Charleston: The Only Place Where BBQ Can Win a James Beard Award

The James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals in the United States including chefs, journalists, restauranteurs, and authors. For those of you who may not know, they are prestigious and a very big deal. Often with these types of awards, the restaurants are expensive, white-table-cloth experiences. However, in 2018, Rodney Scott in Charleston, South Carolina won Best Chef in the Southeast from the James Beard Foundation. Did he win for his unique twist on caviar? Did he win for using molecular gastronomy on poached sea bass?  No, he won for his restaurant Rodney Scott’s BBQ. This is the story of the day I ate at a James Beard award-winning BBQ restaurant and how it reminded me that simple is best.

Not Just Any Cooking Style

In 2016, my husband and I drove up, up, up into the mountains of Puerto Rico where cottages cling to ledges and the dense forests close in. We were told that this is where one finds the very best lechon (whole hog BBQ) on the island. These sorts of pilgrimages are worth it for proper whole hog BBQ. One year later, Rodney Scott opened his flagship restaurant in Charleston. He too, specializes in whole hog BBQ. In fact, this style of BBQ is part art and part science. It is backbreaking, hot work requiring a pitmaster to be specially trained to shuffle the coals and rotate the meat strategically.

This Restaurant’s Story

Winning a prestigious culinary award for BBQ is notable in itself, but winning after only a year in business, is something else entirely. According to his website, Rodney Scott smoked his first hog when he was just 11 years old. In reality, he is a man on a mission to make sure the old ways live on. Today, there are four locations with two more in the works. Training the pitmasters the way Rodney himself was trained, is central to each location’s success. My husband and I were fortunate to eat lunch one Saturday on the patio where it all began.

What We Ordered

We typically stay at the Charleston Marriott, which is a brief 8-minute drive away. We arrived at 11:00am, when the restaurant opens, and the patio tables were nearly full. I staked a claim on a picnic table while my husband ran inside to get in line. Rodney Scott’s offers counter service, so you order at the counter and receive a number sign for your table. In a few minutes, servers hustle your delectable goodies out to you. Under the banner of “go big or go home,” we ordered the three-meat combo platter to share ($32.99). We chose brisket, ribs and pork. It comes with two sides and we added a third in an effort to try as many items as possible. We opted for French fries, mac and cheese and baked beans. For obvious reasons, we didn’t finish everything.

By coincidence, my husband had discussed BBQ techniques with a co-worker weeks before.

The gentleman said, “If you know what you’re doing, you don’t need sauce.”

“Pssshhh…That’s ridiculous,” we scoffed.

At Rodney Scott’s they use a dry rub on most of the meats. Multiple bottles of their house flavors of sauce are available on the table. Unexpectedly, all of them were too heavy on the vinegar for my personal taste. That didn’t matter though because I didn’t need sauce. I’ve been corrected and educated about food many times before, but I genuinely wasn’t expecting this turn of events.

Why This BBQ Won A James Beard Award

These were the best ribs of my life and I didn’t need sauce. The dry rub was perfect all by itself. With ribs, the meat should be just slightly loose on the bone. If it has pulled away from the bone significantly, you’ve let them cook too long. I wish there was a word stronger than “perfect.” In this situation, perfect seems weak. The ribs were meaty, tender and the spices popped. I stopped speaking altogether and just savored.

The tender roast pork was my second favorite. It was so soft that it melted in my mouth. Paired with impossibly crispy (heavily seasoned) crinkle cut fries, it was heavenly. I’m not sure what magic Rodney’s team imbued the fries with, but they stayed crispy even after sitting. Perhaps they were twice-fried? I have heard of this method before, but I haven’t learned how to identify it.

Next to ribs, brisket is usually my favorite BBQ meat. The brisket is worth ordering, don’t get me wrong, but nothing can hold a candle to Rodney’s ribs. The perfect meal would be brisket from Big Bob Gibson’s in Alabama and Rodney Scott’s ribs. The baked beans were sweet with lots of yummy meat nuggets hidden throughout. I tasted a touch of smoke and a tiny bite at the end. My favorite baked beans in the world were from a restaurant that went out of business years ago. These were the first close substitution that I’ve ever found.

Also Worth Noting

While I loved the hearty noodles chosen for the mac and cheese, the flavor wasn’t quite cheesy enough for me. I think that’s personal preference though. Cheese is one of my major food groups and I like my mac and cheese to be intensely cheesy.

The website does not list a phone number for the Charleston location “due to high volume.” To me, this is code for “avoid the most common mealtimes” and eat earlier or later than you think everyone else will be. That plan worked for us.

Shattering My James Beard Award Stereotypes

I fell victim to my own assumptions about culinary awards. Typically, the restaurants that win have white linen tablecloths, require reservations weeks or months in advance, and the entrees are out of the average American’s price bracket. Apparently, the James Beard Foundation is more open-minded than I assumed because they (rightly) lauded Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston. Culturally, food is important and it should be accessible. This whole hog BBQ joint makes award-winning food accessible to everyone and the noble guiding principle of tradition at its heart.  Sometimes simple really is best. Meat. Heat. Time. Love.