The Great NC BBQ Map

Linkdown: 6/15/16

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– Is Athens, GA one of the great barbecue capitals in the US? Grant sure thinks so

– Daniel Vaughn heads back to Ohio in search of “Cleveland-style” barbecue

– Speaking of which, Robert Moss recently traveled down to Miami (tough job) in search of South Florida-style barbecue

– Congrats to Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro for winning 10Best’s Best BBQ Pork Sandwich in NC contest (B’s Barbecue in Greenville took the runner up spot); also thanks to 10Best for allowing us to masquerade as experts for a few weeks

– Destination BBQ’s latest roadtrip covers the first 100 exits of I-26

– Charlotte Business Journal has an interview with Amanda and Paul from EDIA Maps, who you may remember created maps for NC barbecue as well as beer

– Relevant for the newly relocated Speedy: 18 Must-Try OTP Barbecue Spots in Atlanta

– Get to know your regional styles of barbecue, according to JC Reid of the Houston Chronicle, though I might nitpick that Lexington-style barbecue is what NC is best known for; my experience has been most folks know about eastern-style whole hog more

– CAUTION, HOT TAKES ABOUND: Although, according to this, anything from a cow shouldn’t be called “barbecue”

– Where to find barbecue in 21 Eater cities

– Ed Mitchell’s upcoming barbecue restaurant (winter 2016) and food truck (!) has a new website

 

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

The Barbecue Bros Holiday 2015 Gift Guide

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Here’s some gift ideas for the barbecue lover in your life. The bolded items are the ones I can personally recommend. Feel free to add or suggest any other gift ideas in the comments below and I’ll update the post through the holidays.

–Monk

Books


Apparel

Other

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See our 2014 gift guide here
See our 2013 gift guide here

Linkdown: 12/9/15

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– Robert Moss follows the mustard line from SC down through Georgia and into Florida

– If you are looking for a gift for the NC barbecue or beer lover in your life:

– Daniel Vaughn explores the greaseballs of Southwest Texas at Patillo’s Bar-B-Q

-Johnny Fugitt profiles Smokee Mo’s BBQ for St. Louis Magazine

– Marie, Let’s Eat! revisits the 50 year old Hickory Hut BBQ in Dallas, GA

– NPR’s The Salt food blog profiles Sam Jones’ new barbecue joint, Sam Jones BBQ

To understand the significance of Sam Jones BBQ, you have to understand the place in the barbecue firmament. And you have to start with barbecue’s place in the Tar Heel state. Aficionados regard North Carolina not only as a capital of barbecue, but a cradle of the cuisine. It is as central as basketball to the state’s identity.

But so many barbecue joints have replaced wood with gas that some folks feared the impending death of all-wood pit cooking. The North Carolina Barbecue Society estimated a few years ago that only 30 wood-pit barbecue restaurants were left in the state. To diehards, the demise of traditional wood-smoked barbecue in North Carolina would be tantamount to a death in the family. Maybe worse.