Lexington BBQ off the NCBS trail?

[chazzer]

I was just looking at the NCBS trail and noticed that Lexington BBQ is no longer mentioned. Does anyone know anything about this, has the quality slipped recently?

current map
http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/bbqmap/trail_map.php

Older map still showing lexington
http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/trail_map...

[mikeh]

Apparently the removal was done at the behest of the owner of Lexington Barbecue. So no one should read into this as a decrease in quality or anything else.

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Lexington Barbecue
100 Smokehouse Lane, Lexington, NC 27295

[Sue in Mt P]

Good to know!

[arbyunc]

Odd. Why would they ask to be removed?

[Sue in Mt P]

Maybe they got tired of too many people.

[Sue in Mt P]

"This slaw has no mayonnaise."
"These buns are out of a bag! Oh no!"

[arbyunc]

Or maybe they finally realized the obvious truth--their product is inferior to eastern NC barbecue.

:)

[Naco]

On a related note, I just ran into Jesus Christ at the grocery store a few moments ago. Nice guy.

[Sue in Mt P]

Halleluyer.

[Tee]

I think you are right on the money, Sue.
I had a very interesting conversation with Wayne Monk about a month ago whils eating at the counter. He was gracious about his comments but he is really tired of food tv crews. I didnt ask him about it, he volunteered the info that "those tv people were here again"
I asked him that in his wildest dreams he ever thought he would be a regular on televised bbq specials, and be nationally famous, and naturally he said no.
He really doesnt need the publicity as business was very good prior to food tv's arrival.
that may explain why he wanted off the NCBS list.

[picklelicious]

Perhaps he went to one of NCBS bootcamps and got to know the folks who ran it and decided to not be affiliated with that organization as I and almost everyone else who attended it did.

[mikeh]

To clarify, most of you chose NOT to be affiliated with it, or did? I was considering doing one of these bootcamps myself.

[picklelicious]

Correct. I chose NOT to be affiliated with them any longer, resigning my membership, as did almost all other attendees. I support the cause, but thats as far as I'll go.

[arbyunc]

^ So what happened at the boot camp? Can you share the juicy details?

[Guilty Gourmand]

Yes, I would be interested in hearing as well. I've never talked to anyone that has gone but was considering making that a gift to my father-in-law.

[picklelicious]

First I'll say there's no way, without writing a small book, that I could fully explain how poorly coordinated and executed that event was. I've rarley been more disappointed in an event, that I was looking more forward to, than that bootcamp.

It's been nearly two years, and the list of details have faded in my mind a bit, but I'll try and give you a very brief overview of what occurred.

Well the main thing was that they brought in a bbq legend from KC, Chris Marks who has been on/lead 8 grand champion teams at the KC Royale. Apparently there was a conflict between some of the leaders of the NCBS as to whether it was appopriate to bring an outsider in to instruct at a NCBS event, in my opinion that's a reasonable concern considering the NCSB mission. However they chose to bring him in, and when they chose to do so, there needs to be a certain level of respect shown to him for his efforts. Chris drove in from KC with his son, and smokers trailing, lost money on the gig, but was there to promote his brand and the institution that is BBQ.

Certain leaders of the NCSB were as hateful and disrespectful to Chris as they could possibly be, to the point he finally walked off the scene, got in his truck after cooking and instructing (not to mention serving at the party) all day and started the drive back to KC. Chris Marks was the only person who did any real instructung at this event, he was a pleasure to watch and learn from. I happened to overhear the a brief exchange from the top two NCSB leaders upon Chris' exit that showed me the lowest form of human character, and that sealed the deal for me and most every other camper at the event regarding our affiliation with this organization.

We were told we were brought there to to learn, and to be a part of a large beach party, socializing with fellow BBQ fans. What it turned out to be was we were there to serve at the beach party, and Chris was brought in to cater the event. Many things that were advertised, were not delivered upon, which I can deal with that, that's life, but spineless people I struggle dealing with at times, and I certainly won't support their organization, even if believe strongly in its mission.

A group of us actually brought Chris back in to Winston Salem the following spring to do a day of BBQ instruction for us. As much as I love Lexington Q, we served his recipe of shoulder at a party I hosted this year, it's a worthy contender.

I wouldn't have went into such detail on this had a couple of you not asked me to do so, but perhaps you'll find the info useful.

[arbyunc]

Thanks for the info, pickle.

[Guilty Gourmand]

Yes, much appreciated. I can definitely see how that would have been very frustrating to all participating and left a bad taste in one's mouth

[Sue in Mt P]

I was at Lex 1 recently and have been going there since I learned to drive-many years. I did not notice any change. They're so good about keeping it consistent.

[mikeh]

wow, that is exceedingly odd. There are other places on that list (like Short Sugar's) where the quality has slipped over the years that I would expect to disappear first if they were using that sort of metric. I haven't heard of any dropoff at Lexington #1. Perhaps it's an oversight (and a huge one at that). Someone should e-mail the site operator.

[Melanie Wong]

Interesting too that Smiley's Lexington BBQ was added to the map, and deservedly so.

ETA: And Parker's was also dropped.

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Smiley's Lexington BBQ
917 Winston Rd, Lexington, NC 27295

[WFUnix]

Parker's and Bill's were dropped a few years ago when Jack Cobb was added, and rightfully so since they don't cook over charcoal or wood, at least to my knowledge.