Kevin's BBQ Joints

I’ve been pursuing Patrick Martin, pitmaster and namesake for Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, Tennessee for a while now. The first glimpse I had of his BBQ prowess was on a little known (and seldom aired) show on the Food Network called Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives (you can see his episode HERE). He’s part of the BBQ super team called Fatback Collective and one of the few cooks doing whole hog for their restaurant. I’m really honored that he took time away from everything else he was doing (including cooking) to jot down his favorite BBQ spots. I know you’ll be impressed.

Here are Patrick’s favorite BBQ joints in his own words:

Siler’s Old Time BBQ – Henderson, TN – Henderson is where I learned to cook BBQ hanging around and working at some of the old joints like L & L and Thomas & Webb. They cook whole hog and that’s it, carrying on the tradition of west Tennessee whole hog BBQ. Cooking hogs everyday and closing when they run out. Red slaw on the sandwich is to die for!

Photo of Siler’s Old Time BBQ courtesy of Southern BBQ Trail

Skylight Inn A.K.A. Pete Jones BBQ – Ayden, NC – This place embodies what BBQ is and should be in America. Like my old stomping grounds in west Tennessee, my buddy Sam Jones and family cook hogs everyday and when they’re out, they’re out! Chopped pork on cornbread squares!!! Don’t let them catch you talking on the cell phone while at the counter while ordering as Southern Hospitality can get real inhospitable real quick if you do!

Photo courtesy of Southern Living

Scott’s BBQ – Hemingway, SC – Rodney Scotts whole hog is as good as you’ll find! His sauce recipe should be cataloged in the library of congress.

Photo courtesy of Wriggling Around Like a Fish in a Tin
(more…)

I really do think I need to stop by Live Oak Barbecue in Austin again. The one time I did visit it was at the end of the day when almost everything was sold out. Here are five pics of their BBQ for your enjoyment:

Beef Rib

House Made Jaegerwurst with Dusseldorf-style Mustard and Sauerkraut

Lamb Steaks

Pork Loin

Pork Belly

You can visit Live Oak Barbecue yourself here:

View Larger Map

Briskettown, Daniel Delaney’s brick and mortar shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is now officially open. So if you’ve missed out on one of Daniel’s Brisketlabs you can now head over for “two or three smoked proteins, seasonally driven salad, a slaw & our own bread. We bake pies, too.” Of course brisket will be the star of the show, so I figured I’d post a few photos of what looks like top notch cow.

Photo courtesy of James Boo – Serious Eats

Photo courtesy of James Boo – Serious Eats

Have you been to Briskettown yet? What are your thoughts. I plan on going early next year and will give me thoughts as well as tons of pics.

See Daniel Delaney’s Favorite BBQ Joints HERE
Check out the write up in Eater New York HERE
See the offical Briskettown website HERE
Check out Daniel’s instagram feed HERE

Visit Briskettown yourself here:

View Larger Map

If you live in Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, or Spain (yes, Spain), then you’ve probably heard of the small little BBQ chain with a heart called Bar-B-Cutie. If not, here’s some information along with mouth watering pics.

“Back in 1950, when gas was 18 cents a gallon and when Elvis and Marilyn were becoming pop sensations, Eddie & Mildred McFarland purchased and opened their first car-hop style restaurant, “Bar-B-Cutie”, in Nashville, TN.”

“For over 60 years stories have been told about how Bar-B-Cutie got its name. The one most believable is this, Only the best looking, sweetest girls were selected as “Cutie Girls” and since this place had the best barbecue in town, it was named Bar-B-Cutie.”

“Bar-B-Cutie has been in business for over 60 years, and our customers feel like our family. Anybody and everybody is welcome at Bar-B-Cutie, and eating there is like a “right of passage”..especially if you come to Nashville (don’t be surprised if you spot a celeb in one of our joints….no autographs, though…they’re just family too)! We believe the cornerstone of our success is in providing the very best food and customer service, using time tested recipes and serving it up hot and fresh, with a friendly smile. No compromises!”

(more…)

I got a chance to meet Nick Pencis, owner/pitmaster from Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Que at the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival last September and of course taste some of their tasty pork ribs. I have yet to get out to Tyler (it’s on my must visit in the near future list) to check out his joint first hand, but here’s a little piece that gives you a sense of what it’s like to dine there:

Have you been to Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Que yet? What are your thoughts?

Check it out yourself here:

View Larger Map

I’m actually surprised that RL Reeves Jr. accepted my invitation to provide his list of favorite BBQ joints. Perhaps it’s from my persistence or a weak moment on his part, but regardless of the reason, you’re in for something special this week. RL Reeves Jr. is easily the busiest and most proficient writer in pursuit of all that Austin (and beyond) offers when it comes to food and drink. By the time you’ve read this short paragraph he’s no doubt penned and published 3-4 pieces on either Scrumptious Chef or Chowpapi. What makes this week’s list different than the other 29 previous is that he has gone outside of the United States to offer up a few gems that I know for sure you’ve never heard of.

Here are RL Reeves Jr.’s favorite BBQ joints in his words:

“This is tough. Tougher than it has any right being. It’s hard to make a top ten list out of the hundreds of barbecue joints I’ve eaten at over the years but I’ve been tasked {tricked} into having a go at it, so here they are: In order, starting with the number one spot.

1} Archibald’s Barbecue in Northport, Alabama. The finest smoked meat I ever put in my mouth and holder of the always revered “final meal on earth if I had time to plan such a thing.” Since 1962, the Archibald family has been putting out pork butts and pork ribs in their tiny {seats 6} barbecue stand just north of Tuscaloosa. George Archibald Jr is the pitmaster {a term I do not use lightly, big difference between pitmaster and pitboss} and his sister Paulette makes the sauce. It’s the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten and the only sauce on earth I buy a gallon at a time.

Photo of Archibald’s courtesy of Buffetbuster @ RoadFood.com

2} JMueller Barbecue in Austin,Texas. Street fighting man. The hot-headed John Mueller is a cypher to this day. A puzzle of a man who has left a giant, fist-shaped mark on the world of Texas barbecue. I never know if I’m going to get the plate of smoked meat I’ve just ordered or if we’re going to start rolling and tumbling in the dirt parking lot of his eponymous food trailer in south Austin. The best handmade sausage I’ve found in Texas and the best beef chuck ribs in the Great State.

Photo of JMueller BBQ courtesy of Full Custom Gospel BBQ

3} R&G Barbecue in McMahan, Texas. The old pit boss of City Market in Luling and Luling City Market in Houston, Roy Jeffrey has a half-century of experience in the world of Texas smoked meat. Superb brisket, handmade Texas hot guts sausage and some of the best barbecue sauce I’ve ever eaten. Go on a Friday afternoon when the old-timers gather to throw bones, eat brisket and hang out in one of the sweetest dining rooms you’ll find in Texas.

Photo of Jeffrey from R&G Barbecue courtesy of Chowpapi.com

4} I have a deep love for American barbecue but after years of research and eating my way across our country, I felt like there was a giant gap in my education. Time to go to Turkey. In Istanbul there are numerous barbecue joints with the meat cultures of Syria, Kurdistan, Egypt, Morocco and a host of other countries represented. I’ve eaten at dozens of them but only one can rule the city and that is Zubeyir. Run by 5 Kurdish brothers, the little cafe in Beyoglu district puts out traditional barbecue representative of the eastern provinces of Turkey-Kurdistan according to some folks. Their tarak {lamb spare ribs} are one of the greatest dishes I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant.

Photo of Zubeyir
(more…)

It’s hard to believe, but we have one more week left until the official end of Summer 2012. With that being said, Kevin’s BBQ Joints has teamed up with Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse in Elgin, Texas to provide an incredible End of Summer BBQ Giveaway to ease you into Fall and of course tailgating season.

For the Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse / Kevin’s BBQ Joints giveaway there will be TWELVE different winners (yes, we’ve gone a little crazy with this one). Here are the prize packages:

The first person drawn will receive the Cowboy BBQ Combo (Value $ 82.95)
Includes One slab of Meyer’s St. Louis-style pork ribs (2-2.5 lbs)
One 1/2 smoked Texas brisket (2-3 lbs)
Two lbs. of smoked sausage
One 16oz. bottle of Meyer’s Honey Mesquite BBQ sauce
One bottle of Meyer’s Smokehouse seasoning
One bottle of Meyer’s Texas Bean seasoning

The second person drawn will receive Two slabs of St. Louis pork ribs, one 16 oz. bottle of Meyer’s honey mesquite BBQ sauce and one bottle of Meyer’s smokehouse seasoning. (Value -$46.95)

TEN additional people drawn will receive a BBQ Seasoning Sampler AND a Fightin’ Sausageheads t-shirt (Total Value – $ 32.90)

There are (3) easy ways to enter. All you have to do is ONE of the following:
(1) Tweet about the contest including @kevinsbbqjoints so I can track it (or simply tweet I just entered the Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse Giveaway @kevinsbbqjoints), (2) Post a comment about your favorite type of BBQ in the comment section below this blog post, or (3) Post a comment about your favorite type of BBQ meat on the facebook page for Kevin’s BBQ Joints here on the post announcing this contest. To up your odds, you can do any and/or ALL of these every day (one entry per day though). Contest ends at midnight Pacific time on Monday September 3rd and winners will be drawn later that week. NOTE: If you share the contest on facebook please comment on my facebook page to let me know you shared. Note that prizes #1 and #2 are available only to US residents(since they are perishable food), but #3 winners can be from anywhere in the world. Good luck!

To purchase any of Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse’s famous sausage, brisket, ribs, sauces, and more follow this LINK
Follow them on twitter here
See their facebook page here

Once again, I want to give a HUGE thank you to Gregg and Gary Meyer as well as the rest of the Meyer family for both this incredible giveaway and the support they’ve given me and my site.

I wanted to highlight some BBQ joints from New York for this week’s set of pictures and knew that there was only one place I could go to find great photos from unique BBQ joints. That place is Pigtrip.net. If you’re into BBQ and you’re on the east coast (or traveling there in the near future) you have to make Gary’s site a once a week minimum visit. He’s extremely knowledgeable, has honest and thorough reviews, and is passionate about BBQ.

All 5 photos below are via Pigtrip.net:

Fatty ‘Cue – Brooklyn

Butcher Bar – Queens

Mables Smokehouse – Williamsburg

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que – NYC

Wildwood Barbeque – New York

Have you been to any of these? Any of these your favorite? If not, which spot is your favorite New York BBQ hang out?

Since Texas has the most BBQ joints within it’s boundaries in America, I figured it would be fitting to have (4) pics representing the state (many, many BBQ joints are not pictured below so expect further editions). Enjoy.

Photo of Lockhart Smokehouse – Dallas

Photo of Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew – Austin

Photo of City Market – Luling via Man Up: Tales of Texas BBQ

Photo of Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart

My second stop on my 6 LA BBQ spots in a day was JNJ Bar-B-Que and Burgers on West Adams, just a few miles from Phillips Barbecue.

Review to follow, but here are the first photos:

(more…)