SC

Linkdown: 10/14/15

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– True Cue expands to South Carolina

– You can no longer be paid to wait in line at Franklin Barbecue

– Q Dogs in Tarpon Springs, FL serves a hot dog with barbecue and Midlands SC mustard on it,  but you might just want to order them separately instead

– Queen City Q keeps on rolling, announcing a partnership with the Charlotte Checkers as the official barbecue of the team while opening a new stand on the main concourse of Bojangles Coliseum

Queen City Q first opened in uptown Charlotte in February 2012 and opened a second location in Matthews at the Plantation Market Shopping Center in July. The restaurant also recently said it is adding a Concord location that will open in early winter.

The barbecue joint also operates two stands inside BB&T Ballpark and recently said it will open two concession stands in the Time Warner Cable Arena this fall.

– Elwood’s Burgers & BBQ has closed in Ballantyne

– Charlotte Agenda wonders if Ballantyne in south Charlotte has reached a barbecue saturation point, though of all of the barbecue restaurants in Ballantyne (including a Dickey’s, Shane’s Rib Shack, 521 BBQ, and the now-open location of Smoke Modern Barbecue) only Midwood is really worth a damn

– Joe Ovies of WRAL has a sneak peak to all the friend foods at this year’s NC State Fair, including a behemoth of a sandwich with a fried pork chop topped with barbecue, bacon, pickle, and slaw; behold the High on the Hog:

Henry’s Smokehouse – Greenville, SC

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IMG_2767
Name: Henry’s Smokehouse
Date: 9/26/15
Address: 1842 Woodruff Rd, Greenville, SC 29607
Order: Pulled pork and rib combo, fries (link to menu)
Price: $10

Speedy: Long ago, in my pre-Barbecue Bros days, I used to do quite a bit of work in Greenville, SC – a very fine city. One of my go-to lunch spots was Henry’s Smokehouse on Wade Hampton Blvd. Despite being a classic SC joint, I remembered it fondly, so when I stumbled upon the Woodruff Road location, I knew I had to try it.

Monk: Like Speedy, I too had spent a fair amount of my pre-Barbecue Bros days in Greenville but sadly had not checked out Henry’s. I’m sure I was never very far from either location, since I spent a lot of time on or near both Wade Hampton and Woodruff Road.

Speedy: This location looks quite different than the Wade Hampton locale. And by that I mean it looks clean and modern. Maybe that takes away some of the mystique for some but overall, I liked this location better.

I remember loving Henry’s ribs while not being too enamored with the pork, but a $10 combo meal made the choice to get both pretty easy. And because I didn’t feel like even pretending to be healthy, I just went with a double portion of fries.

Well, turns out the pork was even better than I remembered. Tender with nice spots bits of brown thrown in, I did add a little bit of sauce for flavor (they have both mustard and a spicy vinegar/tomato sauce; I obviously went with the latter). I was definitely glad I ordered it again, and would recommend it. It’s not the best I’ve ever had but it was good, especially for South Carolina (burn).

Monk: …sick burn. So the pork was dry with optional table sauces? How does the spicy vinegar tomato compare to a NC sauce?

Speedy: Not dry really – I just wanted a little more flavor. And the sauce is a little spicier and sweeter, but lacks the tang that I like.

The ribs were what I thought they were, which is a good thing. Meaty and perfectly seasoned. My only complaint is that this batch was a tad overdone, but not so much as to ruin them – the bone did not fall out. They’re served wet, but not overly sauced. Henry’s is definitely a great place for ribs.

Monk: Speedy, Mrs. Monk, and I almost went to Henry’s on our way back from Atlanta a few months ago before ultimately deciding not to. Based on Speedy’s review, I hope to make it to either location next time.

Speedy: Overall, Henry’s Smokehouse is a solid old-timey joint. You pretty much know what you’re getting coming in and I’d recommend it to anyone passing through.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Sides – N/A
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Henry's Smokehouse Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Linkdown: 10/7/15

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-Buxton Hall is now open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner

– Wilmington’s got a new eastern, whole hog barbecue food cart that hopes to turn into a brick and mortar place

– Queen City Q remains busy – in addition to their Matthews location opening up in the summer and announcing a partnership for the Hornets, they are eyeing a third location in Concord

– An article on food trucks in Gaston County features Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ

– John Mueller’s barbecue pit was stolen

– In what I hope becomes a new trend, Melvin’s Barbecue in Charleston returns to all wood smoking

– The Simpsons did it: a barbecue episode (they apparently did their homework too)

Linkdown: 9/23/15

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– Rodney Scott has influenced Sean Brock. Here’s how:

– The history of smoking with mesquite wood

– Marie, Let’s Eat! makes a quick sojourn to SC and visits Hite’s and Little Pigs in the Columbia area, as well as Dennis’ Bar-B-Q on the way back home

– Washington Post’s glossary of NC barbecue terms and where to eat in NC

– Washington Post’s Jim Shahin: Why North Carolina’s Barbecue Scene is Still Smoldering

North Carolina barbecue is certainly at a crossroads, one that gets to the heart of questions about identity and authenticity, and the survival of pit-smoked pork establishments that eschew the everything-for-everybody approach once seemed unlikely. But Skylight Inn and Lexington Barbecue are on track to maybe prove that prediction wrong. And new places such as Picnic and Buxton Hall are helping spark a resurgence in creativity and respect for heritage that may help revive the scene. North Carolina barbecue might someday be removed from the endangered-species list, after all. I’ll hold off on that autopsy for now.