Durham | BBQ Jew

BBQ Jew’s View: Byrd’s Barbecue

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Porky LeSwine

2816 Cheek Road, Durham, NC
919.530.1839
No Website
Hours: Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C
Porky Says: “Noah’s Temple didn’t make me a believer.”

“Worth Your Time to Find”
I’m embarassed to admit that I first heard of Byrd’s Barbecue fewer than 6 months ago. Byrd’s–with the motto “Worth Your Time to Find” etched onto its rooftop sign–is located in Durham within 20 minutes of my house. And it was founded over 50 years ago. (According to a recent News & Observer article, Noah and Michelle Temple bought Byrd’s in 2005. Noah used to work at Danny’s Bar-B-Que in Cary, which we’ve yet to visit but have poked fun at.) How could I have not know about Byrd’s sooner? And was it worth my time to find after all these years living in the dark?

I still can’t figure out the answer to the first question, but maybe it has something to do with the answer to the second one: No. Although it is a decent enough place, Byrd’s is nothing special. It’s one of hundreds–or thousands–of mediocre barbecue joints in NC that long ago took the cheaper, easier path and stopped cooking over wood, in the process sacrificing quality, flavor and tradition.

Looks Like the Real Deal,
If you choose to ignore the propane tank that looms behind the building (which, of course, you should not), Byrd’s has the look of a gem of a BBQ joint. Located just outside the city limits, it occupies a rural setting that is appropriate to good ‘cue. The modest wood frame building looks the part too. And the parking lot welcomed a steady stream of Continue reading →

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Eastern style, Gas/electric-cooked, Grade C, Lexington style | 3 Comments »

Guest Post: Brookwood Farms Carolina Pit BBQ

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

[BBQ Jew’s note: Today’s post was written by Holy Smoke author and intrepid airplane passenger/swine taster John Shelton Reed.]

Yes. I know that both Porky LeSwine and H. Kent Craig have knocked Brookwood Farms grocery store barbecue, but when Dale and I found ourselves in the Delta terminal at RDU, waiting for a noon flight that served no lunch, we weighed the options and went for the stand that says “Brookwood Farms Carolina Pit BBQ,” and I’m here to tell you about it. (By the way, I gather that they’re also in the Charlotte airport.)

First, let me say that, to my mind, Brookwood is missing a great opportunity to educate outlanders, the way the Salt Lick outpost in the Austin airport introduces folks to the Texas product. I guess they’ve done the numbers, though, and decided that catering to travelers whose ideas of barbecue vary wildly requires them to take what I’ve come to think of as the “International House of Barbecue” approach: some of this, some of that, something for everyone, none of it great, but all of it, I guess, OK. For our part, we passed up the “Santa Maria tri-tip,” the barbecued chicken, and barbecued turkey, and went for the barbecue – that is, for the pork. Here the choice comes down to a $7.00 sandwich or a $10.00 plate. (Yes, those prices are steep, but this is airport food, after all.)

We decided to split a plate, which comes with hushpuppies and a choice of two side dishes. Since slaw and Brunswick stew were on offer, naturally those had to be the sides. Continue reading →

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Raleigh, Wake County, Wood-cooked | 6 Comments »

BBQ Jew’s View: Backyard BBQ Pit #1 & #2

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

5122 NC Highway 55, Durham, NC
(2nd location at 3218 Guess Road, Durham, NC)
919.544.9911
Website
Hours: Mon – Fri 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: B-
Porky Says: “Research Triangle Pork?”

BBQ in RTP?
It’s hard to believe that there is decent barbecue in the middle of Research Triangle Park (RTP), a science research park sitting in the middle of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, aka “the Triangle.” The Triangle in general has little in the way of good ‘cue–I call it The Bermudacue Triangle for the way barbecue traditions disappear inside it–and RTP is in the geographic heart of the Triangle. Worse yet, RTP is filled with sprawling office parks and crawling with white collar transplants from California and other places where barbecue is merely a misunderstood word that means “a cookout.”

You might think that ordering barbecue in the heart of RTP is as bad an idea as visiting a seafood market in Topeka, Kansas. Yet the owners of the Backyard BBQ Pit were smart enough to see an opportunity in an underperforming BBQ joint on the edge of RTP. With more than 50,000 employees in RTP, they must have reasoned that some of them would appreciate a nice plate of ‘cue. And since buying an old, so-so BBQ joint in 2007, the owners of the Backyard BBQ Pit have provided some pretty good ‘cue to RTPers. And they have done a bustling business, so much so that they opened a second location on the other side of Durham earlier this year.

Backyard BBQ Pit #2 on Guess Road

Isn’t It Good, RTP Wood?
Visitors to the Backyard BBQ Pit #1 (the original location in RTP) will notice Continue reading →

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Grade B, Wood-cooked | 8 Comments »

BBQ Jew’s View: Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

2419 Guess Road, Durham, NC
(2nd location at 2780 Durham Road in Roxboro, NC)
919.286.7447
Website
Hours: Mon – Sat 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“Closed Sundays for Worship & Family.”
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C-
Porky Says: “Is this hog heaven? No, it tastes like Iowa.”

Porkatory
Good (tasting) pigs go to heaven when they die, or at least to Grady’s, Lexington #1, and other such divine BBQ joints. Evil (tasting) pigs go to hell–or at least lousy BBQ joints–when they die. Despite the angel-baiting name, the pigs served at Hog Heaven aren’t nearly good enough to make it into the pearly gates. Neither are they among the worst pigs you can eat. Instead, Hog Heaven is a pork purgatory, where less-than-worthy pigs suffer eternal blandness.

From across the dining room.

Interestingly, Hog Heaven has won several reader’s choice awards for serving the Triangle’s best barbecue. Unfortunately, these awards show only that the masses don’t have much taste when it comes to ‘cue (and, alas, that there ain’t much good pork in the Triangle). Hog Heaven serves thoroughly mediocre pork that never cooks anywhere near a wood coal, and thus lacks in any authentic flavor. The tasteless pork is not helped by the thin but sweet and sticky sauce, which is a truly odd concoction. Since Hog Heaven is supposed to be an Eastern-style joint it is not surprising that the sauce seems ketchup-free, yet it is sweeter than all but the sweetest of the Lexington-style dips. It is sort of like syrup with a dash of hot pepper in it, and would not seem out of place at the Waffle House. I recommend you skip the sauce and simply douse your pork with as much Texas Pete as needed. To Hog Heaven’s credit, the pork is hand-chopped to order and that gives it a good, not-too-fine consistency, though it is a tad mushy for my taste.

Hog Heaven offers an admirably large menu of side dishes, in the Eastern-style tradition, as well as main course Continue reading →

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Gas/electric-cooked, Grade C, Person County, Roxboro | 3 Comments »

Man v. Pork

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

In case you missed it, The Travel Channel’s MAN V. FOOD episode on Durham debuted Wednesday night, and included a stop at the Backyard BBQ Pit. Whether or not you saw the show, check out the funny, spot-on pre-show critique over at Durham-based blog take the bull by the horns. Among the blog’s insights: Durham is not the “Cradle of Cue,” as MAN V. FOOD’s promoters claim, and BBQ is chopped not “stirred.” Unfortunately, if you missed the show (like I did), it does not appear that MAN V. FOOD’s website includes old episodes. Maybe the venerable copyright thieves over at You Tube will come through…

Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Durham, Durham County | 4 Comments »

A First Taste of Hogwash

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

At the beginning of July, I posted an interview with Sean Wilson, founder of Fullsteam Brewery, about the brewery’s Hogwash porter. Not only was the interview thoroughly enjoyable, but Sean was kind enough to invite the Rib Rabbi and me to attend a recent “Thank ‘Cue” event at Fullsteam’s future location, a funky brick warehouse very near the old Durham Athletic Park of Bull Durham fame.

I am happy to report that, despite my initial skepticism that a porter would be too heavy to complement barbecue well, Hogwash pairs well with ‘cue. It is a refreshing, subtly hickory-smoked and easy to drink porter that makes good on its name’s promise of washing down hog. I’m looking forward to Fullsteam’s opening toward the end of this year or early next year, and I’m already daydreaming about pairing Hogwash with samplings of my favorite Eastern- and Lexington-style barbecue. Ah, beer and pork, what more could a BBQ Jew desire?

Filed under: Miscellaneous | Tagged: Drinks, Durham, Durham County, Wood-cooked | 3 Comments »

BBQ&A: Sean Wilson (aka Hogwash, The Beer with the Taste for ‘Cue)

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

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[Note: Follow this link-Wilson BBQ&A-for an easier to read, .pdf version of the interview.]

Today’s post deals with two things near and dear to my heart (and mouth), barbecue and beer. Several years ago Sean Wilson of Durham helped lead a well-orchestrated effort to overturn outdated laws in NC that prevented the sale of beer above 6% alcohol by volume (ABV). Two and a half years after its early 2003 formation, the Pop the Cap group Sean ran succeeded in passing new legislation to allow the sale of beer up to 15% ABV. This law overturned decades of conservative tradition in NC and opened up the state to a wealth of beers, including many classic American and international brews (double IPAs, various Belgian ales, and on and on). For that, Sean and other Pop the Cappers, including the good folks at All About Beer magazine, will always have my thanks. Having handled the NC legislature, Sean is now taking on another, even more entrenched NC tradition–sweet tea.

Sean Wilson founded Fullsteam Brewery and set his sights on “plow-to-pint” brewing that features local flavors. One of Fullsteam’s flagship beers is Hogwash, a brown porter made with hickory-smoked malts. As its name implies, Hogwash is designed to wash down barbecue–its flavor is tailored to complement ‘cue. It’s an interesting concept, so recently Sean and I sat down over a cold pint and a hot tray to talk beer and barbecue… Continue reading →

Filed under: BBQ & A | Tagged: Drinks, Durham, Durham County, Eastern style, Interview, Lexington style, Wood-cooked | 4 Comments »

BBQ Jew’s View: Carolina Q Dog

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

409 Blackwell Street, Durham, NC
919.687.6500
Website
BBQ Jew’s Grade: C+
Porky Says: “An inside the park heart attack.”

Baseball and Barbecue: Two Beautiful Traditions
I recently headed to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) in downtown Durham, NC to root for the hometown heroes. But baseball was not the only thing on my mind. A co-worker had told me about the “Carolina Q Dog” and, in the name of good journalism, I vowed to try it.

The Carolina Q Dog is sold at the Dillard’s Bar-B-Q concession stand right behind home plate on the DBAP’s main concourse (actually, its only concourse). Dillard’s is a Durham institution located just a few miles from the DBAP, and I will review the joint separately another time. The Dillard’s ballpark concession stand offers a limited menu that features their ‘cue in plate and sandwich form, among other dishes. The Carolina Q Dog is offered only at the ballpark and consists of a footlong hot dog smothered in chopped BBQ with a side of slaw. It’s better than it sounds. Or maybe it’s worse than it sounds, depending on your perspective.

I didn’t think it chopped pork on an all-beef dog sounded like a good combination, but it turned out to be pretty tasty. The fact that Dillard’s barbecue is finely chopped and has mustard-tinged vinegar sauce (in the South Carolina tradition) is very helpful when paired with a hot dog. Next time you go to a Bulls game and want to give your arteries a work out, try the Carolina Q Dog. It’s a nice treat by ballpark BBQ standards.

: Hot diggity dog!

Still, even though the Carolina Q Dog was pretty good, I doubt they’ll be changing the Take Me Out to the Ball Game lyrics anytime soon…
Take me out to the DBAP, Take me out with the crowd/Buy me a foot long with bar-b-q, I don’t care ’cause I’m the BBQ Jew/Let me root, root, root for the D-Bulls, If they don’t win it’s a shame/For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, At the old… AAGH!! DOES ANYONE HAVE A DEFIBRILLATOR?!

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Gas/electric-cooked, Grade C, Strange foods | 6 Comments »

High on the (Whole) Hog

Posted on April 20, 2009 by The Rib Rabbi

I went to my first pig pickin’ this weekend and…¡Wow!

The Pig Kahuna

Growing up in Massachusetts, the only thing I can compare it to is a clam bake, which, oddly enough, usually centers around lobster. After having access to a whole hog on a smoker, I have a newfound appreciation for a) how difficult it is to get at lobster meat and b) just how much meat is on a pig.

The event, held in Durham’s Duke Park neighborhood, was the result of a backyard conversation between two neighbors and a ‘why not?’ attitude. As in, why not mix a 165 pound hog, salt and pepper, 10 hours over the (cough) gas cooker and a little dip? The result was a glorious bit of ‘cue-aided community building. (Thanks, Doug!)

While Doug and his neighbor Jeff did use a gas cooker, at least they had a pile of wood nearby to please the eye. Plus, they woke up at 5 a.m. to get things started, earning some nice legitimacy points.

some prime picked pork

While this should have been obvious to me beforehand, the best part of the evening was actually pickin‘ pieces from the smoker. Finding that perfectly crusty piece (like this little gem to the left) was an experience I’d love to repeat (and did quite a few times on Saturday).

True to my moniker, I enjoyed a rarity in NC barbecue–a rib. And ever the breadaholic since Passover’s end, I crafted a sandwich with hand-picked morsels. That’s it below, moments before departing this world. And, yes, that is a nice piece of “outside brown.”

If I have to split hairs, I thought the barbecue could have been chopped finer. But I can certainly imagine the cleaver guys getting pork elbow after working their way through most of that hog.

The kicker of the whole thing was meeting a nice Jewish family who’d moved to Carolina from Israel. Alas, being Orthodox, they didn’t partake of the pork. The poor souls. But, as a devout BBQ Jew, I could understand their devotion. And we met in the middle at a keg of nice, local beer.

The grand sandwich

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Durham, Pig pickin' | 4 Comments »

Backyard BBQ 2: Electric Boogaloo

Posted on April 13, 2009 by The Rib Rabbi

When we heard that the Backyard BBQ Pit was opening a new location, we BBQ Jews were excited and surprised (with an emphasis on the latter). And so we had to check it out for ourselves.

Will there be another Backyard BBQ? All signs point to yes.

Sure enough…Bingo:

The new Pit will be dug in the old Pizza Palace location. While it will likely be a win for barbecue fans (as long as the owners bring some of their wood pile north to Guess Road), it’s a bummer to see the Palace’s coffin sealed shut. After all, they made a decent pie and had a…swingin’ vibe.

For us, though, it’s a fitting transition. The Palace was a real karaoke hot spot. By the power of “Copa Cabana” and “Sweet Caroline,” that means the spirit of Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond still haunts the building.

And that’s appropriate as they’re both true BBQ Jews. (Well, at least they’re Jews).

Anyway, we’ll be among the first in line when The Pit II opens. And yes, we’ll be humming “Sweet Caroline.”

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Durham | 3 Comments »

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