BBQ Jew » Chapel Hill

Porky’s Pulpit: Bourgie Barbecue

Porky LeSwine — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:16:02 +0000

With the mainstreaming of barbecue across the country, it’s inevitable that the formerly humble food will finds it way onto menus at a increasingly varied range of establishments. A case in point is Chapel Hill’s landmark gourmet food shop, A Southern Season, which recently made the following announcement about the newest addition to their delicatessen menu:

“Authentic, North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ
We are bringing you some of North Carolina’s finest—Pig Pickin’ style Pulled Pork with a tangy Eastern North Carolina-style vinegar sauce. Made exclusively with pork Boston Butts.
The Classic NC BBQ Sandwich
Stop by today for a classic BBQ sandwich $4.99 each.”

If you’ve never been to A Southern Season, you should know that I like the place. You should also know that A Southern Season is famous for its chocolates, ornate gift baskets, wine selection, gourmet deli and cheese shop, and various overpriced snacks and knicknacks. It is, at its essence, a gourmet southern food store for northerners. The inclusion of a BBQ sandwich on A Southern Season’s deli menu is akin to McDonald’s deciding to offer an artisanal cheese plate. Could it be good? Possibly. Does it make sense? Certainly not.

Is bourgie ’cue something that should concern barbecue traditionalists? A level-headed observer might say no. I say hell yes. Although I’ve yet to sample the barbecue sandwich at A Southern Season, I have no problem deeming it, sight unseen, as yuppicue of the highest order and warning my loyal readers to steer clear. Well, unless you happen to be shopping for Belgian chocolate cordials and get a hankering for chopped pork… I couldn’t fault you for that.

Cackalacky Cookout for a Cause (aka “Cookacausy”?)

Porky LeSwine — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:50:29 +0000

For those of you in striking distance of Chapel Hill, there’s a good event for a good cause this Saturday, as described by Mr. Page Skelton of Cackalacky, Inc.

“Our mighty Cackalacky cookout crew will be teaming up with our “zest friends” from A Southern Season and Fullsteam Brewery for an awesome tailgate party/sampling event this Saturday, October 29th! Plus, we will also be accepting non-perishable food donations at the gathering on behalf of the nice folks from PORCH, too! (People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill and Carrboro Homes, or, “PORCH” for short.)

So, please come by the tailgate party for some tasty tunes, brews, and eats – and help support a great local cause! (And, please don’t forget to bring a few canned or boxed food items with you.)

What: Cackalacky-Fullsteam Tailgate Party

Where: A Southern Season, 201 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

When: Saturday, October 29th 11 – 3PM

Why: Why not? (Seriously) Well, that AND to have a great time while we raise food donations for a great cause!

Helpful links:

www.PORCHNC.org

www.SouthernSeason.com

www.Fullsteam.ag

Thanks & zestiest regards,

Page
Page Skelton
President
Cackalacky, Inc.
www.CACKALACKY.com

Breaking News at Allen & Son’s

Porky LeSwine — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:10:05 +0000

On Friday I visited Allen & Son’s in Chapel Hill for the first time in months (the location north of town on Highway 86, not the unrelated and inferior Allen’s south of town). As usual, not much had changed since my last visit: great food, friendly service, and prices slowly creeping toward $11 for a large plate yet somehow still worth it. And then my jaw dropped. As I perused the menu to decide whether to get a BBQ plate or sandwich I saw it, the first major change to the menu I can recall besides pricing. A barbecue tray!

This may not sound like big news to you, but Allen’s has never before–in the 25-plus years I’ve been visiting–offered a tray. It has always had a sandwich and a plate but never a tray. But there it was, a recent addition to the carved in stone menu sitting in front of me.

The silver tray with a paper tray nestled inside: classy!

At many BBQ joints that offer a tray, “plate” means BBQ, slaw, hush puppies and fries and “tray” excludes fries. Trays also tend to offer slightly smaller portions than plates, a nice feature for folks like me who often eat at more than one joint when visiting unchartered barbecue territory. At Allen’s the regular plate does not include fries (though there is a fries added option), so the difference between the plate and tray appears to be quantity. As you can see in the picture above, the tray offers plenty of food for a modest appettite, and is a couple of bucks less than a plate. Next time I visit I’ll bring my postal scale and do a more scientific comparison between the two options…

A Break from BBQ: Two New North Carolina Cookbooks

Porky LeSwine — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:41:50 +0000

As the summer heat cranks up, things get interesting in North Carolina. For one thing, Porky LeSwine starts to speak about himself in the third person and craves food beyond just barbecue. While man could live just fine on the holy trinity of swine, slaw and hush puppies, sometimes a taste of something else is good for the soul (and the aorta). Luckily, there are two new cookbooks from North Carolina that allow folks like Porky to get a taste of the good life beyond pork.

Andrea Reusing, newly minted James Beard award winning chef at Chapel Hill’s Lantern Restaurant has released her first cookbook, Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes. Reusing is best known for the Asian-inspired, locally sourced, carefully prepared fare she and her team serve at the Lantern, but Cooking in the Moment features few Asian recipes. Instead, it is full of fairly simple, eclectic recipes that are organized by season, well explained, beautifully photographed and, judging from the few dishes I’ve made thus far, delicious.

Cooking in the Moment is particularly enjoyable for anyone who lives in or near Durham and Orange Counties, as it includes many stories involving local farmers many of us recognize from the area’s several farmer’s markets. But don’t get me wrong, this is a hell of a cookbook and will appeal to people who live anywhere and love good food. So, we can forgive Ms. Reusing that she fails to include any recipes for barbecue. Die hard pigavores will have to suffice with cider-braised pork shoulder, carnitas and the like.
Another cookbook with a similar theme and Chapel Hill ties, this one published by The University of North Carolina Press, is The New Southern Garden Cookbook by Sheri Castle. The title hints at what is inside: over 300 recipes organized alphabetically by vegetable/fruit ingredient–apples to zucchini, and a whole lot in between.

Rest assured that ham and plenty of other pig parts make their way into The New Southern Garden Cookbook’s recipes. This is the “new south” but it is still the south. I should confess that I’ve yet to read this cookbook–my copy is in the mail–but it sounds like a winner from all I’ve heard. I’ll report back once I get a chance to test drive the recipes. Until then, happy cooking… and don’t forget to take an occasional break from all the produce for some barbecue. It’s important to stay in shape, after all.

BBQ&A: Sam Suchoff, The Pig Chef-Owner

Porky LeSwine — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:50:20 +0000

Sam Suchoff is not your typical pit boss. But then The Pig is not your typical barbecue joint. Indeed, Suchoff has a damn near disturbing range of culinary experience for a barbecue cook. More to the point, much of the fare he serves at The Pig veers away from North Carolina barbecue tradition with menu items like brisket, tamales, kielbasa and, yes, even country fried tofu.

Veering away from tradition is not necessarily a bad thing because many traditional North Carolina barbecue joints offer little on their menus worth sampling beyond the holy trinity of barbecue, slaw and hushpuppies (which, to be fair, is not necessarily a bad thing either). Suchoff offers a wide-ranging, pork-centric menu, but he respects the tradition of whole hog barbecue and that reverence is evident along with his creativity.

In a recent interview, Suchoff was kind enough to share with me the reasons he cooks with an electric smoker, why barbecue is the dish he’s most proud of cooking despite all the variety on his menu, and why vegetarianism is an easy way to get girls (at least in L.A.). Follow this link to read the interview.

BBQ Jew’s View: The Pig

Porky LeSwine — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:29:41 +0000

630 Weaver Dairy Road, Chapel Hill, NC
919.942.1133
Website
Hours: Mon-Thu 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: A- (but it’s complicated)
Porky Says: “Wholly different whole hog.”

Pondering the Meaning of Whole Hog BBQ

The Pig’s website proclaims–in large lettering–”Serving whole hog barbeque.” But chef/owner Sam Suchoff’s definition of whole hog barbecue extends beyond that used in Eastern North Carolina tradition. Indeed, many old school pitmasters and barbecue eaters alike will cringe, roll their eyes, feel their blood pressure spike and mumble a few choice words when they find out what “whole hog barbeque” means at The Pig.

In Eastern North Carolina, “whole hog barbecue” typically–okay, always–refers to chopped pork made from a whole hog, with hams, shoulders, loin, skin and so on chopped together into a glorious mess. (In other parts of North Carolina, joints tend to rely on shoulders and sometimes hams, rather than whole hog.) The Pig’s chopped barbecue sticks with the whole hog tradition by using multiple parts of the hog. However, the ”whole hog barbeque” served at The Pig includes quite a bit more than chopped and sauced whole hog. In fact, their menu would not fly in most parts of the state and may well be a criminal offense in Salisbury, Lexington, Goldsboro, Ayden and other barbecue meccas. But The Pig is located in Chapel Hill, a strange southern town where folks have a little more linguistic freedom, even when talking about barbecue, and where many diners are, to put it politely, not from ’round here. (Yankees.)

Nouveau ‘cue
At The Pig, “whole hog barbeque” seems to refer to using every part of the pig but the oink–as folks from ’round here often say–but not just in one dish called barbecue. Rather than simply chopping the whole hog up to make traditional ‘cue, Suchoff and his team take diners on a menu-wide culinary trip from snout to tail and back again. I’d challenge anyone to name a restaurant, barbecue or otherwise, in North Carolina that uses as much of one animal to such great effect. For example, on a recent and ever-so-slightly overindulgent visit to The Pig, I sampled the following kinds of divine swine:delicious fresh ham shaved thin like prosciutto; “tongue-n-cheek” (not just a clever name) mortadella that tasted much better than it looked; a juicy country fried pork chop; a delicate but hearty handmade tamale with head meat; a homemade hot dog with real snap to it; fresh fried pork skins that were still crackling when they arrived at the table; tender, well seasoned dry ribs; flavorful baked beans and collards enhanced by pig’s feet and other pig bits; smoky gumbo that included Andouille sausage made on the premises; and, oh yeah, plain old chopped barbecue too. The variety of hog products served at The Pig would be overwhelming if they didn’t all taste so damn good. It’s definitely a new twist on whole hog barbecue from the North Carolina tradition.

I didn’t have room to try The Pig’s other hog offerings, such as fried bologna and pork belly sandwiches, but I will be back to do so soon because I was blown away by my meal. Even the pork-free offerings–e.g., pickled cucumber, pickled eggs, and brussel sprouts–were outstanding. The same was true for the banana pudding and dense, dark chocolate cake. Unlike most good North Carolina barbecue joints, where the ‘cue is divine and most everything else is an afterthought (and too often canned, mediocre or both), The Pig is a well-rounded, terrific restaurant. The care put into securing quality ingredients–starting with locally-sourced, humanely raised hogs–and preparing them in interesting ways sets The Pig apart from typical barbecue joints.

What About the Regular Old North Carolina Pork Barbecue, Slaw and Hush Puppies?

Notice that I have yet to saying anything in this review about The Pig’s barbecue (and by “barbecue” I mean that chopped stuff that those of us from ’round here like to eat from time to time). The Pig’s barbecue is cooked using an electric-heated rotisserie convection smoker that uses hickorychips. The smoker allows The Pig’s cooks to carefully control temperature and prepare the wide variety of cuts they serve. As impressed as I was with most of their menu, I have to honestly say that The Pig’s barbecue is only so-so. It is moist and has a delicate smoke taste, but it’s lacking that special flavor that typically comes from cooking meat over real wood coals in a pit without the aid of gas or elecricity.

On my first visit to The Pig, I found the ‘cue quite gristly (I counted more than six marble-size pieces of fat in my large plate) and I am not someone who demands “clean” ‘cue. Thankfully that was not an issue on my return visit and may well have been a fluke. Such things happen when you make barbecue. The sauce The Pig offers is a thin apple cider vinegar concoction with hot pepper flakes and other simple spices; a classic Eastern NC sauce. Sauce aside, the rest of The Pig’s barbecue plate departs from North Carolina barbecue tradition. The slaw is bright yellow but does not taste mustardy; honestly, I am not sure what the taste is but it is unlike anything I’ve had before. There seems to be no mayo in the slaw and it isn’t overly vinegary either. Without either of those slaw signposts, I am lost in trying to describe it. Yet the slaw is enjoyable. The same goes for the hush puppies, which are moist, fluffy and fried perfectly. They are delicious in their own right but like no hush puppies I’ve ever tasted.

A Peculiar Pig Indeed

The Pig is without a doubt the most difficult barbecue joint I’ve attempted to review. I’m not even sure I’d call it a barbecue restaurant, at least not in the sense of most BBQ joints I’ve visited, but I’m not sure what else to call it. My typical focus is on judging BBQ joints based on the holy trinity of NC barbecue–chopped pork, slaw and hush puppies–but The Pig’s versions of these traditional offerings are distinct enough from every other restaurant I’ve visited that I am at a loss to evaluate them. Clearly though, The Pig’s remarkable array of non-barbecue offerings–from pickled eggs to fine deli meats to fried pork chops to vegetable sides–make The Pig worth repeat visits. I wholeheartedly suggest you try out this beautifully unique BBQ joint, just be sure to leave your preconceptions of “whole hog barbeque” at the door.

The Pig Now Open in Chapel Hill

Porky LeSwine — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:32:00 +0000

As of a couple of weeks ago, The Pig has opened in Chapel Hill in the old location of The Barbecue Joint at 630 Weaver Dairy Road. We speculated about the possible connection between The Barbecue Joint and The Pig in a previous post. In fact, according to The Pig’s Facebook page, the owner “worked at The Barbecue Joint for a couple of years and owe[s] allot [sic] of my chops to Damon Lapas but The Pig is in no way associated with either Damon or Jonathon.” The menu (available on the website) certainly bears some resemblance to The Barbecue Joint in that it appears to include some inventive twists on traditional barbecue joint offerings. We’ve yet to check out it out for ourselves but are excited to do so soon. In the meantime, try it for yourself: the hours are Mon-Thu 11 to 9 and Fri-Sat 11 to 10.

BBQ Jew’s View: Whole Foods BBQ Bar

Porky LeSwine — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:50:48 +0000

81 South Elliott Road, Chapel Hill, NC
919.968.1983
Website
Hours: Sun-Sat 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C-
Porky Says: “Whole Foods serves BBQ?!”

There’s a Whole Fool Born Every Minute
I hope you are seated as you read this next sentence. Whole Foods serves its own, house-cooked barbecue. And I actually worked up the nerve to try it.

I know, I know, eating barbecue at Whole Foods seems about as wise as a barbecue joint offering tofu on its menu. But I am an intrepid soul when it comes to barbecue and I’ll do nearly anything for the sake of a blog post. Plus, Whole Foods is based in Austin, Texas, which even this Carolina boy admits is pretty serious barbecue country.

No Foolin’
It pains me to admit this, but the NC-style pork barbecue at Whole Foods was not bad. Not real good and certainly not great but okay, adequate, passable, just fine, thank you. I was expecting a gussied up dish that bore little resemblance to real NC BBQ but the pork was rough chopped to a nice consistency, moist despite being on a steam table, and served with a simple Eastern-style vinegar and spices sauce. The pork even contained some outside brown meat, firmer and more flavorful than the rest. Most importantly, the barbecue contained no unwanted additions: no chunks of organic kumquat fruit, no sauce made with locally-raised fig compote, and no free-range kale juice used as seasoning.

Whole lotta pork.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are relatively few barbecue joints I’d pass up in favor of Whole Foods, but if you find yourself (as I did) needing a quick NC BBQ fix you could do worse. (As an aside, I had the beef brisket too and it was awful.) If you find yourself in that weak position, do what I do and recite the following prayer for strength:

“Yea, though I walk through the parking lot in the shadow of Whole Foods, I will fear no tofu: for thou art with me; thy pork and thy sauce they comfort me. Thou preparest a Cafe table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my tongue with vinegar; my iced tea cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the church of ’cue forever.”

Notes from the Underground (aka Unhinged Ramblings from a Real New Yorker)

Porky LeSwine — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:29:45 +0000

I recently received an email from a reader, Aaron Weiss of… ahem, cough, cough… New York. As you might have guessed from his name, Aaron is a fellow BBQ Jew. He visited North Carolina recently and gave me a full run down on the rather substantial BBQ-related portion of his itinerary. Check out Aaron’s reviews of The Pit and Allen & Son’s below. Note that I edited his report slightly just to remove some non-BBQ commentary that diluted from the pig-centric focus of this website. Once you’re done reading Aaron’s interesting report, check out his other writings here.

——–
As I prepare to head back to NY in the morning after being here in the Durham area this week, I wanted to share my experiences. In a perfect world, I would have eaten at a dozen bbq places and be able to write a comparative tome. [Editor's note: In a perfect world pig grease would heal the sick and give sight to the blind. And maybe it does.] But unfortunately I can’t eat like that anymore.

Last year we’d been here on our first trip to the area and had eaten at the Barbecue Joint in Chapel Hill and also Allen & Son. At that time we really liked the Barbecue Joint. I know you gave it a lackluster review, and I certainly would not pretend to disagree with your wisdom [Editor: They don't have sarcasm in New York, right?]. I do think their pork was quite good on our particular visit (in fact, we went there twice on that trip). When we hit Allen & Son that time, I think we were a little porked out. I remember liking it, but didn’t remember coming away from it wowed (although I did remember being wowed by the pecan pie).

This year, things worked out a little differently. First of all, the Barbecue Joint is now closed. Apparently this just happened recently. Upon arriving in the area, we made our first stop at Allen & Son. Guess what? This time, we were wowed. Really, really wowed. I’m not saying the food was any different — maybe it was just as good last year and we
just weren’t in the right moment to appreciate it. Maybe we were hungrier this time. I don’t know. Both me and my GF ordered the “extra large platter”. Man, everything was spot on. The cole slaw is amazing. It doesn’t look amazing, but it sure tastes amazing. I need to re-create that at home somehow. The hush puppies — which as far as I can tell are
only served in this part of the world (we have “hush puppies” in NY but they are cornmeal-fried hot dogs, totally different) — anyway, I love NC hush puppies and these were excellent. Well fried, crunchy on the outside, warm and soft and slightly sweet on the inside.

And then there’s the pork. Wow, that was some fine pork. Smoky, juicy, tangy. We both love the vinegar-style sauce so much more than gloppy, sugary tomato-based sauces you see everywhere else. [Editor: Amen, brother Aaron, you have seen the light!] I ended with the pecan pie and, as I remembered, it was excellent. Anyway, it was a perfect meal.

Yesterday we decided to take a gamble and try The Pit in Raleigh. I had some concerns going in. On the one hand, the ratings from Internet strangers are very high. And people do recommend the ribs, and as you know, I was interested in ribs despite their local sacrilege. On the other hand, people had described The Pit as more upscale. In my limited
experience, attempting to “fancify” barbecue rarely ends well. You see this a lot these days especially in New York City, where barbecue has become very trendy. (But it’s hard to get excited about a $20 plate of pulled pork that probably isn’t that great anyway.) Anyway, back to the pit: oh yeah, it is upscale alright. Hell, it’s upscale for any style
food, not just barbecue. Red flag.

I know that pitmaster Ed Mitchell is famous and he was ambling around the restaurant in his jean overalls. Friendly guy, but also weirdly out of place in his own restaurant, what with the white tablecloths, business casual decor, and hostesses in slinky black dresses. When your barbecue place has pretty young hostesses, I think that is another red flag. [Editor: It'd be more politically correct if I disagreed with you but I don't.]

Cut to the chase: we ordered a half rack of “Carolina ribs” and a double-combo with pulled pork and chopped “barbecue turkey”. Yeah I know, the turkey was a lark because my GF loves turkey and we wanted to see what they did with it. The table comes with a basket of biscuits and hush puppies. Long list of “creative” sides to choose from, such as
bacon-cheese grits and sausage-sage stuffing. The food at The Pit is good. My ribs were actually quite tasty, with an
interesting rub. The pork was a mixed bag–there were strands that were kinda dry piled on chopped bits that were much juicier. The turkey was actually quite good and more moist than the pork (it was dressed with the same kind of vinegar sauce). The sides were all good. But here’s the thing: I’m using the word “good” intentionally. None of it
was great. What’s more, there wasn’t that much of any of it. This is where the “upscale” part kicks in. You’ll have to order a lot of meat to leave The Pit feeling really full. Not that good barbecue is only about quantity, but value is important. Throw in a couple of drinks, and you’re walking out with a $50 bill for 2. Coming on the heels of Allen &
Son, The Pit just didn’t match up for us.

Today, our last day here, we went back to Allen & Son. May as well leave with a home run, right? Again, perfect. A little more challenging to clean our plates today, just because we’re getting full up. Of course, man cannot live on barbecue alone! To be honest, I tried to balance these meals with healthier choices.

On a side note, I notice that you say that the Pittsboro Allen & Son is unrelated to the Chapel Hill location. But I notice that both locations are printed right on the menu — what’s up with that? [Editor's note: You ain't from 'round here, I reckon? It's just the way it is, but trust me that the two joints have been unrelated for years and years.] Anyway, when I get home I will begin work on reverse engineering that cole slaw. (I have no hope of cloning the pork so I’ll leave that to the experts.)

The Barbecue Joint in Chapel Hill Kaput?

Porky LeSwine — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:37:03 +0000

5/17/10 UPDATE: SEE COMMENTS SECTION!

A few alert readers have written in to let us know that The Barbecue Joint in Chapel Hill appears to have closed several weeks ago. Since then we have been working hard–or at least hardly working–to confirm this rumor. Sure enough, the doors to the restaurant are closed and there is a sign from the Sheriff’s department saying that anyone who enters the restaurant is trespassing, or something to that effect.

Recently we heard from a highly placed source (given the Watergate-esque nature of this story we will refer to this source as “Hush Puppy” to protect his/her identity), who confirmed the joint’s closing. Hush Puppy told us, “they’re flat out of business and the lock on the door is the landlord’s, for non-payment of rent. Apparently they got over-extended… The scheme for raising money by offering $2,000 worth of future food for $1,000 now was made necessary by some major backers pulling the plug.”

Bad news for The Barbecue Joint’s loyal fans, especially any who ponied up $1,000 or more to invest in the place when it announced plans to move to a larger location awhile back. Allen & Son is now back to being Chapel Hill’s only NC barbecue joint. As much as I love Allen’s, maybe this opens the door for a new barbecue joint in town?