Smiley’s Lexington Barbecue, Inc. – Lexington, NC

November 2, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Smiley’s Lexington Barbecue Inc.
Date: 10/20/12
Location: 917 Winston Rd., Lexington, NC 27295
Order: Chopped BBQ plate with hush puppies, slaw, fries, and Cheerwine (link to menu)
Bill: $12

Monk: Recently, Speedy and I made a decision to try to visit as many barbecue joints on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail that we could over the next year or so (hopefully one or two with Rudy in tow when he is back in NC for the holidays). So with an engagement party for a friend of the blog held in Greensboro a few Saturdays ago, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out Smiley’s in Lexington on our way up.

Smiley’s is less than a half mile from Speedy’s in one direction and not too far from Lexington #1 (aka the promised land) in the other, so it’s in pretty good company. And they do things the old school way, cooking barbecue low and slow over a wood pit for several hours (hence why they are on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail in the first place). But oddly enough, on a Saturday night at 6pm it was damned near empty.

Speedy: Pulling in – Smiley’s looks exactly like you’d expect an old school ‘cue joint to look like. One twist I did like – as we pulled into the parking space, a waitress started to come up to the car. Apparently they have curbside to go service – bonus. However, we were there to dine in, so we went inside and sat at a table of our choosing. There’s not much to say about this place other than it looks the part. You could see scenes from Andy Griffith being filmed there. Nothing really stood out, but it was homely.

Rudy: Homely or homey? Because when a girl is described as homely, it’s usually not a good thing. Maybe it is for barbecue though.

Monk: Speedy, Mrs. Monk, and I all ordered the same thing – a chopped BBQ plate with hush puppies, slaw, and fries. Although, to try it out for the first time (and to make me feel more like a local), I ordered it with extra outside brown. And it was very, very good. I enjoyed having the extra bark in the barbecue, and will probably order it this way at the next Lexington joint I visit. One thing for me, however, was I felt like I noticed that the barbecue dip was a little sweeter than the other Lexington-style spots that I have been to. Not a deal breaker or even a bad thing by any means, just something that I think I noticed.

Speedy: I didn’t really notice too much extra sweet, but I do think a lot of these places add sugar to the dip to taste, so I imagine it’s not always the same. Monk may have a more sensitive palate than I do. But I thought the ‘cue was really, really good. The portion was pretty big (probably enough for two meals), the pork and (red!) slaw were great, and it was just a great meal. There is quite a bit of variety of food on the menu, but we paid it no attention – a decision I’d make again and again.

Rudy: You guys tend to get a sampling at most places. Why not here? Sounds like it wasn’t a mistake though, with the chopped BBQ being good.

Speedy: Well, most of the other stuff wasn’t barbecue. The rest of the menu had burgers, sandwiches, chicken tenders, and other diner type food. Frankly, I just don’t have time for that garbage.

Monk: Agreed – definitely made the right call. So, one more notch on our NC Historical Barbecue Trail belt (note: this belt doesn’t actually exist, but it would be cool if it did). We had a solid plate of barbecue at Smiley’s, but it’s hard to imagine we’d choose this over Lexington #1 in the future.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance: 3 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

The five-minute guide to Charlotte barbecue

October 1, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte may have been almost a month ago, but here is Charlotte Magazine’s guide to barbecue in the city anyways. It’s a chronological rundown of several barbecue restaurants in Charlotte as well as an interview with Pitmaster Dan “Boone” Gibson of Queen City Q.

The pitmaster at Queen City Q, Gibson, forty-five, grew up in Charlotte and draws from his heritage—and his family’s hand-me-down recipes—to craft his barbecue. He calls it “Piedmont style,” a mélange of styles from eastern and western North Carolina and South Carolina.

-Monk

The five-minute guide to Charlotte barbecue

The Pit – Raleigh, NC

September 17, 2012September 9, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

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

Rock Store Bar-B-Q – Mint Hill, NC

August 19, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Rock Store Bar-B-Q
Date: 8/10/12
Location: 7032 Brighton Park, Mint Hill, NC 28227
Order: BBQ Pork and Brisket combo plate, hush puppies, beans, sweet tea (link to menu)
Bill: $9.75

Trying to take feedback from Speedy to heart, on this visit to the Mint Hill location of Rock Store Bar-B-Q (click here for the review of the original Stallings location) I ordered a combo platter of both BBQ pork and brisket. I still haven’t had the ribs at either place, so while I made some effort, I fear that it will all be in vain in the eyes of both Speedy and Rudy.

As opposed to the original location, a stand-alone historic gas station structure, the Mint Hill restaurant is located at the end of a strip mall in what looks to have been a former Jersey Mike’s (I tend to have a keen eye for Jersey Mike’s since Speedy and I worked at one in high school for several years).

As you walk up to the front door to this location, you are greeted by a decal that states “Wood Smoked Daily” before you actually do get a whiff of smoke when you enter the door. I still wasn’t able to determine if this is due to the use of a stick burning smoker or an electric or gas burner with wood chips. However, I remain skeptical of there being a stick burner in a strip mall, so I am still working off the gas or electric smoker theory.

Nevertheless, I walked up and ordered a BBQ pork combo plate, adding brisket with my two sides being hush puppies and beans. Unfortunately, the pork was as dry as the sandwich at the original location so again, sauce was a must. A healthy dose of their tangy Stallings Secret sauce worked best with the pork, but I did notice a pool of grease collecting at the bottom of the styrofoam plate. Not the most appetizing visual for lunch.

As I suspected from my visit to the other location, the brisket here is actually coarsely chopped in the same manner as the pork. And it is just as dry. To my surprise, I found that the Carolina Gold mustard-based sauce actually worked best with the brisket but overall it was pretty unremarkable. However, thankfully there was no pool of grease here.

The hush puppies were a nice surprise, as they weren’t available at the original location. They were big and fluffy and the best part of the meal. The BBQ beans were passable but I didn’t eat too much of them, focusing on the meat and hush puppies.

So while this time around I did get more than my usual portions in the interests of the Barbecue Bros and left with a full belly. Unfortunately it was a belly full of average-at-best barbecue.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs