Jacob Lundy’s childhood included time spent on a woodsy, three-acre lot in Jacksonville, where his mom, Anjalonette Lundy — who taught kindergarten and first grade for more than 40 years — started a catering company to help fund her four kids’ college education.
Soul food, mostly, Lundy tells me. The same sides she’d make when he and his older brother would dig a pit at the back of the property and throw a piece of chain-link fence over the top.
“I didn’t know the difference then,” he says, “but we had pecan and oak trees, and he’d show me a stick and say, ‘Bring me all that you can find that look like this.”
They’d toss foil-wrapped potatoes under the wood, light it up and pit-smoke the meat that would feed their family of six.
“Mostly chicken. Back then, you could buy a bunch of leg quarters for like $2 a bag. My mom would buy a couple and she would do the sides and my brother and I would cook.”
Those same sides (well, close, anyway) are what you’ll find at Lundy’s place in East Orlando: Smokey Jay’s BBQ. Tucked into a modest, aging shopping plaza on East Colonial Drive, he and his wife, Natina, have been building its name for about two and a half years. Lundy does pork ribs, chicken, brisket, pulled pork, sausage, all of it over wood — no gas, no charcoal.
The guys at the neighboring Yamaha dealership were his earliest customers, finding him in the parking lot at his smoker before he got a larger Lang 108 put in the back of the shop. Word of mouth has brought in more. The restaurant game can be a slow-go, but Lundy’s inching forward, living his dream.
“I always knew I wanted to own my own business,” he says. He didn’t know it would be a restaurant when he was a child, but he always had that hospitality gene and a passion for the process of barbecue, instilled in him via those big-dinner backyard memories. The sides are mom’s recipes, but just a little different, something she insists on.
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“She’ll give us the recipes, but we have to add our own to it,” he tells me. “She’d always say, ‘Here you go, but you gotta put a little kink in it!’” In the case of the mac-and-cheese, Lundy says his recipe is more peppery. But the foundation is all mom, who also helped him get his business started with a little love loan. He says there’s never a day he wakes up and doesn’t feel like cooking.
“There’s a joy in the completion of it,” he says of the process. Lundy serves fresh-made fare from 11: 30 a.m. to sellout, Wednesday through Saturday.
“And when someone comes in and is loving your food, there’s a great satisfaction there.”
Smokey Jay’s BBQ: 9318 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando, 407-668-1703; smokeyjaysbbq.com
BienFuegos BBQ
Like many who find their way to barbecue, Derek Pierson, pharmacy technician by day, is a nights-and-weekend warrior, smoking ribs, curing meats and creating new sandwiches to serve at BienFuegos, which pops up roughly 6-8 times a month. At breweries, mostly.
Windermere Brewing, along with Baldwin Park’s Tactical Brewing and GB Bottle Shop in Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village are regular stops. It’s a built-in market for Pierson’s brand of barbecue, pork and beef mostly but with occasional visits to turkey or homemade sausage. A recent IPA-laced hot link was a bit hit with fans.
Sandwiches, in particular his Cuban and related takes, are a focus for lots of them, though burgers will be the star at his upcoming July 4 visit to GB Bottle Shop (531 Virginia Drive in Orlando), when he’ll be topping the house-ground brisket smashburgers with other goodies from his culinary laboratory, “because meat makes a good condiment for meat!” Pierson jokes.
Kidding aside, folks do go wild for the Texas smashburger, which features a 1/4-pound of chopped brisket on top, along with his special, thick-cut pickled jalapenos, Carolina gold sauce and freshly sliced onions.
Pierson’s love of ‘que was born and raised right here in Orlando, as was he.
“My grandmother owned a bar when I was younger. My mom worked in a restaurant, so I was around the hospitality industry from a young age. Mostly, though, I was drawn toward barbecue because of the nice memories of those old-school backyard barbecues with my family. That’s really what did it.”
Pierson got his first smoker in 2016, “right around when (Central Texas celebrity pit master) Aaron Franklin was really popular,” he says, so his style leans in that direction, a little more savory, a little less sweet.”
A mix of cultures, American and Cuban, has also helped his style come together.
“I’ve enjoyed finding that Cuban side through food,” he says.
Once the brisket was mastered, Pierson began experimenting with curing.
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“It was a natural evolution,” he says. “Eating brisket all the time you want to step it up. Turned out it was a lot cheaper to make the ham myself versus buying it, and it tastes a lot better, too.”
Other meats, and lots of pickling, followed. BienFuegos boasts its very own garlic dills, pickled onions, those aforementioned jalapenos and more. Sides like the green onion-topped four-cheese mac and cheese satisfy everyone — even vegetarians. The crispy bits come courtesy of cheddar cheese that Pierson throws on the grill.
“I throw it on the skillet and wait for it to turn into a chip,” he says, “Then I break it up and throw it on top.”
Find him on social to see where he’ll be serving it next. The July 4 pop-up will feature four burgers and two sandwiches, along with fries and pickles as the sides.
BienFuegos BBQ: BienFuegos BBQinstagram.com/bienfuegos_bbq; facebook.com/p/BienFuegos-BBQ-100075576623544
Mohawk Smokehouse
Yes, I have written up Tyler Evans’ killer ‘que before. In fact, they were my Best Barbecue pick this year in the Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards. But because there’s no storefront, and because the year’s more than half over and those of you with a list to hit may not have gone to see him yet, I’m using this platform as a reminder. Need more than my opinion to push you over the edge on the boards that Mohawk piles high with every meat under the sun along with some very pretty sides? I first heard about them from Tyler Brunache of the now Michelin Guide-recognized Smokemade Meats, a former Foodie Awards winner whose own pop-up has since evolved into a very successful brick-and-mortar in Orlando’s Curry Ford West neighborhood. What are you waiting for? Go!
Mohawk Smokehouse: mohawksmokehouse.com; instagram.com/mohawksmokehouse; facebook.com/MohawkSmokehouse
Jerkman BBQ
It’s not surprising that my lunch companion had office stalkers at his desk after bringing back a box full of lunch leftovers from the Jerkman. These fall-off-the-bone ribs, with their exotic, saucy zebra stripes, are alluring even before you see ’em, though, courtesy of that smoky smell. I’d been stalking the Jerkman online for quite some time, once ordering and missing out because the place was closed (online glitch, he refunded me immediately with apologies when I wrote after making the trip) and finally got to taste what his many fans were talking about. I picked up my boxes from his original spot, a sparse shack at the intersection of Ivey Lane and America Streets, all easy-breezy-like.
Walked in, grabbed my bag and headed out with a hot and heavy sack of food. But he’s since opened a second, sit-down location inside the food court at Ocoee’s West Oaks Mall. Head over there if you want a chair or aren’t keen on ordering ahead.
Jerkman BBQ: 758 S. Ivey Lane in Orlando or West Oaks Mall, 9401 W. Colonial Drive in Ocoee, 321-420-2238; jerkmanbbqtogo.com
White’s Bangin’ BBQ/Magic City BBQ
Over the past year plus, commuters through this stretch of SR 426 in Oviedo have watched these two operations (most probably don’t realize there are two) get a little flashier with their roadside advertising. Simple hand-drawn yard signs evolved into printed ones, each with its own logo. More recently, a towering inflatable was on the job curbside, waving folks into the rough grass lot where some days Ronnie White’s “bangin’” barbecue is up for grabs under a humble tent, others to Jorge Martinez and Gloria White and their Magic City brand. Other days, and often, it’s both.
The former leans a little more traditional Southern, while the latter, Martinez told me, injects a little of his Cuban roots into the mix. Sides? That’s a family affair these tables often share. For my neighbor, Magic City’s jerk chicken was the big hit, for my friend’s husband, it was the collards gleaned from the White’s Bangin’ side. I’d put the Bangin’ ribs next to the potato salad from Magic City, cool against rich and hot and chunky with slices of hard-boiled egg.
I’ve gone a couple of times and on each visit, end up chatting up some customers who’ve been hitting them up since the beginning and another who, like me, had been eyeing them for months before finally making time to pull in. If you like the roadside feel, hit ’em up. They set up on Aloma near the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum at James Drive. Both accept catering jobs,
White’s Bangin’ BBQ: 407-486-8168
Magic City BBQ: 407-489-1890
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
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Originally Published: July 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT
