Monk: Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth, Texas opened in 2014 and is a shining example of bringing Tex-Mex flavors into craft barbecue. Jalapeno sausages and brisket elote cups rub elbows with the brisket and pork spare ribs that you would expect from a craft Texas barbecue restaurant (albeit with some additional flavors).
In this recent video from Eater’s Smoke Point, they follow owners and pitmasters Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales through a day of prep. Both at the original Panther City location as well as a second restaurant they opened, Fort Worth Barbecue Company, in the former location of Bailey’s Barbecue which had occupied a small building since 1931. While they did change the name, they kept the feel of the building, which is old school, no frills barbecue. Take a look.
“Charlotte is not really in either part of North Carolina, it’s a city of newcomers and we have other people’s barbecue.“
Monk: When I think of Charlotte barbecue, more often than not I tend to have the above quote in my head from Tom Hanchett, the former historian at Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South. Charlotte’s barbecue scene has grown steadily in the twelve years since Barbecue Bros started but that growth has not typically been because of restaurants that are serving strictly traditional North Carolina barbecue.
In the spirit of the official slogan of Charlotte’s Regional Visitor’s Authority (“Charlotte’s Got a Lot”), here are the styles of other people’s barbecue you can find in the Queen City.
Texas Barbecue: Jon G’s Barbecue
Jon G’s Barbecue still remains the best barbecue available in Charlotte, and Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn thinks its even one of the top 10 Texas barbecue joints in the country (outside of Texas). I have always found Garren and Kelly Kirkman’s barbecue joint to be remarkably consistent, whether I’m at one of their weekly food truck services around the greater Charlotte area or at the restaurant in Peachland, where they’ve turned Barbecue Saturdays at their restaurant into a destination-worthy event for travelers from all across the southeast and even United States. 116 Glenn Falls St, Peachland, NC 28133jongsbarbecue.com
Tex-Mex Barbecue: Union Barbecue
Earlier this year, Chefs Holden Sasser and Chase Young burst onto the Charlotte barbecue scene with “new school barbecue” and “Mexican flavors” in the form of their Union Barbecue food truck. Sasser is actually a Charlotte native who recently relocated back from San Francisco, where he worked in food technology and did barbecue pop-ups in his free time. Meats range from beef cheek barbacoa to pork carnitas to brisket (all served with house made tortillas) and they’ve got some seriously awesome, inventive sides. unionbarbecue.com
Midlands South Carolina Barbecue: Sweet Lew’s BBQ
In late 2023 Sweet Lew’s BBQ celebrated 5 years open, a nice milestone for the ever-changing Belmont neighborhood restaurant. One thing that’s been on the menu for a few years now is the Midlands, South Carolina specialty hash and rice (or barbecue hash or, simply, hash). There’s a lot to like about the other meats on the menu, but definitely don’t sleep on the hash. 923 Belmont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205 sweetlewsbbq.com
While Midwood Smokehouse is more of what barbecue author John Shelton Reed calls an “international house of barbecue” with multiple styles on their menu, they were one of the first restaurants in Charlotte to offer burnt ends smoked out of their Oyler smoker when they opened in 2011. Multiple locations midwoodsmokehouse.com
Lexington Barbecue: Resident Culture Brewing
Another recent entrant to the Charlotte barbecue scene is Resident Culture Brewing, who last year brought on Chef Edmar Simoes (previously of Noble Smoke and Saucemans) to start their barbecue program out of the South End location of the brewery in late 2023. Simoes is actually Brazilian-born but has taken to American barbecue (as evidenced by his Instagram handle “american_bbq”) and learned the ways of Lexington-style barbecue from his time at Noble Smoke. Throw some barbecue slaw and some vinegar sauce onto a bit of barbecue, and you might as well be 60 minutes north on I-85. 332 W Bland St. Suite C Charlotte, NC 28203residentculturebrewing.com
Monk: After over 200 episodes of Tales from the Pits, in this episode we get to know the guys behind the podcast a little better. And what better way for that to happen than for them to interview each other? Andrew and Bryan each pose 10 questions to each other that neither was aware of before hitting record.
The questions start off predictably around barbecue before delving into more personal stories about celebrity encounters and favorite concerts, which is where there listener gets an even better sense of them as people outside the context of barbecue.
While technically this is the first time they’ve done a podcast in this format, I do feel like that its along the lines of the conversations they’ve been having over the past seven year. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.
Description: In this episode we do something we’ve never done: interview each other. We chose ten random questions to ask one another with neither of us having any indication as to what the questions would be before recording.
This is a fun one that goes off on some tangents and includes a challenge we hope Daniel Vaughn takes us up on!
Name: Lechon Latin BBQ and Bar Date: 9/8/24 Address: 5959 Triangle Town Blvd Ste. 2121, Raleigh, NC 27616 Order: Lechon with crispy skin, Argentine Sausage, elite, plaintains (link) Pricing: $$
Monk: Sometimes in the barbecue game, it’s a matter of having the right expectations. While I had heard of Lechon Latin BBQ since it opened two years ago in the somewhat forgotten Triangle Town Center mall in North Raleigh, I hadn’t really done much research before I made a recent visit while in town for the weekend.
Despite landing on Eater Carolinas’ 11 Best Barbecue Restaurants in the Triangle list from 2023, had I done a little more due diligence, I’m not sure I would have made the trip. I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, and it seems as if the Latin flavors are appreciated by folks who apparently have come from hours away to eat there. I will note that this did not seem to be the case on this Sunday, however, with the restaurant just a third full.
The lechon, or pulled pork, had a distinct lack of smoke and was a touch on the greasy side. And the crispy skin (also known as cuero) wasn’t all that crispy. My hunch is that located in the giant carcass of a suburban strip mall, this was roasted pork cooked in an oven.
The Argentine sausages were on the dry side and rather unremarkable. The plantains and elote salad were better than the meats but didn’t nearly make up for the meal.
While I can appreciate the different flavors, simply put I wouldn’t call this place a barbecue restaurant. Lechon Latin BBQ and Bar is for those who crave the Peruvian, Argentinian, Cuban, and Latin flavors, and I’m happy they have a place like this. Unfortunately, speaking as a fan of barbecue, it misses the mark.
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