue in East Tennessee since they moved there last year

– Thrillist has a list of the most iconic restaurants in every state (and DC), which includes barbecue restaurants for NC and SC both

– Though Kathleen Purvis from the Charlotte Observer thinks maybe they should have looked past barbecue restaurants for each state

– Nice shot:

– Barbecue (the documentary film) will be the very first film premiering at SXSW

-The True Cue guys are at it again, trying to make the fourth Monday in February a new barbecue-related NC holiday

But Reed and Levine also educate us about the connection between politics and barbecue. Their search for such connections took them all the way back to late February of 1766 when “the Royal Governor of North Carolina, William Tryon, attempted to win the New Hanover militia’s good will by treating them to a barbecue. He did not succeed: citizens of Wilmington threw the barbecued ox in the river and poured out the beer. (This was not an early expression of North Carolinians’ preference for pork; they were upset about the Stamp Act.)”

Reed and Levine explain that this “expression” of discontent with British authority came seven years before “the Boston Tea Party of 1773, when some rowdy New Englanders threw boxes of tea in Boston harbor to protest a British tax.”

– From BBQ Hub

Linkdown: 12/14/16

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– John Shelton Reed expands on his Hillary/Midwood vs Trump/Stamey’s theory though I must admit I hate to see Midwood Smokehouse get dragged into this

– Grant’s latest barbecue joints includes a visit to the Atlanta outpost of B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue which looks awesome

Now, let’s step aside from talking about this restaurant and the trip and let’s look at the big picture. Four months in Tennessee and the barbecue that I’ve found has been a few pretty good places, a bunch of so-so ones, and a handful of unspeakable disappointments. Nine hours in Georgia and one, two, three, that’s a hat trick, three barbecue meals better than any that I’ve had since moving. Now, next week, I’ll tell you about a very good place we’ve found in Chattanooga, by far my favorite in the city. But as much as I enjoyed it, it is still not anywhere close to being as good as Cleve Edmunds, or Heavy’s, or B’s. My search continues.

– Grant’s other recent reviews: Heavy’s Bar-B-Q in Crawfordville, GA and Old Plantation Bar-Be-Que in Chattanooga, TN

– Q-4-Fun reviews Texas-style joint The Beast in Paris (France  not Texas) and had “the best beef rib [he’s] ever had” (again, France not Texas)

– In case you need some barbecue book recommendations for gifts, the BBQ Hub has you covered:

– Kathleen Purvis, ladies and gentlemen

Linkdown: 9/14/16

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– Jim Noble is smoking barbecue for the Tabor Bungalow Social this coming Saturday, presumably as a test run for his forthcoming barbecue restaurant Noble Smoke

– Charlotte Observer food editor Kathleen Purvis stopped by Robert Moss’ podcast The Winnow to discuss Charlotte food, restaurant decor and Maurice’s Piggie Park and their tainted history with the Confederate flag at the 30:03 mark

– Grant’s latest stop is a second take at Kevin Brown’s Burgers & Bar-B-Q in Ooltewah

– Rodney Scott’s neighbor-blessed design passed the Charleston Board of Architectural Review (BAR) last Thursday

– Destination BBQ mulls over on the potential restaurant approach for Rodney Scott’s Bar-B-Que

– A pop-up donut shop will be at Franklin Barbecue on October 2

– Midwood Smokehouse has 3 packages for your gamedays this fall