Eater visits Barbecue Bros favorite and newly named Best Restaurant in Atlanta (note, not just best barbecue restaurant).
Bryan Furman first opened B’s Cracklin’ in Savannah Georgia in 2014. Now he’s bringing his fusion barbecue to Atlanta and the locals are going crazy for it.
– More on fair food at the NC State Fair (which starts tomorrow) and whoops:
Only one of the dishes I tried was outright bad, and that was the barbecue-and-coleslaw waffle sandwich. It was somehow extraordinarily greasy, even by fair food standards, and the barbecue mostly just tasted like smoke.
– The Polar Pig Cook-Off, formerly held in Mount Pleasant (NC), will be held at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center on November 10 and 11; the event will feature vendor tents, a Kids Zone, a beer garden, live music, and the barbecue competition (including a people’s choice award)
– People Food and Zagat have named Skylight Inn the most popular restaurant in NC
– Filing away for future potential use:
How to make huge Texas style smoked BBQ beef ribs > https://t.co/1ATR4g7uEz pic.twitter.com/o3bL82vEFV
— Jess Pryles (@jesspryles) October 11, 2017
– Daniel Vaughn of TMBBQ explores west Tennessee whole hog and discovers Ramey’s Whole Hog Bar-B-Q in Parsons, about 90 minutes outside of Nashville
– 45 years ago Monday:
On this day in 1972: Gov Scott declares NC the Pig Pickin’ Capital of the World. https://t.co/kSl8pidjCz @NCHistoryToday #ncpol pic.twitter.com/Fw7TSBhDt9
— NC Pork Council (@ncpork) October 9, 2017
– Thinking of Houston in the wake of Harvey
Even if you are far from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, there are ways to contribute. https://t.co/GNuzKpKGMj
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) August 27, 2017
– In drier times (hopefully coming soon), could whole hog barbecue succeed in Houston?
– Glad to hear that the smokers at Franklin Barbecue made it through the smokehouse fire
Despite the intense flames, all of @FranklinBbq‘s steel smokers remain undamaged from Saturday’s fire. https://t.co/9dhUHOya55
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) August 28, 2017
– Art’s Barbecue and Deli and Bar-B-Q King make Charlotte Five’s list of 10 classic Charlotte restaurants you must try
– A barbecue-focused episode of House of Carbs this week talks Texas barbecue and Charleston as a barbecue capital
– Buxton Hall evening pitmaster David Phelps gets a mention in this article on third shift workers in Asheville
After coming in around 10 p.m., he spends the first two hours prepping the next day’s sauces and green beans. As he chops and mixes, Phelps is also building the fire up to the required temperature (225 degrees), in order to cook the two pigs nightly. By sunrise, he generally has around 350 to 400 pounds of pulled pork ready for the day crew.
– Buxton Hall’s also got great fried chicken too
Hey, NC! Our fried chicken sandwich was named the must-try sandwich in the state by @USATODAY. Come and get it.https://t.co/fDRi9EkU4o pic.twitter.com/8UMmihxRg5
— Buxton Hall Barbecue (@buxtonhall) August 28, 2017
– LOL
— Jeremy Markovich (@deftlyinane) August 28, 2017
Name: Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Date: 7/14/17
Address: 5524 South Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: Large chopped pork plate with slaw, baked beans, hush puppies, and sweet tea (link to menu)
Price: $13
Monk: As I was compiling the latest Charlotte Big Board update in March, I noticed a disturbing lack of NC-centric barbecue joints on the list. Four of the top 5 are Texas-style joints (Jon G’s Barbecue, Midwood Smokehouse and Smokeshack, and The Smoke Pit), and Boone’s doesn’t adhere to either eastern or Lexington-style tradition. Clearly, it was time to revisit some NC joints around town.
First on my list (once I got around to it a few months later) was Bill Spoon’s Barbecue, a whole hog eastern NC joint that is not all that inconvenient for me but which I tend to overlook. The last time we checked in was in 2015 and Speedy focused on the ribs which were a new menu item at the time. I considered the ribs but between the fact that the two-meat combo is a bit pricey and that Speedy wasn’t blown away by them last time, I steered clear and stuck with the large pork combo.
Looking back at old reviews, I think we underrated the pork at Spoon’s just a little bit. The chopped pork was tangy, flavorful, and moist. As I recalled, it was good on its own but was enhanced nicely by the table vinegar sauce. I gotta say, it was a nice change of pace to only get pork for once instead of getting all of the meats and having tons of leftovers.
The hush puppy basket was late in arriving, coming after our plates had come. But that likely saved me from overeating on the delicious, slightly-sweet cornmeal pups. I have come to appreciate the mustard-based slaw, even if it will never be my favorite style. And the beans were fine.
Me and the Monkettes got some naner pudding to go and if I’m being truthful, it was half the reason why I wanted to revisit Spoon’s. Just ridiculously good.
I left the meal full and satisfied, with a thought in my head. Bill Spoon’s Barbecue has been around for 54 years and will (hopefully) be there for many more, but on a Friday night the dining room hovered between 25-50% occupied. If I have anything to do with it, we need to make Bill Spoon’s more of a thing.
For more reviews, check out:
Marie, Let’s Eat! (2009)
Marie, Let’s Eat! (2016)
Big Wayner’s BBQ (2011)
Our original review in 2012
Speedy’s review in 2015
Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs
