Queen City Q – Charlotte, NC (RE-REVIEW)

April 25, 2016April 22, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Queen City Q
Date: 4/13/16
Address: 225 E 6th St, Charlotte, NC 28202
Order: Super Q platter (pork, brisket, sausage, ribs) with eastern NC bbq slaw and hush puppies (link)
Price: $28

Speedy: So after Monk panned the Concord Queen City Q location last week, we decided we needed to go back to the flagship to see how it stacked up. In the past, we’ve had pretty good experiences, so we needed to find out if Monk just had a one-off bad experience or if quality had started to slip across the board.

Monk: Before Hornets home games, Queen City Q is packed to the gills and the wait time can reach upwards of 45 minutes. Our visit before the final home game of the season was no exception but after waiting in the packed lower bar area, we were able to snag a high top. Regardless of whether the food was still any good or not, it was evident to me that Queen City Q was probably doing just alright in terms of business.

Speedy: The sausage at QCQ has always been my favorite meat. And today was no different. The sausage is served split with a mustard sauce and it just works. The meat is finished on a grill and has very solid flavor. It doesn’t try to be anything it’s not with fancy flavors or fillers – it’s just good. So the first meat is a go.

Monk: While Speedy considers the ribs to be one of the better meats at QCQ, they were overdone and pretty tough on this occasion. Seeing as how they came in individual bones as opposed to a half rack I wonder if perhaps they had been under a heat lamp after they were cut and that ultimately did them in. Whatever the reason they were just average.

Speedy: I was a little disappointed in the ribs as well. They were fine, but not as good as I had remembered. For the brisket, though, I need to find a better word than disappointed. It was flat out bad. It tasted like it had been cooked the previous day and reheated. There was no tenderness to the meat and it took a significant amount of barbecue sauce just to finish. It’s been a long time since I’ve had brisket at QCQ, and it will be a long time before I do so again.

Monk: The pork was at least better than the dry, stringy mess I got in Concord. It was tender and moist to the point where I didn’t reach for a table sauce. This was more along the lines of the quality I remembered.

Speedy: We had red slaw and hush puppies as sides, which were pretty good. I know Monk was a little disappointed in the sides at the Concord location, but these were both acceptable. Nothing to get too excited about, but they won’t affect my decision on whether to go back.

Monk: In my review of the Concord location, I wondered if it was a one-off disappointing experience at a satellite location or an indication of an overall drop in quality for Queen City Q. Unfortunately, with this review I am pretty firmly convinced that it’s the latter.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Kid Cashew – Charlotte, NC

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Kid Cashew
Date: 2/13/16
Address: 1608 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203
Order: ½ lb pork shoulder, slow-cooked pork panini, hummus with grilled rustic bread, mac and 5 cheese, 4 beers (link)
Price: $67 (for two)

As far as non-traditional barbecue restaurants go, Kid Cashew may be stretching it a bit in terms of places we would normally review here. But they’ve been advertised as a “Mediterranean smokehouse” and even utilize a wood-fired grill made by Texas-based J&R Manufacturing (who is a respected barbecue pit manufacturer who also makes the wood-fired rotisserie smoker that Midwood Smokehouse uses) so I figured they were fair game.

Kid Cashew is a Mediterranean farmhouse-influenced spot in the space formerly occupied by, among other things, an old Spanish tapas place called Solé (a favorite of me and my then-roommates when I first moved to Charlotte in 2005). It has been open for a little over a month now and while we were seated right away during my first visit at lunch on a Saturday, we revisited on a different Saturday night for dinner to find a lively crowd and an hour wait. So it seems to be doing well thus far.

They have a limited menu of small plates, salads, sandwiches, and items “from the farmer” (think brussel sprouts or smashed fingerling potatoes) and those “from the butcher.” Those meats include “local chicken” (half or full), leg of lamb, NC mountain trout, and Scottish salmon. I opted for the pork shoulder at $12.50 per half pound and shared a side of mac and five cheese gratin with Mrs. Monk. The small portion came out in two tender chunks as opposed to shredded or pulled. It did have a wood smell to it with a distinct Mediterranean rub. Again, not really traditional barbecue but a pretty tasty half pound of meat nonetheless. On the side was a spicy cilantro yogurt sauce (tzatziki and harissa also available), and it wasn’t essential to enjoying the meat.

The mac and five-cheese gratin came in a small cast iron skillet and was still piping hot when it was brought out to us. It was a good mac and cheese, albeit a little pricey for the portion size. We had some hummus before our meal came out, and it was made from black chickpeas and was an interesting contrast to the usual smooth pasty texture of hummus found at most restaurants or the grocery store. I guess this makes it more authentic? In any case, it was good.

I’m not going to recommend you go to Kid Cashew for barbecue (mainly because what they serve really can’t be classified as barbecue) but if you’re looking for a Mediterranean-influenced farm to table restaurant with craft cocktails its not a bad spot in Charlotte.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Treehouse Whiskey and Fork – Charlotte, NC

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Treehouse Whiskey and Fork
Date: 12/22/15
Address: 4423 Sharon Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
Order: Large plate (pork, brisket, ribs, sausage) with coleslaw, tater tots, and jalapeno cheddar biscuit; smoked backyard wings, skillet cornbread, and buffalo shrimp; 5 beers (link)
Price: $72 (for 3)

Monk: Happy Birthday, Speedy!

Speedy: Thanks, bro.

Monk: So on the night of his actual birthday, Speedy chose Treehouse Whiskey & Fork, a Charlotte restaurant in SouthPark of which I was unaware of just how much a barbecue joint it actually was – it describes itself on its website as “a new take on BBQ and New American Style cooking”.

Speedy: I had been a couple times before, but hadn’t really had the barbecue, so thought this was a good time to bring Monk (and friend of the blog Susong) in for reinforcements. Little did I know, we’d have an additional soldier on our squad, but more on that later. Anyway, the atmosphere at Treehouse is really great – even down to the tree literally in the middle of the restaurant. A large bar, good beer and whiskey selection, and large outdoor patio make this a great place for grabbing drinks with friends. But is it a good place for ‘cue?

Monk: Somehow, I missed the tree in the middle of the restaurant. As for the food, the pork was not bad, with smokey pieces of bark mixed in with mostly moist pork. Not bad, but maybe a little on the bland side. The brisket, on the other hand, didn’t have the fat properly rendered and was poorly smoked. Just bad.

Speedy: The ribs were definitely baby backs, and a little on the small side. They were slathered in sauce and a little overcooked, making it hard to get a good bite. They did have a decent flavor, but not the best ribs in my opinion. The sausage had good flavor, but not enough snap to the casing. The flavor made up for that, though, and I’d order the sausage again. The wings were pretty good. In Charlotte, it’s pretty rare to find smoked wings instead of fried, so I really appreciate them when I can get them. These weren’t the best smoked wings, but worth re-ordering. While not barbecue, the buffalo shrimp were awesome.

Monk: The large plate came with a jalapeno cheddar biscuit but we ordered some skillet cornbread in order to get that fix. The tots and the slaw that came with the meal were standard, and of course Speedy stayed away from the mayo slaw.

Speedy: OK – enough ‘cue talk. Now we need to tell you about the Mont-dawg. The Mont-dawg was a super drunk golfer who was there with some friends after a round of golf earlier that day. He took a liking to our group, buying us a round of Fireball shots. However, he REALLY took a liking to a group of 16-year old girls sitting near us. While he didn’t buy them shots, he did ask them if they’d be willing to babysit his three kids. Mont-dawg also successfully guessed Monk’s real name, got left by his friends, ran off a waitress, refused us buying him a shot (because “y’all – I make a ton of money.”) I wish I could remember all the rest of the Mont-dawg quotes, but alas, there was too much. But big shout out to the Mont-dawg, wherever you are. This one’s for you…

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs (specifically because of Mont-dawg; your mileage may vary)
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 1.5 hogs
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Wings – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Southside Market & Barbeque – Elgin, TX

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Southside Market & Barbeque
Date: 10/24/15
Address: 1212 Hwy 290 E, Elgin, TX 78621
Order: Southside Combo Plate (Brisket & Sausage with Slaw and Mac & Cheese), 1 Slammer, Drink (link to menu)
Price: $17.00

The calendar said it was October and the car seat in the back said I was a dad, so I was required to take the obligatory trip to a pumpkin patch. Mrs. Rudy said buying a pumpkin at the grocery store was completely out of the question and that we must drive out to the country to get one. However she sold me with the idea of being able to go to Southside Market & Barbeque in Elgin, which is right outside of Austin.

Southside markets themselves as the oldest barbecue joint in Texas. It has a tremendous amount of history and has a great reputation. They ship sausages and other meats all over the country, so I was excited to try their barbecue. In my opinion, the reputation far exceeded what I actually experienced.

When you walk in, it feels very much like they are trying to get as many people through as possible. While that may mean more profit and more people eat their food, it also probably means that they do not have a huge focus on quality. There are two lines for barbecue and two enormous dining rooms for eating. Southside also feels very commercialized, with lots of options to buy their shirts, hats, sauces, rubs, and really anything you want with “Southside Market & Barbeque” printed on it. The two positives for their atmosphere, and why I rated it highly, was because of pallets of wood outside (showing that they are cooking over wood) and they have a very nice meat market/butcher there where you can go and get your own meat to cook at home. If I were wanting to cook my own brisket, ribs, or sausage, this is absolutely the place that I would go.

I ordered the Southside Combo Plate, which came with brisket and sausage, plus 2 sides. The brisket had almost no seasoning, there was a little bit of a smoke ring, but no bark and no flavor. The fat was not well rendered, which led me to believe it had been cooked much earlier and had just been sitting there staying warm for a while. Very disappointing. The sausage was better, but not by much. I believe they make their sausage in house, so there are some points for that. It had flavor from the meat, but was nothing great.

As far as sides, I got the slaw (non-mayo based for Speedy) and mac and cheese. They were probably the best part of the meal, but it was an easy hurdle to cover. I thought the mac and cheese was the best, but it’s hard to mess that up.

The last thing I tried was a special that they were advertising on the menu called “the Slammer”. It was a sausage, stuffed with cheese and a jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and smoked. They clearly had my attention. When it came, it was much like the brisket – room temperature and uninspiring. The cheese was hard and not melted while the bacon was not crisp at all, as if it had been cooked many hours earlier and left to sit. I am shocked that someone could mess up something that’s only ingredients are bacon, sausage, cheese, and jalapeno, but Southside Market managed to do just that.

I was completely looking forward to getting out to Elgin and trying Southside Market & Barbeque, however when you eat barbecue and the pumpkin patch is the highlight of the day, that’s not a good sign for the barbecue joint. Overall I’m glad I tried it and can mark it off the list, but I’m more happy that I didn’t make a special trip out just for it.

–Rudy

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Slammer – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs