Pork in the Road

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

1c29fde4eb7fb17a6e0c1b4e74d32d5b_largeIf the food is half as good as the name, Pork in the Road will earn many loyal customers in the years ahead.  Now how in the world didn’t I think of  this myself?!

The idea is simple and the name is inspired, as we learn from their website: “The concept behind Pork in the Road is fairly self-explanatory, and there’s no better place for a pork-inspired menu than the second highest pork-producing state in the nation. There will be a few pork substitutes for our kosher friends out there, but rest assured, bacon, and other wonderful parts of the pig, will find its way into most every recipe. Stay tuned for more updates!”

Learn about Pork in the Road’s Kickstarter campaign here, or read more about Christian Thompson, the man behind the pig at this blog.

Good luck, Christian, and may the pork be with you!

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A Dead End on the Barbecue Trail

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

On Friday I dragged my wife and kids to Mocksville, on the way to a mountain vacation weekend, in order to dine at Deano’s Barbecue.  You see, Deano’s had been one of the few remaining stops on the NC Barbecue Society’s Historic Barbecue Trail that I’d yet to visit.  The Trail features barbecue joints that, among other criteria, “cook their meat product on pits fueled by wood or charcoal, make their own sauce, [and have a pit that has]… operated continuously for fifteen or more years.”

Until recently Deano’s met the Trail’s criteria for inclusion, and without a doubt earned its place on the map.  But a short visit behind the scenes revealed an unexpected change: I discovered–and confirmed with the owner himself–that Deano’s recently switched to a gas-fired Southern Pride cooker.  The traditional brick-lined, wood-burning pits were for decoration only.  Deano’s change to gas is, first of all, grounds for immediate removal from the trail (I emailed the NC Barbecue Society already, since I figured a 9-1-1 call would be extreme).  I did have some sympathy for the owner when he told me that some health problems had made maintaining the wood pits difficult.  But a gasser is a gasser whether one is sympathetic or not.  And thus another venerable North Carolina barbecue institution has turned its back on tradition and chosen convenience and cost over tradition and quality.  I hate to say it, but Texas is starting to look more appealing every day…

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Whole Hog in Asheville? Buxton Hill says yes

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

With all due respect to President Obama’s favorite 12 Bones, Asheville is not a barbecue town.  However, Asheville is taking a decidedly down east step toward building its barbeculture.  Word on the Twittersphere is that a new whole hog barbecue restaurant will be opening in Asheville later this summer.

According to its Twitter profile (yes, I spent a lot of time researching this post), Buxton Hill will offer “All wood, Pit Smoked, Pastured Whole Hog Barbeque & Heirloom Southern Fare.”  At first blush this sounds an awful lot like a western North Carolina version of Raleigh’s (and soon Durham’s) down home-upscale restaurant, The Pit. And, yes, that is both a compliment (wood cooking and whole hogs should be encouraged) and an insult.

I’m curious to learn more about Buxton Hill, and given all the good beer flowing on the streets of Asheville, it won’t take much convincing for me to visit whether or not the barbecue is any good.

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Southern Living Makes a Yankee Mistake

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

An alert reader, who goes by the pseudonym Zachary Writes, pointed out a gross error in the (virtual) pages of Southern Living magazine.  A recent post about Chapel Hill’s revered Allen & Son barbecue, which every damn fool knows has no website, includes a link to Pittsboro’s Allen & Son restaurant, which every damn fool knows has nothing to do with the Chapel Hill location.

In case you were unaware, the Chapel Hill Allen’s cooks over wood and produces some of the best barbecue in the state.  The Pittsboro Allen’s, on the other hand, is a gasser and has no connection to the Chapel Hill restaurant of the same name other than a shared origin 20-some years ago.  If you believe in evolution–and I pray to God that you do–you can think of it this way: Pittsboro’s Allen & Son is the neanderthal that is not fully evolved, while Chapel Hill’s Allen & Son is the fully evolved human that is evolutionarily superior.  Well, except that Neanderthals always cooked over wood while humans invented gas cooking.  Drat, now I’m confused too…

Credit to Southern Living for at least managing to write a nice post, and take good pictures, about the correct Allen & Son’s.  They may be confused, but they are not Neanderthals.

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Guy Parker’s Old Fashioned Barbeque Sauce

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

I used to regularly travel to Goldsboro for work and was always curious about the vacant but tidy Guy Parker’s Barbeque Restaurant near the edge of downtown.  I never did figure out the story behind the restaurant until seeing this interesting article.  Between Guy Parker’s and Scott’s, Goldsboro is becoming a barbecue town known as much for its ghosts (and their sauce) as for its existing restaurants.

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Cooper’s 75th

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

Come on out this Saturday to celebrate venerable Raleigh BBQ joint Cooper’s 75th birthday.  As detailed in the News & Observer, the special event will raise money for Wake County’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. No better way to be kind to animals than slaughtering and eating ‘em, right?

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Ed Mitchell to Durham

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

First Wilson, then Raleigh and next Durham?  Famed pit master Ed Mitchell, who has been rumored to be interested in opening a restaurant in downtown Durham ever since parting ways with The Pit, may be getting close to doing just that.  Read more at http://www.heraldsun.com/business/x670458637/Pitmaster-eyeing-Durham-for-possible-BBQ-restaurant

If Mitchell’s plans move forward, it will set up an interesting BBQ battle between Mitchell and his former colleagues at The Pit, who are on pace to open a Durham location of the restaurant this summer.  Stay tuned…

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SCNB Marching Across the Border

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

Perhaps taking an, ahem, cue from the evil regional foodways-destroying giant good folks at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, North Carolina’s own Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q is looking to push its pulled pork beyond the state’s borders.  The company, which features more than 30 locations across the Tar Heel State, decided recently to sell franchises in other states.  Displaced North Carolinians, this could be your chance to bring a taste of home to whatever God forsaken land you live in–Utah, New York, TEXAS!

 

 

Notably, Smithfield’s is expanding beyond the state’s borders under the awkwardly-acronymed name SCNB CHICKEN ‘N BAR-B-Q. It sounds like the latest boy band to me, but what do I know?  Presumably the town of Smithfield didn’t test well in market research.  Oh well.

Best of luck to Smithfield’s, SCNB, NKOTB (New Kids Offering the Barbecue) or whatever identity they settle on.  Go out there and show America what North Carolina barbecue is like! (Or at least what a mainstream facsimile of NC barbecue is like.)

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Johnson Family BBQ

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Porky LeSwine

New in Durham, wood burners…

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The Red Bridges of Cleveland County

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Porky LeSwine

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge ranks high (very possibly first) on my fairly short list of barbecue places I have never been but am eager to visit.  This recent “love letter” in the Washington Post has confirmed its spot on my list: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/a-love-letter-to-a-nc-barbecue-joint/2012/11/29/8e6eb3e6-301d-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

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