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Slingin’ Hash

SC BBQ Newsletter from Destination BBQ

09/19/22

Kindling

Hey <<First Name>>

We go a bit international in this issue of the newsletter, with a look at barbecue in a couple of European countries.

That may imply that there wasn’t much news on the domestic front, and that wouldn’t be far from the truth.

We did have at least one opening that we discussed last week, and I heard about a couple of closings that I share with you.

Beyond that, we dust the ashes off something that you may not think of as being too dusty to begin with, but you might be surprised by some of the hidden features you’ll discover. And we highlight another improved listing, this time from a longtime favorite in Columbia, and we spotlight a place that’s Ward-like in Sumter.

Enjoy,

Jim

Lookin’ Good

Time to feature a “scroll-stopping” image. How about this one from 521 BBQ in Lancaster?

Smoke Signals

Sacré Bleu! — Who knew the French were so embroiled in barbecue?

Apparently, it’s the talk of the nation after a politician suggested severing the connection between meat and masculinity.

Barbecue has become the word on every front page, the subject of heated TV debates, and the source of a crisis in national identity ever since Sandrine Rousseau, a member of Parliament from the Green Party, declared on Aug. 27 that “we have to change our mentality so that eating a barbecued entrecôte is no longer a symbol of virility.”

Pause. Okay, a couple of things:

1. Yes, I had to look it up, too. Entrecôte is a French term for a thin, boneless rib eye.

2. It’s clear these folks aren’t from South Carolina. We know cooking any meat over any fire doesn’t make it barbecue.

Back to the story:

The comment was due, at least in part, to France’s second-hottest summer on record and the Green Party’s obvious concerns over global warming.

Rousseau’s suggestion is based in logic. There is a strong correlation between barbecue (however you want to define the term) and masculinity. Thus, distancing the two might help her party achieve its goals.

Her point was that “if you want to resolve the climate crisis, you have to reduce meat consumption, and that’s not going to happen so long as masculinity is constructed around meat.”

But do comments like this help her cause?

“These men react as if I am tearing out their hearts and lungs!” she said. “Yet, after a summer like this, we clearly need to think about how to replace conviviality around raw meat on a barbecue. We can grill bell peppers. We can have a picnic. We can reimagine what has value.”

As implied above, reaction was swift and fierce. And maybe that was the actual intention of the comment: to create conversation and elevate the idea in public consciousness.

Heck, it just got how many words dedicated to the concept in this small SCBBQ-focused newsletter?

Regardless of intent or efficacy, I found it interesting that there was a “barbecue”controversy in France, of all places.

That said, if you find yourself in Paris and have a hankering for something resembling BBQ as we know it, consider trying La Rhino Rouge.

I had the pleasure of communicating with owner Eric Sulger who reached out after purchasing a copy of our cookbook. He told me he even uses some of the recipes in the restaurant!

Hot ‘n Fast

— Familiar Yet Foreign — The New York Times reported the Franco-focused story above. Not to be outdone, the Charleston City Paper offered this Slovenian-sourced tale of barbecue.

It sounds like a setup for a joke: Three Slovenian guys walk into a barbecue joint in Texas…

But the three guys in question, Miki Stjepanovic, Ales Omejc and Peter Hajdu, fell in love with barbecue. It’s no joke how serious Slovenia — a country a quarter of the size of South Carolina that’s nestled between Austria and Croatia — has become about barbecue.

Yeah, okay, Texas…Slovenia…what’s this story have to do with Charleston?

Well, turns out those three guys started the Slovenian BBQ Society and began the Wild West Fest, an annual KCBS barbecue competition and country music festival in Slovenia.

Yeah…so?

And new Charleston resident “Grill Girl” Elizabeth Karmel, originally from that other Carolina, was invited to the event as a “culinary ambassador.” Pretty good gig, if you can get it. (Helps to have connections, it seems.)

Anyway, the City Paper piece delves into the journey, shining a light on Karmel’s role and experiences in this seemingly distant land.

— Opening — As mentioned in our last newsletter, Lewis Barbecue of Greenville opened its doors last week.

An interesting side note to the story, as reported by WSPA, is that the very first customer for Lewis Barbecue Greenville was the owner of the business that preceded Lewis at that location, Tommy Stevenson of Tommy’s Country Ham House.

“It’s very nice of them doing that. Like I said, they are first class. And I am honored to be their first customer,” said Stevenson.

It’s a step, the owner said, that they are taking to honor the past and welcome in the new.

— Closings — On the other end of the spectrum in nearby Seneca, Black’s Smokehouse announced its forced closure:

Not sure of the details. The only clue is their previous post about having to close for the weekend due to refrigeration problems. Don’t know how or if those things are connected, but one would assume there is some relationship.

And another closure, likely of a temporary nature, is that of Sardi’s Den in Clemson.

Caught wind of that last Wednesday when someone suggested they had closed. A bit of research revealed that Saudi’s is closed for renovation. Time will tell.

Additions/Updates

As you can tell from recent newsletters, I haven't been doing a good job of adding new restaurants to the list but I have been significantly upgrading several listings that were poorly done originally.

Here’s another one that was long overdue for improvement:

Little Pigs Barbecue

Little Pigs on Alpine Rd. in Columbia began as a franchise of Little Pigs of America that got its start in Memphis, TN. In 1978, owner Lawrence Britton left the restaurant’s original location and moved to this spot.

In doing so, Britton got rid of the standard Little Pigs counter-service approach and installed a buffet instead. While the buffet has remained, LPOA went out of business long before Britton made his move. Today, Little Pigs restaurants across SC and beyond are independently owned, no longer a part of any franchise.

Check out Little Pigs BBQ on Alpine

From the Ashes

In this issue, we dust the ashes off our SC BBQ Map.

Dust the ashes off the map? Is that really necessary?

Maybe many of you have used the map before, but have you ever actually read the article that goes with it? It will take your navigation to the next level.

Did you know that you can:

• change the search distance and number of results?

• filter results to show you only the places with buffets? or that serve hash? or that serve 100-mile BBQ? or a number of other things?

• save the map to use like an app on your phone?

All this and more is explained in the write-up.

Heck, there’s even a video that will show you tips and tricks for using the map. That’s what makes it worth dusting off the ashes for.

Learn More about SC BBQ Map

The Smoke Ring

In each edition, we’ll metaphorically spin the SCBBQ globe and randomly select an SC BBQ joint to spotlight.

This time, the globe stopped spinning on Bar-B-Que Hut in Sumter:

There is a strong and direct connection between Bar-B-Que Hut and another Sumter staple, Ward’s BBQ. In fact, it actually used to be one of the several Ward’s branches.

Current owner Jimmy Condrey bought it from his brother-in-law, Thad Ward, changed the name, and all these years later, it’s still running strong.

“It’s basically the same as Ward’s, a combination of ketchup-, vinegar- and mustard-based,” Condrey said. “It’s something I started doing from Thad, but I changed it a little bit.”

Learn More about Bar-B-Que Hut

We’d love to hear your opinion of this stop on the SC BBQ Trail in our

I Love SC BBQ Facebook Group