Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
Seven lucky Saturdays in 2017 had B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque chef and owner Bryan Furman and Southern Soufflé blogger Erika Council serving breakfast. They opened B’s doors at 9 a.m. on those days (the Riverside restaurant usually doesn’t open until 11 a.m.), slinging Council’s biscuits stuffed with country ham and apple butter or Furman’s fried chicken or sausage gravy. “If you come to a barbecue joint looking for a healthy breakfast, you’re in the wrong place,” Furman says. “We do not do gluten-free here!”
At some point, they added brisket hash to the menu. Then, they started selling beignets. And almost every morning, they sold out.
Thankfully, 2018 will see more from these two. “I’m trying to get Bryan to let me put that chopped pork barbecue on a biscuit,” Council says. “And we’re talking about smoking some pimiento cheese.” We chatted with them about their partnership.
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
How did you two meet?
Furman: I knew her name and had read her blog, and then I heard she was doing a Sunday supper at Kimball House, so I went. She made soul food—fried chicken, mac and cheese, and biscuits with apple butter. Man! I had never eaten good apple butter before, so I never really liked it, but this changed my mind. After that dinner, she dropped off some apple butter at the restaurant.
Council: Well, he traded me for a container of his hash and rice.
When did you first cook together?
Furman: We collaborated with Mike and Shyretha Sheats on a dinner here for Black History Month. He was a line cook at Staplehouse, and now, they put on dinners around town for a series they call the Plate Sale. During that time, Erika got the idea to do a biscuit pop-up here, too.
Council: The Bomb-Ass Biscuit Pop-Up.
Furman: And I thought, “I’m here already in the morning working the smokers. Why not?”
You’re known for your biscuits, Erika.
Council: I learned from my grandmothers. My grandmother Mildred Council owns Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and I had to work there—for free! My other grandmother, Geraldine Dortch, was an activist, and she used to sell buttermilk biscuits, cakes, and pies to raise money for the Civil Rights movement. I’m a software engineer by trade, but biscuits are just my thing. They taste better when Bryan lets me use his lard, though.
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
So will you two keep putting on the Bomb-Ass Biscuit Pop-Up?
Council: Yes. I want us to represent what there’s not enough of: two African Americans who have a successful culinary project.
Furman: That’s why I want to put my face on the B’s logo. My delivery guy just learned yesterday that I’m the owner. He just assumed I work for someone white. I asked Killer Mike if he thought it was a good idea, and he said yes. He said, “It ain’t important that whites know you’re black. It’s important that blacks know the owner is black.”
Council: Kids in our community don’t think that things like this are available to them. By making ourselves more visible, we’re saying to them, “You can do this. Look, we’re right here.”
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This article appears in our March 2018 issue.
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