Beer:

Houston: Spindletap
New Orleans: Courtyard
Memphis: Wiseacre
Wichita: Central Standard
Dallas: TUPPS
Tulsa: Prairie
Philly: Victory
Cincinnati: Listermann
Charlotte: NoDa
Orlando: Ten10
Tampa: Cigar City

(11-16-2021 10:23 PM)Downtown Shocker Brown Wrote:  Beer:

Houston: Spindletap
New Orleans: Courtyard
Memphis: Wiseacre
Wichita: Central Standard
Dallas: TUPPS
Tulsa: Prairie
Philly: Victory
Cincinnati: Listermann
Charlotte: NoDa
Orlando: Ten10
Tampa: Cigar City

Your moniker would be a great name for a brown ale.

(11-16-2021 10:07 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 09:52 PM)JayEllis Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 12:33 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 07:42 AM)JayEllis Wrote:  Hey wow, this is my kind of thread for my first post.

Charlotte isn't really known for its BBQ, you really have to get out of the city. Head down to Peachland to Jon G's or find their food truck for great brisket. Or Sweet Lew's and McKoy's is decent. Don't believe the Mac's hype.

For Beer, Charlotte has new breweries announced every month. The best ones in my opinion are Resident Culture, Divine Barrel. Asheville's Burial and San Antonio's Weathered Souls will be opening here within a year. Burial is the best brewery in the state. They do everything well - IPAs, stouts, farmhouse, etc.

no one should be recommending macs, or midwood. They are just locally owned overpriced Sonnys. Lexington has good Q, i've heard nice things about Jon Gs atlhough that isn't NC style. I also like Red Bridges in Shelby for the BBQ only.

Charlottes beer scene is weird. There are way too many breweries. Burial is my favorite hands down in the area at all, and other than Treehouse in Mass, its the only one that really lives up to the hype. If you like German Style, Olde Mecklenburg is a must, I regularly take Germans from Dusseldorf there to try their altbier, to great acclaim. Middle James in Pineville is wildly underrated. Legion, Town and Assclown (yes, Assclown) make solid, but not spectacular brews. The rest kind of blend together for me.

The good thing about all the breweries in Charlotte is there's one for everyone's tastes. I'm just not a fan of any of the ones you listed except for Burial and I've explored most of the breweries in Charlotte. I don't think there are too many. With Charlotte's growth, it can still support more but I think they just need to look at other areas of the city instead of NoDa, Plaza/Midwood and Southend. I suspect we'll see a cluster up in the North End area soon.

taste plays a large part. Also you switch up beers over time. 5-7 years ago i would only drink IPAs, now I only drink them occasionally and prefer other styles. I'll die on the hill that OMB copper is the best beer brewed by a Charlotte brewer.
I think some of the burbs and outer lying areas are getting decent breweries that is helping. I live in a beer desert that I hope will get some attention when ballantyne builds the new cluster/walking city to compete with Southend.

Absolutely agree. My tastes have changed again where I'm going back to west coast IPAs over the hazies. Nothing against OMB, I appreciate what they do but something in their beer makes me sick so i don't drink it anymore. These days I've been craving more crisp beers like Pilsners and a good farmhouse saison. But it's also always stout season in my house.

If Ballantyne can change its corporate image, you may see a brewery pop up there. I could see maybe Legion, NoDa, or even Devils Logic adding a location there.

(11-16-2021 06:50 PM)JetFixer Wrote:  Memphis BBQ and Ghost River brewing Memphis. Lock thread.

Just let them have there little fantasies.

NOLA: Urban South Brewery
Faubourg Brewing Co
NOLA Brewing and Tap room

BBQ: Cochon Butcher and VooDoo BBQ (if you want meat)

BUT, If you're in NOLA, and want ORIGINAL BBQ, go to Pascal's Manale where they INVENTED BBQ Shrimp.

OF COURSE, NOLA has a festival that is a MUST for any BBQ lover:
https://hogsfest.org/

(11-17-2021 09:26 AM)JayEllis Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:07 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 09:52 PM)JayEllis Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 12:33 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 07:42 AM)JayEllis Wrote:  Hey wow, this is my kind of thread for my first post.

Charlotte isn't really known for its BBQ, you really have to get out of the city. Head down to Peachland to Jon G's or find their food truck for great brisket. Or Sweet Lew's and McKoy's is decent. Don't believe the Mac's hype.

For Beer, Charlotte has new breweries announced every month. The best ones in my opinion are Resident Culture, Divine Barrel. Asheville's Burial and San Antonio's Weathered Souls will be opening here within a year. Burial is the best brewery in the state. They do everything well - IPAs, stouts, farmhouse, etc.

no one should be recommending macs, or midwood. They are just locally owned overpriced Sonnys. Lexington has good Q, i've heard nice things about Jon Gs atlhough that isn't NC style. I also like Red Bridges in Shelby for the BBQ only.

Charlottes beer scene is weird. There are way too many breweries. Burial is my favorite hands down in the area at all, and other than Treehouse in Mass, its the only one that really lives up to the hype. If you like German Style, Olde Mecklenburg is a must, I regularly take Germans from Dusseldorf there to try their altbier, to great acclaim. Middle James in Pineville is wildly underrated. Legion, Town and Assclown (yes, Assclown) make solid, but not spectacular brews. The rest kind of blend together for me.

The good thing about all the breweries in Charlotte is there's one for everyone's tastes. I'm just not a fan of any of the ones you listed except for Burial and I've explored most of the breweries in Charlotte. I don't think there are too many. With Charlotte's growth, it can still support more but I think they just need to look at other areas of the city instead of NoDa, Plaza/Midwood and Southend. I suspect we'll see a cluster up in the North End area soon.

taste plays a large part. Also you switch up beers over time. 5-7 years ago i would only drink IPAs, now I only drink them occasionally and prefer other styles. I'll die on the hill that OMB copper is the best beer brewed by a Charlotte brewer.
I think some of the burbs and outer lying areas are getting decent breweries that is helping. I live in a beer desert that I hope will get some attention when ballantyne builds the new cluster/walking city to compete with Southend.

Absolutely agree. My tastes have changed again where I'm going back to west coast IPAs over the hazies. Nothing against OMB, I appreciate what they do but something in their beer makes me sick so i don't drink it anymore. These days I've been craving more crisp beers like Pilsners and a good farmhouse saison. But it's also always stout season in my house.

If Ballantyne can change its corporate image, you may see a brewery pop up there. I could see maybe Legion, NoDa, or even Devils Logic adding a location there.

https://reimagined.projectballantyne.com/

we're getting there. Funny, we moved here from Madison Park, now looking to maybe move back to Park Road/MP area due to feeling like not enough to do. But we may stay here. If the light rail builds an expansion and they do this reimagined right, Ballantyne will at least be semi cool. It'll never be south end, but there are some good benefits to living down here.

We'll never get a production or even experimental brewer/barrel house, but we could at least have a taproom. Theres an insane amount of money to be made to the first brewery that decides to target the thirty and forty somethings that want to get a drink in the neighborhood and let the kids run around.

(11-16-2021 11:41 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 11:36 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 11:14 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:37 AM)ghostofclt! Wrote:  clt says go here if you are in Charlotte: https://www.yelp.com/biz/midwood-smokehouse-charlotte

For better bbq, head to lexington NC

Lexington has great BBQ. I make a point to stop on my way to Sunset Beach.

I'm still slightly more partial to Eastern NC style.

The ONLY thing that I like about Western NC BBQ is the red BBQ slaw. We don't eat it down east, but we really should!

I view Lexington style as its own thing. Western is less vinegary. Lexington still has the nice strong vinegar/pepper base of the eastern NC style.

West of I95 in NC the term BBQ is suspect. Believe me I traveled the entire state when I worked the RV Industry 15 years. Keep in mind when I say BBQ I'm speaking whole hog. Not Hams, Butts, Ribs or anything like that. I'm talking real BBQ whole hog on a cooker or pit.

The marriage of vinegar based sauce and pork is nothing short of perfection. Vinegar doesn't attempt to hide the flavor of the meat while it only enhances it's taste. Ketchup based sauce is sacrilegious in whole hog BBQ desecrating the taste of the meat. I just soon eat a cheeseburger if I'm going to smear ketchup on something. I've cooked many a hog, prepped many a hog, and have sauced pounds of hog at "The Great Pirate Purple and Gold Pigskin Pig-out Party" annually where we cooked and served 40 Hogs for twenty five years. It's not close!! Go AAC!!

(11-17-2021 03:24 PM)Pirate Rep Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 11:41 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 11:36 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 11:14 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:37 AM)ghostofclt! Wrote:  clt says go here if you are in Charlotte: https://www.yelp.com/biz/midwood-smokehouse-charlotte

For better bbq, head to lexington NC

Lexington has great BBQ. I make a point to stop on my way to Sunset Beach.

I'm still slightly more partial to Eastern NC style.

The ONLY thing that I like about Western NC BBQ is the red BBQ slaw. We don't eat it down east, but we really should!

I view Lexington style as its own thing. Western is less vinegary. Lexington still has the nice strong vinegar/pepper base of the eastern NC style.

West of I95 in NC the term BBQ is suspect. Believe me I traveled the entire state when I worked the RV Industry 15 years. Keep in mind when I say BBQ I'm speaking whole hog. Not Hams, Butts, Ribs or anything like that. I'm talking real BBQ whole hog on a cooker or pit.

The marriage of vinegar based sauce and pork is nothing short of perfection. Vinegar doesn't attempt to hide the flavor of the meat while it only enhances it's taste. Ketchup based sauce is sacrilegious in whole hog BBQ desecrating the taste of the meat. I just soon eat a cheeseburger if I'm going to smear ketchup on something. I've cooked many a hog, prepped many a hog, and have sauced pounds of hog at "The Great Pirate Purple and Gold Pigskin Pig-out Party" annually where we cooked and served 40 Hogs for twenty five years. It's not close!! Go AAC!!

While I don't share your disdain for sweeter, ketchup based bbq sauces, I agree that vinegar based sauce and pork is perfection.

(11-16-2021 07:39 PM)Coog Engineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:35 AM)SMUstang Wrote:  As far as Texas barbecue goes, Taylor, Elgin, Lockhart, Austin, and Llano have the best reputations. The closest AAC team to those locations is UTSA.

Meh. San Antonio has no quality Q joints of their own though... heck, Bill Miller's is SA's claim to fame. So, not quite sure San Antonians even understand what real BBQ is. (shots fired!!)

Hey I can talk, I was born in San Antonio, but I know a thing or two about BBQ because I've seen/eaten/made a thing or two about BBQ.

Smoke shack and their brisket grilled cheese says hello.

I was pretty excited for the grilled meats when I moved to Texas. I had a lot of good brisket and beef ribs. I've had some good food in Memphis too.

Enc cue remains king though. Unfortunately its easy to get it wrong so don't be fooled by imitators. You must go somewhere like B's or Pete Jones.

Philadelphia doesn’t have great BBQ, sadly. Victory brewing is located about an hour plus outside of the city, but the best brewery in the area IMO is Tired Hands. It’s about thirty min from Temple (actually not far from Villanova’s campus on the main line). I love Cigar City but I think Tired Hands can give them a run….

clt says Mac and cheese with burnt ends is nice

(11-16-2021 10:26 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:15 AM)NoQuarterBrigade Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 07:37 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 07:28 AM)Pirate Rep Wrote:  Greenville can claim the best BBQ joint in the US B's BBQ or a least according to USA Today. The ranking was based upon a book written by a person who had traveled the US and ate at 351 notable BBQ joints across the country. Eastern NC whole hog BBQ with vinegar based sauce married up is hard to beat. Go AAC!!

Probably the entiree state of NC has great bbq. I tried a place in Asheville that's as good as I've ever had. I think it was called 12 bones.

Well, when it comes to beer, my vote is with Asheville. They are basically the Portland of the east when it comes to beer. I like the Highland beers a lot.

Burial is the best brewery in the country. There's no contest, really. Ounce for ounce, they make the highest quality beer I've ever had. (and I have had a TON of beer...)

You pay for it, though! They typically want something like $18-$20 for a 4-pack of their seasonal, one-off stuff.

Burial is legit beer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(11-17-2021 08:04 PM)ncbeta Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 07:39 PM)Coog Engineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2021 10:35 AM)SMUstang Wrote:  As far as Texas barbecue goes, Taylor, Elgin, Lockhart, Austin, and Llano have the best reputations. The closest AAC team to those locations is UTSA.

Meh. San Antonio has no quality Q joints of their own though... heck, Bill Miller's is SA's claim to fame. So, not quite sure San Antonians even understand what real BBQ is. (shots fired!!)

Hey I can talk, I was born in San Antonio, but I know a thing or two about BBQ because I've seen/eaten/made a thing or two about BBQ.

Smoke shack and their brisket grilled cheese says hello.

I was pretty excited for the grilled meats when I moved to Texas. I had a lot of good brisket and beef ribs. I've had some good food in Memphis too.

Enc cue remains king though. Unfortunately its easy to get it wrong so don't be fooled by imitators. You must go somewhere like B's or Pete Jones.

Pinkerton's and 2M are top 50 BBQ spots ranked by Texas Monthly that are in San Antonio. I know Pinkertons is also in H-town too

(11-16-2021 10:35 AM)SMUstang Wrote:  As far as Texas barbecue goes, Taylor, Elgin, Lockhart, Austin, and Llano have the best reputations. The closest AAC team to those locations is UTSA.

My grandfather grew-up in Llano, Cooper's has always been one of our favorites.

Tonight I am checking out Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh. ECU is hosting an alumni event to watch the ECU @ Oklahoma basketball game.
https://www.samjonesbbq.com/raleigh

(11-17-2021 08:56 PM)Wingdestroyer Wrote:  Philadelphia doesn’t have great BBQ, sadly. Victory brewing is located about an hour plus outside of the city, but the best brewery in the area IMO is Tired Hands. It’s about thirty min from Temple (actually not far from Villanova’s campus on the main line). I love Cigar City but I think Tired Hands can give them a run….

clt says no one expects the NE to have good bbq. you have your own thing, like cheesesteaks and riot punch

(11-18-2021 04:40 PM)ghostofclt! Wrote:  

(11-17-2021 08:56 PM)Wingdestroyer Wrote:  Philadelphia doesn’t have great BBQ, sadly. Victory brewing is located about an hour plus outside of the city, but the best brewery in the area IMO is Tired Hands. It’s about thirty min from Temple (actually not far from Villanova’s campus on the main line). I love Cigar City but I think Tired Hands can give them a run….

clt says no one expects the NE to have good bbq. you have your own thing, like cheesesteaks and riot punch

I have a jar of cheez wiz I picked up when the pandemic panic buying emptied the shelves. Time to buy some steak-umms. Looks like cheesesteaks are on the menu

Bill Spoon's in Charlotte served whole-hog, Eastern NC BBQ since 1963, but closed last year due to the pandemic. It you wanted a plate of good pork without having to go to ECU-land, this was the place. Sorry to see it go.

I am a fan of the Olde Meck beers, but their Dunkel is my favorite. They like to say that they make "beer flavored beer". You won't find any Peanut Butter and Chocolate porters here.

I am a fan of good brisket. I just think if you can only use one cut off an animal, you need to go focus on other things and leave BBQ to the pros.

Not AAC yet, but there's a reason the UAB-Memphis rivalry was the "Battle For The Bones."

When you visit Bham, skip the more famous places like Dreamland (nothing wrong with them, I just think they're no longer the best in town) and go for Saw's or Full Moon. Or go to Miss Myra's, a hole-in-the-wall joint in Cahaba Heights just east of downtown near I-459. The brisket there is the best I've had east of Texas. For real. So good you don't even need sauce.

Seems like there are good craft beer place about every half mile now, too.

Looking forward to some AAC road trips in a couple of years.

(11-17-2021 11:34 AM)emeraldcoastwave Wrote:  NOLA: Urban South Brewery
Faubourg Brewing Co
NOLA Brewing and Tap room

BBQ: Cochon Butcher and VooDoo BBQ (if you want meat)

BUT, If you're in NOLA, and want ORIGINAL BBQ, go to Pascal's Manale where they INVENTED BBQ Shrimp.

OF COURSE, NOLA has a festival that is a MUST for any BBQ lover:
https://hogsfest.org/

Urban South makes its best beers in Houston. They basically turned the NOLA version into tourist destination. Spill’d series is very good, but in Houston not NOLA.