Some photos from the 12th Annual Plaza Midwood Pig Pick’n yesterday on July 4th, where we stopped in briefly on our way to watch the fireworks uptown. I didn’t get any pig from former Charlotte Observer reporter/columnist Dan the Pig Man‘s food truck but everything smelled quite good and there was a sizable line the entire time we were there. Maybe next year…
-Monk
Name: Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q
Date: 6/28/13
Location: 1507 W. Roosevelt Road, Monroe, NC 28110
Order: Pulled Pork and brisket combo plate with vinegar slaw and fries, sweet tea (link to menu, although this isn’t the menu at the NC location)
Price: $15.48
From what I can tell, Big Bob Gibson’s is a pretty well-respected Alabama barbecue restaurant that has been operating in Decatur, Alabama since 1925. For the past few years, they have gained exposure through their current pitmaster Chris Lilly, who has appeared on “BBQ Pitmasters” numberous times and has also written a book. In addition to their two restaurants in Decatur, naturally they chose the site for their third restaurant to be in Monroe, North Carolina…wait, what?
That’s right, for reasons unknown their third and currently only other location is in a small town outside Charlotte some 465 miles away. I haven’t had good luck with Alabama barbecue lately, but I figured I’d give it a try anyways.
This Big Bob Gibson’s is in a standalone building off Highway 74 in Monroe, and really reads more “upscale southern grill” than “barbecue joint.” The interior is actually quite nice, with a bar off to the left as you walk in and the main dining area to the right. I was definitely surprised by how nice it was.
I got there before any lunch rush so after I was promptly seated and after a minute to review the menu I decided on the combo plate of both pulled pork and brisket. The choice of sides included both a mayo slaw and a vinegar slaw, so naturally I ordered vinegar as well as fries to round out the order. Thankfully, a couple of hush puppies are also included with each platter.
After only about 5 minutes I received a large plate of food. The pulled pork was not very smoky and also quite dry, so I needed the “Championship Red Sauce” that comes on the table but was also served in a warmed ramekin with the meal. It is a thicker, tangy/sweet sauce that is closer to Kraft BBQ Sauce than dip – not for me. As for the brisket, I was expecting slices but it came chopped; I do not believe this was not stated on the menu. And it more or less tasted like chopped beef roast, which is fine unless of course you want brisket. The two hush puppies came out still hot and were large spheres of cornmeal that were ok but didn’t have the sweetness I like to taste in my hush puppies. The vinegar slaw was interesting in that it wasn’t the barbecue slaw that we are used to in the piedmont. It did have the tang expected of a vinegar-based slaw but was also sweet, likely to do the addition of quite a bit of sugar. It was different but gave a nice cold crunch to the meal.
So dawg, for me for you, Big Bob Gibson’s was a little bit of a bust. They also serve barbecue chicken (with that curious white sauce) and turkey, but despite the warm and friendly service I received I probably won’t be making it back to try those out. Sorry Alabama, I’m just still not impressed with your barbecue.
-Monk
Ratings:
Atmosphere/ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs
When someone announces plans to open a barbecue restaurant in Lexington, people are skeptical at best. But when the restaurant’s name is Speedy Lohr’s, then you are talking about a totally different situation.
I would hope/expect that Randy Lohr (owner of the new Speedy Lohr’s) would also cook barbecue the old fashioned way as his brother’s joint of the same name does (it is on the NC Historic BBQ Trail as a result), so this new joint should be worth checking out on pedigree alone. Not too far off I-85 either.
-Monk
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
