BBQ Jew’s View: Smokey’s BBQ Shack

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Porky LeSwine
 
10800 Chapel Hill Road, Morrisville, NC
919.469.1724
Website
Hours: Mon-Wed 11-2, Thu-Fri 11-7:30, Sat 11-7
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C
Porky Says: “Smokey’s is just okie dokie.”

Authentically Inauthentic (or Vice Versa)
Smokey’s feels like what people who didn’t grow up in barbecue country expect a barbecue joint to feel like.  From the joking “Entrance Only – Do Not Enter” sign on the front door to the joint’s a bit too cutesy motto (“The BBQ Rocks and So Do Most of the Tables!”), it has a tongue-in-cheek hillbilly vibe that is both endearing and a little bit grating.  (Judging from the large lunchtime crowd, which was diverse but leaned toward white collar RTPers easily identified by their ID badges, most people find the hillbilly vibe more endearing than I do.)  Similarly, the joint looks like it has occupied the modest white cinder block building on a still-rural stretch of Highway 54 for many years.  Of course, it hasn’t, as The Deli Box occupied the spot just a few years ago.  Still, it’s impossible to deny that the look of the building and location are perfect for a barbecue joint–close enough to RTP to pack in the customers but rural enough to look the part of a 50-year old BBQ joint.

Careful What You Promise
On their website, Smokey’s says it is “the best North Carolina ‘Q’ in Raleigh.”  That is a dubious claim for a couple of Continue reading →

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By Golly, Barbecue and Hot Tamales

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

As the summer winds down, it’s high time for a road trip.  After all, even Porky LeSwine can’t eat North Carolina barbecue at every meal.  Sometimes he needs to eat barbecue from other states (and refer to himself in the third person).  So strap on your computer’s seat belt and come along for a ride to the Mississippi Delta, where tamales are king.

That's Willie in front, chomping on a big cigar.

I recently visited family in Illinois, and while there my father-in-law took me on a short trip to Mississippi (thanks Bill!).  How long did it take us to travel from Illinois to Mississippi?  Just a few minutes, since we took  a shortcut by stopping at Willie’s Homemade Tamales and Smokehouse in Sparland, Illinois. 

Willie, who told me he moved to Illinois from Greenville, Mississippi 33 years ago, has been making his own tamales for years.  He started out selling them from a pushcart near the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Illinois.  About five years ago he took a leap of faith and converted an old gas station into a restaurant in nearby Sparland.  He now sells various kinds of barbecue (ribs, sausage, pulled pork, pork chops and more) alongside his trademark tamales.

But what do tamales have to do with Mississippi? Continue reading →

Filed under: 'Cue Culture, Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

BBQ Jew’s View: Smiley’s Lexington BBQ

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

917 Winston Road, Lexington, NC
336.248.4528
Website
Hours: Tue-Sun, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: A-
Porky Says: “Turn that frown upside down.”

A Young Joint Cooking Old Time
Although Smiley’s has been around for only 8 years, they are proud to cook their ‘cue in the traditional way on a wood pit, an art that is starting to disappear even in tradition-bound Lexington.  On their website, the folks at Smiley’s say,  “Pit Cooked BBQ is different from the electric or gas cooked BBQ processes that are commonly seen in today’s marketplace.  With Pit Cooked BBQ, you can taste the rich flavor of the open flame in every bite.” Ain’t that the truth!  Smiley’s serves up a quality product cooked with care.  Their hard work pays off with tender, moist ‘cue that holds up well against many of Lexington’s best (and better known) barbecue joints.

The Menu
Smiley’s is a fairly typical Lexington-style joint, cooking pork shoulders that are available chopped, coarse-chopped or sliced.  The chopped is an excellent, medium-rough consistency that is not as finely chopped as some joints’, a trait characteristic of places like Smiley’s that continue to Continue reading →

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Two Rights Can Make a Wrong: A Review of Cheerwine-filled Krispy Kreme Donuts

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

You are not asleep and this is not a dream

Somehow this news got past me when it was announced in June, but it’s about the biggest thing since sliced pork: beloved NC donut makers Krispy Kreme partnered with beloved NC soft drink maker Cheerwine to produce a Cheerwine cream-filled donut.  Wow.

On paper the Cheerwine-Krispy Kreme donut is the most delicious idea to emerge in a long time, possibly ever.  Krispy Kreme donuts are a NC tradition and an international sensation.  And Cheerwine is the preferred barbecue pairing beverage aside from ice tea.  Unfortunately, whereas the sticky sweet cherry taste of Cheerwine pairs splendidly with tangy barbecue, it is an absolute disaster when turned into cream form and injected into a sticky sweet Krispy Kreme donut.  At least that is the verdict reached by my palate and the palates of the five fellow testers I employed during a recent double-non-blind taste test.  In the interest of full disclosure, none of the testers are big fans of creme-filled donuts to begin with and none much care for Krispy Kreme’s “chocolate” icing.  If you don’t trust my opinion (fair enough), see more coverage on the donut here and here; the latter link includes a terrific, if nauseating slide show.

All members of the BBQ Jew Test Crew agreed that the cream had a distinct Cheerwine taste but that it would have been much better to use that Cheerwine flavor as an icing or in the dough itself instead of in cream form.  Are you listening Krispy Kreme Korporate Kings?  Make the Cheerglaze or Cheerdough happen and I will buy a dozen, I promise.  Until then, when I crave dessert I think I will stick to my staple: the barbecue sundae.

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BBQ Jew’s View: Dillard’s Bar-B-Q

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

3921 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC
919.544.1587
Website
Hours: Uh, I forgot to write ’em down, I’ll find out soon…
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C
Porky Says: “Man shall not dine on pork alone (at least not here).”

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone
While most barbecue joints use their marquee signs to boast or advertise weekly specials, the sign outside of Dillard’s has read “Deuteronomy 8:3” for as long as I can remember.  Indeed, man cannot live on bread alone. Sometimes he craves pork. 

Dillard’s has been providing Durham residents and visitors with much more than bread since 1952, when its late founder Sam Dillard first started selling barbecue.  Mr. Dillard was a devout Christian, so the Deuteronomy 8:3 reference is not some tongue-in-cheek statement that a younger pitmaster might put on a sign to lure in the hipsters.  At Dillard’s the sign is sincere and heartfelt.  Unfortunately, while the fellowship at Dillard’s remains intact the quality of their cooking has suffered over the years.

Soul Food Aplenty
Dillard’s offers a large buffet of “southern style soul food,” as the restaurant’s website puts it.  (I have yet to experience northern style soul food, and hope to maintain this spotless record but I digress… .)  The buffet is served cafeteria style by friendly staff, some of them direct descendants of Sam Continue reading →

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Barbecued Fox?

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

Barbecued fox?  Well, not really barbecued fox, but rather a local Fox affiliates’ take on “Ten Great N.C. Barbecue Restaurants.”  See Sarah Palin’s favorite Triangle area TV station’s ‘cue list here.  Top 10 lists are always suspect and always generate debate so I’ll stay out of the fray like my middle name is Switzerland (it is not in case you were wondering, it’s Djibouti).

Speaking of great restaurants, I’ll be posting more reviews soon… it has been hard finding much time to write lately but I promise to shake of the summer heat and sweat out some more original content soon.

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BBQ and Sbarro Side-by-Side?

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

Hell has frozen over at last. 

The news out of Burlington is that the owners of Hursey’s Barbecue are opening a location at Holly Hill Mall in the home of an old Chik-ail-A.  Given that barbecue really is fast food (well, aside from the hours of cooking time), it makes a lot of sense to sell it in a mall.  And since Hursey’s cooks their ‘cue over wood at their main location (pictured below) you don’t have to worry too much about how a mall will impact their cooking.  But it still feels more than a bit odd to think of being able to order BBQ inside a shopping mall.

Coming soon to a food court near you.

 This is the first time I have heard of a NC BBQ joint opening up shop inside a mall. Anyone else know otherwise?

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Is the new barbecue joint coming to Chapel Hill The Barbecue Joint?

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

A tip of the snout to Dave Filpus, who writes at his NC Barbecue Musings blog that a new barbecue joint is opening in the space where the barbecue joint called The Barbecue Joint was located before its doors were padlocked shut. There are also rumors that The Barbecue Joint that used to be located in the place where the new barbecue joint is opening will return but in another location and maybe with another name or maybe under the name The Barbecue Joint.  Confused yet?  So am I. 

According to the website/Facebook page for The Pig, the new place opening up, the restaurant will be “Bringing regional flavors and local ingredients to the party in your tummy, featuring whole-hog barbecue, cola-braised pork belly sandwiches and Mee-Ma’s low-country, house-smoked, chicken-fried tofu.”  Yep, you read that right. 

Stay tuned and I am sure more details about The Pig will be revealed soon… I am wondering if it is actually the rumored return of The Barbecue Joint, as the combo of yuppified barbecue and similarly untraditional dishes (tofu) offered next to fairly traditional BBQ certainly seems similar. [The plot thickens:  since drafting this post a few days ago Dave Filpus has posted more info on his site, check it out.]

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | 1 Comment »

BBQ Jew’s View: Mama Jean’s Bar-B-Q Shack

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

Angier & Driver Streets, Durham, NC
919.201.7676
Website
Hours: Usually Thu-Sat  11:30 a.m.. to 3:00 p.m. (or until sold out)
BBQ Jew’s Grade: B+
Porky Says: “This pork on wheels is the real deal.”

Drive-Thru BBQ
The name Mama Jean’s Bar-B-Q Shack is, in fact, a misnomer.  This joint is no shack.  Far from it, as this joint isn’t a joint at all. It’s a BBQ truck.  Specifically, it’s a truck where you order barbecue that is cooked next to the truck on a large charcoal and hickory chip fueled cooker.  Although Mama Jean’s is far from trendy–in the best possible way–it is part of a growing trend in the food truck rich Triangle area, where everything from juice to burgers to tacos to crepes is hawked out of mobile restaurants on wheels.  And Mama Jean’s serves some of the best barbecue I’ve had in the Triangle, whether the ‘cue is on wheels or not.

Truck, Storefront, Whatever
According to Antonio Hill, Mama Jean’s owner and pitmaster, Mama Jean’s will be opening a regular sit down restaurant soon on the same street where he sets up his truck.  But for now, while he puts together the final pieces needed to open the storefront, he’s pretty happy selling his food out of his “BBQ shack on wheels.”  Really, I could care less about where he sells his food. He can cook and he does it with charcoal and wood chips, which is close enough to traditional wood-cooking for me.  Heck, if it continues to taste good he can sell his ‘cue out of the back of a Ford Fiesta for all I care.

Mama Jean’s Grub
There is no obvious menu posted on the food truck.  Actually, I didn’t see a menu at all.  Continue reading →

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Mama Jean’s: BBQ Shack on Wheels

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

Over the weekend The Rib Rabbi and I, along with our accomplice Nate “Ol’ Hickory” O’Keefe, volunteered at a barbecue-themed fundraising event.  More on the event soon, but that’s a separate post.  While at the event, we “discovered” a local BBQ joint we’d never heard of: Mama Jean’s Bar-B-Que Shack (as is common with barbecue joints, alternate spellings abound, with “Mama Jean’s BBQ Shack” and “Mama Jean’s Bar-B-Q Shack” also featured in their marketing materials).  Better yet, Mama Jean’s operates out of a truck, which as far as we know is unique for BBQ in food truck-rich Durham; other examples exist elsewhere in NC, such as Fatback’s BBQ & Rib Shack in Fayetteville.

Despite being set up squarely in the middle of a long row of BBQ cooking teams, the guys from Mama Jean’s caught our attention because they were the only ones using charcoal and wood instead of propane.  Of course, they also had that BBQ/Bar-B-Q/Bar-B-Que truck of their’s doubling as a hard-to-miss billboard.

Alas, we arrived at the event too late to sample Mama Jean’s cooking but we vow to check it out soon and report back.  We did get a chance to chew the proverbial fat with the Mama Jean’s crew.  They were nice guys who clearly care about ‘cue and were proud to be cooking over wood/charcoal.  They told us that they are working on opening a permament brick and mortar location soon, but for now you should be able to find their bar-b-bus parked near the corner of Angier and Driver Streets in Durham a short drive east of downtown.  They also would be happy to help you with catering your next event.  See their website for details and stay tuned for our patented BBQ Jew’s View review coming soon.

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