MD

Linkdown: 1/30/25 – The Joy and the Sadness Edition

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Monk: Congrats to the 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalists! They were announced a little over a week ago, and from a barbecue standpoint Christopher Prieto of Prime Barbecue was the only pitmaster from North Carolina nominated. This was his first nomination.

Impressively, Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia was nominated for a second time – perhaps the first time someone from the barbecue world has been nominated two years in an row. That’s big time.

https://twitter.com/EaterCarolinas/status/1882089244937871864

By my count, there were 8 nominations from the barbecue world. The Southeast made up 2 of those, as did Texas. The remaining nominations were from California, Mid-Atlantic, South, and in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. The full list is available here.

  • Outstanding Restaurateur – Daisy Ryan and Greg Ryan, Companion Hospitality (Bell’s, Bar Le Cote, Priedite BBQ, and others), Los Alamos, CA
  • Best Chef: California – Darryl Bell, Stateline Road Smokehouse, Napa, CA
  • Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic – Fernando Gonzalez, 2Fifty Barbeque, Riverdale, MD and Washington, DC
  • Best Chef: South – Jordan Wright, Wright’s Barbecue, Johnson, AR
  • Best Chef: Southeast – Christopher Prieto, Prime Barbecue, Knightdale, NC;
  • Best Chef: Southeast – Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC
  • Best Chef: Texas – Fasicka Hicks and Patrick Hicks, Smoke’N Ash BBQ, Arlington, TX
  • Best Chef: Texas – Evan LeRoy, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Austin, TX

Nominees for the 35h Annual James Beard Award will be announced on Wednesday, April 2, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16. Will someone from the barbecue world win Best Chef? Stay tuned and we’ll find out in a couple of months.

Native News

On the sad side of things, a trio of stories from the world of North Carolina barbecue:

Kyle Fletcher of Kyle Fletcher’s Barbecue in Lowell passed away earlier this year and leaves behind a “legacy of kindness”

Short Sugar’s in Reidsville has closed after 75 years in business

And to add to the misery, Kepley’s in the Barbecue Bros hometown of High Point will close next month after 75 years open

Friday Find: Carolina Whole Hog Barbecue in…Maryland?

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Link to Podcast | Link to Farm BBQ Website

Monk: Farm BBQ is bringing the whole hog gospel by serving eastern Carolina whole hog to Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil Counties in Maryland.  In this episode of The Low and Slow Barbecue Show from last month, Chigger sits down with two of the three guys behind Farm BBQ, Tommy and Will, to learn more about their beginnings in barbecue and how they see it as a way to promote not only whole hog but the local farms that produce the ingredients in their food.

Description: Believe it or not, the Carolinas don’t hold a monopoly on “Carolina barbecue.” In fact, you can even find it in the land of crab cakes. That’s where you’ll meet Farm BBQ, a Maryland-born barbecue pop-up that serves Carolina whole hog barbecue and promotes local family farms. In this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, we talk to Farm BBQ founders Mark, Tommie, and Will, and find out why they brought our Carolina barbecue traditions to Maryland. We discuss their business strategy focused on local farmers and creating a Carolina craft barbecue experience – 400 miles northeast of Lexington, N.C. Will and Tommie reveal the details about their house barbecue sauce – is it east or west? – and don’t miss their turn in the Low & Slow showdown. Barbecue – verb or noun?

Linkdown: 7/19/23 – The #woodpilewednesday is a Thing Edition

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Monk: A beautiful ode to B’s Barbecue from a NC-born California-resident in search of the elusive ribs. They sell out early (and I mean really early) so you’ve either got to get there at 6am or have a good friend willing to do the same. Will she get those ribs? Check the story to find out.

Native News

Last week’s issue of The Smoke Sheet featured 10 of the best Eastern NC barbecue joints from friend of the blog John Tanner

Jon G’s will be at Vaulted Oak today

Noble Smoke makes Axios Charlotte’s 25 best restaurants in Charlotte right now at #25

Looks like Red Bridges Barbecue is getting in on the #woodpilewednesday action

Non-Native News

Ahead of opening a brick and mortar, LeRoy and Lewis are selling their food truck

Texas Monthly visits Blake Stoker’s Blake’s at Southern Milling in Martin, TN

The latest John Tanner barbecue stop is in Smokehouse Barbecue Shack, Mechanicsville, Maryland

Linkdown: 11/2/22 – The Call Back Later, Anthony Bourdain Edition

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Monk: Two decades ago, Anthony Bourdain and his production team reached out to Ed Mitchell at The Pit in Raleigh to talk about getting on season 2 of his show “A Cook’s Tour.” The only issue was that it was in the middle of a lunch rush. So, Ed Mitchell being a man of the people, he told him to call back because he was busy.

Forbes contributor Leslie Kelly recently caught up with Ed Mitchell and his son Ryan in light of his recent induction into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame earlier this year. In addition to his True Made brand of barbecue sauces, he’s got a book coming in 2023 along with (hopefully) his much-delayed brick and mortar barbecue restaurant in Raleigh, The Preserve BBQ.

Native News

Shepard Barbecue will be on this Friday’s episode of Diner, Drive-In’s, and Dives airing at 9pm on Food Network

More on Phar Mill Brewing & BBQ’s expansion into Concord

Philly Bite Magazine (huh?) weighs in on NC barbecue with a half decent list

Non-Native News

John Tanner’s been making the rounds again, this time in the heartland of the country.

First up, he meets up with BBQ Tourist (and friend of the blog) Ryan Cooper at Porky Butts in Omaha, Nebraska for a platter of some Kansas City barbecue

…he hits up the Boxer Q food truck in Topeka, Kansas for a pork sandwich after a 10k walk

…he visits Chef J BBQ in Kansas City, Missouri for some wonderful by recommendation of Ryan

…back in Maryland, he enjoys Chicago-style rib tips and ribs at Uncle D’s Grill

…finally, he tries out Due South BBQ in Christianburg, Virginia for a pork sammie and the ever-rare side of hushpuppies (in Virginia, at least)