Matthews

Linkdown: 8/12/15

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– Move over Austin, Is Houston the hottest barbecue market in Texas?

– The Drawn Cutlass has a review of the new Queen City Q location in Matthews

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Rib & Loin in Hixson, TN

– This “complete” list of Charlotte food trucks includes several we’ve reviewed – Smoke & Go, OooWee BBQ, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que – but  of the writing of this post somehow omits the best of the bunch, Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen

– Downtown Charleston is getting its 8th barbecue restaurant soon, Poogan’s Smokehouse

– Speaking of new barbecue joints coming to Charleston, Charleston Magazine has a quick conversation with John Lewis (via)

– Well?

– Johnny Fugitt’s top 25 barbecue restaurants (as detailed in The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America) here

– TMBBQ has their list of a few more influential barbecue pitmasters that just happen to be black in response to this list of all white barbecue pitmasters and personalities

– Speaking of TMBBQ, Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt researches 40 years of lists from the publication

– Charlotte’s South End neighborhood is getting a Korean barbecue restaurant called Seoul Food Meat Market in the coming months, and the description is somewhat reminiscent of Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta

Esthetically, it will look like American traditional Southern barbecue ribs: It will look the same but it will taste like Korean food.” So beef ribs will be seasoned as the Korean kalbi and bulgogi, pork ribs like the Korean spicy pork, slaw will be kimchi slaw, and wings will be fried, but in rice bran oil, making them healthier, and crunchier, than most, says Chun.

 

Linkdown: 8/5/15

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– Food and Wine has must-see spots to check out in Charlotte if you only have a day, and Midwood Smokehouse makes the list

6 p.m.: Midwood Smokehouse. No trip to the South is complete without a stop for BBQ and Midwood Smokehouse is easily the best joint in Charlotte. People swear by the pulled pork and ribs, but I can’t get over the brisket and burnt ends. Temper your animalistic cravings, though – this is just a stop for hors d’oeuvres.

– Follow the SC Trail to Fort Mill BBQ Co.

– ICYMI, Queen City Q’s second location is now open in Matthews

– 10 joints in NC that will “leave your mouth watering”; three Triad joints make the list as does two Triangle joints

– Vote for the NC barbecue trail in the 10 Best’s Best Food Trail poll

– Baltimore City Paper’s BBQ issue is online and it includes an article on how pit beef became a symbol of barbecue

– Remember the salmonella outbreak at Lexington’s Tarheel Q? Well, they now face a wrongful death lawsuit as a result of it

– The Fayetteville Observer has 5 eastern joints where NC is an art

– A classic SC joint goes Texas with brisket

– From Ricky Scott (as opposed to Rodney)

Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que – Matthews, NC (RE-REVIEW)

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Name: Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que
Location: 111 Matthews Station St, Matthews, NC 28105
Date: 6/28/15
Order: Monk: pork platter with two ribs, collards, and jalapeno cheese grits; Speedy: smoked wings, ribs platter with collards and Brunswick stew (link to menu)
Price: Monk: $17; Speedy: $20

Monk: As we’ve hit most of the Charlotte-area joints, you may start to notice that from time to time there will be some re-reviewing of joints that only one of us hit up the first time around. I went to Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que just over two years ago by myself, so I figured The Barbecue Bros should give this Alabama-style chain from Colorado another shot with Speedy in tow. Though Speedy assured me before hand that there would be no chicken and white sauce ordered by him.

It also gave us an opportunity to finally meet up with Big Wayner before he moved from the Charlotte area. Three-plus years ago as we were starting Barbecue Bros, I remember coming across Big Wayner BBQ and using it as a reference point for our blog. Wayne’s a super nice guy who is very knowledgeable about barbecue, and I wish it hadn’t taken so long for us to finally meet up with him.

Speedy: First off, let me say this. Big Wayner is the man. If I’ve met a nicer dude before, I couldn’t tell you when. If Wayner were a barbecue joint, I’d give him 5 hogs. But since he’s not, let’s talk about the real joint. I was skeptical of going to Moe’s based on previous reviews and other heresay. Honestly, it just sounded mediocre at best. However, while I was at a barbecue joint, I figured I’d order enough to understand the real deal, so I made sure to get ribs, pork, and smoked wings. Let’s start with the good: the smoked wings. These guys had great flavor, hinting at a great rub, and were cooked to the perfect level of tenderness. They weren’t too hot and overall, were very enjoyable. Moving on to the pork, however…

Monk: The pork was the saddest of the three meats we tried. It was dry and lacking in smoke and any bark or discernible flavor, even with the red sauce drizzled over it. I remember being pretty much the same way last time around and if I ever make it back I’ll go with wings or *gasp* chicken instead.

Speedy: Not so fast, Monk… the ribs were actually pretty decent. They had a nice bite, indicating they weren’t overcooked, and had a nice smoky flavor. And they were topped off with just the right amount of glaze – not over-sauced  by any means, but adding a bit of flavor. These ribs weren’t the best I’ve had by any means, but I did enjoy them.

Monk: The sides were another low point of the meal. The jalapeno cheese grits were better than average but the collards lacked taste and Speedy couldn’t bring himself to finish his Brunswick stew. The platters come with cornbread and that was merely ok.

Speedy: Overall, this was a very mediocre barbecue experience. It took Big Wayner to get me out that far into the Charlotte suburbs (editor’s note: Speedy considers everything outside of a 2 mile radius from downtown a “suburb”), and I don’t regret going, but I won’t be making any trips out that way just to visit Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que anytime soon.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Wings – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs
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Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que – Matthews, NC

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Name: Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que
Date: 6/19/13
Location: 111 Matthews Station St., Matthews, NC 28105
Order: Pulled pork platter with a drink, cornbread, collard greens, and mac and cheese (link to menu)
Bill: $10.25 (beer not included)

In a sense, it was to be expected. Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que is an Alabama-style barbecue chain restaurant based out of Colorado (not exactly a barbecue capital), and the Barbecue Bros don’t usually have high hopes for chains for a reason. Still, I was going to give it a shot since it had just opened last week and my current client is down the street. So this past week a few folks from my company decided to have a small work happy hour there.

Moe’s moved into a building vacated by Pure Taqueria earlier this year and took a few months to fit it to their needs (more taps, smoker, etc). The building is modeled after an historic Matthews gas station and has garage doors that can be opened to give it an open air feel – oddly they weren’t open on this warm late spring night. As you walk in, you order your food and drink at the bar and take a number before they eventually bring it out to you which I have to say is kind of a weird set up, especially if you plan on having a couple of beers and have to keep going back to the bar to order. Speaking of beers, Moe’s does do a great job of keeping local beers on draft (I had a Olde Hickory Jade IPA and a Birdsong Red House Wheat and I believe NoDa Brewing, Triple C, and Old Meck were all represented) but charges $5 a beer with no beer specials anywhere to be found.

At the bar (again, still weird to me), I ordered the pulled pork platter which came with a drink (non-alcoholic), cornbread, and two sides (collard greens and mac and cheese for me). The price for the platter was $10.25, which strikes me as a little on the pricey side. The food came out shortly after ordering and I quickly noted the relatively small portion sizes for the price and compared with other barbecue restaurants. However, none of that other stuff really matters if the barbecue is of high quality.

Which is to say, sadly it was not. The consistency of the pork was fine, but overall it was dry and lacked smoke. There was a tangy reddish-brown sauce on the pork which somewhat helped with the dryness of the coarsely pulled chunks (another knock), but it wasn’t my jam. Since Moe’s is an Alabama barbecue restaurant there is the option to get an Alabama white sauce with your pork. Needless to say, I stayed far away from that mess.

All of the sides were fine – the collards came with bits of sausage and bacon, the mac and cheese was baked, and the cornbread had some nice sweetness (but it really just ended up making me wish hush puppies were on the menu).

So yea, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que ended up being more or less as I expected. I won’t pitch a fit if folks want to go there in the future, but it just likely won’t be my idea.

-Monk

Ratings
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pulled pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

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