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| - I take no particular pride in being a North Carolina BBQ "connoisseur". However, I *AM* from Greensboro, which places me somewhere between the Eastern vs. Lexington BBQ factions and I've eaten my fair share of pig, including a few pig pickin's. I immediately grab the eyeballs and the cheeks.
I ALWAYS like to try something relatively new so, on a recent trip to Charlotte with my 10-year-old in tow, decided to visit Jim 'n Nick's BBQ on a Thursday morning at their 11 am opening. Some people had told me to drop by for some "good BBQ". Don't get me wrong, there are MANY MANY foods I have not eaten, and Eastern BBQ falls into that category, so I was anxious to try BOTH Eastern and Lexington (which I grew up with). So few restaurants sell both. These folks DO!
My son is still in that phase where he'll only eat certain foods (although, oddly, he LOVES my braised salmon + peas!) so I experimented with him. I offered him a TINY portion of Lexington, which he accepted as "OK" but spit out the Eastern. I was raised on Stamey's BBQ here in Greensboro and, in MY opinion, Stamey's rocks. They only serve Lexington. Jim 'n Nick's serves both, including brisket. Brisket is a tough dish to pull off as it dries out easily. I tried a combination with brisket and pulled pork with sides of collards and potato salad with sweet tea. The brisket meat was fairly tender but was not moist. I'd give it a very average "C". Also, this combination cost about 20 bucks. That was a bit overpriced... the portions were average... what I got shouldn't have been over $15 -- max.
The pulled pork was about the same, although a bit more moist. Now, keep in mind, EVERYBODY gets the right to like or dislike what they want. I found the Eastern sauce too pungent to the point of inedible. I have nothing against vinegar. On the other hand I found Jim 'n Nick's OWN proprietary catsup/vinegar/pepper-based sauce to be EXCELLENT. You should buy a bottle, take it home and go wild with it! TRULY SUPERB!
The potato salad was good enough, not that super-creamy mush some restaurants scoop into a small bowl. I'd give it a "B-".
The collards were like you'll rarely find -- this dish was heaping with what appeared to be collard greens picked out back 10 minutes ago! NOT mushy, NOT unidentifiable greenery and NOT over-cooked. Perfectly cooked, as a matter of fact... "A+"
Sweet tea was not overly sweet ("A").
Service was perfect (A+)
I didn't try any libations, but they appeared to have an interesting supply of beers and hard liquors, although not extensive.
By the time we left (just after 12 noon), the place was getting seriously packed.
I didn't get the slaw as a side because the waitress said it was the creamy mayo-based type. There's only one slaw to eat with BBQ and that's "red slaw" -- the type they serve at Stamey's. Don't worry, I don't work for Stamey's, it's just that, if you want super-flavorful NC BBQ, Stamey's (and other Lexington BBQ joints, especially actually *IN* Lexington, NC). It is against such establishments that I grade Jim 'n Nick's. 3 stars, not because it's BAD (it's not) but because Yelp says three stars = "A-OK". Yep... it's A-OK, but there's better NC BBQ out there in abundance.
PS: VERY cool music playing in the background... ie: when I heard "Hey Lawdy Mama" by Steppenwolf it shocked me out of my BBQ jam... heard Beatles too. Lots of other good stuff that threw me back to my childhood!!! (A++!!!!)
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