Reviews

Green River Bar-B-Q – Saluda, NC

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Name: Green River Bar-B-Q
Date: 6/18/16
Address: 131 US-176, Saluda, NC 28773
Order: Pulled pork and brisket combo plate with collards, bbq slaw, and Green Man IPA (link to menu)
Price: $20

Monk: On the trip from Asheville to Charlotte, the place to stop for barbecue is Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby, one of mine and Speedy’s favorite places ever (the readers of Garden and Gun Magazine and Thrillist also  agree). While I certainly would never get sick of stopping there, in the interest of expanding my barbecue horizons I pinpointed a wood smoking joint in Saluda, NC not far off the I-26 on my latest trip. Side note: Mrs. Monk is a G-D saint for going along with a quick barbecue and brewery tour this past Father’s Day, and I am a lucky, lucky man.

First off, downtown Saluda is a charming mountain town on the banks of the Green River near the NC/SC border and though we didn’t get to spend any time walking around it looked quite lovely. Green River Bar-B-Q is just outside of the main strip not a half mile away. On a beautiful late spring day in the mountains, you could do worse than spending some time on their patio.

There is an off-menu pork and brisket combo plate (the one on the menu says pork and chicken I believe) for $14.99 and that’s what I went with. We were seated right behind parties of 6 and 10 but thankfully the wait to get our food wasn’t too too bad. I will say that our server was great and had an unmistakable laugh that came out a few times during our lunch. So a pleasant day in the mountains drinking a local beer on the patio with good service – can’t get too much better than that. Then the food came out.

While both the pork and brisket had a whiff of wood smoke to them, they were both dry to the point that I didn’t finish them. When it came to the pork, I tried out the table sauces and none really helped all that much. The brisket was bland, dry, and beyond saving.

The bbq slaw was passable, but Mrs. Monk didn’t think the collards had been stewed long enough (they were edible but I agree with her). There was nothing special about the hushpuppies either.

While it has a lovely location and setting to it, I just can’t recommend going out of your way for Green River Barbeque.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs
Green River Barbeque Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pork and brisket combo platter
Pork and brisket combo platter
Mild, Hot, and Mustard sauces
Mostly NC beer list
Entrance to indoors
Patio

‘Cue Barbecue – Alpharetta, GA

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Name: ‘Cue Barbecue
Date: 6/17/16
Address: 13700 GA-9, Alpharetta, GA 30004
Order: Combo plate with sliced brisket and chopped pork, collards and fries (link to menu)
Price: $14

Speedy: Well boys – I’m checking in with my first review as a Georgia resident. I hadn’t planned on going to ‘Cue Barbecue, but I randomly drove by it on a Friday night and thought some ‘cue sounded good. So here I was.

Monk: I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that unfortunately, Speedy has relocated to Atlanta. On the bright side, that means the Barbecue Bros have expanded to Georgia!  

Speedy: Walking in, I really liked the ‘Cue atmosphere. It had old time decor with wood everywhere, including a decorative barn door, which was a nice touch. There was also a bar and an acoustic guitar player, and overall, it’s just a pretty cool place. I saddled up to the bar and ordered a local beer – Dry County IPA – and a combo plate with pork and brisket. The beer was solid, which was more than I could say about the food.

Monk: And it was off to such a good start, too…

Speedy: The pork was just OK. It had lots of bark, which was nice, but the bark lacked flavor, so I’m not sure the meat was properly rubbed before cooking. The pork was also dry, so it required some of the vinegar based sauce provided. One I liberally applied the dip, the pork was better, but still mediocre. The brisket, however, was plain bad. The slices I was given were served without sauce, but were incredibly dry. I could taste a bit of pepper in the bark, but it also needed more seasoning. After dousing it with some sweet sauce on the table it become edible, but I still didn’t finish my portion.

I don’t have much to say about the sides. The collards were bland and the fries were good, but there was nothing here to salvage the meal.

Overall, my first barbecue meal as a Georgia resident was very disappointing and definitely had me missing North Carolina.

Monk: I hate that this wasn’t a better first barbecue experience for you, but at least there’s plenty of good barbecue in Georgia for you to explore.

Speedy: Well it can only go up from here…

(For another review of ‘Cue Barbecue, check out Marie, Let’s Eat!)

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs
'Cue Barbecue Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Cue Barbecue

Pork and brisket combo plate at ‘Cue Barbecue
Brisket at ‘Cue Barbecue
Pork at ‘Cue Barbecue
‘Cue Barbecue interior

Poogan’s Smokehouse – Charleston, SC

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Name: Poogan’s Smokehouse
Date: 5/28/16
Address: 188 E Bay St #201, Charleston, SC 29401
Order: Three meat combo with pork, ribs, and smoked sausage; Adluh white cheddar grits, brussel sprouts (link)
Price: $25

Monk: With John Lewis Barbecue unfortunately still not open, I had to find another place for barbecue while in Charleston over Memorial Day weekend. In the end, convenience to a local production of Cinderella (for the Monkette) put on as part of the Spoleto Festival won out and I settled on Poogan’s Smokehouse.

Poogan’s Porch, a southern restaurant with an extensive wine list housed in an old Victorian house, has been in Charleston for nearly 40 years ago. When a wine bar called Social closed on the popular E. Bay Street tourist strip, the restaurant group behind Poogan’s Porch turned the space into a restaurant of “southern cuisine with a barbecue backbone” and used the Poogan’s brand.

Mrs. Monk and I shared a three meat platter (perhaps a little begrudgingly on her part) during Sunday brunch service, choosing pork, ribs and sausage. Of the three, I liked the smoked sausage the best (it also happened to be the most plentiful portion). Though it may have been slightly dried out from being sliced well before being served but nonetheless the taste was excellent. The two bones of ribs we got were meaty St. Louis cut ribs and not overly saucy. The pork was a bit dried out and I added some of the table sauces to help.

Luckily, I was able to try some of the other barbecue dishes from the other folks in our party. The pork belly was a potential option for the combo platter and I would recommend opting for it over the pulled pork. My daughter also got a side of hash over rice that she barely touched and I liked it quite a bit despite not necessarily having an affinity for the dish.

The sides really stole the show. The Adluh white cheddar grits were cheesy, creamy, and just generally excellent and Mrs. Monk and I were fighting to finish them. The brussel sprouts had pieces of bacon or pork belly and were also very good. The tray also comes with a standard white roll and some pickles and onions. But dang, those grits man. Should have gotten a double serving of them.

Poogan’s Smokehouse makes the eighth or so barbecue restaurant in downtown Charleston, presumably catering towards the tourist crowds. It’s fine but really I just wish that John Lewis Barbecue had opened. Next time.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse
Poogan’s Smokehouse

Bobbee O’s BBQ – Charlotte, NC (RE-REVIEW)

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Name: Bobbee O’s BBQ
Date: 5/24/16
Address: 9401 Statesville Rd, Charlotte, NC 28269
Order: Brisket and ribs combo platter with a side of pulled pork, hush puppies, and slaw (link)
Price: ~$18

A few months back, I mistakenly thought that Bobbee O’s BBQ had closed after driving by their original location and seeing a “for sale” sign. I later realized that it had actually not closed but rather relocated to a larger spot just a few miles away sometime last year. By coincidence, on the birthday of the blog I decided to check out their new space and see how it measures up 4 years later.

Bobbee O’s is still a counter service barbecue spot and the new location is a cavernous space probably 4-5 times larger than the old one which was more in the “hole in the wall” mold with maybe had 2 or 3 tables. It’s also much nicer and the owners have commissioned large murals of pigs to fill the tall walls. Above the registers was a painting of their motto “It’s All About the Sauce” – which is a worrying sign to me if the thing a barbecue joint is most proud about is their sauce.

Looking back at our original review, the pork seems to have more or less stayed the same. There was little smoke but it had a little kick due to the red pepper flakes in the vinegar sauce. From Big Wayner’s post a few years back, it seems as if they use a Cookshack smoker (not a brand I’m familiar with) but apparently don’t look to impart any wood smoked flavor into the meat. However, of the three meats I tried it was the best (“best” being a relative term, obviously).

I’ve learned quite a bit about brisket in the past four years, so to look back on our original review its a little embarrassing that we called this brisket the best meat of the meal. Bobbee O’s brisket is overcooked to the consistency of roast beef and then oversauced with a heavy, sweet sauce.  It really shouldn’t be called brisket in my opinion and I wouldn’t recommend it if you prefer a central Texas style.

The ribs may be boiled at Bobbee O’s since they came clean off the bone with little effort. In keeping with the brisket (of which they were only slightly better), they were sauced with a heavy sweet sauce.

Our complaint last time around was that they didn’t have hush puppies. While they have rectified that, they are the basic frozen variety which is always disappointing to see. None of the sides were really worth going further into.

Having given Bobbee O’s BBQ a rating of 2.5 hogs in that first review, with 4 years and well over a hundred reviews under our belt I can confidently say that in my opinion it is below average barbecue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Ribs – 1.5 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 1.5 hogs
Bobbee O's BBQ Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Bobbee Os

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