Photograph courtesy of Bryan Furman
Fans of B’s Cracklin pitmaster Bryan Furman can delight in his legendary fare this weekend at a pop-up hosted by Rising Son in Avondale Estates. The pop-up is a celebration of Black History Month and a chance for Furman to give people a sneak peek of what’s to come at his eagerly awaited restaurant, Bryan Furman BBQ, opening in the Riverside neighborhood later this year.
The pop-up, held Friday, February 4 and Saturday, February 5 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m (or until sold out) will feature a platter of smoked brisket, chicken, and ribs, and Rising Son’s Hudson Rouse will prepare sides of collard greens, biscuits, and sweet mashed potatoes. [Editor’s note: The Friday event has been canceled due to rain, but Saturday’s event is still scheduled.] Furman’s mother, Almeta Benjamin, is making a couple of side dishes, too: macaroni and cheese, brisket beans, and hoe cakes. The pop-up dinner is being offered at a $40 package that includes a platter of the ribs, brisket, three of the four sides, a choice of hoe cake or a biscuit, banana pudding, and a lemonade or sweet tea (or unsweetened tea if that’s your thing). Diners can RSVP at the email address listed here on Furman’s website.
Benjamin isn’t just assisting for the pop-up—she actually moved to Atlanta to join Furman at the restaurant where she will be completely in charge of side dishes. “This will give me a chance to focus on the smoked meats,” says Furman. Cooking with his mother isn’t new for Furman. “At an early age, I was her sous chef in the kitchen doing all the prep, skills that can’t be taught in culinary school,” laughs Furman. They’ve cooked together in pop-ups and restaurants before, and even participated in the chefs-in-residence program at Blue Hill at Stone Barns together.
While Furman says he can’t reveal many new details about Bryan Furman BBQ right now, he did share that in addition to his usual smoked meats roster, he’ll offer sausages. He had been wanting to learn how to make sausage, which is traditionally a fixture of Texas-style barbecue joints, so Adam Kaye, culinary director of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, taught him. Furman is aiming for a sausage that’s, “cheesy, simple, and flavorful.”
Furman is over the pop-up scene—they’re a lot of work and coordination, he says—but this one at Rising Son is special. He and Rouse have been talking about collaborating for years, and Furman loves the food at Rising Son. “It’s not just him, but my mom being a part of this as well. Also, to be honoring Black History Month,” says Furman. “What better way to start off the year?”
