chopped pork

Name: Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Date: 7/28/12
Location: 5524 South Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: Monk: Daily Special – small barbecue plate with hush puppies, mustard slaw, mac and cheese, sweet tea; Speedy: Large BBQ special – hush puppies, mustard slaw, onion rings (link to menu)
Bill: Monk – $10; Speedy – $11.50

Monk: In terms of Charlotte, Bill Spoon’s Barbecue is pretty much the closest thing we have to a well-respected, old school barbecue joint. Since 1963, first Bill Spoon himself and now his grandson Steve Jr. has been cooking whole hog, eastern-style NC barbecue on South Blvd. Which in itself is a bit odd considering Charlotte is much closer to Lexington than it is to the eastern part of the state. Nevertheless, despite having lived in Charlotte since 2005 and being well aware of this place, this past weekend was my first visit to Bill Spoon’s. Inside, it definitely looks the part of a proper barbecue joint with wood-paneled walls, white and yellow checked table cloths, and zero frills.

Speedy: Bill Spoon’s has several things on the menu – chicken tenders, fried flounder, etc, but the only real barbecue items are the pulled pork (the signature dish) and the chicken. The restaurant is well respected in Charlotte, with people mentioning it frequently when barbecue comes up in conversation. Like Monk, I had not been despite living in the city for six years, even though it was always on my list of places to try. This sweltering Saturday seemed like as good a time as any.

Monk: Mrs. Monk and I were a few minutes late but before we had arrived so the table could order, Speedy and our other friends had already gotten the first of several baskets of hush puppies (many times fresh out of the deep fryer). That’s right, bottomless made-from-scratch hush puppies – just say the word and they will bring you baskets on baskets on baskets. And that is definitely a beautiful thing – especially when they are as good as the ones here.

Rudy: Whenever a place does this I first get excited…then I start to think they want me to fill up on these and distract me from the barbecue. Hopefully you were able to stay on track and get your fill on the meat.

Monk: *pfft* Please, we aren’t amateurs here.

Speedy: Bill Spoon’s cooks whole hog, which is different than my preferred shoulder-only sampling. However, it’s hard to find too much to complain about when talking about the pork I was served at Bill Spoon’s. It had good flavor, was tender, and had a nice hint of smoke. Overall, I was pleased, though I’m not sure it lived up to some of the accolades I’ve heard from people in Charlotte (who obviously have not been to Lexington).

Monk: The barbecue at Bill Spoon’s doesn’t necessarily need the eastern NC vinegar sauce found on each table, but as a good sauce should, it enhances the pork nicely. I agree that it had good smoke, no doubt attributable to the smokehouse out back.

Speedy: Agreed. I also added some Texas Pete to mine to get a little bit of a kick. None of the sides got me too excited, unless you count the hushpuppies. But Monk, tell them about the slaw…

Monk: Bill Spoon’s is unique in that it actually serves a mustard-based slaw (with some vinegar), as opposed to the typical red vinegar slaw or white mayonnaise slaw. Our disdain for mustard sauce is well documented here, but this was the first time I had seen or even heard of a mustard slaw. I probably liked it a little more than Speedy, but we both agreed that it was better than mayonnaise slaw but not nearly as good as red slaw.

Rudy: I don’t get why places feel they need to put their spin on something as basic as slaw. Just do it the way it’s always made and do it well.

Speedy: The slaw confused me more than anything else. I thought it was OK, but I didn’t feel the need to finish it, like I do with a good red slaw. I wasn’t disappointed in the meal at all, but I feel if you focus your smoking on one item, you should do it really, really well. I don’t think that was the case here, even though the pork was good. If definitely does not supplant Midwood Smokehouse as my favorite ‘cue joint in Charlotte.

Monk: For whatever reason, it took me over 7 years to make my first trip to Bill Spoon’s. Though I will always prefer Lexington style, with its solid, eastern NC barbecue I expect that it will be much, much sooner than 7 years for me to make a return trip.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Chopped Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Name: Speedy’s Barbecue Inc.
Date: 7/14/2012
Location: 1317 Winston Road, Lexington, NC 27295
Order: Barbecue tray – Chopped pork, fries, barbecue slaw, hushpuppies
Bill: $8.50

Speedy: With Monk fresh back from a two week barbecue hiatus, we decided it would be best to hit one of the heavy hitters for our next barbecue experience. As such, we took a day trip up to Lexington to visit Speedy’s Barbecue Inc. Speedy’s sits just off Business 85 in Lexington in an unassuming brick building. It looks exactly what you’d expect a traditional barbecue joint to look like – complete with a smokehouse attached to the back. The front is adorned with a sign advertising Speedy’s as the “Best BBQ Anywhere” on one side and displaying their motto “Quality, Quantity, and Quick Service.”

Monk: So while I enjoyed the meal, I did a little research afterwards and learned that apparently Speedy’s cooks with electricity. This may explain the lack of smokiness (links here and here).

Rudy: I know this is a legendary place, but how do we feel about it being cooked with electricity? I want to say that I don’t care as long as the taste is there. But it is still hard to get so much quality from electricity instead of a smoker. I feel like the electricity is cheating. I saw a show on tv the other day where a barbecue place reheated their ribs in a microwave when they were ordered. Blasphemy.

Speedy: I’m a little dubious to the links mentioned above. While I trust the BBQ Jew, he only states that it’s not wood-burning. The other link is just a comment. Either way, electric smokers can produce good meat and the smokiness can be achieved by using hickory wood chips. I myself own an electric smoker (though as soon as I have a yard, I’ll be purchasing a big green egg). So while it’s not the best, I can’t hate too much on the electricity, if that is in fact accurate.

Monk: Ideally, I think barbecue should be cooked low-and-slow over burning wood. But the reality is, in North Carolina these days that is the exception rather than the rule (apparently something like 99% use gas or electricity, according to this interview with NC Barbecue Society founder Jim Early). In any case, barbecue was at the top of my list of things to eat as soon as I got back from my vacation abroad. So this quick road trip to Lexington was a perfect way to get some good barbecue and visit a spot that I hadn’t visited before. So Speedy, my question for you is how pumped were you to go to your namesake restaurant?

Speedy: I suppose I was pretty excited. Honestly, I probably haven’t been in ten years, because with Lex #1 just a mile or so away, there’s really no reason to go anywhere else in Lexington. I think it used to be open on Sundays (though apparently it is not anymore), which would give a reason to go. I do remember it being good, and for the sake of our readers, we thought it important to review as many places as possible. Of course I was super pumped to eat Lexington style barbecue (aka “the best style”).

Monk: The inside of Speedy’s is adorned with movie and tv posters from all eras, some of which are autographed, and is kind of kitschy in a non-pretentious way. We were seated with no wait and happened to be seated in front of a “Friends” poster with a cast-signed photo. A good sign, I guess?

Speedy: Sitting down and talking to the waitress was pretty amusing. She automatically assumed we were tourists – probably due to Monk’s incessant photo taking.

Rudy: I guess he wasn’t fully acclimated back from vacation yet.

Monk: …c’mon, it wasn’t that bad…

Speedy: She asked us if we had any questions and explained that they had a “local drink” called Cheerwine. Monk and I played along for a bit, though I did try to amp up my southern drawl to let her know it wasn’t my first rodeo. I think once we ordered, she realized that we were no amateurs.

Rudy: There you go with the Cheerwine stuff again. I have grown a huge appreciation for my new Texas barbecue, but they have nothing to compare to that. Just keep rubbing it in my face.

Monk: I feel like this kind of thing has happened a few times. Maybe we need someone to announce our arrival at each spot so folks know we aren’t messing around – whether it’s the difference between Eastern and Western NC barbecue or telling us what Cheerwine is. Nevertheless, I went to the bathroom and when I came back our order had already arrived – literally 2 minutes after we had ordered. Talk about “quick service” – the third “Q.”

Speedy: So Speedy’s is not just a clever name.

Monk: Excellent.

Speedy: The second “Q” mentioned in Speedy’s mantra is quantity and boy they aren’t kidding. The plate came piled high with plenty of pork, slaw and fries – too much for even a seasoned barbecue eater such as myself to finish. The pork is chopped fine, not pulled, which I personally prefer. It’s moist and tender and downright delicious. The waitress brought out an extra cup of dip (that’s Lexington for “sauce,” y’all) for us, and we did end up using it, though it probably wasn’t necessary. I like to add a little Texas Pete to my ‘cue as well, giving it a little bite and helping make sure it’s not dry. If I do have one complaint, it’s that the ‘cue did not have a noticeable smoke flavor. It’s easy to overdo it with smokiness, but I do think the hint of it is important. This is a minor thing, though, and I enjoyed the pork very much.

Monk: One thing I especially love about going to a proper barbecue restaurant is that the sides are choices in addition to hush puppies (aka “the way it should be”). We both went with fries and barbecue slaw – pretty standard for both of us. The hush puppies were pretty much spot on, the barbecue slaw was vinegary with a slight pepper kick as it should be, and the fries – well they were fries. I really didn’t eat too many of them since unlike Speedy, I was able to actually finish my huge portion of barbecue.

Rudy: I’m a little embarrassed that happened, and that he admitted to it. If anything needs to be sacrificed, it is sides and not the meat.

Speedy: I will say this, I thought the slaw could have been a little colder. I really like the contrast of hot ‘cue and cold slaw when eating a proper barbecue plate. The taste and chop were good, but the temperature left me a little lacking.

Monk: So while the barbecue “quality” (the first “Q”) was definitely strong-to-very-strong (albeit a notch or two below, say, Lexington #1), we can’t give it higher marks due to the lack of smoke flavor. But in a pinch, Speedy’s will definitely do. And they take credit cards, which isn’t always a given at these mom and pop barbecue joints.

Speedy: Overall, I was really pleased with my meal. It’s not the “best barbecue anywhere,” as advertised on the sign. Hell, it’s not even the best barbecue within a square mile. But it is pretty damn good. Did Monk and I drive an hour each way for a ten minute meal? Yes we did. Do either of us regret it even a little bit? Nope.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs