Naysayers may claim the barbecue craze is on its way out, but Mike Emerson, co-owner of Pappy’s Smokehouse, begs to differ. Emerson recently announced the debut of Q in the Lou, a national barbecue festival Sept. 25 to 27 at Soldiers’ Memorial. The free event, which celebrates St. Louis’ role in what Emerson called the “barbecue triangle” of St. Louis, Kansas City and Memphis, will feature food available for purchase and demonstrations by a number of national barbecue gurus.
“I’m extremely excited. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Emerson said. “I have some of the best barbecuers in the world coming in.”
Event spokesperson Mack Bradley said the goal of Q in the Lou is to bring together barbecue pros from across the nation. The festival will see barbecue luminaries from states as far flung as Texas, Tennessee and New York. Participants hailing from the St. Louis area include Emerson, Mike Johnson of Sugarfire Smoke House and Tom Schmidt of Salt & Smoke. Holding up Tennessee’s end will be Memphis in May festival grand champions John David Wheeler of Memphis BBQ Co. and Brad and Brooke Orrison of The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint. Bradley said the full roster of participating chefs and vendors is still being finalized, though 10 chefs are already on the schedule.
“There’s been a rising tide of great barbecue places in St. Louis for several years now,” Bradley said. “There are good barbecue events around town, but they’re all pretty local. We have yet to do something on a national scale and take our place in Mike Emerson’s barbecue triangle.”
Bradley said he hoped high foot traffic downtown in September – in the midst of the Cardinals and Rams seasons – will result in a good turnout. “I’ve never been involved with something that people were so instantly excited about,” he said. “The line we got from everybody was, ‘Why didn’t we do this before?'”
Emerson is a busy man these days. Last month, he quietly unveiled a truncated Pappy’s menu at Head’s Store in St. Albans with Annie Gunn’s proprietor Thom Sehnert. The partnership crystallized earlier this year. “I had stopped by Annie Gunn’s one day, and Thom and I just started talking,” Emerson said. “It was really a simple handshake agreement to give it a try, and it’s worked out well.”
A smoker onsite at Head’s Store is manned by a Pappy’s pit boss Friday to Sunday and servers a smaller selection of barbecue dishes, including ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and three side options. Emerson said he expects the lineup to expand soon. Unlike Pappy’s, beer and wine is served. Taking inspiration from Annie Gunn’s, Sehnert added a list of sandwiches and burgers to the menu, too. “He is a St. Louis icon, and I consider it an honor to collaborate with him,” Emerson said.
This article appears in June 2015.