Lexington

Linkdown: 7/23/14

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– Yea, this list of best barbecue according to Open Table isn’t flawed at all. Because everyone knows the best barbecue comes from the places that take reservations.

– Carolina Ribs on the Run in Mooresville is blaming its closure on the construction of Brawley School Road, though I went the other week (review coming) and I would probably blame it on the subpar barbecue

– In other barbecue closure news, Asheville restaurant Sky City BBQ is closed until further notice after it’s owner was arrested under larceny and prostitution charges

– Johnny Ray Bousselot of Mount Holly has developed a couple of barbecue – Bourbon Peach and 10 Bones Signature – that has been picked up by a few outlets locally in Charlotte

– The Great NC BBQ Map takes a trip to the printers; maps ship next week

– Marie, Let’s Eat visits The Greater Good BBQ location in Buckhead

– Lexington #1 is featured on this slideshow of photos from BBQ Paradise 3, which aired last night at 9

– The “Smokin’ in the Valley” Festival is this weekend in Maggie Valley

– A fairly long read, entitled How Barbecue Has Become New York City’s Most Addictive Smoking Habit, yields this infographic

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– According to Sam Jones, the “not so popular side of BBQ”

Linkdown: 4/30/14

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– Two Tar Heels issue the true ‘cue challenge in the News and Observer:

So we are issuing a challenge. We will give a handsome “No Faux ’Cue” apron to the first person to email us at truecue@gmail.com with either (1) a citation to any federal, state, county or municipal statute or regulation that makes it impossible for even one North Carolina barbecue restaurant to cook with wood or charcoal or (2) the name and job title of any federal, state, county, or municipal official who has required an existing North Carolina barbecue restaurant to stop cooking with wood or charcoal, or forbidden a new one to start.

– Thrillist’s 7 ways to spot a fake bbq joint

– The Houston Chronicle has hired a full-time barbecue writer (via)

– Big Wayner had a few photos from this past weekend’s BBQ Capital Cook-off in Lexington

– The Capital Cook-off also helped feed more than 1,200 people through food banks

– The final two barbecue stops on the NC road trip for Marie, Let’s Eat! is Sauceman’s in Charlotte and R.O.’s Bar-B-Q in Gastonia; looking forward to Grant’s next NC roadtrip to the eastern part of the state in November

– Speaking of barbecue roadtrips, the guy behind Barbecue Ranking is looking for suggestions:

– Congrats to Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte Magazine’s Best of the Best Voters’ Choice Winner for Barbecue

– And finally, regarding NC vs Texas barbecue, could Texas Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison have settled the debate?

Linkdown: 4/16/14

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– The Charlotte Observer has a list of various road trips for Spring (including one for beer), and here is a 10-stop NC barbecue tour which includes some not-so-obvious choices

– Speaking of road trips, the latest reviews from Marie, Let’s Eat!’s NC barbecue roadtrip: The Barbecue Center in Lexington, Allen & Son Barbeque in Chapel Hill, Hursey’s in Burlington, and Short Sugar’s in Reidsville

– Bar-B-Q King in Charlotte is included as part of the history of Wilkinson Boulevard from the March 2014 issue of Charlotte Magazine

Few places are more familiar on Wilkinson than Bar-B-Q King. Follow the curved arrow of its sign, and most days you’ll see a lot full of cars. Behind the counter, a static buzz fills the room as co-owner Gus Karapanos flips on the speaker system.

“Same one we’ve had for 40 years,” he says. “People love to hear it.”  The sign, too, has been the same since Karapanos’s uncles opened the place back in 1959. Except for a few days after Hurricane Hugo knocked it down in 1989, that sign and the billboard–sized, ice-cream-eating Inuit at Dairy Queen next door have remained constants in a changing neighborhood. 

– Ed Mitchell, Sam Jones, and Rodney Scott are the pitmasters from the Carolinas in this year’s Big Apple Barbecue Block party in June

– I think I’ve seen a version of this list before, but in case you missed it Lexington comes in at #4 in this list of 10 best barbecue cities (h/t Rudy)

4. Lexington, North Carolina

Pork is the game in Lexington, a small town just an hour’s drive northeast of Charlotte, where a regional favorite is the wood-smoked pork shoulder, coarsely chopped and topped by a mostly vinegar based sauce -0 those who know their way around a Lexington grill often order it with some outside brown, which means more flavorful extra bark from the meat) and sometimes extra dip, which is just the word for the thinner sauce. Another Lexington trademark is red slaw, coleslaw that’s swapped out the mayo for BBQ sauce. There’s a lot to the Lexington scene, which is why the city throws the annual Barbecue Festival to celebrate it. For the regular season, Lexington Barbecue #1, established in 1962 and better known by locals as the Honeymonk, is the quintessential Lexington joint, widely hailed as the best in the business, always happy to help a diner out with a big plate of pork and some Cheerwine.

– Speaking of Lexington, this year’s BBQ Capital Cook-Off is April 25-26

– The Charlotte Smokeoff at Unknown Brewing is this Saturday in Charlotte:

Linkdown: 4/9/14

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– The first three reviews from Marie, Let’s Eat!’s epic NC barbecue roadtrip last month have been posted: Red Bridges in Shelby, Wink’s King in Salisbury, and Lexington #1

– As beef prices rise, more and more Texas pitmasters are turning to pork

– Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ, Grand Champions of the 2013 Q-City BBQ Competition, is hoping to crowdsource a portion of their new food truck

– Thrillist’s list of best barbecue in Atlanta

– The latest Carolina ‘Cue Restaurant featured in Our State Magazine is Bum’s Restaurant in Ayden

– JJ’s Red Hots is having a Bacon Beer & BBQ dinner on April 24 as part of NC Beer Month

– A short article on SC’s Barbecue Trail (via bbqboard)

– Mission BBQ, a military and first responder-focused Baltimore-based chain created by an Under Armour founder, opened earlier this week in Wilmington

– Another (more promising sounding) coastal barbecue restaurant, Southport Smokehouse BBQ, is opening sometime this month:

Natives of Lexington – a town some would argue is North Carolina’s barbecue ground zero – the Hemphills’ restaurant specialized in pork shoulders cooked over hickory logs “imported” from Davidson County. The pits, Elaine Hemphill said, were modeled after those at the famous Lexington Barbecue along Interstate 85 Business.

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A trio of restaurateurs, Troy Knight, Jim Sparks and Ryan Salley (who will serve as pitmaster) has taken over the spot and are returning it to its roots. They’ll offer brisket, ribs and pulled pork with both Lexington-style and vinegar sauces cooked over hickory. Salley said he’ll mostly be smoking shoulders, a hallmark of the upstate variety, but would occasionally go whole hog, the more traditional method in the Eastern region.

– Scott’s BBQ is having their annual picnic on April 19 and oh how I wish I could make it back down to Hemingway for it