RDU On the Rise: July 4th fireworks, Char-Grill and everything NC BBQ

Hey there! I’m Drew Jackson, the N&O’s food and dining reporter bringing you this week’s RDU On the Rise.

Here I am with my 8 year-old, 120-pound dog Georgia. It’s not a great picture of me, but it is of her, which is what counts.

Georgia’s Top 5 Nicknames

▪ Porgia Worgia

▪ Li’l Brisket

▪ Baby Waby

▪ Squirrel Hater

▪ The Beast and/or Beastie

Now that we’re all best friends, let’s see what our world looks like this week in the Triangle.

Happenings (mostly food)

▪ First off, it’s time to make fireworks plans for the Fourth of July and Korie Dean has the perfect guide to the best shows. While we’re here, can we all agree to not let each other take more than one Boomerang of the fireworks? Let’s live in the moment.

My pick is usually a Durham Bulls game, but we’ll be in Southport this year, paying respect to the greatest movie filmed in Southport, “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

▪ The official guide to summer breezes also dropped this week. N&O interns Ilana Arougheti and Kayla Guo, along with features editor Jessica Banov, compiled an excellent list of some of the best patios and rooftops in the Triangle.

My picks: Ponysaurus in Durham, Transfer Co. Food Hall in Raleigh and Durham’s Namu, an oasis-like beer garden with Korean drinking food.

▪ This week I wrapped up a deep dive into old school North Carolina barbecue. I grew up in Virginia, where there’s not much of a barbecue tradition, so we’d drive an hour into Tennessee to wait another hour for a table at Ridgewood Barbecue, a place seemingly built into a mountain and surrounded by smoke. To me barbecue meant something worth driving and waiting for.

But I didn’t really get North Carolina barbecue until a trip to Skylight Inn, 90 minutes from Raleigh, where the pork is chopped up with crispy bits of skin, everything dressed with a vinegary sauce.

▪ If you’re new to North Carolina barbecue, or still unconvinced it can compete in the era of brisket, check out these 12 local barbecue joints.

▪ You might need something to wash down all those barbecue thoughts. How about the best beer in the Triangle? We crowned a winner in the Triangle Brewery Bracket. Well, co-crowned because there was so much beer it ballooned into two divisions. Congrats to Barrel Culture Brewing & Blending in the west and Funguys Brewing in the east

▪ While we’re on the local food scene, there’s some tragic news that a Raleigh icon could be lost. Raleigh reporter Anna Johnson dug up plans that could mean a 20 story building on the site of the downtown Char-Grill. But Char-Grill owners say not to despair, that the famous burger joint will still have a place in the possible development.

▪ Yelp, a treasure trove of questionable takes, had a cool list this week, naming the three foodiest small towns in North Carolina this week. Simone Jasper reports they’re Asheville (checks out), Wilmington (curious about “small town”, but sure) and Kill Devil Hills (?).

Of note

▪ Pride Month ended yesterday, but you should spend some time with this powerful Laura Brache story where Triangle LGBTQ leaders discuss the meaning of “pride.”

▪ Hemp and CBD was about 36 hours from becoming illegal in North Carolina, but the state reached an agreement granting the multi-million dollar industry legal status at the last second, reports Kyle Ingram.

▪ For the story on how North Carolina tanked sports betting, N&O sports columnist Luke DeCock has a searing column.

Where to be this weekend

▪ Beyond the fireworks, this weekend is carved out each year for the Festival For the Eno, the Durham music festival on the banks of the river. Check out Kimberly Cataudella and Brooke Cain’s guide to summer music festivals.

▪ If you’re not down for a full music festival, be sure to bookmark this summer concert guide by Jessica Banov. I don’t know how she did it, but Jessica compiled more than 200 concerts to keep an eye on, plus seven particularly special outdoor shows.

Can’t wait for Watchhouse in October at the NCMA.

▪ Speaking of the NCMA, next week kicks off the annual Summer Outdoor Movie Series, starting with “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Check out this list of all outdoor movies this summer.

▪ The Durham hotel is doing a cool July 4 event Monday, hosting a pie eating contest and rooftop cookout. Important: the pie is blueberry.

Until next time!

▪ Today (literally today) marks seven years since my wife and I moved to Durham from Richmond. In two months we’ll add a baby boy and I may or may not shave my mustache. Anyway, this feels like home. Thanks for reading along.

Here’s another picture of Georgia after I read her this newsletter. She’s definitely laughing and not yawning.

Well, Georgia, next week’s RDU On the Rise is in the hands of the environmental reporter Adam Wagner and will be better.

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