NC

Friday Find: Bob Garner Visits Sam Jones BBQ

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On a recent NC Weekend, Bob Garner (North Carolina’s “barbecue man”) visits Sam Jones BBQ and also tries the new Our State BBQ NC app (our post on it here). According to Bob, the surroundings may be different but the barbecue is “right where it’s always been” (referring to Sam Jones also being the pitmaster at Skylight Inn). But a major difference is Sam is also doing spare ribs, turkey, and chicken at his new place along with multiple side options and beer. And according to Bob, he is “blending the best of what’s old and what’s new.” I really need an excuse to make it out east soon.

Linkdown: 3/23/16

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– North Carolina, y’all:

– Midwood Smokehouse is opening its 3rd Charlotte-area location at the Park Road Shopping Center later this year

– A new barbecue and music venue called Raleigh Roadhouse sets its grand opening April 1-2 in Raleigh on Glenwood Avenue

– John Shelton Reed’s upcoming Barbecue book is included in this rundown of upcoming books

– Grant visits Archer’s BBQ in Knoxville, a small regional chain

– Daniel Vaughn visits The Beast, a Texas-style joint in Paris, and is pleasantly surprised

– The Central Carolina BBQ Academy has begun meeting in Dunn at the old Harnett High School (for now)

In a small, smoky room of a long-closed school, Gregory Hamm is teaching heresy. His disciples, long familiar with the eastern Carolina dogma of barbecue, are being taught that there’s more to perfect pork than vinegar.

– Hugh Mangum of Mighty Quinn’s has Houston roots

– Southern chefs (and a couple barbecue men) ponder whats next for southern food

Friday Find: Our State Magazine’s NC BBQ App

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In conjunction with their February Barbecue Issue, Our State Magazine also released a free app for the iOS and Android mobile platforms. It’s a fairly simplistic app aimed to help users find a barbecue restaurant or event/festival in North Carolina.

Restaurants
The only difference in functionality between the Near Me, Style, Featured, Winners, and BBQ Trail sections is if you are looking for a breakdown by style, there is a screen to choose before taking the user to a listing of restaurants.

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Otherwise, its a listing of restaurants by different criteria: location, whether its been featured in the magazine, if its won awards in state or national competitions,  or whether its listed on the NC Barbecue Society’s Historic Barbecue Trail (our reviews here).

Near Me
Featured
Winners
BBQ Trail

Tapping on a restaurant will take you to more detailed information with address,  description (if available), hours, phone, and website.

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Events
The events section simply lists the barbecue festivals that happen around the state and can be sorted alphabetically, randomly, by distance, or by date, as well as shown on a map. You can then tap to find more information on the festival including dates, cost, address, and a short description.

Conclusion
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t call the Our State BBQ NC app essential. While it is a nicely designed and attractive-looking app, it’s functionality is fairly basic and straightforward. However, the price is nice (on the house) and between this and The Great NC BBQ Map, you should be able to locate a restaurant should you find yourself in an unfamiliar part of NC looking for barbecue.

Download in the App Store or on Google Play.

–Monk

Linkdown: 3/16/16

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– John Shelton Reed of True Cue in the New York Times on North Carolina and the Politics of Barbecue

– Thrillist releases the 2016 Best BBQ in America and it includes 4 from NC:  Lexington Barbecue, Allen & Son in Chapel Hill, Red Bridges in Shelby, and Skylight Inn in Ayden; there’s also a bracket contest you can vote in

– Local coverage of Allen & Son making the list

– Thrillist Charlotte’s list of best barbecue restaurants in the city include a closed restaurant (Bobbee O’s), a national chain (Jim N Nick’s), and a few other questionable choices

– Grant visits Carl’s Drive-Inn near Knoxville, which despite some old signage doesn’t actually sell its own pit-cooked barbecue anymore

– Queen City Q’s Whiskey & BBQ event is tonight

– Meanwhile, Midwood Smokehouse’s Wine & Swine Dinner (also tonight) is sold out:

– Speaking of wine and barbecue, the future of barbecue in Charleston after this past weekend’s Charleston Wine + Food Festival

The Charleston Wine + Food events, I think, offered a sort of preview of the future of barbecue in one of the South’s great culinary cities. At least a half dozen new barbecue joints have opened in the city in the past year, and several more are still in the works. Their fare is as diverse and ambitious as the dishes served up at the festival, and in an upcoming installment we’ll take a survey of this evolving Charleston barbecue restaurant scene.