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| - I've had some good 'Q down here in the Lake Norman area, but Ranucci's really knows how to get it done. Don't let the name fool you...while it sounds like a swanky Italian joint it's actually a divey BBQ joint, and it serves up some really solid food. We made the trip out to Belmont to cash in our Living Social deal and chow down on some porky goodness.
Ranucci's is in a slightly rundown part of town, and sure doesn't look like much from the outside. Stepping inside you find it a bit better, though still divey. There are a few tables and booths set up, so seating is limited. The menu has plenty of porky goodness on there, and there is a selection of sandwiches and platters to choose from. They also offer burgers and dogs, but I didn't come there for such basic fare. Also, they do have beer and wine but it's tucked away in a soda cooler, so you might miss it at first.
There is counter service where you walk up and place your order, then sit down and wait for them to bring it over to you. The service speed is pretty quick and we had our BBQ meals in front of us in no time at all.
I ordered the rib plate ($13.49) which came with a half rack of ribs and two sides. The ribs were great and definitely some of the best I've had down here. They were super tender and juicy, and they actually had a bit of crust on the edge that gave a bit of crunch to each bite. The sauce that was slathered on was thick and sweet, and not your vinegar-based Carolina sauce. They did have a bottle of that on the table and I gave it a whirl, but I wasn't a fan. I just don't like that bitter, watery vinegar sauce. They also had a bottle of hot BBQ sauce on the table, and I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. Rather than being a "hot" BBQ sauce you could actually taste the peppers that the heat came from. I ended up enjoying it more than their regular sauce, which is rarely the case for me.
The miss' went with the small pulled pork plate ($6.49) and came with a generous portion of pulled pork, four large hush puppies and the choice of one side. The amount of pulled pork that came with the small portion was ridiculous. Not only did we both eat it for dinner but we also stuffed ourselves with the leftovers at lunch. There is no way you should ever have to order the large portion unless you wanted leftovers for the next five days! The pork itself was really moist and had plenty of burned edges mixed in.
Not only was the meat awesome, but the sides blew us away. One of the problems I've had down here was finding a place that had good sides, and the four we tried at Ranucci's were all awesome. The hush puppies were large and dense, and not super sweet like some other places do them. The mac & cheese was the best I've had down here. They use the large pasta shells so you get nice big bites, and the cheese was very flavorful. The baked beans were pretty good, though I would have liked to have seen some chunks of meat in them. The coleslaw was done very well. It had more of a mustardy bite than a sweet spot, and when mixed with the pulled pork it was a bite of heaven.
Ranucci's has got it all. Cheap prices, large portions, fast service and TASTETACULAR BBQ all combine for one heck of a dinner. I've been to a couple of places in the area, and the food is as good as, and in some cases better, than the other stuff I've had. It's a bit of a drive but definitely worth it if you want to chew some good 'Q.
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