DNC Eats: Where's the barbecue? And more food

Former Observer writer Dan Huntley is now better known as barbecuer Dan the Pig Man, who sells from a food truck covered with barbecue slogans. Dan was planning to sell barbecue sandwiches and ribs on Tryon Street all week for the Democratic National Convention.

He smoked 3,000 pounds of pork butts and 200 racks of ribs, enough for 6,000 sandwiches. After starting Monday at CarolinaFest, he was moving to Legacy Village, next to the Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St., for the reminder of the week.

Late Monday, word rocketed around the newsroom (or at least among my editors, who tend to be a bit obsessive about Dan's barbecue): Dan was sold out already. CarolinaFest turnout was so big, he was done for the week.

Never trust the word from editors: I called Dan on Tuesday morning and he was already back on South Tryon at Legacy Village. He stopped by a WalMart on his way home to York County Monday night, loaded up with 28 butts and started smoking again. So he's back in business for the rest of the week.

If you know a delegate who is desperate to try real Carolina barbecue, take them down to Legacy Village, across from the convention center (and all those hungry journalists). Tell Dan I sent you.

(And if John Oliver wants a barbecue sandwich, tell him to give me a call. I'll buy.)

THIS JUST IN: The Tin Kitchen food truck, with those cutting-edge tacos (pork belly, blackened shrimp, chicken tinga and the rest) will be at Morehead and Tryon Street every day at lunch, roughly from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 or so. They're at a private event Wednesday night (that would be the VIP after-party at ElderArt) in SouthEnd, and Thursday night, they'll be in NoDa near the Dog Bar. (And John Oliver, the offer still holds: You want a taco, I'll buy. I know these guys -- they'll give you extra cilantro rice if I ask them.)

2 Charlotte barbecue places featured on Travel Channel

Rock Store Barbecue in Stallings and Mac's Speed Shop in Charlotte both will be featured on a new Travel Channel show, "All You Can Meat."

Host Chuey Martinez (above), an L.A. radio and TV personality, will travel around to Austin, Kansas City, Charlotte, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Denver in search of people who make all kinds of meat, including barbecue (pulled pork, ribs and brisket), poultry, steak and bacon. The show will also include stops in Kannapolis, Spencer and Lexington.

The 6-episode show debuts this Sunday at 10 p.m. with two episodes, then settles in a regular time slot of 9 p.m. Sundays starting Aug. 19.

Always glad to hear Charlotte restaurants (and N.C. barbecue of course) are getting the love. But I have to say: If you're going to have the title "professional meat enthusiast," could you have a better name than Chuey? I can't make this stuff up, folks.

Put your barbecue learning where your mouth is

So you've always wanted to learn how barbecue is really done? If you can make it to the S.C. Farmers Market in West Columbia on Aug. 18, you can learn.

The one-day Carolina Outdoor Cooking BBQ Class is taught by pit masters Brian Teigue from Up in Smoke and Garland Hudgins from Big GQ. The class will cover Carolina-style pulled pork, Texas-style beef brisket, Memphis-style pork ribs and smoked chicken.

All this knowledge does not come cheap, of course. The full-day class, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., is $250 (although that does include lunch and all-day barbecue noshing).

Deadline for registration is Aug. 10 unless the class has already filled. Contact Garland Hudgins, 803-360-4700 or email him at garland@carolinaoutdoorcooking.com, or get details online at www.carolinaoutdoorcooking.com.

Get in the holiday mood: True American 'cue

Last year during this week, we posted a video and story on the art of producing true, wood-cooked Carolina barbecue. I thought Corey Lowenstein's video, featuring Bruce and Jeff Jones of the Skylight Inn in Ayden, was one of the finest pieces of work I've gotten to be a part of.

If you're staying inside to stay cool over the holiday, I thought you might enjoy another look:

Barbecue at the Skylight Inn.

If you want, here's my story that ran with it.

Still hungry? Take a look at this slide show, now available from Reuters, on Scott's BBQ in Hemingway, S.C.

Big 'cue guys coming to Charlotte

I'm afraid to type anything involving the letters "B B Q" for a while. So I'll say this involves outdoor cooking. Call it what you will:

• Adam Perry Lang is a New York chef with bonafides (Le Cirque, Daniel) who got into outdoor cooking and the competition circuit a few years ago. His second book, "Charred and Scruffed," named for some of his innovative outdoor cooking techniques, is out this summer. Lang will be in Charlotte on June 9 to sign books and demonstrate some of those innovative outdoor cooking techniques. The event is being put on by Park Road Books, but it's happening at 2:30 p.m. in the parking lot next to Carpe Diem on Elizabeth Avenue. It's free and you don't need a reservation. Just show up.
• Bob Garner is the guy who wrote the book on North Carolina's traditions of, um, outdoor cooking, with the original guide, "North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored By Time," back in the 1990s. He has a new book out, "Bob Garner's Book of Barbecue: North Carolina's Favorite Food" (John F. Blair, $24.95). He'll sign copies of that at 7 p.m. June 12 at Park Road Books.

Barbecue Squabbles: Can't we all just get along?

"Charlotte, once again demonstrating its complete lack of barbecue relevance . . . "

"Fruit in barbecue sauces? It's official, we now live in South New York . . ."

"Slather sweet sauce over generic meat and call it barbecue . . . "

"Think of an out-of-towner coming across this story and thinking that this is what Carolina barbecue is all about . . ."

That last comment was the one that really made me start shaking my head. Seriously? It's actually a betrayal of our state to acknowledge the existence of anything beyond whole pig with vinegar mop?

Are we merely the sum of our Lexington and Eastern Carolina pigs parts?

I'm usually accustomed to the outbreak of hyperbole and hostility that passes for barbecue dialogue around here. I've written in newspapers, magazines, books and online for a couple of decades now and I know that simply typing (even thinking or saying) any word that involves the letters "B," "B" and "Q" is going to be trouble.

But I was still a little taken aback by the comments that broke out when we announced the winners of our barbecue sauce contest Wednesday. After all. we had been pretty clear that the contest was for homemade-sauce recipes. At the beginning and the end of the contest, we were specific that these sauces were for backyard cookouts, not for digging large pits and cooking whole pigs or shoulders.

Interestingly, despite the debate, most of the 30 or 40 recipes entered had some kind of sweet elements, often a jam, sugar or molasses. There were all kinds of styles of barbecue sauces, which is part of what made the contest fun. These are the things that people make when they're cooking at home, and it was pretty clear from the recipes that people make a huge variety of things.

Certainly, barbecue and grilling are not the same thing. I wrote a column on that subject very recently. But it's also true that when we are grilling, we do all kinds of things.

I love the tradition and the history that's represented by the classic barbecue restaurant of North and South Carolina. I've visited well over 30 of them.

But is it true that if we stand on Carolina soil, we're not allowed to rake anything else over the coals?

Sorry. As a cook and a writer and an avid backyard griller, I just can't agree with that.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/22/3259367/which-barbecue-sauce-is-the-winner.html#storylink=cpy

Southern Living's picks for best barbecue

I tease the Southern Living folks for their surveys of places in the South, which often seem to skip our area. So I should praise them for their latest, "The Smokin' Hot List: 10 of the South's Best Pitmasters."

For once, several worthy Carolinas stops land on the list. Of course, if they were really doing it, the entire list would be Carolinas barbecue -- and it would take a lot more than 10. But still, I'm happy to see these guys get the love, for long hours doing some hot, dirty work:

1. Rodney Scott, Scott's Bar-B-Q, Hemingway, S.C.
2. Sam Jones (although they should include his uncle Jeff and their helper, James Howell, who also do the long hours at the pit -- Samuel himself will tell you that Skylight is a family affair), Skylight Inn, Ayden.
3. Ed Mitchell, The Pitmaster, Raleigh. Ed doesn't currently have a restaurant (he split with The Pit), but he tours and does events as The Pitmaster.
4. Avery Payne, Cook's Barbecue, Lexington. (That's my picture of the chopped 'cue plate at Cook's, above.)

In the same issue, SL's picks for best barbecue places include Allen & Son, Chapel Hill; Bunn's, Windsor; Jim & Nick's, all over, including Charlotte; Lexington Barbecue, Lexington; and Red Bridge's Barbecue Lodge, Shelby.

You can get the whole package, including a pitmaster quiz, a list of good bottled sauces, recipes and more, here: 'Cue Awards.

Wood-cooked barbecue: Thanks, Corey

Sometimes being a food writer is a pinch-yourself job: You get to have experiences that make you pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming.

As an N.C. food writer, a lot of my pinch moments have involved barbecue. I once got to spend three days on the road by myself, eating at 17 barbecue joints, covering over 1,000 miles and crossing state lines twice. I've gotten to sit up all night minding whole pigs, I've shoveled coals with Boy Scout dads, and I've judged so many barbecue contests, I've lost count.

Late last fall, photographer Corey Lowenstein from the Raleigh News & Observer met me at the Skylight Inn in Ayden, way out on a two-lane road in Pitt County. Our newspapers share resources, which means building working relationships in whole new ways.

For myself, I just had to hold on to a notebook, watch everything that happened and not screw it up.

Photographers don't have it that easy. They have to haul equipment, clamber around in tight spots and get their faces and their lenses right down into the heart of things, no matter how hot or smoky. Corey was right in there for hours, doing an amazing job and bringing back some of the best barbecue photographs I think I have ever seen.

We writers get our names in big type on the tops of stories. Photographers get tiny little credits below their pictures. But they deserve much more, and Corey certainly earned recognition.

My story on the art and tradition of wood-cooked barbecue will be here for the next few days. Even if you skip reading it, you shouldn't skip the audio-slide show and the pictures by Corey.

Ms. Lowenstein, it was an honor doing business with you.

Bourdain likes us, he really likes us

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a little love for the Old North State from professional grumper Tony Bourdain: The March issue of Budget Travel isn't online yet, but Eater.com reports that Bourdain makes the call on five food rivalries: Mexico City vs. L.A. for tacos (Mexico City), New York vs. Chicago for pizza (New York), L.A. vs. New York for burgers (L.A., because of In-N-Out), Chicago vs. New York for hot dogs (Chicago).

And finally, in the most important contest of all: Kansas City vs. North Carolina for barbecue.

And the winner (grab a couple of bottles of Texas Pete and drum them on the table):

North Carolina. "It's so minimalist - dressed with only a little bit of vinegar, salt and pepper. It's hard to argue with that."

Hard to argue, indeed. Thanks, Mr. Bourdain, sir. Drop in anytime.

Food State Map

What's wrong with this picture? The web site I Can Haz Cheez Burger posted a pictoral map of the country by foods. Problem is . . . well, you can imagine all sorts of problems with that idea. The whole state of Florida is represented by an orange. What, no black beans and rice, no lechon asada, no sweet plantains?

So far, though, the 232 comments have heavily weighed in on one big mistake: Us.

North Carolina is listed as "dry barbecue," with a picture that looks like a rack o'ribs. Um, Cheez? Stick with burgers. Let us handle the barbecue -- whole pig or Boston butt, chopped or minced, vinegar sauce or red vinegar sauce.

If you want to join the fun, go here.

Want to buy a N.C. barbecue battle?

When the Barbecue Battle Box arrived on my desk, packed in a cooler of freezer packs, I had to admit: Clever idea. It's $59 ($39 if you buy 10 or more for a "Corporate Gift Special") and it comes with 1 pound of Eastern-style pork, 1 pound of Piedmont-style pork, one bottle each of Piedmont Dip and Eastern Barbecue sauce, and two tubs of cole slaw, a red Piedmont style and a white Eastern style.

The battle idea is that you're supposed to decide which style of barbecue is better. But you know barbecue fans -- we spend our time deciding whether this particular sample is a good example of the art of True 'Cue.

So I microwaved the barbecue packages, called together a small coterie of seasoned co-workers (and ended up with a large coterie -- you try putting out a couple of bowls of barbecue at lunch) and we commenced to tasting.

The slaws were big hits, with everyone loving the white and slightly sweet Eastern style, and even barbecue-slaw dislikers saying they liked that version more than they usually do. The sauces were pronounced reasonable facsimiles of the real deals.

The barbecue was pronounced generally good, although there is no nitpicker like a barbecue eater. Several people wanted more smokiness, even though I reminded them that true N.C. 'cue isn't very smoky. We all agreed the textures were right, with the proper minced quality in the Eastern style and more shredded, chunky pork in the Piedmont style. The Eastern style, even before saucing, was noticably more vinegary.

Price-wise, we all thought $59 was a mite high, considering that a pound of either one usually runs $8 to $9 at most of the classic places. As several people noted, "For 60 bucks, you ought to get banana pudding and some white bread."

But still, I've run into pretty big barbecue fanatics from out of state who spend a lot more on a plane ticket, a rental car and several days hitting places like Skylight Inn and Bridge's. So if what you want is to get or give a taste of N.C., this is a pretty good way to do it.

Interested? Go to http://www.ncbbqcompany.com/ or call 866-617-4467.

Reporting for barbecue duty in Mayberry

Mount Airy, N.C., would be a nice place even without its history as the inspiration for Mayberry in the "The Andy Griffith Show." A quick 90-minute run up I-77 from Charlotte, it's a pretty little town of Victorian houses perched right on the sweet spot where the Piedmont hills start building up to become the Blue Ridge mountains.

And yes, it has another claim to fame besides Mayberry: It was home to Chang and Eng, the brothers whose vaudeville act supposedly gave the world the term Siamese Twins.

For people who don't understand the Tarheel reverence for all things Mayberry, let me explain: When I was a kid in the 1960s, everything on TV was about New York: "That Girl" lived in New York, Dick Van Dyke commuted to New York, half of the "Twilight Zone" sets were built to look like New York.

For us North Carolina kids, Mayberry was the only thing on TV that looked like the world as we knew it. Aunt Bea looked like my Aunt Rosalie, Mayberry looked like downtown Wilson, right down to the courthouse square. In the pre-AC days, front porches were survival zones.

I made the trip up to Mount Airy on Saturday to serve as a judge for the Mayberry Days barbecue contest. Yes, this is sometimes my life: Eat 26 samples of chopped pork 'cue and give each one a grade on a score sheet. As a "blind" judge, I was sequestered in a little room in the Surry Arts Council with two suspender-wearing gents. John T. Matthews is a Mount Airy native and retired hog farmer. The other judge was a TV/radio guy named Roy. He prefered just Roy -- he apparently once had a traumatic judging incident that involved a children's beauty contest and wouldn't judge again unless he was promised anonymity and a locked door.

I did my duty to the best of my ability, poking through the boxes, noting things like tenderness, moisture, even distribution of sauce and inclusion of small bites of crispy skin. By 9:30 in the morning, we had eaten our way through samples A-X.

Eating that much pork that early in the morning will bring on pork fat-induced hallucinations. When I stepped out into the sunny morning, I could have sworn Aunt Bea was thumbing through the local paper.

Oh, no, wait -- that's an Aunt Bea impersonator. And if there is room in the world for Elvis impersonators, I think it's a good idea that the world also have Mayberry impersonators. I saw a very convincing Barney, hang-dog jowls and all, and an excellent Otis Campbell stumbling up the street.

After walking around to look at the barbecue teams and listen to that wonderful sound of cleavers rapping out chopped pork, I stood on the sidewalk and watched the Mayberry parade. Actress Elinor Donahue was there, perched on the back of a convertible and laughing her head off. As an early fan of "Father Knows Best," long before she played Mayberry pharmacist Ellie Walker, I was delighted to see a lovely woman who looks like a retired librarian being treated like a beauty queen.

After giving her a wave, I got in my car and headed back to Charlotte, happy to know that the legacy of Mayberry is alive and well and having a great time in Mount Airy.

Barbecue road trip, Part III: Cook's BBQ

OK, I've been holding out. When I made a swing by a couple of Statesville stops last week, I was actually on my way back from an early lunch in Lexington. Statesville is not usually on the way back from Lexington, but Tom-Tom makes many fine drives possible.

And in this case, the best was the first.

I've been hearing about Brandon Cook at Cook's BBQ for a couple of years. I had just been waiting for an open travel day to check his place out. The son of barbecuer Doug Cook, who owns Backcountry Barbecue in Lexington, Brandon opened his own place and decided to forego modern shortcuts like electric or gas cookers and go back to all-wood cooked barbecue.

Does it make a difference? Apparently so: he's had to expand his little restaurant, tucked away in the country outside Lexington, a couple of times. Draw your own conclusions on this, too: When I pulled up for an early lunch at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday, there were already two patrol cars with officers waiting to eat, and two more had joined them by the time I left around noon. Maybe it's like following truckers - Lexington police officers know good barbecue.

And amazingly good barbecue it is. I ordered a chopped pork plate and opened my notes. But after the first bite, it was several minutes before I could order my brain to write more than "oh my lord." Moist, tender, with just enough outside brown to give the whole pile texture. It was like pork raised to a higher purpose.

It came with just enough vinegary sauce already mixed in. In fact, I reached for the sauce bottle once and draw back my hand. It's good sauce, vinegary with just a little heat, and they take the time to serve it warm. But it seemed like a sacrilege to cover that pork with anything.

The $6.29 plate came with red slaw and a basket of terrific hush puppies -- round and as small as shooter marbles, but buttery and crisp. The waitress brought fries by mistake, but I held out for the baked beans. They had an apple flavor that was almost reminded me of pie filling but was on the right side of too sweet.

Cook's BBQ is a simple place, very country style, with a big dining room. There are other things on the menu, but with chopped pork like that, I'm sure I'll never get around to trying them. It's tucked back off a country road, about an hour from Charlotte, but it's not that hard to find: From I-85, take N.C. 8 (Exit 91). Turn left and go about 4 miles, to Rock Crusher Road. Turn right and follow it back about a half mile. Turn left on Valiant. It doesn't look like there will be a restaurant back there, but there is -- just look for the smoke. Or the patrol cars.

Cook's BBQ, 366 Valiant Drive, Lexington. 336-798-1928. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Barbecue road trip, Part II: Port-A-Pit

Port-A-Pit? It sounds like something I avoid at outdoor concerts. But I've passed the sign so many times after leaving Keaton's outside Statesville, I finally had to stop and figure it out.

It's not easy. When you spot the sign on U.S. 64, right next to the Cool Spring Fire Department and just before the John Deere dealership, there is no obvious sign of a restaurant. Just the sign and a gravel road leading into a field. But the field is full of trucks with "Port-A-Pit Barbecue" painted on their sides. So there's got to be something in that building at the back, right?

Is it in that machine shop on the left? No, that's just the whine of power tools. Wait, the right side of the building, where the steps are -- ah, that's it.

You still have to go all the way around to the back and through the door. And you're still puzzled: You're in the small office of Koala-T-Katering. The guy on the phone in the back doesn't even look up. But if you turn right, there's the catering kitchen. A line of women are rapidly dealing cups of sauce into take-out boxes on one side. On the other side, there's a line of steam trays with chicken, pork, ribs and the day's vegetables, and a couple of tables lined up to herd you toward cash register. Takeout is the only choice.

Since I was on my third lunch of the day, I just opted for a pork barbecue sandwich for $3.25. That brought a very generous pile of already sauced, shredded pork, a hamburger bun, a large serving of coleslaw -- choice of mayo-based or red -- and two little cups of barbecue sauce. There are a few benches outside, but your car is the most comfortable place to sit.

The barbecue is smoky, moist and already sauced, the sauce on the side is dark, sweet and tastes strongly of liquid smoke.

Port-A-Pit must operate on the Smucker's theory -- with a name like that, they have to serve something good.

Port-A-Pit BBQ, 119 Marshall Forest Lane (behind Cool Spring Fire Department on U.S. 64 East), Statesville. 704-872-9778. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday and Friday only. www.portapit.biz Prices range from $3.25 for a barbecue sandwich, $5 for a barbecue tray, $4.75 to $8.25 for chicken, rib or pork plates with two sides and bread or hush puppies.

Barbecue road trip, Part I: Keaton's

Taking a trip to Keaton's BBQ in Cleveland, N.C., outside Statesville, isn't really about the food. It's about the journey.

There's figuring out a way to get out of the office and play hookey at a time that actually matches their hours. (The hours change by season or whim, so after you check the Web site, keatonsoriginalbbq.com, it's still a good idea to call 704-278-1619 just to make sure.) There's the 30-minute run up I-77 to I-40 to U.S. 64. There's the drive down long, winding Woodleaf Road, past the farms and corn fields until you cross into Rowan County, head into the trees and finally spot the place.

There's the look on the face of whichever first-timer you're taking along when they first see the rusted sign stretching along the roof, the hand-scrawled notes on the windows and doors. Maybe they look with trepidation, or hesitation. If they look with a big smile, you have the satisfaction of knowing you picked the right traveling companion.

I made my fourth or fifth visit to Keaton's last week, by myself this time. Not much has changed. "No smoking" signs have replaced the old "no guns" sign, which is cheering. There's still the portrait of founder B.W. Keaton by the front door inside, big smile and cigarette dangling from his mouth, long ash eternally caught by the camera just before it falls.

The counter service is just as chaotic and confusing. The side dishes are just as negligible. I've been enough times to know to stick with baked beans and the crusty-on-top mac & cheese and avoid the potato salad. They have pork barbecue, I've heard. But I never get around to trying it.

The real star of the menu is just the same: Half-chicken fried, dipped in sauce and grilled. The meat inside is a little dry, but the skin is the point, peppery and just a little chewy.

Maybe it's not the food. Maybe it is the journey.

Keaton's Barbecue, 17365 Cool Springs Road, Cleveland, N.C.

Feed on this: Asparagus, quail eggs, coffee and more

• New at the Matthews Community Farmers Market: Quail eggs, raised by new vendors Yurii and Irina Korotkov. This Saturday's market also includes the cookbook swap (bring a book to swap, or trade one for a canned goods donation for the Matthews Help Center food pantry.) Joe Kindred of Rooster's is doing the cooking demo at 8:30, and Mark Hibbs will do a class on dressings and vinaigrettes at 7:30 a.m.
• Early reports are that there MIGHT be asparagus Saturday at the Charlotte Regional Market. Of course, that depends on whether you get up early enough to buy it before I get to it. How much loyalty do you expect from me, people?
• If you're visiting the Smithsonian in Washington and you buy a cup of coffee, you'll get a taste of home. Charlotte-based Restaurant Associates is working with Concord-based S&D coffee to provide the organic Bird Friendly coffee now being offering at the museums on the National Mall. The coffee meets the requirements by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
• Barbecue teams, it's time to sign up for Blues, Brews & BBQ, part of the Charlotte Shout festival in September. E-mail aoelerich@charlottecentercity.org for details.
• Cooking Uptown, 1707 E. 7th St., has just posted the list of cooking classes for June. Go to www.cookinguptown.com for the schedule, costs and signup. And tell them congratulations for their Best of the Best award in the May issue of Charlotte Magazine.

Blue Ridge Barbecue is back on

The Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival in Tryon will heat up the coals again this spring, after the Carolinas Foothills Chamber of Commerce got more than $80,000 in donations to keep the festival alive.

“Cook teams and festival goers will enjoy the same Festival they have come to love over the years," said festival chair Dale Musselwhite. "We’ll just be running a much tighter operation behind the scenes.”

The festival, now scheduled for June 11-12 at Harmon Field in Tryon, includes music, a craft fair, carnival rides and food from a number of barbecue vendors. Admission is expected to be $6.

In addition, the barbecue competition usually draws barbecue teams from all over the country to compete. The contest was sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society; with Memphis in May, it is one of the two chief organizations that recognizes barbecue winners. Winners of KCBS contests are invited to the Kansas City Invitational and are eligible for a drawing for teams to attend the Jack Daniels Invitational.

Barbecue roundup: Adieu, Blue Ridge BBQ

With the sad news that the annual Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival in Tryon has been cancelled, apparently permanently, barbecue fans may need a new occasion. If you can get over to Durham on Jan. 30, you can go to Pork & Pinot. Yes, pinot noir as in wine. Yes, pork as in barbecue. Debbie Moose's blog has details.

As long as we're thinking about barbecue (and is there ever a time when I'm not thinking about barbecue, no matter how subliminally?), I added a new blog link lately that is a ton of fun to read: BBQ Jew. Don't let the name stop you. The humor of these particular Chosen People is choice, and they post reviews of barbecue restaurants around the state.

And now, finally, let us bow our heads at the passing of the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival. Truly sad news. I was a judge many, many times over the years. I shall see it in my dreams: A verdant valley with a mountain on one side and a picturesque rocky stream along the edge, filled with barbecue teams, cookers and carnival rides. Smoke rising above the rigs, the old hut on one side filled with the crazy cacophony of barbecue judges waiting to see if they got lucky enough to be assigned the whole hog category. The nice volunteers in aprons who used to sneak us extra servings of Italian ice between rounds of barbecue.

And my drives home on U.S. 74 at the end of the day, pinching myself to keep alert with the fat from a pound worth of pork trickling through my brain. Those, I shall see in my nightmares.

'Cue Checks

Where have I been eating barbecue?

Gary's, China Grove. First the important stuff: This is a beloved institution in a sweet little town, so everybody from miles around goes here. Go at lunch and you'll see half the town. Go at dinner and you'll see the other half.

I love these community gathering places. And Gary's is the real thing, with the walls covered with metal advertising signs and ice-cream colored classic cars on display in the showroom at the back.

Less important: the barbecue isn't stellar. Sorry. I went back after many fans have insisted on its greatness. My verdict was the same as my first visit several years ago - meh. Reheated barbecue with a steam-table taste, no saucing or smoke.

I never tangle with fans, and Gary's has a passle of them. I'm glad it makes you happy. But if I visit a third time, I'd go for the chili dogs.

Art's BBQ, 900 E. Morehead St. I pass this place twice a day, and I've stopped for breakfast. But I was never drawn in by the neon "BBQ" sign until a source urged me to give it a try.

Verdict? I'd put them firmly in the PGQ column: Pretty good 'que. The chopped plate came with a big pile of chopped pork that was flavorful and already mixed with sauce, good texture and a fresh taste. Baked beans were even better. The slaw isn't yellow or red, it's a fresh, green, chopped version, but it goes good with the barbecue if you squirt in a little barbecue sauce.

If you're exploring urban barbecue choices in Charlotte, Art's definitely earns a place in the discussion.