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.
Monk: It’s been a lighter year, barbecue-wise for me but I have managed to hit several big hitters across the southeast (including four restaurants on the Texas Monthly United States of Texas Barbecue list from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). I’m looking at it as trying a few worthwhile places instead of a bunch of mediocre ones, and hopefully in the second half of the year I’ll get to a few more places to round out my list by the end of 2025.
In chronological order, here are the best things I have eaten from the first half of the year:
Last year, the carnitas from Union Barbecue was one of my favorite bites of the year (not to mention the brisket and the out-of-this-world Big Deborah oatmeal cream pie). On a subsequent stop in January I tried the smoked half chicken topped with white sauce, salsa macha, and cilantro for a change of pace and found it to be a nice, lighter alternative to the heavier meats.
Shotgun Willie’s outside Nashville did a lot of good things fairly well – brisket, sausage, Brunswick stew – but their pork shoulder dusted with pork rub was my pick of the platter.
Smoked brisket burger from Dampf Good BBQ (review)
While there was a lot to like at Dampf Good BBQ earlier this year, the smoked brisket burger took the cake over the brisket, ribs, and sausage. So much so that I forgot to take photos of it until I had taken a few bites of the delicious burger made from smoked brisket trimmings and topped with cheese, pickles, and mayo on a potato bun. It was a special on that day, but be on the look out if you are checking them out in Cary.
I live by a simple rule: if I see beef cheeks on the menu, I’m going to buy it. Maybe I’ve been lucky but the two places I’ve tried – Palmira Barbecue in Charleston and Owens & Hull in Smyrna – have put out some seriously tasty renditions that are must orders at their respective restaurants.
Chopped pork with crispy skins from City Limits Barbeque (review)
Robbie Robinson mixes in pork belly with his whole pork shoulders and then chops in some crispy skin to finish it off. It’s going to take a lot to knock this sandwich from the West Columbia restaurant off its perch as my favorite bite of barbecue in 2025. Honorable mentions to the barbecue hash and the sweet jalapeno pimento cheese.
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.
Name: Owens and Hull Date: 5/3/25 Address: 6255 Riverview Rd SE Building 4000 STE 100, Smyrna, GA 30126 Order: Whole beef cheek, half pound brisket, half pound turkey, cole slaw, cheese grits, mac and cheese, collards (link to menu) Pricing: $$$
Monk: Gymnastics travels for the eldest Monkette recently brought us to the greater Atlanta area so the wheels started spinning when it came to a potential barbecue stop. Should I revisit the awesome Heirloom Market which I’ve only been to once but loved? Or take the family to the ever dependable Fox Bros? Perhaps revisit DAS BBQ or try and hit one of the old school spots still running like Old Brick Pit or Old Hickory House?
But referencing the United States of Texas Barbecue list of the best Texas barbecue outside of the state from last year, I realized there was a name I wasn’t familiar with at the number 3 spot located in the town of Smyrna outside of Atlanta: Owens and Hull. My plans were made.
After our gymnastics obligations were fulfilled, we made our way towards a newish mixed-use development in a an industrial area along the Chatahoochee River northwest of Atlanta proper. Owens and Hull is the brainchild of owners Robert Owens and Bryan Hull who rebranded what was formerly a Grand Champion BBQ (a restaurant that Owens owned) a few years back when Hull came on board. I can’t speak to the smoker setup before the switch but now they now have two rather large Primitive Pits offsets in the parking lot. By all accounts, the change in focus to Texas barbecue with Georgia wood and ingredients seems to be working.
The first thing that caught my eye was that they had beef cheek on the menu, an automatic order whenever I see it, and it was the standout of the proteins I tried that day and comparable to the beef cheek I had at Palmira Barbecue (#1 on the United States of Texas Barbecue list). My hope is that more places get on the beef cheeks train.
The brisket, a Friday and Saturday only offering, was not too far behind the beef cheek. Without asking, I was provided a mix of fatty and lean along with some burnt ends. This was probably the best of the true central Texas-style briskets I’ve tried in Atlanta over the years.
I opted for turkey instead of another protein like ribs or sausage, and boy was I glad that I did. Not only did it give me a respite from the heavier, fattier beef offerings but on its own merits it was rather good. Moist and juicy with a nice peppery bark, this was one of the better turkeys I’ve tried recently.
I did also get to try the pork from the sandwich of the youngest Monkette and it had a nice, smokey bark and was well smoked. As for the sides, the collards passed the Mrs. Monk test and the smoked macaroni was a winner.
For Owens and Hull, the more I think about it post-visit the more I am impressed. My initial impression was that the beef cheek was the standout by far but in hindsight the brisket and especially the turkey weren’t really all that far behind it. I really need to get back to Heirloom Market for a revisit soon (sadly that didn’t happen on this trip) to compare but for me, these two sit alone in the top tier of Atlanta barbecue (that I’ve tried).
As for how it compares to other places I’ve recently visited that are also on the United States of Texas Barbecue list like Matt’s BBQ in Portland, Shotgun Willie’s in Nashville, or Dampf Good BBQ in Cary? For me, its comparable with Dampf Good but a notch above Matt’s and Shotgun Willie’s. Certainly some of the best barbecue I’ve tried in 2025.
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