Bringing Home the Bacon [and Barrel]
Each January, St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic brings the best of Spartanburg's local restaurant and distillery scene to Drayton Mills for the ever-popular "Bacon and Barrel" benefit night. The last event was held in January 2020, but there's still a way to remotely experience the tastes of Spartanburg's top distilleries, cocktail bars, bacon-heavy menu items, and barbecue spots this year.
St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic, (162 North Dean St,) offers high-quality health care at no cost, to uninsured, low-income residents of Spartanburg County. In lieu of their annual foodie fundraising event, you can still donate online to make a difference in a neighbor's life! Just $25 in donations provides $427 in medical care for someone in need.
While we can't bring the full "Bacon and Barrel" foodie event to you- nor the mechanical bull experience- we can create a taste-your-way-through-town tour, so you can "bring home the bacon" [and the barrel.]
Photos courtesy Bacon and Barrel event gallery from 2020.
Bacon and Barrel featured bourbon tastings from a variety of distilleries, alongside select sample specials from local restaurants and live music. We'll be highlighting a few of these eateries from years past, as well as restaurants that have opened since the tasting fundraiser last occurred, with select bites and beverage pairings from their everyday menus.
Located in the historic Leader Building in downtown Spartanburg, (127 West Main St,) Initial Q- Social Bar & Smokehouse, offers a variety of artisan smoked meats and full cocktail menu at their bourbon-themed bar and restaurant. Far from your typical Southern BBQ restaurant, this gastro-smokehouse offers build-your-own plates and platters with an upscale twist. Choose your meal style (full platter, over grits, between the buns, salad, or as a plate,) choice of protein (pulled pork or chicken, beef brisket, burnt ends, rabbit, shrimp, house sausage, pork belly, or vegan jackfruit,) and last, yet most difficult, choice of 13 different sides. While the restaurant is open primarily for dinner hours, Initial Q also offers brunch on Saturday and Sunday, with its own exclusive menu.
If you're looking for a post-meal activity, simply walk downstairs. Boutique bowling alley, UnderPin Lanes 'N Lounge, operates under the same kitchen, but with a separate bar and food menu- including casual appetizers, handhelds, and boozy milkshakes. Test your hand and levels of friendly competition at the eight, full-service bowling lanes, retro arcade, and Wednesday trivia nights- open late.
More Bourbon, Bacon, & BBQ treats to taste:
Pictured: Pork Shank, with sticky hoisin, scallion, benne seed, pickles, and Tyger River lettuce
Downtown Spartanburg is full of restaurants to taste your way through, including The Tulip Tree, (121 West Main Street,) located right next door to Initial Q. One of West Main's newest additions, the restaurant combines casual fine dining with a Southern twist, with the vibes of a local art gallery, shoppable from your dining table.
Their broad dinner and brunch menu features numerous cocktails made with Greenville's Six & Twenty Distillery, featured on "Whiskey Wednesday" discount flight nights. Popular spirits include their 5-Grain Bourbon Whiskey and Carolina Cream- a blend of all-natural cream, 5-grain bourbon, rum, and spices- basically liquid dessert!
Looking for more date night locales? The Kennedy, (221 East Kennedy St,) serves upscale American fare, with small plates and shareables, a new lunch menu, full wine list and cocktail bar, and rotating seasonal specials with locally-sourced ingredients, in an Art-Deco, speakeasy dining experience.
Maybe a sports bar is more your vibe? Main Street Pub, (252 West Main St,) has you covered with their extensive food and beverage menu, as well as karaoke nights, live music, outdoor patio, and numerous TVs to catch the big game of the day on.
You may be asking yourself: "Okay, here's a bunch of pork dishes and cocktails. But, where's the bacon?" We've saved one of the best downtown secrets for last! Bar 1884's brunch menu, (118B Magnolia St.)
Pictured: Breakfast Bowl, with stone ground grits, pimento cheese, applewood bacon, two types of cheese, scrambled eggs, and hashbrowns
Bar 1884 is located atop Miyako Sushi Group, with downtown Spartanburg's first rooftop bar. Their brunch menu steals the show, with items such as Breakfast Poutine, Apple Stuffed French Toast, and Pork Belly Breakfast Bowl. Perhaps most excitingly for brunch enthusiasts, the restaurant offers bottomless mimosas and a Bloody Mary bar.
While not downtown, we would be remiss to skip Dray: Bar + Grill, (1800 Drayton Rd,) on this tasting tour, who host the traditional Bacon and Barrel event on the historic mill campus in their catering and event hall. The restaurant is open seven days a week, for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, featuring numerous events, live music, and fire pits on their outdoor patio.In addition to a full menu of draft beers and wine by the bottle or glass, Dray has an extensive cocktail line-up, including specialty drinks that donate to the Spartanburg Humane Society. Looking for bourbon specifically? Try their "Roasted and Toasted" cocktail, featuring pecan, vanilla, and cinnamon-infused Jim Beam, organic Turbo syrup, and Angostura bitters.
If all this sounds fantastic, but you're just craving a classic Southern barbecue plate in a Styrofoam clamshell with all the fried fixins, then don't worry, dear readers! We won't delve into the great sauce debate, but you can tour the whole state of South Carolina on the SC BBQ Trail.
Spartanburg restaurants are featured heavily on the Mountains leg of the trail, with many spots specializing in the region's characteristic, sweet, tomato-based sauce.
Must-try restaurants include soul food buffet, Mustard Seed BBQ & Country Cooking, (2000 SJ Workman Hwy, Woodruff,) and Southside Smokehouse & Grille, (726 South Howard Ave, Landrum,) which specializes in both NC-style barbecue and Louisiana Cajun and Creole dishes.
Dig in and pig out, Spartanburg! Tag us in your DIY tasting tour adventures on social media with @intheburg864. Happy eating!