Kindling
Hey Reader
To begin, apologies for failing to send out a newsletter last Monday. Spring break hit and home improvement projects filled our days. By Monday we were in the thick of things, so I never found time for it. (Of course, you might have appreciated the break!)
In this issue, I'll share with you snippets from a recent "Roadfood Crawl" in the Holy City, look at a few items in the news, dust the ashes off a review from a decade ago, and spotlight an old BBQ joint that's been around over half a century.
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Cheers,
Jim Roller
Destination BBQ
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PS: Hope you and yours had a fulfilling (and filling) Easter Sunday.
Smoke Signals
—Crawling Charleston
It's safe to say more than one person has crawled the streets of Charleston from a bit too much merriment, but our (upright) friend John Tanner, blogger at John Tanner's Barbecue Blog, is sharing his recent experience on The Great Charleston RoadFood Crawl in a series of posts on his site.
The group hit a large number of stops during the event, some of which are BBQ restaurants. He joined the group — already in progress — for what was his first stop at Bowens Island, an excellent seafood shack near Folly Beach.
And while he hit a number of great local restaurants along the way, I'll limit the rest of this to those more on-topic.
Among the places John has reviewed in his series so far, his next (BBQ) stop would take him to Lewis BBQ. This is a place he's visited and written about on more than one occasion. This time, he opted for one of the few things he hadn't tried there before, the hot-smoked pastrami. He ended his review by saying, "What a great place! You should go there, and take enough friends that you can try some moist brisket, a beef rib, and some pastrami. You’ll thank me."
The next BBQ joint Tanner visited was Palmira BBQ in the West Ashley region of Charleston. His group ordered "a beef rib, some pork ribs, some pork, some sausage, and beef cheeks," a specialty at Palmira. In addition, they got 4 sides, "slaw, beans, collards, and hash and rice."
A couple of comments stand out:
"Let’s cut to the chase. The beef cheeks were the best Texas-style barbecue I’ve ever tasted — and I’ve been to Snow’s and Terry Black’s and Smitty’s and Kreuz Market and the Original City Market in Luling, as well as some terrific places outside of Texas...These cheeks were paragons. I fear I ate more than my share."
"The star of the sides, though, was the hash and rice. This was good South Carolina hash, a new variety for me with its distinctive vinegar sharpness. It had good meaty flavor with no scary liver notes, and it went well as a balance for the hyper-rich meat. The hash and rice was a great part of the meal."
Be sure to read this review for the full picture.
The final of the BBQ place that John's has reviewed as of this writing is Melvin's Mount Pleasant location. Like Lewis's, Melvin's is a place that Tanner has visited and written about before.
"Melvin’s is a true South Carolina barbecue bastion and a local treasure," John writes in his review. Here, Southern Living BBQ Editor Robert Moss joined him for a meal. John, having eaten earlier that day at Palmira opted for a "pork sandwich and some hash and rice,' while Moss ordered a heartier meal of "ribs, butter beans, cornbread, hash and rice, and pork barbecue."
Tanner concluded that "Melvin’s is good, real good. They cook the meat exclusively with wood, and do it expertly. The meat is dressed lightly with perhaps THE classic South Carolina mustard sauce, of which I’ve become a fan. Melvin’s also has a fine version of hash and rice."
Be sure to check out John's site to catch other reviews from the series or previous visits.
