whole hog

Linkdown: 9/16/20

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Featured

Monk: When I moved to Charlotte in 2005, I was surprised at the lack of barbecue options in town. Though had I been paying attention then as I do now, it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. Mac’s Speed Shop was a fun option for awhile but eventually fell off a cliff after it jettisoned its original barbecue partner and began to expand too quickly. It wasn’t a few years living in Charlotte until I finally checked out Bill Spoon’s Barbecue on South Boulevard, and while the style of barbecue seemed out of place (eastern NC whole hog in the Piedmont?) it was clear to me that it was Charlotte’s classic barbecue joint.

Unfortunately, as of close of business today after 57 years in business, that will no longer be the case. It was announced on Facebook Monday by current owner Steve Spoon, who in 2006 bought it from his grandfather Bill and began operating the barbecue joint in much the same way he had since he opened it in 1963 (albeit in a different location than their current one on South Boulevard). Screw you 2020, and screw you COVID-19.

Kathleen Purvis summed it up perfectly with this poignant quote that doubles as a warning for us lovers of other classic joints: “If all the hard lessons of 2020’s season of terrible teaches us anything, it’s that: Those places don’t last, can’t last, if we don’t make sure of it.“

Charlotte Magazine’s Greg Lacour also pitched in, noting that the restaurant was struggling before COVID and had been operating in takeout only mode for the past few months

Sadly, its taken the restaurant closing for Charlotte to show up again

Native News

Seoul Food Meat Co will open a second location in the Optimist Park neighborhood (not NoDa as noted in their post) as part of an adaptive-reuse project called Lintmen’s

Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ is a small Connecticut chain that will open a Kansas City-style barbecue restaurant in Asheville’s South Slope

Non-Native News

Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston has been getting a big bump from “Chef’s Table: BBQ”

Home Team BBQ’s smoked wings makes the list

The best barbecue options in Virginia, according to Virginia Living

Solinsky’s in the Catskills of New York is serving some “epic brisket”, says Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema

I like this guy’s style

Friday Find: Wyatt Dickson and Ryan Butler on the NC F&B Podcast

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Barbecue man Wyatt Dickson and farmer Ryan Butler join the NC F&B Podcast to learn hosts Max and Matthew a little something about barbecue and discuss their upcoming Wyatt’s Barbecue restaurant in downtown Raleigh, which will have freshly baked buns from their neighbor and abundant parking.

Description: According to Wyatt Dickson, pitmaster of Picnic and the soon-to-be-opening Wyatt’s Barbecue, almost every noteworthy barbecue restaurant in Eastern NC has great fried chicken. But what is “barbecue” exactly? Wyatt has some thoughts on the term.On today’s episode, we talk with Wyatt and his partner in crime Ryan Butler about how the pair met after leaving their white collar jobs to barbecue, what makes NC so special in terms of food and agriculture, and what to expect from Wyatt’s Barbecue in Raleigh (P.S. you can pick up Wyatt’s every Thursday in Gateway Plaza!). Tune into the episode now with the link in the comments!

Friday Find: Bob Garner Checks Out Whole Hog at Ken’s Grill and NC Bar-B-Q

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: Bob visits Ken’s Grill and NC Bar-B-Q in La Grange, which serves his favorite eastern NC whole hog barbecue (only available on Wednesdays and Saturdays) even though it “has never been cooked over wood smoke” and Bob is admittedly a “wood smoked and live coals kind of guy.” Color me a bit skeptical.

Description:
Bob Garner visits one of his all-time favorite BBQ spots, Ken’s Grill in La Grange.

Friday Find: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Ed Mitchell

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

The Gravy podcast from the Southern Foodway Alliance interviews Ed Mitchell and his son Ryan on the past and the future of their barbecue ventures and how it hasn’t been so easy for a black man to innovate barbecue in eastern NC.

Description: Ed Mitchell’s name has come to be synonymous with Eastern North Carolina wood-smoked whole-hog barbecue. From Wilson, North Carolina, he grew up smoking hogs and has tried to continue that tradition, using old techniques and traditionally farm-raised pigs. 

But almost since the start, Ed Mitchell’s barbeque journey has not been a straight line—business relationships, racism, and smoke have all shaped his rollercoaster ride.

Reporter Wilson Sayre is our guide in looking at those twists and turns.