Midwood Smokehouse

Linkdown: 2/4/15

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– This NY Times article on the sisterhood of women chefs in NC is great, though I don’t really get the following line on “barbecue kids” – is this a euphemism for “hipsters”?

Ms. [Nathalie] Dupree, who lives in Charleston, put it a little more bluntly. “North Carolina has always been a place where food was very important, but the men were always more interested in the macho-boy stuff that attracts the barbecue kids these days,” she said. “So the women were free to make all the rest of the food.”

– Tyson Ho checks in with his latest blog entry for Serious Eats on how he picks and scavenges for equipment and other goods when another restaurant closes

– This post on how to help your local bbq joints was written with Texas joints in mind due to beef’s historically high prices, but can apply to local joints wherever you happen to be

– “Barbecue sandwich” is one of 16 sandwiches in Our State Magazine’s Southern Sandwich Tournament; here is their travel guide to each sandwich

– Destination BBQ’s blog has a map that helps make finding SC BBQ easier

– Home Team BBQ is opening a downtown Charleston location by Labor Day 2015

– From last summer, 5 questions with Bethanie Schemel of KC Barbecue Tours in Taste Trekkers (our list is here btw)

– Queen City Q is celebrating 3 years of being open next week with the special release of Susie Q Smoked IPA from Birdsong Brewing, named after the owner of the restaurant

– Speaking of beer and barbecue, NoDa Brewing and Midwood Smokehouse are coming together for a Texas-themed “Crossroads Cue Supper” with James Beard-winning author Robb Walsh; Speedy and I attended a similar event a little over 1.5 years ago with Sam Jones of Skylight Inn

– This week, Marie, Let’s Eat! checks out Porkie’s Original BBQ, a north Alabama joint in central Florida

– Last weekend, a barbecue was held to help benefit a local Charlotte firefighter battling cancer

– Two competitions have been posted on the NC BBQ Association website, one of them being the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival in Charlotte in May (our photos from last year)

– Scott’s Bar-B-Que is one of Thrillist’s best 13 restaurants in the south

Scott’s Bar-B-Que

Hemingway, SC
If you’ve never driven to the middle of the countryside or just a teensy town whose closest large city is the #1 destination for 19-year-old Spring Breakers along the Carolina coasts, just for a lunch of smokey pulled pork, you’re lazy, but also it’s time to take a trip to Scott’s. The Variety Store and ‘cue spot has been operating since’72, and it’s truly a family affair with son Rodney as the pitmaster that brought them to national fame. Order a 1/2lb of pork, slow-smoked and well-seasoned overnight, get your sauce spicy — you finally took this pilgrimage, so make the best of it — ask for crispy, fresh-fried pork rinds like you’re a regular in the know, and, then, whatever you do, remember to get at least 2lbs of pork and a gallon of sauce to go. Because, sadly, you aren’t a regular, but you’ll want to eat like you are as long as possible.

– Via TMBBQ, Live Oak Barbecue in Austin has closed; Rudy tried it about a little over a year ago and was not a fan

– Finally, if you feel so inclined we’d be honored if you would vote us for Best Local Blog under “Media – Best Local” in Charlotte Magazine’s annual Best of the Best Awards

Photos: Meeting the Marie, Let’s Eat! Crew at Midwood Smokehouse

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Last weekend, Speedy and I were fortunate enough to meet up with Grant of Marie, Let’s Eat! (plus the rest of his crew) at Barbecue Bros favorite Midwood Smokehouse. You see, he was kind enough to reach out to us a few months back since they were planning to do one of their crazily awesome day trips to the Carolinas (I don’t want to spoil it too much, but in addition to Midwood they also stopped by Mac’s, two seafood restaurants in Fort Mill, as well as a barbecue restaurant and ice cream place in Gastonia – those chapters should be posting on this blog in the coming weeks), and we were more than happy to meet him at our favorite barbecue restaurant in Charlotte.

In addition to eating barbecue (for the record: Grant – pork; Speedy – burnt ends; Monk – brisket; with some sharing of course), we talked barbecue road trips, discussed Atlanta and Charlotte, got a brief pit tour by an associate manager, and stopped by Lunchbox Records after we finished up. All in all, a pretty great way to spend a couple of hours with some new friends. I’m not sure when I’ll be in Atlanta next, but whenever that is I hope to share another barbecue meal with Grant.

–Monk

Linkdown: 1/21/15

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– You may have heard recently that Chipotle is out of carnitas at 1/3 of its locations, but Charlotte Magazine is glad at least several local dishes aren’t affected

Midwood Smokehouse’s ribs

You know that feeling when you get to Midwood Smokehouse a little too late, and you see someone being served the last fall-off-the-bone, flavorful rack of ribs? Yeah, let’s hope that their pork supply remains plentiful. 1401 Central Ave., 704-295-4227, midwoodsmokehouse.com.

Mac’s Speed Shop’s pulled pork 

Chipotle may be able to pull it off, but barbecue joint without pork? This is one place where if we’re coming in for the smoky, Carolina-sauced pulled pork, we won’t be so happy to substitute the chicken. 2511 South Boulevard, 704-522-6227, macspeedshop.com.

– Robert Moss’s 5 great interstate highway barbecue joints includes Fuller’s Barbecue, who we visited last fall

– In Madison County, Robin Reeves is raising her heritage-breed pigs partly on whiskey mash; introducing: WhiskeyPigs

The WhiskeyPigs name refers to Troy & Sons’ spent mash, which the pigs and Reeves’ other animals slurp down for 30 days prior to slaughter. With 10,000 pounds of mash per week, the distillery produces more than enough for the WhiskeyPigs fleet. The majority of the 2-3 percent alcohol concoction is collected for another local dairy farmer’s cows.

“They’re a little bit calmer, because they’ve had a little buzz,” says Reeves of the pigs’ final month, “but they’re pretty calm as it is. It’s their personality.”

– According to Atlanta Eats, Buxton Hall’s barbecue pop-up at Kimball House in Atlanta is one of the best things they ate this week

Upcoming Asheville BBQ joint, Buxton Hall made the journey down to Atlanta on Sunday. In one word: incredible. The line was long to get to the porky goodness, but it was SO worth it. The pulled pork was perfectly cooked and I’m still thinking about the fresh bread it rested on. So, roadtrip to Asheville soon?

– Barbecue for breakfast? It’s definitely a thing in Texas.

– The latest barbecue stops for Marie, Let’s Eat! are Paul’s Bar-B-Q in Lexington, GA and Rooter’s BBQ in Athens

– The barbecue Illuminati gathered for the Whole Hog Extravaganza at 17th Street BBQ this week:

– Daniel Vaughn has some great photos, in particular

– Sugar Creek Brewing in Charlotte and Team Spearhead are having a barbecue benefit this Saturday to benefit the Charlotte Bridge Home; brisket and barbecued chicken will be served

– According to this, Kansas and Missouri are the only two states with “BBQ” restaurants at a disproportionate level of representation, according to Yelp; more explanation here

Here’s the breakdown for NC for your reference; I wonder if all those “Southern” restaurants also included barbecue

North Carolina

  1. Southern — 229 percent higher than national average.
  2. Cheesesteaks — 207 percent higher than national average.
  3. Hot dogs — 80 percent higher than national average.
  4. Chicken wings — 47 percent higher than national average.
  5. Soul food — 39 percent higher than national average.

Linkdown: 1/14/15

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– Barbecue Bros fave Midwood Smokehouse is adding a Ballantyne location so that folks in suburbia can have good barbecue too; it will also allow them to expand their catering operations with the space’s larger kitchen

– Charlotte Observer restaurant critic checks out The Improper Pig and has mixed reviews

The place’s selection of sauces also include a sweet/spicy traditional, an Eastern-style and a mustard one, plus versions dubbed Korean, Thai and teriyaki. You’ll want to try them, and use at least one liberally. A half chicken, smoked, had more moisture than the pork, though not much more flavor. Wings were OK, and go for $10 a pound, in our case eight wings.

– Over in the Triangle, Big Mike’s Brew N Que opens in Cary; half barbecue restaurant, half bottle shop

– Robert Moss breaks down the unique regional variations of brunswick stew

– Speaking of which, in his latest column he moves away from exploring certain dishes to reviewing a barbecue joint; first up, its B’s Cracklin BBQ in Savannah, who only opened last October but is cooking heritage breed hogs over all types of wood

– Steve Raichlen predicts barbecue trends in 2015

– The Eater National 38 includes Franklin Barbecue and Gunshow in Atlanta, which serves whole hog barbecue

– Daniel Vaughn’s most underrated barbecue meats and sides in Austin

– Useful NC infographic

– King’s in Kinston gets the Our State Carolina ‘Cue treatment