3 hogs

Hursey’s Bar-B-Q – Burlington, NC

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

image
Name: Hursey’s Bar-B-Q
Date: 9/5/13
Address: 1834 South Church St., Burlington, NC 27215
Order: BBQ & Chicken combo platter with slaw, hush puppies, fries (link to menu)
Price: $6.70

My latest stop on the Historic NC Barbecue Trail was Hursey’s Bar-B-Q in Burlington, NC, a town familiar to anyone who regularly drives between Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and Greensboro or Charlotte. Not to be confused with the fast food version of this restaurant in Graham off I-85/I-40 (housed in what I believe is an old Hardee’s), this joint is off Church Street near downtown Burlington in a brick building where it has resided since 1960.

Burlington is located in the piedmont between Greensboro and Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill but Hursey’s cooks open pit eastern NC style barbecue with a slight kick to its vinegar sauce. It has a nice chop and moistness to it, but lacked a little smoke. The table side dip was nice, if not essential. I ordered the BBQ & chicken combo since it was the special of the day and lo and behold received a thigh and drum of fried chicken. Which was actually pretty good, just not exactly what I was expecting. I should have clarified with the waitress before ordering or just gotten only barbecue in the first place.

The hush puppies were little orbs cooked to golden brown perfection but what really set it off was that they were served with honey butter (!!). If you have ever had perfect hush puppies with honey butter, then you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t – well man, you just haven’t lived. The slaw was mayo based and average – not much to write about it. The fries were fries.

In keeping with the eastern NC theme, my wife got the BBQ & brunswick stew combo and found the brunswick stew to be disappointingly bad cooked with what tasted like store-bought vegetables. Which was unfortunate since for the most part we enjoyed our visit there.

Hursey’s is just a few minutes off the highway and worth checking out if you are heading from the Research Triangle towards Greensboro or Charlotte. Just don’t mess with the brunswick stew.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 Hogs
Pork – 3.5 Hogs
Sides – 2.5 Hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
Hursey's Bar-B-Q on Urbanspoon

Old Hickory House Restaurant – Charlotte, NC (CLOSED)

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

image

Name: Old Hickory House Restaurant
Date: 7/25/13
Location: 6538 N.Tryon St, Charlotte, NC, 28205
Order: Small pork plate with slaw and hush puppies (link to menu)
Bill: $11.19

In our review for Bill Spoon’s Barbecue, I stated that it is “pretty much the closest thing we have to a well-respected, old school barbecue joint.” Well, I may have misspoke a little bit because Old Hickory House Restaurant has been doing its own thing at its current location on North Tryon Street since 1956, 7 years before Bill Spoon’s even opened.

Despite its proximity to NoDa, it had actually been a number of years since I had eaten here. However, despite not remembering loving it at the time I was interested to see how it would stack up to the other Charlotte joints we have reviewed recently. In addition to its age, Old Hickory House does have a couple of things going for it – namely a wagon wheel-chic decor that looks like it hasn’t changed since it opened as well as the fact that you can see and smell the hickory smoke as soon as you open your car door in the parking lot.

Inside, I sat myself and ordered a very good sweet tea from the waitress (who has apparently been there for 15 years) and then a small pork plate with slaw and hush puppies. While waiting for my food, I couldn’t help but notice the small wood burning pit open for the entire dining room to see. I confirmed with the owner David Carter after my meal that he does cook over hickory logs and then also drove around back afterwards to check out the pile. So you see, its not just a clever name.

The meal comes quickly and one thing I hadn’t remembered was the side of Texas toast, a bit unusual for North Carolina. But ah, you see, this actually isn’t a North Carolina-style joint. According to Bob Garner’s Big Book of Barbecue, the Carter Family (who opened the restaurant in the 50’s and still run it today) has roots in Georgia and Alabama. So while you can order Brunswick stew, it won’t be North Carolina style. And while the slaw is mayo-based similar to eastern-style slaw, it contains dill instead of the normal pickle that eastern and Lexington have. And then you have the pork.

The pork itself is actually quite good, more minced than chopped and full of bark and smoke and moistness. But it is smothered in this peculiar reddish-brown barbecue sauce after it is spooned onto the plate which is a bit citrusy and tangy and unlike any sauce I’ve had before. And unfortunately, it isn’t really for me. I would have loved to have had the pork without the sauce (because from what I could tell it was really good) and if I ever go again I may ask for it on the side to use sparingly. The hush puppies were excellent and the slaw was pretty good. And I was fairly hungry so I ate the two slices of Texas toast provided.

All in all, not a bad meal at all. Just not the style of barbecue I usually prefer.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 Hogs
Pork – 3 Hogs
Sides – 3 Hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

Old Hickory House on Urbanspoon

Old Hickory House Restaurant on Foodio54

Sauceman’s – Charlotte, NC

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

image

Name: Sauceman’s
Date: 6/29/13
Location: 228 West Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203
Order: Monk: Chopped pork tray with red slaw, hush puppies; Speedy: full rack of ribs with red slaw, collards (link to menu)
Price: Monk: $8.50; Speedy: $20 (don’t worry, Monk got the beer)

Monk: Sauceman’s has been around for a few years (2009, to be exact), but gained some fame when pitmaster Zach Goodyear won the NC episode of “BBQ Pitmasters” that was filmed in Charlotte last fall and aired earlier this year. His win was made even more impressive when you add in the fact that he defeated two established pitmasters and joints in Sam Jones of the famed Skylight Inn in Ayden (est. 1947) and Debbie Holt of Clyde Cooper’s in Raleigh (est. 1938). I had actually visited the restaurant pre-blog, but was interested to visit again for a review with Speedy in tow for the first time since December (wow, weird).

Speedy: It was good to get back to a ‘cue joint with Monk, as that’s one of the pillars of our brohood. This was, in fact, my first trip to Sauceman’s. I wasn’t really expecting much, as I figured if it was really something to write home about (and I DO write home to Mama Speedy about great barbecue), I’d have tried it before. But still, exciting to check it out. I really liked the atmosphere. While the inside is a little difficult to navigate, with the register basically in the middle, Sauceman’s has a nice outdoor patio and is an enjoyable place to eat a meal. I was a little surprised by the menu, as it had more variety than I expected. Unfortunately, there was no combo plate, so Monk and I were basically limited to two meats. We ruled out the brisket and went with the all pig choices of chopped pork and ribs. We ordered and paid at the register, and the food was brought to our table, though our orders were not brought to us at the same time (or even close to it).

Monk: The pork at Sauceman’s is cooked Lexington style, which is a welcome sight for Charlotte where you seem to get every style except, despite its proximity to the actual town of Lexington. Unfortunately, the chopped pork on this night came out a little dry. And by “little” I mean “a lot.” Speedy and I posited that perhaps it had been sitting for a few hours underneath a heat lamp and dried out in the process. Once I added a combination of the Carolina Dip and Love & Smoke sauces from the table, the moisture returned and the pork became passable. But still, it was a little disappointing. I’d be curious to see how different it would be if I came earlier in the day, say for lunch. So Speedy, in terms of the ribs I thought these were quite good but how do you think they stack up with other ribs in Charlotte?

Speedy: The ribs were very good. They were tender, but not to the point to where they fell off the bone – you could get a good bite. They were also perfectly sauced. They weren’t the best ribs I’ve ever had by any means, but they probably stack up against any I’ve had in Charlotte – on par with Queen City Q and Midwood Smokehouse. I enjoyed them quite a bit more than the pork.

Monk: I liked the large spherical hush puppies more than Speedy. It had a thick crust of fried batter which put him off but I dug it as well as the sweetness of the puppy. The slaw was a red slaw but came coarsely chopped. And finally, the collards were quite good. All in all, I’d say the sides added to the meal as opposed to detracting from it. Unfortunately we did not get the sugar biscuits, which I had in my previous visit and were quite good.

Speedy: Agreed that the sides were good, which was a nice change of pace from the ‘cue I’ve been eating lately. Overall, I’d say I enjoyed the meal at Sauceman’s, despite being sorely disappointed by the pork. I’m not sure I’ll go back – there are a couple other places in Charlotte I prefer, but I’m glad I got to try it. The lesson learned here is that you may get one shot with the Barbecue Bros, so you better bring it!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

image

image

image

image

image

Sauceman's on Urbanspoon

Sauceman's on Foodio54

Jack Cobb & Son – Farmville, NC

/ Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

image

Name: Jack Cobb & Son Barbecue Place
Date: 6/23/13
Location: 3883 South Main Street, Farmville, NC
Order: Combo plate with chopped barbecue, chicken leg, slaw, collards, and hush puppies
Bill: $10.75

Speedy: So the whole extended Speedy clan decided to go out to the Outer Banks for a week of vacation, giving me a great excuse to visit the eastern part of NC and check out some eastern NC barbecue. I used the NC Barbecue Trail as my guide to help me pick where to eat.

Monk: Good call…we have to get to our goal of reviewing every stop on the trail before the end of 2013 somehow.

Speedy: First off, let me say this – Farmville is in the middle of nowhere.

Monk: Wait, you’re telling me a town called “Farmville” isn’t in the middle of a bustling urban metropolis? Shocking.

Speedy: And Jack Cobb and Son fits the bill of a place you’d expect to see in the middle of nowhere. The building is on a large plot of land and appears a bit run down. You can see the smokehouse in the back, which didn’t appear to be running when I arrived (around 1 pm). Walking in to the building, I got sort of a school cafeteria feel. You place your order at the counter and your meal is spooned from large vats of pork/slaw/etc. I imagine the food was prepared early that morning, but I don’t have anything to base that off of. As I said, the smokehouse was not going when I was there.

Monk: Based on the speed with how most barbecue joints serve up their food, I imagine this happens behind the scenes in the kitchen but its a little odd for it to be right in front of you.

Speedy: The first thing I noticed when driving up and walking in is that there’s nowhere to eat. Despite being on a decent size plot of land and in a big building, Jack Cobb is strictly take out. As I was a few hours from my destination – this posed a problem. I initially tried to eat on a tree stump in front of the building, but when it started raining, I ended up eating in my car. I don’t understand why a few tables couldn’t be set up inside or some picnic tables set up outside. This bothered me greatly – probably more than it should have.

Monk: I can understand why you were annoyed since the situations combined to kind of put you out, but are you seriously going to ding a take-out only place for being what it probably always has been? Wait, I know the answer to this…

Speedy: Monk, it’s my review and I’ll rate how I want to. Anyhow, I decided to get a combo plate so I could sample both the pork and the chicken. It came with hushpuppies and two sides, which I chose slaw and collards. Normally, I wouldn’t bother with ordering chicken as well, but the combo plate gives you a choice of breast or leg (I chose leg), so I was more intrigued than if it were just pulled or chopped chicken.

Monk: Bold strategy, Speedy. I think this is the first time I can remember either of us ordering chicken from a barbecue joint in North Carolina that wasn’t chicken wings. Let’s see if it pays off…

Speedy: The food was served quickly, in large portions, and very reasonably priced (note: the barbecue sandwich is only $3). I first dug into the pork, which was very good. It was eastern style, chopped well, was tender, moist, and with good flavor. Definitely the highlight of the meal. The plate came with a small side of extra vinegar based sauce, but I didn’t really need it.

Monk: So far, so good…

Speedy: The chicken was incredibly tender – maybe even too much so. When I picked up the chicken leg, all of the meat literally came off the bone. I was a little disappointed in the flavor. The chicken didn’t seem flavored at all and was just OK. Definitely could’ve used some seasoning or rub. The slaw was vinegary, but lacked the tang that I like and the collards were somewhat flavorless.

Monk: And there it is…this kind of reinforces my thought to just plainly avoid ordering barbecue chicken whatsoever.

Speedy: All in all, I enjoyed the pork, but not really the rest of the food or the experience. And while the pork was very good, it still lacked behind Lexington #1 or Allen & Son. Based on the location, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Jack Cobb.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 0 hogs (yes – 0 hogs!)
Pork – 4 hogs
Chicken – 2 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs (all because of the pork)

image

image

image

image

image