chicken

Jack Cobb & Son – Farmville, NC

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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)

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The Pit – Raleigh, NC

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Name: The Pit
Date: 9/8/12
Location: 328 W. Davie St., Raleigh, NC
Order: Appetizer: Sampler plate with chopped pork, pulled pork, baby back ribs, spare ribs, beef brisket, barbecue chicken, mac & cheese, collards, hush puppies, biscuits. Main course: Family style meal with fried green tomatoes, BBQ soul rolls, chopped pork, baby back ribs, sweet potato fries, black eyed peas, and some sort of dessert (link to menu)
Bill: ~$20/person

Speedy: As Monk mentioned in the previous post, we were in Raleigh for the weekend, so of course we had to stop by The Pit for lunch. I feel like the first thing I need to do is explain the order, as we ate A LOT of food. Well, here’s how that went down:

We were joined by our buddies Sus (who previously ate with us when we reviewed Mac’s Speed Shop and Bill Spoon’s) and J-Twice (who accompanied me on my visit to Smoke on the Water). As we like to do, Monk and I took control of the order, telling the waiter we wanted to sample a bunch of different types of meats. He told us he could put together a sampler platter, even though it wasn’t on the lunch menu, allowing us to try everything we really needed to sample. Now the sampler had a good amount of food, but not enough for four grown ass men to feel satisfied, so when we finished that, our other waiter (The Pit serves tables in teams) told us about the family style option – which, for $20 per person, gives the table two appetizers, three sides, desserts for everyone, and an unlimited amount of two meats. This caused my jaw to drop and to say, “Woah woah woah! Why didn’t anyone tell us about this earlier? DON’T YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE? WE’RE THE BARBECUE BROS!” (OK, I didn’t say that last part.) Well, the waiter then said the best thing anyone has ever said to me by telling us that he would just consider our sampler as part of family style meal.

Rudy: I feel like this lack of attention to detail should be a knock against them. How do you later say “oh yeah, if you wanted we could have given you as much meat as you could shove down your throats… if you would be interested in that at all.”

Monk: Talk about coming through in the clutch. Clearly, we would have gone family style if we knew that was an option. Once the family style portions came out, we dug into the unlimited pork and baby back ribs. The pork was whole hog, eastern NC style and was definitely above average. The ribs were probably the favorite at the table (or maybe it was just J-Twice, who was a fiend for these guys), but overall I preferred the pork.

Speedy: I actually also thought the brisket was very good, and was disappointed that we couldn’t have a third meat for family style. It was a good mix of lean and fatty, sliced just right, tender, and flavorful. No sauce required for this meat – as the tangy flavor rose from within. The chicken was fine, but I wouldn’t ever order it here – there’s just too many better options.

Rudy: I see this alot here in Texas, where places offer chicken. I like barbecued chicken just fine, but rarely would I ever ever order it at a barbecue restaurant. I feel like it is a waste of an item.  I pretty much rule that out as soon as I see it on the menu.

Monk: I’m not sure I even tried the chicken. One great thing about family style at The Pit is unlimited hush puppies and biscuits (though I didn’t try the biscuits either). Our three sides were heirloom cabbage collards, black eyed peas, and sweet potato fries. The collards were really quite good but I didn’t really partake of the others. If you are noticing a trend here, it’s that we ordered a crap ton of food and by the end I was super stuffed. OH, and I haven’t even mentioned the appetizers we got as part of the family style deal! One of which was fried green tomatoes served with goat cheese and a red pepper vinaigrette. These guys were legit, but I’m of the mindset that there’s not too much that goat cheese can’t improve.

Speedy: There’s one more thing I really need to talk about here: the BBQ Soul Rolls. Basically, what these are are oversized egg rolls stuffed with chopped pork, collards, and candied carrots and they are AMONG THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH.

Monk: *resisting urge to make the easy joke*

Speedy: Seriously – these Soul Rolls are not invented by man – they are invented by God through man. If you go to The Pit and don’t order the Soul Rolls, not only are you missing out on a little piece of heaven, you’re kind of dumb.

Rudy: I have never heard of anything like this, but I am automatically jealous.  It sounds amazing.

Monk: The Pit is part of the Empire Eats restaurant group in Raleigh, and for that reason is frankly a little swanky for a barbecue spot. It is located in a huge, modern space in an old warehouse that has several large dining areas as well as a bar upfront. We got there a little early for lunch on Saturday, and by the time we left the place was pretty packed. In any case, my first trip to The Pit was a great success. Although they no longer have the famed original pitmaster Ed Mitchell (they parted ways in early 2011), they still cook pretty legit eastern NC style ‘cue.

Speedy: Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to The Pit – a place I hadn’t been to in over a year. I loved being to sample such a variety of food and I LOVE the family style option. If I lived in Raleigh, I think this would be my go-to barbecue place. My only regret was that I didn’t have room in my stomach to eat more.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance –  3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Chicken – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
BBQ Soul Rolls – 5 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs
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Smokey Mtn BBQ & Grill – Bristol, VA

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Name:  Smokey Mtn. BBQ & Grill
Date: 7/10/2012
Location: Exit 7 Linden Dr., Bristol, VA
Order: Combo platter (pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken), ribs, okra, hushpuppies (link to menu)
Bill: ribs (1/2 rack) – $10; Combo Platter (included two sides) – $10; sides included

Speedy: Before I start this review, I just want to lay a few things out. Yes, I was eating by myself. Yes, I ordered a boatload of food. But I had to try everything for the review, right? It wouldn’t be right to just do a partial review? DON’T JUDGE ME!

Rudy:  Oh we can judge… but as a barbecue blog, we ought to judge why you didn’t order more.

Speedy: Phew. I feel better. Now that that’s out of the way, on to the review. Smokey Mtn. BBQ & Grill sits just off Highway 81 on the Virginia side of the city of Bristol, which is split between Virginia and Tennessee. I’m not really sure why people would come to Bristol outside of NASCAR races, but I find myself up here quite frequently – at least until this blog gets huge and the Barbecue Bros are offered their own show on Food Network. But anyhoo, right off the highway, you’ll see a gas stations and right behind that sits Smokey Mtn. BBQ and Grill. Honestly, it kind of looks like a dump. It is in its stand-alone building, but the structure just isn’t that impressive. The inside is well lit with plenty of space and a few tables for seating. To order, you go up-front and order at the counter and take your seat and the food is brought to you. I understand that dive ‘cue shacks are often the best in terms of food, but this building just doesn’t seem like your traditional old-timey ‘cue joint.

I chose to sample all of the meats for this meal. I had eaten at Smokey Mtn BBQ before but had only had the brisket and pork. Turns out I was skipping out on the better meats. The chicken was chopped and smoked and served with sauce on the side. You could definitely taste the smoke in the chicken and it was tender and with good flavor. The sauce choices are either spicy or mild and they are tomato based sauces, similar to western-style NC sauces. I think the sauce actually works best on the chicken.

Rudy: I tend to shy away from chicken or turkey because I find most places’ are dry. I usually go with other meats that I find consistently better. Good to hear the chicken was done well here.

Speedy: Generally, I’m the same way, but like I said, I was all about variety and literally eating as much food as humanly possible.

The ribs are also quite good. My biggest complaint about the ribs is that they are actually too tender, as you could pick up a bone and lose all the meat. They’re served wet – pretty heavily covered in sauce (again – either spicy or mild). I think the ribs would’ve been better with a little less sauce, actually, and maybe a more noticeable rub prior to smoking. Overall, though, I think the ribs are definitely worth ordering.

The pork, on the other hand, is a little disappointing. It’s a little dry and absolutely has to be sauced. In my opinion, the sauce doesn’t work quite right with the pork. I think it would be a lot better if there was a vinegar or Lexington style sauce option, as the pork is tender enough and pulled nicely – it just lacking moisture and sufficient flavor.

The brisket had a little more flavor but also was a little dry – requiring the sauce, though not as badly as the pork. It also could definitely stand to be a little more tender, as it was slightly rubbery. All in all, the brisket was better than a lot of brisket I’ve had, but I won’t go out of my way to have it again.
The sides are fine – nothing great, but they have all the staples. Of course the slaw is mayo-based, but at least they have hushpuppies.

Rudy: Nothing sounds too great here. When chicken is the only thing to write home about, you don’t have a top notch barbecue place in my opinion.

Speedy: I wouldn’t write home about the chicken either. Mama Speedy would be all “SON – I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN TO ORDER CHICKEN AT A BARBECUE RESTAURANT” and I would have to go to my room next time I visited my parents. But you’re right – not a top-notch barbecue experience.

Overall, if you happen to be driving through the Tri-Cities, Tennessee area and are craving barbecue, you could do worse than stopping at Smokey Mtn BBQ, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 1.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hog
Chicken – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

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