2 hogs

Pappy’s Old Fashioned BBQ – Spartanburg, SC

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Name: Pappy’s Old Fashioned BBQ
Date: 4/5/14
Address: 1982 Chesnee Hwy, Spartanburg, SC 29303
Order: BBQ plate with red slaw, hush puppies, and sweet tea; “white velvet” cake for dessert (link to menu)
Price: $11.75

Monk: Well, I’ve hit a first in my barbecue blogging experience. Something I had heard dirty rumors of but never thought I would see myself. This past weekend I encountered a modern convenience which has revolutionized home cooking but has no place in a proper barbecue joint. Yep, I’m talking about a microwave.

Speedy: But was it an old fashioned microwave? (Sorry, I had to…)

Rudy: Was it at least a dirty microwave that could be considered “seasoned”?

Monk: Not even close, guys. Pappy’s Old Fashioned BBQ started out promising enough. It’s housed in a small roadside shack in Spartanburg, SC with a standalone smokehouse and a sizable woodpile out back. Order at a counter and you’re set. Or at least that’s what I thought.

Now to say that it was a slow lunch hour for a Saturday would be an understatement. There was one family who ordered takeout before us but once they left we were the only customers dining in the restaurant. However, for some reason our order took awhile to come out.

As I went to refill my sweet tea I noticed one of the owners shoveling barbecue out of a large aluminum pan into a paper boat and warming it in the microwave. And this had to be done 4 times for our group. A few minutes later once our plates were finally brought out to us, I noticed that the warmed over barbecue had good chunks of bark and smokiness but was really dry. I can’t understand why the owners would go the trouble of splitting logs and cooking over wood but storing the barbecue in large aluminum foil pans in the refrigerator. Based on the bark and smokiness, I can only guess that had the moisture and tenderness matched it I would have been impressed. Instead, I could only guess. There was a variety of sauces – vinegar, mild sweet, medium hot, and hot – and even that didn’t help too much.

Rudy: Any chance the logs and smokehouse were just props to lure in suckers (if so, it worked)?  Because I would agree there is no use in going through all that work for just a microwave.

Monk: I don’t think so – the bark on the pork was too smoky for those logs to just be for show. Though you never can tell in South Carolina…

The red slaw was a nice surprise on the menu and was passable. The hush puppies were a favorite of my in-laws, who said it reminded them of a joint called Bob Petty’s Oakwood Drive-In in Greensboro that went out of business many years ago, and I thought they were pretty good myself. There was a “white velvet” cake on the menu that was made that morning, so my curiosity got the best of me and I ordered dessert. It was a decent sheet cake, but I was a little disappointed based on the name.

Had Pappy’s Old Fashioned BBQ done some things differently, I could see it being a hidden gem of a joint just off 85 in upstate South Carolina. Too bad that didn’t turn out to be the case.

Speedy: I have nothing more to add other than to say the only reason to waste our time on this review is to warn people not to go. A microwave is completely and utterly unacceptable. Speedy’s rating: 0 hogs.

Monk (whispering): Shhh, don’t anyone tell Speedy he doesn’t really get his own ratings…

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 1.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs

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Pappys Old Fashioned BBQ on Urbanspoon

Jake’s Good Eats – Charlotte, NC

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Name: Jake’s Good Eats
Date: 2/28/14
Address: 12721 Albemarle Rd Charlotte, NC 28227
Order: Pit smoked barbeque plate with white slaw, Texas toast, pasta salad, Yuengling (link to menu)
Price: $12

While not a true barbecue joint, Jake’s Good Eats is a southern restaurant that serves barbecue among other southern staples like fried bologna, fried flounder, and meatloaf. It is housed in an old historic Gulf gas station and has been featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” so there’s that.

Now I don’t normally find myself in east Charlotte outside of 485, but I happened to be buying a bicycle via Craigslist nearby and had 30 minutes to kill. Naturally, I can’t help myself if there’s even a chance of barbecue (just ask my wife), so I stopped in to try it and have a beer.

The barbecue is eastern style with a slight kick but I found it to be too moist, almost as if it was cooked in a crock pot (whatever it was cooked in, its definitely roast pork). It certainly wasn’t cooked in a smoker, because there was zero smoke to it. Other than the slaw (a white slaw at that), the other sides weren’t really barbecue sides but were average.

It may seem harsh to judge Jake’s Good Eats based solely on its barbecue, but that’s kind of what I do. If I were judging it as a whole, I would be much more favorable as it does have a lot of things going for it in a part of Charlotte that (I’m assuming) doesn’t have much of a food scene. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend going solely for the barbecue.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs

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Jake's Good Eats on Urbanspoon

Live Oak Barbecue – Austin, TX

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Name: Live Oak Barbecue
Date: 1/20/14
Address: 2713 East 2nd St, Austin TX 78702
Order: ¾ pound of moist brisket, tea (link to menu)
Price: $11.50

Rudy: “I hope you want brisket”

Monk: Wait, wait, wait a minute…is that really Rudy? The prodigal Barbecue Bro has returned!?!?

Rudy: …yes Monk, I’m still here. Just been a little busy. Anyways…

That was how I was greeted when I entered Live Oak, and as a matter of fact, that was exactly what I was in the mood for. Which was a good thing, because they had sold out of everything else by the time I had arrived. This was the 2nd time I had attempted to eat at Live Oak. The first time, they were sold out of everything.

Walking into Live Oak, you feel like you are in an old hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint. Picnic tables with rolls of paper towels on them, chalkboard menu, and tea and lemonade in a plastic ‘serve yourself’ stand. It feels like barbecue and it smells like barbecue, so I had high hopes for the brisket. I was sorely mistaken. The cut that I got was from the end of the brisket, which is normally the best part because of all the flavor that you get from the bark. But there was no flavor. It just tasted like burnt meat. There seemed to be no seasoning whatsoever added to the meat. Add to the blandness, much of the meat tasted dry. This was not the experience that I was expecting, especially with how often and how fast they tend to sell out.

Monk: Interesting. Normally, selling out of meat is a good sign for a joint…clearly that didn’t seem to be the case here.

Rudy: I did not get any sides, because the only one they had was baked beans, and I am not a baked bean fan. So, I’d like to say that this review is only a partial review and that I would need to go back to give a full opinion. However, with all of the great places nearby to get great barbecue, I can’t see justifying going back again after the brisket that I had.

Monk: We received a reader question a few months back asking if we go to a place three times before reviewing, and the long and short of Speedy’s answer was: “Hell naw, I ain’t got time to waste with bad barbecue.” Seems like that applies here.

Rudy: I agree. I think it depends on how much promise (if any) you see in your first visit. Do you need to put your hand on the hot stove 3 times before you realize it’s a bad idea? The best thing going for Live Oak is their atmosphere. Not just inside, but they also have plenty of outside seating on 2 patios. It would be a great place to go on a warm day with friends to enjoy barbecue. But you might want to get there early, otherwise you might get stuck with some disappointing brisket.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 Hogs
Brisket – 1 Hog
Overall – 2 Hogs

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Live Oak Barbecue on Urbanspoon

JJR’s BBQ Shack – Charlotte, NC

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Name: JJR’s BBQ Shack
Date: 12/22/13
Address: Bank of America Stadium, 800 S Mint St, Charlotte, NC 28202
Order: Pulled pork sandwich
Price: $8

Monk: Speedy and I are in the second year of being Carolina Panthers season ticket holders, so I figured we should at least check out the lone barbecue option at the stadium even if expectations weren’t very high going in. So for the last home game of the regular season, we decided to finally check out JJR’s BBQ Shack, named in honor of Jerry Richardson, founder/owner of the Carolina Panthers. And it came out about as expected. The pork, while it did have a good texture to it, lacked moisture and smoke, even in the bark. It absolutely required additional sauce from the condiments area of the concourse, which I neglected to add before heading to my seat. Speedy, I know you don’t have much more to add, but what say you?

Speedy: For my order, I initially asked what the “double stack” was, assuming it was a combo brisket-pork sandwich. I was told by the guy up front just to order it, only to find out that it was really just a pulled pork sandwich with extra pork, bacon, and nacho cheese. Due to my intolerance of dairy, my desire to avoid cardiac arrest, and the fact that it looked disgusting, I quickly backtracked from the order and switched to the normal pulled pork sandwich. Monk’s description above is spot on – there’s not much more to say about it. I did have a bite of Papa Speedy’s brisket sandwich, which I thought was slightly better. It came sliced and lightly sauced, which I think was the difference. Still though, I won’t be rushing back to try it again.

In fact, I think for the PLAYOFFS…

Monk: PLAYOFFS?!?!

Speedy: …Monk and I might just have to make our own ‘cue. Until then, keep pounding!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – N/A
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – N/A
Overall – 2 Hogs

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