Much to Celebrate!

The past few days have been exciting for Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q!

Warmer weather hit the South just in time for the grand opening of The Pink Pig Bar-N-Q on King Street in Charleston, SC (more on that later)

WBRC, Fox 6 Birmingham, decided to hold a Jim 'n Nick's feast during their weather reports this past week

And the most exciting of all--Nick Pihakis, our beloved founder, was announced as a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards, "Outstanding Restaurateur" award!!!!

This award goes to individuals who are not only providers of great food, but who are the exemplars of community leaders, philanthropists and businesspersons.

Nick Pihakis started Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q 26 years ago with his dad and the restaurant group has grown to provide much of the South with traditional barbecue, Southern recipes, great hospitality and community service. Congratulations Nick, on this amazing honor. We are keeping our fingers crossed for you to receive the award when the winners are announced in New York City on May 9th!

Year of the Pulled Pork

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, this past week has been filled with the flavors of China. Spicy, sweet, tangy, deliciousness. Since it is the year of the rabbit, we'll give our long-eared, furry friends immunity from the smoker (and the wok) and carry on with the pork. The spicy, sweet, tangy flavors of Southern bar-b-q, and the crunch of cabbage, carrots and pickled things mixed into a slaw are not that far off from Asian tastes.

In keeping with our "Fun With Pulled Pork" theme for February, we encourage you to head over to a Jim 'n Nick's, pick up some pulled pork and slaw from the "to go" window and put together some of our "Pulled Pork Cabbage Rolls".

Once you've picked up the pork and slaw from Jim 'n Nick's, drop by the market and get some green cabbage, hot peppers of your choosing, fresh mint and some scallions. Pull the cabbage leaves off of the head individually and rinse under water. Shake off the excess water and set aside. Slice the scallions into slivers, tear or chop some fresh mint and slice the peppers. Set these aside for garnishing. In each individual "cabbage cup" place some pulled pork, top with some of the coleslaw, drizzle with a little bit of the Jim 'n Nick's Bar-b-q sauce and then sprinkle on the scallions, mint and peppers to taste. Pick up and eat or arrange on a platter for a party! Happy New Year!

Fun With Pulled Pork

Superbowl Sunday deserves better snacks than just opening a bag of chips and pouring store-bought salsa in a bowl. This day is THE snack day. Jim 'N Nick's wildly successful Taco Tuesday was the inspiration for these home-made snacks and a quick call to the neighborhood Jim 'N Nick's to order a couple of pounds of their slow-smoked pulled pork, some tangy bar-b-q sauce, scratch-made coleslaw and a dozen of their amazing cheese biscuits gets things started. On the way to the Jim 'N Nick's to pick up your to-go order, dash into the grocery store to pick up some tortillas, cheese, cilantro, onions and jalapeno peppers, oh, and some cold beer.

Once home, dice the tomatoes, onions and peppers, mix together with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and some salt and chopped cilantro to make a quick and fresh salsa. Fill the tortillas with some of the pork, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, top with the coleslaw, drizzle with a little bit of the bar-b-q sauce and then top with a spoonful of your fresh salsa to make amazing pulled pork tacos.

Quesadillas are easy to make by placing a flour tortilla in a skillet set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the entire surface of the tortilla. On one half of the tortilla, spoon on some of the pulled pork, drizzle a little bar-b-cue sauce over the pork and then top the pork with some of the coleslaw. Cook open-faced until the cheese begins to melt then gently fold the tortilla in half, and continue to cook while pressing down gently to compress the top cheese into the coleslaw and pork filling. Remove from the skillet onto a cutting board and cut the half-moon shape into four triangles. Top each triangle with a little sour cream and some of your fresh salsa.

Another fun and easy game day snack idea is to cut Jim 'N Nick's cheese biscuits in half crossways so that they have a top and a bottom (like a little bun). Put a bit of pulled pork on the bottom half of the biscuit, top that with some coleslaw, drizzle on a little bit of the bar-b-q sauce and cap it off with the biscuit top.

Open some cold beers, set out a tray of your pulled pork snacks and enjoy the game!

Jim 'N Nick's Joggers

Most of what goes on at Jim 'N Nick's is S-L-O-W. Slow cooking, with care in the kitchen, slow smoking, of the pork in the smoker. There are a few times a year however that we try really hard to be fast. For the past few years, Jim 'n Nick's has sponsored and participated in marathons and charity races across the south. In Atlanta for instance, Mike Hoffman and the 26 member Jim 'N Nick's running team named, "The Drinking Team with a Running Problem" have participated in the Jingle Jog. Not only are they running in the race, they serve up Brunswick Stew and Pulled Pork Sliders to folks after the race! The race benefits local charities and reminds us all that pulled pork and fitness are great together! Congratulations and thanks to Mike and the team!

Keep your eyes peeled here for updates on the races that we are involved in for 2011. Jim 'N Nick's has decided that these races are important. They're important to our community, they're important to our health, and they're fun! On Sunday, February 13th, Jim 'N Nick's will host the post party and awards celebration at the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. We'll have the big rig there to serve food and members of our staff will participate in the race. Jim 'n Nick's is proud to sponsor this 10 year old race that has raised $2 million dollars for local charities. Come out for some great food and cheer on our team!

Food Blog South 2011

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q was proud to host the opening party for the first annual Food Blog South Conference that was held this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. Our Executive Chef, Drew Robinson created some great snacks for the bloggers to eat while sharing and listening to food stories that were collected by the Desert Island Supply Company www.desertislandsupplyco.com. Desert Island Supply co. is a nonprofit writing center based in historic Woodrow Hall, in the heart of the Woodlawn commercial district on the East side of Birmingham, Alabama. Bloggers, presenters, sponsors and Southern food folk gathered in the lovely 5 Points location of Jim 'N Nick's to eat fried catfish, pulled pork sliders and their famous pimento cheese and hot links--a snack that has traveled from coast to coast, picking up pimento cheese converts nationwide. Thanks to Shaun Chavis and Jason Horn for organizing such a great event and thanks to all of you bloggers for spreading the love!

Spotlight on Greg Best

We like to imbibe. Not simply random drinking—just to be drinking (although we’ve been known to do that), but really imbibing—truly tasting, absorbing and assimilating. Frequent forays into Atlanta’s pub culture find us often at Holeman and Finch Public House where proprietor/barkeep Greg Best holds forth along with his partners and talented kitchen and bar crew.

Originally hailing from New York’s Hudson Valley, Greg has been working in the restaurant and bar scene for about 12 years. Greg has been oft credited with “kick-starting” the craft cocktail scene in Atlanta with his work behind the bar at the award winning Restaurant Eugene. His role at Atlanta’s Holeman and Finch Public House, has earned him numerous accolades such as GQ magazine’s “Top Ten Cocktail Bars in the Country” and Playboy Magazine’s “Top Ten American Mixologists”. Most of Greg’s free time is spent hunting down boutique spirits and up-and-coming American distillers to celebrate and writing a cocktail column for Atlanta’s Creative Loafing weekly newspaper. An active member of groups like the Southern Foodways Alliance and the United States Bartender’s Guild Atlanta Chapter, Mr. Best has officially decided that the South is his home.

Last year, during the Charleston Wine and Food Festival, at the Jim ‘N Nick’s “Bourbon and Q” dinner, Greg created a special cocktail for the event called the “Pig-Pik Sour”. The libation is ingenious, mixing tart juices with our favorite, Old Rip Van Winkle 12yr. Bourbon and finished with a smoked egg white. That’s right, Greg agitates some egg whites, places them in a smoker for a few minutes and then foams them together with the other ingredients to create a smoky cloud. If you don’t happen to have a smoker going, (although why wouldn’t you?!), we suggest that you at least light a fire in your fireplace, chew some Benton’s bacon while you drink this or heck, just light a match in homage to Greg’s brilliance. For those of you who want to get an idea of how it’s done, here’s that recipe.

The Pig-Pik Sour

1 & ½ oz. Old Rip Van Winkle 12 yr. Bourbon

½ oz. Apricot Liqueur

1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

¼ oz. Tamarind Syrup (1:1 ratio)

2 dashes Regans’ Orange Bitters #6

1 smoked egg white

-Shake all ingredients vigorously without ice for 15 seconds. Add ice and shake again for 15-20 seconds. Strain over ice into an old-fashioned glass*

*Rim the glass with a mixture of bacon powder and brown sugar.

Oh, and bacon powder is dehydrated bacon, whirred in a fancy commercial kitchen machine to create a powder. Again, we suggest you chew on some Benton’s bacon while you drink it or smear the glass with Benton’s bacon drippings then dip the rim of the glass in the brown sugar (you think we’re kidding—we are most certainly not)

Greg will grace us with his presence once again at the Charleston Food and Wine Festival this March during our “Hickory, Fire and Smoke” dinner. There will be more Q, more Old Rip Van Winkle and another new cocktail from the “Best” in the business.

Find out more about Greg at www.holeman-finch.com

(photo by Heather Anne Thomas of Beall and Thomas Photography)

Learn about the Charleston Wine and Food Festival at www.charlestonwineandfood.com

Resolution: Spread the Love—Make More Pimento Cheese!

“Low and Slow”, “Scratch Made”, “Southern Goodness”—these are all phrases that Jim ‘N Nick’s has embraced for the work that we do in our restaurant kitchens. For the past couple of years now, Jim ‘N Nick’s has also adopted, “Spread the Love”. Yes, we want to make sure that everyone who comes in contact with our food and our people “feel the love”, but the phrase itself is quite literal. We want to spread the love by spreading our love of a spread.

Pimento cheese is one of the most iconic recipes of the South. It’s a beautiful thing. Sharp cheddar cheese, glistening mayonnaise, chunks of roasted red peppers and a sprinkling of hot sauce is how it’s done. Spread onto white bread, it’s simple perfection. Troweled into celery ribs, it becomes a crunchy hors d’oeuvre. A slather of it on a bun elevates and Southernizes a burger.

Our restaurant menu boasts an option that is a trifecta of taste. The Pimento Cheese and Hot Link appetizer has become one of our most celebrated offerings at Jim ‘N Nick’s. We knew it was good, that’s why it’s on the menu in the first place. But its popularity has grown and the juxtaposition of cool, creamy pimento cheese against the smoky-hot wheel of sausage, the green jolt from a Serrano pepper all piled upon a classic, crunchy Saltine cracker gets folks talking. We have served the recipe at parties and taken it coast to coast—from the Eat Real Festival in Oakland, California to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party in New York City. This week, it made its television debut in Atlanta, Georgia on WAGA, Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta show. Drew Robinson demonstrated live how to make the simple dish and offers the recipe so that you too may “Spread the Love” in 2011.

Check out the video and the recipe here:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good_day_atl/Tailgating-for-the-Chick-Fil-A-Bowl-20101230-gda-sd