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| - Here's a quick summary of the following novel: After my first lunch at The Improper Pig, here's my assessment. The pulled pork was delicious, the brisket the same though a little fatty, the mac and cheese was good, stay away from the sweet potato hash, and don't sit at the high tables. For an in-depth review, keep reading.
The Meal
I ordered the Cotswold Platter, which consisted of 2 meats and 2 sides. I chose the brisket (which happened to be a slightly-shady extra $4, but I'll talk about that more later) and the pulled pork for my meats. The sides available were pretty varied, but my first choice was the mac and cheese (what I believe to be a staple in any good BBQ restaurant). For my second side, I decided to try the sweet potato hash, something I had never heard of and was interested in.
We'll start with the meats:
The pulled pork was fantastic. I have found that I'm hard to please with pulled pork, and this really hit the spot. It was very flavorful and moist enough that it didn't require any sauce to eat (I like the flavor of good barbecue without dousing it in sauce). Quite possibly the best pulled pork I've had in Charlotte.
The beef brisket, while a little on the fatty side, was also delicious. My favorite brisket in Charlotte still comes from Lancaster BBQ, but this was a close second. Improper's version is more pulled than sliced, which was a nice change, and was good enough to eat by itself. The extra fat took it down a slight notch, but the flavor was great.
With the meats, there are 5 or 6 different options for sauces. There's a Thai sauce, mustard BBQ, regular BBQ (tomato), Eastern NC BBQ (vinegar), and Frank's Redhot (I forget if there's another). The Thai was sweet with a little spice, very good. The mustard, which is my favorite usually, was very good here also.
As for the sides, the mac and cheese was good, nothing to write home about, but a strong staple and something I would order again. A little more saucy than some of the baked versions you'll find at other BBQ joints, but good none-the-less. The sweet potato hash, on the other hand, was a disappointment. My coworkers and I all agreed that we could definitely have done without it. What it seemed to be was a version of sweet potato casserole without brown sugar; a bland mash, maybe slightly bitter, with no real redeeming quality unfortunately.
The meal also came with what looked like a cornbread cookie and some red onions (maybe pickled onions? I didn't try them, I thought they were maybe just for show). The cornbread was alright, it didn't really add or detract from the meal. But then again, I'm used to a larger portion of moist cornbread, maybe with a little bit of honey, and I might just be spoiled.
All in all, the meal was good, with one regrettable side choice, but I would otherwise order it again. Good flavors and good portions.
The Rest
The inside of the restaurant was nicely decorated, the kitchen is open and visible, and it felt appropriate for a nicer BBQ restaurant. Not much to talk about, save for two things. One, they should put some sort of blinds or window covering on the larger windows as it is darker inside, and the outside light can be a little blinding. Two, they need to get nicer chairs for the high tables. The chairs they have seem to be there for looks more than functionality. The seats are small (I bet they're not far off from 9 in x 9 in) and are just plain uncomfortable. The booths seem like they sit nice, and the higher chairs at the bar seem nice. But the chairs at the high tables are a bit of an inconvenience.
As someone with just enough graphic design understanding to get himself in trouble, the menu made me cringe a bit. The layout doesn't flow well at all, and its confusing to read at first. Once you can figure out where everything is, it isn't hard, but I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to read a one page menu. Not a big deal, just a random quirk. Do pay attention though to the prices. The menu does a poor job of letting you know about extra costs. The brisket is apparently an extra $4, I'm assuming for all entrees, and it wasn't immediately apparent to me. Just something to keep an eye out for.
If you're still reading, you're a trooper :-)
To finish this book, after my lunch experience, I will most likely be heading back to The Improper Pig, but with a better understanding of the menu, the cost, and the seating. I can't stay away from a place with meat this good, I just hope I can find some sides that match in flavor!
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