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| - Doug and I eat alot of barbecue south of the Mason Dixon line, so it's not our first choice when we're home. And let's face it...most Yankees know next to nothing about real barbecue. Some folks may be offended by that last comment, but my opinion is based on suffering through many bad meals at barbecue wanna-be restaurants, both locally and in other Northern states. The people who run this restaurant are bona fide Southerners, however, and the reviews had me feeling optimistic, so we decided to give them a visit for lunch today.
This is counter service, with a couple of bar height tables for standing at and some benches for waiting. The woman behind the counter could not have been any nicer, and offered samples of their various barbecue sauces, explaining that they use a dry rub on their meats and serve the sauce on the side. So far, so good. I deeply appreciate a place that doesn't smother their meat in sauce. The red tomato based sauce was a little too herby for my taste, with noticeable amounts of cumin and chili powder. I didn't love it. The North Carolina vinegar sauce was spot on...simple and, well, vinegary, with lots of black pepper and a hint of sweetness. Their South Carolina style mustard sauce has honey in it, and was a little too sweet for my taste. I'm not put off when I don't like the sauces that an establishment offers, however, as I can go without if the pork is perfect. The only other thing I'll say about the sauces is that I wish they kept them at the table in squirt bottles. The little plastic to go ramekins are a waste if you're dining in.
I got the combo with chicken and pulled pork, and Doug got a full rack of ribs so we could share. We both got sides of collard greens and black eyed peas. I noticed right away that the pulled pork was dry. It had no discernable fat in it, and was pulled into very small shreds, which only further caused it to dry out. I doused it with the NC vinegar sauce, and, while the flavor was good, the dryness was disappointing. We talked to the pit master and he went back to check on the shoulder, and came back saying that it did indeed have very little fatback on it, so it seems the pulled pork was dryer today than it usually is. I would give it another try, as it was tasty otherwise. The chicken was very moist and delicious, with a nice smoky flavor. The ribs come with a very assertive rub that didn't fully dissolve into the meat...maybe this is where a little sugar in the rub would have helped caramelize things...so you got mouthfuls of dry rub in every bite. It eventually overwhelmed the flavor of the meat and became tiring to the palate. While the ribs themselves were not dry, they were chewy and lacked that succulent fall-off-the-bone quality that I look for. I've had ribs like this in the South, so they're most definitely a certain style, and were not bad for what they are. Just not my fave. The knock outs today were the sides. The collard greens were simple and tasty, and the black eyed peas were wonderful. I could make a meal of these two things alone any day of the week.
We drank water with our meal as they only had bottled Nestea, which I detest, and I don't drink soda, although the local offerings in that category are a nice touch. I like fresh brewed tea with my barbecue, and was assured that this will be coming in the future.
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