Carolina Bar-B-Q – Statesville, NC

August 1, 2016July 29, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Carolina Bar-B-Q
Date: 7/19/16
Address: 213 Salisbury Rd, Statesville, NC 28677
Order: Regular chopped barbecue pork dinner with baked beans, barbecue slaw, hush puppies, and Cheerwine (link to menu)
Price: $11

Monk: About 3 years BBB (before barbecue blog) – that’s 7 years ago in layman’s speak – I tried Carolina Bar-B-Q on a lark while heading back to Charlotte from a day tubing on the New River. I don’t recall a ton about the meal other than generally liking it but the presence of it on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail has made it a target for a revisit on our neverending quest to try all of the joints on the trail.

Only about a mile off I-77 in Statesville (about an hour north of Charlotte), its hard to miss the joint. The building was opened by owners Gene and Linda Medlin in 1985 and has a huge green roof and “CAROLINA BAR-B-Q” prominently displayed in white block letters.

Carolina Bar-B-Q is a Lexington-style joint (Statesville is about 40 due west of Lexington), and thus smokes pork shoulders before mixing a dip prior to serving. It’s offered either chopped or sliced and while I liked the chopped it is a little lean and lacks much fat or gristle mixed in. The lack of fat or gristle is a complaint apparently shared by Charles Kuralt calling it “too refined,” but a small note at the register says it’s available on request. I do wish it was noted on the menu itself, so that I would know to ask for it when placing my order. There wasn’t a lot of bark mixed in either but at this point I should know to ask for outside brown at a Lexington-style joint. Rookie mistake.

Speedy: Monk, Monk – you never learn! But a little bark mixed in, whether requested or not, is a sign of a truly superior ‘cue joint. Not including it in a standard order shouldn’t be excused.

Monk: You do get a choice of coleslaw or barbecue slaw, and the barbecue slaw was a pretty standard version. The beans were passable, though they did remind me of Bush’s from a can. The hush puppies were perfectly fried and the best of the sides.

Speedy: True Lexington style joints don’t even offer coleslaw. Just sayin’…

Monk: Fair point. Carolina Bar-B-Q is a barbecue joint reminiscent of a few we’ve tried on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail – solid but unspectacular. All in all, I’d say its still worth a stop for sure.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Carolina Bar-B-Q chopped pork dinner combo

Carolina Bar-B-Q sauces

Carolina Bar-B-Q condiments

Carolina Bar-B-Q menu

Carolina Bar-B-Q interior

Carolina Bar-B-Q exterior

Luella’s Barbecue – Asheville, NC

July 25, 2016July 22, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Luella’s Bar-B-Que
Date: 6/26/16
Address: 501 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804
Order: Chopped Plate with Fries, Slaw and Hushpuppies, Cheerwine (link to menu)

Speedy: A day after visiting Buxton Hall, I decided to have a treat yo’ self meal at another ‘cue joint, so I texted Monk to see where he thought I should go. He mentioned that he’d wanted to try Luella’s for a while, but hadn’t gotten around to it, so I undertook the task. Walking in, Luella’s has ample seating and a nice, long bar, as well as some outdoor seating. Overall, it seemed like a great place to have a meal.

The menu advertises the chopped pork BBQ as eastern style, so that was my order, along with fries, slaw, and hushpuppies. The food came out quickly and I dug in.

The pork was, simply, divine. It had great smoke flavor, lots of bark, and was cooked and chopped perfectly. I think it could have used a little more tang, but I’m definitely splitting hairs. When compared to Buxton Hall, this pork had more bark and smoke, but was just a little behind in terms of tenderness and tang. Knowing Monk, I think he’d disagree, but I’d have to give Luella’s a very slight edge. But you can’t go wrong either way.

The sides were also good. The vinegar based slaw was enjoyable, even if it didn’t quite stack up to the Lexington style barbecue slaw. And the hush puppies were no slouch either.

Monk: Before Buxton Hall and even Etowah Smokehouse came along, Luella’s had been on my radar. So that’s great to hear that it worked out for you. I mean, 4 hogs? That’s high praise.

Speedy: Overall, I only had time for a quick meal at Luella’s, but I’ll definitely return. I hate that I didn’t get a chance to try any of the other meats, but this is definitely a place worth visiting.

(For another review of Luella’s Bar-B-Que, check out Marie, Let’s Eat!)

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

Q2U BBQ Pit and Catering – Lake Wylie, SC

July 18, 2016July 18, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Q2U BBQ Pit and Catering
Date: 7/8/16
Address: 4052 Charlotte Hwy, Lake Wylie, South Carolina 29710
Order: Pork sandwich lunch combo with cole slaw (link to menu)
Price: $8.47

Monk: Q2U BBQ Pit and Catering is not that far away from Charlotte – just over the SC border – but I’ve always had a mental block about going to it because it’s at least a 35-40 minute trip to get out to it from just about anywhere in Charlotte I would normally be. It’s been recommended by readers for a couple of years now so I decided to bite the bullet and finally make the trek.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Not because it was in a non-descript strip mall or that it wasn’t particularly crowded (though it should be said that the lunch crowd did pick up by the time I left), but sometimes you just expect to be letdown. While it was the lunch hour on a Friday and I wasn’t partaking, it was encouraging to see that they keep a good-sized draft list with a decent amount of local beer options. The walls were adorned with lots of vintage Hornets and Panthers memorabilia so I had no complaints about the decor.

Lunch service was very quick and within a few minutes of placing my order, I had my plate of food. While the sandwich may have been scooped from a tray of already chopped pork, it wasn’t overly dry or grainy. And I got a nice hint of smoke in the meat. I did add some of their vinegar table sauce, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was necessary or needed.

Each combo comes with a couple of hush puppies, and they were fantastic. The mayo slaw was fine but I really wish I had ordered hush puppies as my side to get a couple more.

Overall, a very solid sandwich from Q2U BBQ and Catering and definitely the best barbecue I’ve had just across the border in the Charlotte metro area. I don’t know that I will find myself in the Lake Wylie area very often but if I do, I will steer my group towards it to try some more of their meat offerings.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Q2U sandwich combo

Q2U bar

Q2U tap list

Q2U exterior right

Q2U exterior left

Buxton Hall Barbecue – Asheville, NC (Monk’s take)

July 11, 2016August 10, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / 5 Comments

Name: Buxton Hall Barbecue
Date: 6/18/16
Address: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Order: Pulled whole hog barbecue plate with hush puppies appetizer and sides of chicken bog, waffle-cut fries; Cheerwine (link to menu)
Price: $23

Monk: I’ve been following Pitmaster Elliot Moss’s pursuit to open a whole hog barbecue joint for what seems like most of the life of this blog (4+ years). What was initially announced as Buxton Hill Barbecue with one business partner later turned into a venture with another called Buxton Hall Barbecue. As I understand it, throughout the journey bringing whole hog barbecue to Asheville remained the focus, and it finally opened in Asheville’s booming South Slope neighborhood (literally heading south downhill from downtown) last August.

Buxton Hall took over part of an old building that used to house a skating rink and its immediate neighbors include Catawba Brewing and Vortex Doughnuts. The interior maintains some of the character from the skating rink (like some of the old paintings on the wall) while adding modern craftsman touches (Edison bulb fixtures, subway tiling, etc). An open air kitchen contains two BQ smokers and wood smoke wafts into the dining area when logs are added to the in-kitchen firebox to create coals to place into the smoker. In short, it’s exactly the type of barbecue place that I would try to open if I were able to.

The whole hog barbecue is a just about perfect recreation of eastern NC/SC pulled pork (Moss himself is originally from the Florence, SC area). Tender strands of moist pork with a little hint of wood smoke and spice – just fantastic. While I didn’t order it on this visit, I’m still curious about barbecue hash (a nod to his SC roots) and would likely try that next time in addition to the pork. In any case, everyone should order the pork at the very least.

Chicken bog is not a barbecue dish I am familiar with and thus, had to try it as one of my two sides. It’s essentially a rice dish with chicken, sausage, and veggies topped with dashes of Texas Pete. I have no comparison, but I thought it was a very successful side and loved every bite of it. The plate came with a small ramekin of a vinegar-based coleslaw, so instead of doubling up I got waffle-cut fries in case the Monkette wanted some. They are almost exactly like Chic-Fil-A fries in all of the best ways. Plus, Buxton Hall made a smart decision to include barbecue-perfect drink options like RC Cola, Diet Rite, Cheerwine, and Sun Drop. Naturally, I opted for Cheerwine.

Speedy: I just want to jump in here, as I visited Buxton Hall just short of a week after Monk did with my bro (same parents variety, not barbecue variety). This was my second visit (the first being shortly after it opened), and I once again had a great meal. I think Monk is spot on in his description of the pork – it’s excellent – but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the collards are flat out phenomenal. A can’t-miss side, in my opinion. I also like that Elliott puts different specials on the menu to keep things fresh – when I was in, it was a pulled rib meat sandwich, which I didn’t try, but sounded intriguing. Anyway, carry on, Monk…

Monk: Oh hey there, Speedy – thanks for the input. After our meal, we had moved on to Burial Brewing around the corner but as it so happens ran into Moss where him and I were able to talk all things Asheville and barbecue over a beer. He was then nice enough to take us back to the restaurant to give us a quick tour of the kitchen (something he’ll do for anyone who asks, I believe). Elliot is a super nice guy and though I was initially hesitant to approach him (for my own shy reasons), I’m glad it worked out. He even sent us away with a piece of delicious fresh peach pie which while did not influence the ultimate rating, it certainly did not hurt.

At Buxton Hall Barbecue, Pitmaster Elliot Moss is part of the new breed of pitmasters (along with Tyson Ho at Arrogant Swine, Bryan Furman at B’s Barbecue, Sam Jones at his new Sam Jones BBQ, among others) who are opting for smoking barbecue in more traditional ways that take a lot of time and effort. That means all night smokes 6 out of 7 nights of the week (Moss himself doing it a couple nights each week). More often than not, the time and effort is worth it and in the case of Buxton Hall it definitely is. In the tl;dr version of this review, it would simply read: “Just go there.”

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 5 hogs
Pork – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs