A happy and delicious New Year from The Smoke Sheet
A warm and delicious welcome to 2019! We hope you had a wonderful new year's celebration with great food, drinks, and parties.
Now it's time to get back to work and starting the new year right. We're excited to get back to delivering you the best barbecue news, analysis, event listings, and recipes. In this issue, check out all the biggest barbecue news from the past two weeks and much more you might have missed during the holiday break. In our next issue, we'll outline some of the top barbecue and food events that it might be worth traveling to around the country in 2019.
As the year begins, we also want to ask our readers to do one thing: please let other barbecue lovers know about The Smoke Sheet. As we want to grow our operations this year, we also want to expand our readership all across the U.S. Encourage your friends to sign up at bbqnewsletter.com, and we can't wait to show you what we have in store for 2019!
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) and Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
Loro, an exciting new Austin-based restaurant from Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole, blends Texas barbecue and Southeast Asian street food.
In Garden & Gun, John T. Edge writes about Loro, the new joint venture being undertaken in Austin by culinary giants Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole. Edge describes Loro as “a restaurant that borrows from the barbecue rites of Texas and the street food rituals of Southeast Asia to forge something singular and delicious here in the homeland of chips and queso and enchilada plates.”
The barbecue community recently lost two legendary pitmasters from different sides of the country. California pitmaster Gerald “Ike” Simas was an authority and ambassador for Santa Maria-style barbecue for over 60 years. North Carolina lost Lowell Thomas ‘Tommy’ Bullock, the owner of Durham’s Bullock’s BBQ.
Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn highlights the successful side hustle James MacFarland and Michael Michna have had with their Reveille Barbecue Co. trailer in Magnolia.
The Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid sees evolution and expansion in his look back at Houston’s top barbecue stories of 2018.
Chuck Blount and Mike Sutter from the San Antonio News-Express spent the past year eating barbecue for their 52 Weeks of BBQ series. Now they are ready to share their list of the top 10 spots in the San Antonio area.
According to CultureMap Houston’s Eric Sandler, brothers Terry and Robin Wong and pitmaster Quy Hoang of Blood Bros. BBQ “incorporate a diverse array of Houston flavors into their cuisine” in their new brick-and-mortar location in Bellaire.
Michelin-recognized County BBQ re-opens in Chicago’s Little Italy after a fire shuttered its operation for more than two years.
Thrillist highlights the absolute best places to find barbecue in Kansas City in a list that includes classic joints, new school locations, and even one delicious spot that is definitely not barbecue.
A new vegan barbecue option is set to open in Austin. The Plow-B-Q food truck will serve meatless half-chickens along with plant-based burgers, sausages, wings, shrimp, and pulled pork.
The World Food Championships announced they are relocating their Main Event from Alabama to Texas starting in 2019.
The owner of Charlotte area barbecue restaurant Improper Pig found an interesting historical artifact while doing the kitchen renovation for the restaurant’s new location.
James Cruse Jr., two-time winner of the Hogs for the Cause championship, has been named the new pitmaster at Central City BBQ, New Orleans’ largest barbecue restaurant.
Renowned sandwich shop Noble Sandwich Co. is being reborn as Interstellar BBQ this month in Austin.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Watch: Wine Oh TV - Santa Maria-Style Barbecue At Its Best
In this episode of Wine Oh TV, Monique Soltani heads to the homeland of California's original regional cuisine. Santa Maria-style Barbecue has been around since the 19th Century and it is still going strong. Tune in for a taste of Santa Maria-style Barbecue and local wine pairings. Watch it here.
Listen: Fire & Smoke - La Barbecue is Feminizing Barbecue One Brisket At A Time
Texas Monthly’s Fire & Smoke podcast covers how LeAnn Mueller and Ali Clem — the only wife-and-wife team in Texas — finally brought Austin’s La Barbecue indoors, and why Los Angeles doesn’t know what it’s missing. Listen to it here.
Read: Rubs (2nd Edition) - by John Whalen III
From dry seasonings and marinades to bastes, butters, and glazes, Rubs presents more than 150 ways to deliver maximum flavor. Whether you are looking for all-purpose rubs and sauces that will work for every type of meat, or step-by-step feature recipes for entire meals, Rubs has something to suit all tastes. Order it here.
January 11-20: Kansas City Restaurant Week - Kansas City, Missouri / Kansas
An exhibition of Kansas City's finest culinary talents, Kansas City Restaurant Week will offer a variety of mouth-watering foods from top chefs across the metro area, demonstrating why the KC dining scene is among the nation's best — and up until now, one of the best-kept foodie secrets. Barbecue restaurants participating in the event include Blind Box, Char Bar, Fiorella’s Jack Stack, Q39, and more. Kansas City Restaurant Week 2019 begins with lunch service on Friday, January 11, 2019 and concludes with dinner service on Sunday, January 20, 2019. More info here.
January 20-22: Whole Hog Extravaganza / Brisket Bonanza / BBQ MBA - Murphysboro, Illinois
Restaurateurs, barbecue competitors, caterers, and enthusiasts are invited to level up and continue your education at the Whole Hog Extravaganza, a one-of-a-kind seminar at 17th BBQ in Murphysboro. Pitmasters and speakers on hand will include Tank Jackson of Holy City Hogs, John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue, and Mike and Amy Mills or 17th Street Barbecue. Class size is limited. More info here.
January 25-26: Lakeland Pigfest - Lakeland, Florida
Join more than 150 competition barbecue teams for a weekend of good eatin’, good friends, and good tunes to benefit Lakeland-area charities during the 23rd Annual Lakeland Pigfest. Admission is $5 and kids 12 years and younger can enter for free. By purchasing food from competition teams, you’ll be supporting their efforts and local charities. More info here.
February 21-23: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Bar-B-Que Contest - Houston, Texas
More than 250 teams, led by barbecue aficionados, compete in the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. While most team tents are invitation-only, visitors can enjoy several public venues, including The Garden, Rockin' Bar-B-Que Saloon, and the Chuck Wagon. Plus, the carnival is open for wild rides and fun games. The Garden Stage features some of the best up-and-coming and established artists in Texas country. The Rockin' Bar-B-Que Saloon also features live and DJ music. At the Chuck Wagon, visitors can pick up their complimentary sliced brisket plate with chips and beans. More info here.
Sweet & Sassy Chicken Lollipops
Canada’s Danielle Dimovski, better known as Diva Q BBQ, shares her recipe for sweet and sassy chicken lollipops in this week’s recipe of the week. Danielle uses a honey rub and a brown sugar glaze to give these chicken drumsticks a sweet flavor combined with chipotle and sriracha flavors to add the right amount of heat. The result is tasty chicken treat with a perfect amount of sass to serve to dinner guests at your next party.
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