I ate 3 meals in Charlotte and this was the best by far!
I opted for a half-slab of St. Louis-style ribs with two side dishes. Based upon the waitresses recommendation, I went with the fried squash and the green beans.
From bottom to top, here are my thoughts:
Green beans - too much garlic for my taste but I loved the freshness of the beans and that they had not been cooked to the point of mushiness. Two bites and then I left them alone.
Bleu cheese dressing - a recommended accompaniment for dipping the squash and spot-on. Perfect blend of creaminess and the slight bite of the bleu. An appropriate amount of chunks of the stinky cheese combined with the savory flavor made this the perfect dipper for the squash. They make this dressing in-house and it tastes like heaven. Waitress was on the money when she recommended this as a dipper for the squash.
Fried squash - whoever thought this one up should be given a raise! This is the first time that I've seen this dish offered anywhere but it needs to be everywhere. The sweetness of the squash was accentuated by the crispiness of batter. Also, the slight saltiness paired really well with the aforementioned bleu cheese dressing that my waitress recommended. I plan to mention this dish to my favorite places that serve ribs in St. Louis in hopes that someone will pick it up and run with it.
The ribs - I love ribs! I eat ribs in lots of different places to see how the pit masters interpret the pig differently. These easily ranked in my top 5 favorites of all times. They use pecan instead of hickory or a fruitwood and it makes for an amazingly complex and savory flavor. Take a bite and your mouth waters for a second bite. Take a second bite and the process repeats. beautiful rub had plenty of flavor but the real star was the smoke. There were a few different types of sauce on the table but not a one of them got within a foot of these ribs so I can't begin to comment on their attributes.
Go there - get the ribs!!!