Name: Bar-B-Que House
Date: 8/19/16
Address: 5002 East Oak Island Dr., Oak Island, NC 28465
Order: Medium chopped pork tray, red slaw, brunswick stew, hush puppies, and drink (link to menu)
Price: ~$14

Monk: On our recent family vacation, I promised Mrs Monk that we only had to eat at one barbecue restaurant (not that there is a ton of options right at the coast anyways). In Oak Island, there is really only one option and that is Bar-B-Que House, the self-proclaimed “best barbecue on the beach” with additional locations in North Myrtle and Surfside Beach. There was a bit of a wait on the Friday night that we came in, so it’s clearly a pretty popular place with the locals and tourists.

As for my order, the chopped pork had some bark but overall was pretty bland despite the chunks of bark mixed in. Perhaps more rub was needed. As a result, the pork was more or less naked and required the addition of one of the sauces – mustard, Lexington, eastern, “house”, and “spicy house”. I tried both the Lexington and eastern and found the pork passable once they were mixed in.

In keeping with having it both ways, red slaw and white slaw are both an option, and I found the red slaw to be a decent version. Being that it was late August and 90+ degrees out, Brunswick stew probably didn’t make the most sense but I have decided that I need to expand my limited knowledge when it comes to Brunswick stew. This was an inauspicious start – while the stew had good flavor, the veggies used had clearly been frozen. Each plate comes with 4 hush puppies, and I stole more from the Monkette’s plate that she wasn’t going to eat anyways.

So Bar-B-Que House isn’t a bad option per se if you are in the Oak Island/Holden Beach area. However, if you are up the road in Southport I’ve found Southport Smokehouse to be a better barbecue option at the beach.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs