Sam Jones

Linkdown: 10/29/14

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– Creative Loafing: Is there an Atlanta barbecue? With quotes from our friend Grant from Marie, Let’s Eat (via)

But is there an “Atlanta style” of barbecue? Arguably the unofficial capital of the South, Atlanta should be known as a barbecue mecca the way Memphis is, right? Or Austin? Hell, even Lexington, N.C. — with a population of fewer than 20,000 — is more of a bona fide barbecue destination than we’ve ever been. Atlanta is situated in the heart of barbecue country, but when you ask some of the area’s best barbecue bloggers and chefs to explain the city’s place in the wider world of ‘cue, you get more hemming and hawing than from a pitmaster being grilled on what’s in his top-secret rub.

– Speaking of Atlanta, the latest barbecue stops for Marie, Let’s Eat are Poole’s Bar-B-Q, Joe’s BBQ, and Sam’s BBQ-1 West

– In this past weekend’s third annual Tempeh Challenge in Asheville. a tempeh from The Bom Bus captured the People’s Choice Award with “its black bean tempeh and North Carolina-style barbecue sauce served with sweet potato mash and sweet potato chips”

– Eight years in, southern Californian Carolina Panther Ryan Kalil knows the difference in barbecue between the two areas…kinda

Q. What has become your favorite Southern tradition?

A. Barbecuing’s a big deal in southern California and it is here, too.

Q. Different styles though, right?

A. Different style, different lingo. Like back home you say, ‘Are you going to a barbecue?’ Here you say, go to grill out. I’m like, ‘Grill out?’

Q. What’s the food at a California barbecue?

A. Different kinds of burgers, steaks. Here it’s like pulled pork.

– A video feature on The Great NC BBQ Map from High Point’s Fox 8

– WRAL’s pick for favorite entree at this year’s NC State Fair was a barbecue sundae

Carthage’s own Pik-N-Pig offers the best entree option at the N.C. State Fair – The Barbecue Sundae. Now, it isn’t a traditional ice cream sundae. It is more like a barbecue parfait with layers and layers of goodness. The barbecued pork is topped with a layer of baked beans, then a layer of coleslaw. Just add your favorite sauce on top (we like a mix of both sauces), and you are all set. Served in a convenient 20 oz. plastic cup, you are able to walk and eat quite easily with this blend of sides and meat. Don’t be surprised if you end up finishing it, because it is not nearly as heavy as it sounds.

– WRAL also reviews The Fire Pit, a new barbecue restaurant in Wake Forest

– On Sunday, Sam Jones hits Dallas with his brand of North Carolina whole hog awesomeness for Dia de los Puercos

– More info on Dia de los Puercos from TMBBQ themselves, noting that the “hogs that Samuel Jones will be cooking are a Texas-raised heritage breed,” plus this cool photos

– Lexington is #4 on this list of the 12 meat cities in the US, and for good reason:

Of the many “barbecue capitals of the world,” Lexington is by far the smallest. There’s a barbecue restaurant (19) for every thousand people, and most are world class.

– Finally:

Linkdown: 10/15/14

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– Deep fried barbecue on a stick at – where else – the NC State Fair in Raleigh

– The 85th annual Mallard Creek BBQ Festival has big plans for 2014

In 2014, we expect to cook 14,600 pounds of pork barbecue, prepare 2,500 gallons of Brunswick stew, shred 2 tons of Cole slaw, brew 400 gallons of coffee, and entertain close to 20,000 people.

– Shots fired at Lexington-style barbecue by Linwood Parker, who owns White Swan Barbecue; isn’t White Swan the gas station barbecue who cooks with gassers?

“Years ago, when people started moving west in their oxen-dawn carts, it took so long they forgot the recipe for barbecue,” he said.

“When they reached their destination, the only kind of hogs they had were piney wood rooters that fed off acorns. So, their hog meat was green. They just added a lot of catsup to it to cover up the green color.”

– Review of Bob Garner’s latest book, “Foods That Make You Say Mmm-mmm”

– The 23rd Annual Hog Happnin‘ returns to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds on Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1

– Austin Chronicle story on John Lewis’s upcoming barbecue restaurant in Charleston

– A Notre Dame football blog talks NC barbecue in a post before last weekend’s game against UNC in South Bend

– Sam Jones is heading to Dallas for a whole hog event in November

– Eater story (with some nice photos) on the opening of Arrogant Swine in New York

Located on the border of East Williamsburg and Bushwick near the English Kills Canal, Arrogant Swine is the brainchild of pitmaster Tyson Ho, who studied under perpetual Barbecue Block Party participant Ed Mitchell, sometimes called the Pope of North Carolina barbecue. The hulking 3,000 foot space is a former warehouse, with high ceilings, a full bar, and a counter at the rear where the smoked meat and sides are sold by the plate or by the pound. Place your order and receive a number hoisted on a metal rod; carry it to your table and your meat horde will be delivered by and by. There’s an outside seating area, too, with giant graffiti murals decorating the outside walls of the building, and an L-shaped shack out back where the barbecuing is done.

– Shame about where this photo was taken but the linked article takes a look at barbecue culture in Charlotte

– This weekend you can actually taste some of the pitmasters barbecue at the Q-City Charlotte BBQ Championship ( as opposed to years past); more details here

Linkdown: 8/20/14

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– Wayne Monk, Sam Jones, and other “old-school pitmasters” weigh in on how the barbecue industry is changing

“To cook pork shoulders the way we do it, it’s a 10-hour process. It’s hard these days to find young men to learn a trade like this that they’re proud of, that have 10-hour days. People take shortcuts, like gas cookers. But the more gas cookers there are, the better my business gets.” – Rick Monk, Lexington Barbecue (Lexington, NC)

– You may remember this bill from a few months back due to its dubious claim to South Carolina being “birthplace of barbecue,” but in any case its finally official: barbecue is South Carolina’s “southern picnic cuisine”

– Speaking of South Carolina, would the Senator Frank Underwood from House of Cards really be eating ribs instead of pulled pork?

– Registration for the 2014 Q City Charlotte BBQ Championship is now live until slots fill up; also, it is now a NC BBQ Association event rather than a Memphis BBQ Network one as it had been in years past

– According to Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor of Texas Monthly, “[t]he brisket I’ve had in New York lately is better than a lot of places in Texas”

– Vote for best barbecue (as well as other cuisines) in Creative Loafing Charlotte’s Best of 2014 survey

– On September 7, five Louisville chefs will compete in a whole hog challenge to determine who will be crowned the “BBQ King or Queen” (via)

At the stand-up tasting reception, they’ll serve six dishes that illustrate entire animal usage, scored on utilization, presentation, barbecue influences and flavor. The perfect plate spotlights the whole pig and can ultimately inspire restaurant owners to greater support of local agriculture, according to event founder Brady Lowe.

– This Eater guide to the best pulled pork in Austin features a couple of the usual suspects plus a few I hadn’t heard of before (via)

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Papa Joe’s BBQ Pit and Cook Out in a review from last week

– This month’s Carolina ‘Cue feature from Our State is Big Mike’s Barbecue, a food truck out of the Raleigh area

At this writing, there is but one place you can find Big Mike’s Barbecue: It’s indeterminate, location at present unknown, its setting determined by demand, a roving outlet for the conveyance of pork in its various guises. Big Mike calls it the Red Barn. You would, too, if you saw it, because that’s exactly what it appears to be. No room for towering bales of hay or horse stalls or tractors, though, just big enough for a sink and a counter and a little smoker toward the back, on what looks like a screened-in porch, and small enough to be pulled behind a GMC Sierra 2500HD. You order through one of the barn windows. On the window is a drawing of a pig holding a fork and knife, a pig with a big smile on his face, as if he’s happy to be eating himself. And, on any given day, the Red Barn could be in the parking lot of the building where you work, near a bar you frequent, or at a party where you’re the guest of honor.

– Brooks Sandwich House, home of Charlotte’s best burger, has barbecue available seasonally and it is back; I’m not sure what to expect from it but when I try it I’ll at least get a burger as well

– A preview of things to come from Buxton Hall?

Linkdown: 7/23/14

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– Yea, this list of best barbecue according to Open Table isn’t flawed at all. Because everyone knows the best barbecue comes from the places that take reservations.

– Carolina Ribs on the Run in Mooresville is blaming its closure on the construction of Brawley School Road, though I went the other week (review coming) and I would probably blame it on the subpar barbecue

– In other barbecue closure news, Asheville restaurant Sky City BBQ is closed until further notice after it’s owner was arrested under larceny and prostitution charges

– Johnny Ray Bousselot of Mount Holly has developed a couple of barbecue – Bourbon Peach and 10 Bones Signature – that has been picked up by a few outlets locally in Charlotte

– The Great NC BBQ Map takes a trip to the printers; maps ship next week

– Marie, Let’s Eat visits The Greater Good BBQ location in Buckhead

– Lexington #1 is featured on this slideshow of photos from BBQ Paradise 3, which aired last night at 9

– The “Smokin’ in the Valley” Festival is this weekend in Maggie Valley

– A fairly long read, entitled How Barbecue Has Become New York City’s Most Addictive Smoking Habit, yields this infographic

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– According to Sam Jones, the “not so popular side of BBQ”