If you’ve ever been to one of those restaurants where you look over the menu for a minute, curl your lip a bit, and then pass it back to the server saying, simply, “yes,” then you know what to expect at Anna’s BBQ, a small and simple place that opened in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood without very much attention or hype in September 2013. It’s owned by Lakesia Phelps and Alexander Coates, and I don’t believe that I heard of the place before the Atlanta Meat Week crew announced it as one of this year’s restaurants. Continue reading “Anna’s BBQ, Atlanta GA”
Tag: barbecue
Regional Treats in Gastonia NC
And so the question was asked, what should we eat next in Charlotte? Queen City Q was probably the obvious choice, but they’re located right by the local arena, which was hosting a Hornets game that night. The next choice would be a place that I actually visited once before, Kyle Fletcher’s in Gastonia. The girlchild, her older brother, and I had lunch here while passing through on our way to Toronto in 2006 and I would love to try it again. Unfortunately, this restaurant is just insanely popular on Saturday evenings. We were lucky to find a parking place, and after milling with several other guests inside the door, concluded that the hyper three year-old couldn’t wait the 45 minutes-plus that they were quoting, so I took a picture of the sign with the nice sunset behind it and activated Plan C. Continue reading “Regional Treats in Gastonia NC”
Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte NC
This road trip was the first time that my daughter had been to Charlotte, and it didn’t take her long to begin pestering me for a summer visit. Trouble started when she realized they have 7-11s in this area and she could get a Slurpee in one of seven hundred and eleven flavors – including, I must add, Cheerwine, which is the greatest thing I ever heard of – and so we pulled into a 7-11 in Rock Hill to take advantage of their wonderful $1.73 gasoline and she danced out with an orange and cream Slurpee. Then we drove past Carowinds, a roller coaster-packed amusement park along I-77 and she wondered whether that really tall one might be taller than Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia. It is. Intimidator, which opened four years later, is 32 feet taller, and peaks at 80 mph, compared to Goliath’s 70. Then we drove past what appeared to be a three-story Target on the way to supper and she had her face pressed against the glass. Continue reading “Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte NC”
Mac’s Speed Shop, Charlotte NC
Longtime readers may recall that, every January, Marie and I take a day trip into the Carolinas. It’s never a very long one, and it usually leaves me complaining about getting to the last place or two long after dark, but it’s become a tradition. I wonder, if we ever do move to Asheville, whether we’ll start a new tradition and go somewhere else every January instead. Continue reading “Mac’s Speed Shop, Charlotte NC”
Twin Smokers BBQ, Atlanta GA
I think at this point, a little skepticism about many of the newer barbecue restaurants to open in Atlanta might be reasonable. Over the last eighteen months, we’ve seen several upscale places with more corporate muscle than family tradition behind them break ground, with executive chefs rather than pitmasters, owned by restaurant groups with a portfolio of concepts. I’m not calling that a bad thing, just that an eyebrow might genuinely be raised. In the case of Twin Smokers BBQ, I’m glad to say that I think that they’re doing a couple of things correctly enough that even the most cynical among us might leave a little satisfied. Continue reading “Twin Smokers BBQ, Atlanta GA”
Porkie’s Original BBQ, Apopka FL
Last week, I mentioned that I have a hypothesis that, rather than seeing barbecue traditions evolve region-to-region, in Florida it’s more likely that individual restaurants will crop up that have the look and feel of what the owners grew up knowing someplace else. Now, obviously, that can happen anywhere, and will; witness the Texas-style meat market, Moonie’s, just northeast of Atlanta in Flowery Branch. But I suspect that this is much more common in Florida than anywhere else in the southeast. Absent a strong regional barbecue identity that defines what everybody in town expects, places can pop up with the flavors and tastes of other regions much more easily. This is somewhat related to what Todd Brock was getting at in his excellent story about Atlanta barbecue in Creative Loafing last October, which you should read. Continue reading “Porkie’s Original BBQ, Apopka FL”
Callahan Barbecue, Callahan FL
Florida does not have a reputation for barbecue, that’s pretty clear. My hypothesis is that, more than any other southeastern state, it’s where people move or retire with their hometown’s recipes and try to bring those to life. So you’ll get individual restaurants with very distinct and individual flavors, but never a general sense that in this-or-that region, you can generally expect this kind of sauce or that kind of side dish. I can give you general ideas of what you may find in northwest Alabama or the South Carolina piedmont, but in Florida, it’s every restaurant for itself. Continue reading “Callahan Barbecue, Callahan FL”
Marie, Let's Eat! 