Name: Resident Culture Brewing Date: 8/14/24 Address: x Order: Butcher’s Block Sampler with pork and brisket, red slaw, and hush puppies (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: Resident Culture Brewing made waves last year when they announced they would be hiring pitmaster Edmar Simoes (formerly of Noble Smoke and Sauceman’s) to start their barbecue program out of their South End location. They rolled it out in late 2023 but it wasn’t until summer 2024 that I personally was able to check it out.
And for me, it definitely did not disappoint. While I did initially say it may be in the conversation for best barbecue in town (and possibly in the top 3) more on that in a bit and why that’s not quite the case.
The pork seemingly owed a lot to Edmar’s time at Noble Smoke, and was perfectly smoky with a nice salt and pepper bark chopped in. Of the two meats, I made sure to finish it at that sitting and would be my must-order next time I visit.
The slices of brisket had a fantastic peppery bark you’d want to see on a Texas-style brisket. No choice of fatty or lean was offered, so the three slices were all from the lean side of the brisket. On a side note, the brisket reheated nicely several days later for a leftover sandwich made of the the slices plus some of the pickles and onions offered on the side,
In terms of sides, I appreciated the choice of red or white slaw and the red slaw paired really nicely with the chopped pork and doused in some Eastern Carolina vinegar sauce from the table. The generous helping of hush puppies were also a nice surprise in terms of taste and texture.
Upon further reflection and after getting a little more information in terms of the smoking setup, I would still put Resident Culture Brewing in the top tier of Charlotte barbecue but not quite in the top 3 or even the top 5. Edmar confirmed to me that they use an Ole Hickory gasser that can add wood to get smokiness but in any case I was still impressed by how good the barbecue was. For game days or lunch stops during a South End Brewery crawl, this is certainly some very good barbecue.
Name: Puckett’s Restaurant Date: 7/19/24 Address: 2 W Aquarium Way Chattanooga, TN 37402 Order: Puckett’s BBQ Platter, smoked sausage and cheese plate (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: Puckett’s Restaurant is a Tennessee-based chain that started in Franklin in 2004. They are a southern restaurant that serves barbecue and is also known for their live music at each of their restaurants, and in particular the downtown Nashville location which has a large stage and capacity for up to 150 seated guests in the Music City.
In the past 20 years it has expanded to eight total restaurants, with most being in the middle and central part of the Volunteer State, with the exception being located in Cullman, Alabama about 60 miles south of the Alabama-Tennessee border.
Nearly 10 years ago the Chattanooga location of Puckett’s was the fourth to open, located in the Riverfront District near the Tennessee Aquarium. It is actually the largest location of any of the eight Puckett’s.
On our visit, the Monk family was seated at a four top near the stage, where a lady duo played some fun bluegrass covers. I ordered a Tennessee whiskey cocktail and Mrs. Monk ordered a Mexican Mule and we were off to a great start.
From there, we ordered a Smoked Sausage and Cheese plate for an appetizer. Mrs. Monk and I were hoping it was along the lines of a Memphis-style meat and cheese plate that we learned about from our current neighbors in Charlotte who used to live in Memphis. Unfortunately, the cheese was sliced instead of cubed and the pickles were chips instead of spears. Not to mention there was only three pickle chips. So it was all wrong for me. The red flags began to show themselves.
The Puckett’s BBQ Platter with pulled pork and brisket was my choice and while all of our food came out nice and quick, I quickly found myself disappointed. Of the two meats, the pulled pork was the better of the two but did not have much of a hint of smoke and was on the dry side. And each of table sauces were thicker, molasses-based sauces so neither were going to be of much help there.
The brisket was partially sliced and partially chopped. Or more accurately, the chopped bits were likely collected from some of the scraps of the slices from the cutting board. And they were even drier than the pork. I found it to be disappointing and mostly inedible.
The sides of sweet potato fries, baked beans, and cole slaw were nothing to write home about.
Next time I’m near one of the other seven locations of Puckett’s Restaurant in and around Middle Tennessee, if I do make my way inside I’m skipping their barbecue and going for their southern food fare while I enjoy live music.
Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: The Jon G’s Jubilee is part barbecue festival and part birthday celebration, with the first edition in 2023 created in honor of the 40th birthday of co-owner and pitmaster Garren Kirkman. This year, I made my way to Peachland around 4pm on a Saturday in late June – which, by the way, is an odd feeling if you’ve ever woken up closer to the crack of dawn to leave for a Barbecue Saturday – for this year’s edition of the Jubilee featuring contributions from N. Sea Oyster Co., Lawrence Barbecue, Elliott Moss, and of course Jon G’s Barbecue.
Most attendees at the Jubilee started with oysters from N. Sea Oyster Co. from Hampstead which is located near Topsail Beach on the North Carolina coast. They offered both raw and the barbecued oysters that were cooked on a Kudu grill next to the tent. The oysters were a touch on the small side for my liking but the raw with a “hog wash mignonette” were nice and briney while the barbecued with a chipotle bourbon butter were sublime.
Lawrence Barbecue‘s beef fat caramel wings were probably the food highlight of the evening for me. If I am recalling the process correctly, beef fat drippings from briskets are rendered into a caramel sauce with sugar and cumin, and then that is what the wings are dipped in after they are fried. These don’t appear to be a regular menu item at their shop in Durham but if they are ever on special, grab a friend and get as many as you can. Just ridiculously tasty.
Elliot Moss and his mobile BQ smoker was actually the first sight attendees saw when walking into the Jubilee in the the lawn area behind the Jon G’s building. Moss was a last minute addition to the festivities, announced just the week leading into the festival, but he was certainly a welcome one for barbecue fans in the know. He’s made some moves in his hometown of Florence that are still to be announced publicly (but are consistent with what he told me at the Carolina BBQ Festival) and safe to say that big things are in the works. I can’t wait to hear the full scope of his plans, which we should hopefully know more about in the coming weeks.
His whole hog was served pig pickin’ style straight from the pig cooker with a pot of vinegar pepper sauce and a white slaw. And it was as sublime as you would have expected from a fresh hog cooked on site the night before to be.
Finally, Jon G’s Barbecue came through with a beef rib croissant sandwich topped with chimichurri served with a side of burnt ends and a watermelon salad. The sandwich was a super-sized version of the slider beef rib croissant sandwich I had at the first Carolina BBQ Festival and the Smoke and Grapes event as part of 2022’s Charlotte Food and Wine Festival. It’s deliciously luxurious and indulgent and a neighbor at a nearby table noted that the sandwich was “the best thing [she’s] ever eaten” which honestly isn’t too far off from the truth. The usual excellence from Garren, Kelly, and team.
Thankfully, Garren has confirmed that the third edition of the Jon G’s Jubilee is already in the works, possibly with a move in timing (especially if wife and co-owner Kelly has anything to do with it). Whenever it’s announced, for barbecue fans in North and South Carolina it’s worth looking out for and adding to your calendar.
Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: For this year’s edition of the Carolina BBQ Festival, while some pitmasters were new and the festival changed locations from Camp North End to Uptown (not to mention it was now part of the Charlotte SHOUT! Festival), not too much changed in terms of the quality of the barbecue served from two years ago when I went to the first edition of the festival.
Speedy: Well, here was one other big change: your boy Speedy made an appearance! I happened to be in town to catch a couple final Charlotte Hornets games as a season ticket holder and Monk’s Spring Break travels aligned with us going to the festival on Saturday.
On the drive in, Monk gave me a rundown of the scene (i.e. the pitmasters) before the festival, and I must say I was pretty excited about the volume of talent from all across the great state of North Carolina (oh, and the lesser Carolina as well). We arrived to beautiful weather on a warm Saturday, checked-in, got our wristbands for some refreshing beverages, were issued our silverware, and we were off to explore the smoked meats across Victoria Yards.
Monk: Elliott Moss made his third straight appearance at the Carolina BBQ Festival and while he is now under his own banner of Moss & Moore Barbecue instead of Buxton Hall Barbecue, he brought his ever-familiar whole hog. They may have been out of slider buns for us but with a few dashes of vinegar-pepper sauce in a cardboard boat this whole hog was reminiscent of the pork from Buxton Hall, of which we are both big fans.
Moss did give me a little bit of an indication of what will be next for him as he posted last month that he would be leaving Asheville this spring, but I will leave the details of the forthcoming announcement up to him. What I will say is that it looks like he is staying in the Carolinas and will still be cooking whole hog barbecue. More to come from Moss in the coming weeks and months.
Speedy: Walking up to Jon G’s Barbecue tent, I saw a heavenly site – a tower of beef rib bones – and I knew we were in for a treat. Beef rib slider with pickled onions on a potato roll? Yes please! The bar is high for Jon G’s and they did not disappoint. This sammie is what dreams are made of, and this is my winner for bite of the day.
Monk: I always enjoy catching up with Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ at barbecue festivals, and for this festival it was a family affair with his wife and three kids in tow helping him serve some delicious smoked cheese burger sliders. Despite some issues with wood, Register more than delivered on this burger and was one of two non-traditional barbecue bites that stood out on the afternoon.
Speedy: I am on record as saying that any item that is not strictly smoked meat is secondary in the barbecue setting, but City Limits Barbeque made me question that stance with the pork belly hash and Carolina gold rice. I would easily eat a generous portion of this as a whole meal and might even be willing to venture to Columbia some time to check out the full experience at the James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southeast, which was announced just days before the festival.
Monk: While they were out of consommé by the time I got there, the mini smoked brisket quesabirria taco with avocado salsa from Lawrence Barbecue was still one of the highlights of the festival for me. This was the other standout change of pace bite from the more traditional barbecue served throughout the festival. It’s also a nice crossover of Lawrence Barbecue with owner Jake Wood’s sister concept Leroy’s Tacos. Both are worth making the trip to Durham for a visit, or perhaps Wood’s upcoming barbecue festival next month in Raleigh, Gettin’ Piggy With It, another great collection of Carolinas barbecue talent.
Speedy: Monk had been raving to me privately about Sweet Lew’s sausage game for a while, so I was pumped to get to sample a link at the festival – and it did not disappoint. The sausage was flavorful and smoked perfectly, and did not crumble. The man knows what he’s doing around a sausage stuffer.
Monk: Phew! The Barbecue Bros attendance at this year’s Carolina BBQ Festival came together at the last minute (big thanks to friend of the blog Chigger Willard of The Low and Slow Barbecue Show) but thankfully Speedy and I were able to make it happen.
It’s such a great festival in large part due to the effort by Lewis Donald along with so many others. Next year, I can’t recommend enough for anyone within driving distance (or even beyond like in Speedy’s case) to make the trip to Charlotte and attend because there’s not too many other instances where you can taste so much good barbecue from throughout the Carolinas in one afternoon.
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