Monk: Last weekend, I cooked my second whole hog. I’ll be following up on my “Seven Things I’m Going to Do Differently” post in due time to update on how I did on each one, but in the meantime, here are some photos from the weekend.
I got the fire started shortly after 10 on Friday night and got the hog on about an hour later.
The Jon G’s Beer from Town Brewing was a good call for the cook on Friday night.
After an all night cook, the hog finished up early afternoon and I got ready to feed the 350 or so people who had RSVP’d to the event, which was officially the Second Annual Pig Roast for my neighborhood swim club. Last year, I had it catered but wanted to take on the official pig duties this year.
What a fun, tiring experience. I don’t know when my next hog will be, but I had a blast for this one.
Name: City Limits Barbeque Date: 6/14/25 Address: 1119 Methodist Park Rd, West Columbia, SC 29170 Order: Quarter pound brisket, half pound chopped pork, chopped pork sandwich with crispy skins,1 mild sausage link, hash and rice, sweet beans, collards, shells and cheese, jalappeno pimento cheese (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: Have you been to a James Beard-nominated barbecue joint? There are only but a few of those around, so chances are you might not have. How about one that’s been nominated as a semifinalist twice in two years, believed to be the only joint to have that distinction? Well if you’ve been to City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia, SC, you can say that you have. It may also hold the distinction to be perhaps the only James Beard nominee to display their nomination next to a loaf of Wonder Bread:
My visit to City Limits had been years in planning before I finally made the trip. I had previously met owner and pitmaster Robbie Robinson through Garren Kirkman of Jon G’s but had only tried his food once before: his barbecue hash over Carolina Gold rice at last year’s Carolina Barbecue Festival in Charlotte. It was one of my favorite bites of the festival and on this day was a close second to my favorite bite of the day and possibly the year.
Speaking of which, the chopped pork sandwich with crispy skins mixed in holds that particular distinction. Robinson smokes pork shoulders as well as pork bellies over direct heat with just a salt rub and chops them together. You can choose whether to have the skins mixed in or not, but I beg you to please get the crispy skins mixed in. It’s then placed upon a nice hefty bun that can withstand the generous portion and you won’t be disappointed. I certainly wasn’t.
In addition to being a James Beard nominee, City Limits also has the distinction of being one of the top 50 Texas barbecue joints outside of the state of Texas according to Texas Monthly. I tried a slice of the fatty brisket and while Robinson wasn’t thrilled with the look of the slice I got when I spoke with him at the register, it was more than solid. Being a Texas-style joint, there were a couple of house made sausages on the menu, and I went with the mild hot link which was above average like the brisket. A few days later, I put these two leftovers together into a fold over on a piece of white bread with a dill pickle and had a great snack.
All of the sides at City Limits are scratch made, and there wasn’t a miss in any of the ones I selected: sweet (pinto) beans, shells and cheese, and collards which were Mrs. Monk-approved. I can’t forget to mention the jalapeno pimento cheese, which we saved to eat a few days later during our week at the beach.
Robinson likes to say that it’s better than the pimento cheese at the Masters, and after visiting myself earlier in the year for the first time I can’t disagree. My only complaint was that I didn’t buy a bigger tub of it; it’s a must get.
Unfortunately, Robbie and team (all of which were able to attend the awards ceremony in Chicago with him in person) did not take home the award for Best Chef: Southeast last Monday; instead it went to Jake Howell of Peninsula in Nashville. However in this case it’s not cliche to say that it’s an honor just to be nominated; particularly when its twice in two years.
If you get there during or just prior to the lunch rush at City Limits Barbeque, be prepared for roughly a two hour wait; that was our experience getting there at 10:30am Saturday before an 11am open. Another potential approach would be to wait until 2 or 3pm once the rush has died down. You may risk some items being sold out, but this past weekend I saw someone was still able to nab a beef rib so you never know.
In any case, don’t be a dummy like me and delay your visit to City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia.
Monk: So you’ve won the literal lottery and have Master’s tickets. What’s the move when it comes to food?
At a price of $3, it would be very tempting to snag a barbecue sandwich in the concession line (which may look lengthy but in my experience always moves at a pretty quick pace). But should you?
In my experience…no, not really. That is, if you are expecting anything resembling true barbecue. There’s no semblance of smoke and it’s doused in a sweet sauce and while it’s a tasty enough snack, it’s really more akin to taking a pork shoulder cooked in a crockpot, adding some Sweet Baby Ray’s, and scooping it between a cheap burger bun.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that; it’s just not what I’m looking for in a pork barbecue sandwich and I assume the same for readers of this blog.
Instead of the barbecue, I’d recommend ordering the following. Quick power ranking of the other sandwiches I tried at the 2025 Masters go:
Egg Salad Sandwich – alongside the pimento, the other classic Masters sandwich for the low, low price of $1.50. This was by far my favorite sandwich of the day.
Chicken Salad Sandwich – this one also costs $3 same as the barbecue sandwich. Obviously, I liked it much more but it’s just a solid, solid sandwich.
Pimento Cheese Sandwich – I think I got a dud of a sandwich because the bread to pimento cheese ratio was way off. That said, I don’t know if the pimento cheese itself was as good as I was expecting. I have heard stories of people combining the pimento cheese and barbecue sandwiches but to me that just sounds like mid + mid = mid.
If you’re at the Masters, you really can’t do wrong with buying any of them though. And thanks to their legendary pricing, you really can try it all and not be out more than a $10 bill.
And plus, you’re at the Masters! The food won’t make or break your day because you’re at a bucket list life event. Get whatever sandwich(es) you’re feeling, get a $6 beer, and eventually get a peach ice cream sandwich. You’re going to have a good day no matter what.
Name: Dampf Good BBQ Date: 2/7/25 Address: 6800 Good Hope Church Rd, Cary, NC 27519 Order: Texas Trinity: 1 pound brisket, 1 pound ribs, 2 sausages, with three sides plus a smoked brisket burger (link to menu) Pricing: $$$
Monk: Another week, another top 50 Texas joint (outside of Texas). Dampf Good BBQ in Cary has been on my wish list for a few years now, but when I’m in Raleigh they tend to be either closed when I come in town for the Hopscotch Music Festival the week after Labor Day or I am otherwise occupied with a State football game and tailgating in preparation for what is certain to be mediocre football.
That changed this most recent trip while I was in town attending two nights of American Aquarium’s Roadtrip to Raleigh three night stand at The Lincoln Theater. I roped two friends of the blog Smorgan and Bill Fleming into coming with me for a late Friday lunch, both to enjoy the nice day but also so I could order more food.
Brothers Nick and Bryce Dampf have set up their food trailer and offset smokers on the grounds of Phillip Farms, and its a pretty sweet setup for a non-brick and mortar with not only the trailer and smokers under permanent metal awnings but also some of the seating for the guests. Phillips Farm is a 100+ year old farm in Cary that in recent decades has expanded to become more of a community gathering spot that hosts a farmers market and family fun park in the spring, a seven acre corn maze, sunflower field, and Haunted Farm in the fall, and a Christmas tree farm and Winter Wonderland in the winter. While this was my first time visiting, I’ll keep my eye on it next time I’m in town with the full Monk family.
Much to my happy surprise, it was a relatively short line of maybe 6 parties in front of us at 12:30 for Friday lunch, though the line did grow quite a bit as we sat down to eat. Me and the boys waited in line maybe 10-15 minutes before we stepped up to make our order.
As the sole Barbecue Bro present, I offered to handle the ordering for the group and once that duty was agreed upon I was instantly drawn to the Texas Trinity Plate: one pound of brisket, one pound of spare ribs, two sausages, and three sides; I selected smoked mac and cheese, elote, and coleslaw. And then, because I was feeling frisky, I added a smoked brisket burger on top of our order.
The pork spare ribs were my favorite of the three meats, and the half rack was smoked nicely with a glaze that had a hint of sweetness. Altogether, a good balance between the sweetness of the glaze and the savory of the pepper-based rub. The ribs themselves were cooked perfectly and had a great bite to them.
We got slices of both fatty and lean for our pound of brisket, and I had a slight preference of the lean between the two though both had the peppery bark you would expect from a top tier brisket while still having the proper amount of salt. We opted for one of each each of the sausages – polish and pepper muenster. Both were very solid.
I’ve buried the lede a little bit here, and the smoked brisket burger may have been the best part of the lunch. I split the burger (which I ordered all the way with cheese, pickles, and mayo on a potato bun) into quarters and both Smorgan and Bill were instantly huge fans. Greedily, I opted for the final quarter after a few minutes when no one was so bold as to take it.
I liked the smokiness of the mac and cheese, while not being overly smokey. The elote corn salad and the cole slaw offered a nice contrast to the fattiness of the meats. All very good sides.
For fans of Texas-style barbecue in the Triangle, I can’t recommend Dampf Good Barbecue enough. Along with Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, Sam Jones and Longleaf Swine in Raleigh, and Lawrence Barbecue in Durham, the Triangle has some pretty heavy hitters when it comes to new school barbecue. I must say, I’m a little bit jealous down here in Charlotte.
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