Ed Mitchell’s Que – Durham (RE-REVIEW)

September 22, 2014February 11, 2019 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Ed Mitchell’s Que
Date: 9/4/14
Address: 359 Blackwell St, Durham, NC 27701
Order: Speedy: Carolina Baby Back Ribs platter with fries, collards, and Pork Slap Farmhouse Ale; Monk: Chopped whole hog BBQ platter with collards, mac and cheese, and Mother Earth Weeping Willow (link to menu)
Price: $45

Monk: Ever since Speedy checked out Ed Mitchell’s Que back in May, I’ve been looking for excuses to make it to Durham myself. Our annual trip to the Hopscotch Music Festival afforded a great opportunity to do exactly that on our way into Raleigh (you may recall we had previously checked out Allen & Son, The Pit Raleigh, and Hursey’s during Hopscotches past).

Speedy: As this was my second trip, I knew what to expect when walking in, but I did get a pleasant surprise when the man Ed Mitchell himself was sitting at the bar. Honestly, I was a bit awe struck, so Monk and I let the man be for a bit while we got down to business.

Monk: I knew that I had to try the whole hog barbecue, Ed Mitchell’s speciality, so that was a no brainer. In his lone wolf review of Que, Speedy let it slip out that he actually likes eastern style just as much as Lexington style. At the time I found it to be a little blasphemous, but tasting Ed Mitchell’s whole hog barbecue has definitely changed my thinking that much more. It was perfectly moist and had just a hint of spiciness. Not a ton of bark, which is to be expected in whole hog barbecue, but the pork was really smoked to perfection.

Speedy: I can’t say much about the whole hog that I didn’t say before except to say that it was just as good this time around. Consistency can be difficult to achieve in the barbecue world, but with a pro like Ed Mitchell, it was a non-issue.

Monk: I think the takeaway here is that when you have a master working his craft – be it at Wayne Monk at Lexington Barbecue, Rodney Scott at Scott’s Bar-B-Que, Aaron Franklin at Franklin Barbecue or John Lewis at la Barbecue – regional styles shouldn’t get in the way. Just sit back and enjoy the deliciousness – and I certainly did on this trip.

Speedy: I didn’t have the ribs last time I was at Que and noticed they’ve since been renamed “Throwdown ribs” to pay homage to Ed Mitchell’s smack down of Bobby Flay. The ribs came out with a light glaze of sweet western style sauce and were seriously meaty. They were cooked too well – tender enough to come off the bone easily, but not so tender that you can’t get a good bite. The flavor was quite good. If I had one complaint, it’s that the western style sauce is slightly sweet for my taste, but it didn’t stop my from cleaning off my share of bones.

Monk: Speedy and I went splitsies with our meals since they don’t do combo plates, and these were the largest baby back ribs I’d ever seen at a restaurant. And as Speedy said, they were quite tender. The sides were scratch made in house and I didn’t taste anything wrong with either my collards or my mac and cheese. The collards were fresh and perfectly cooked while the mac and cheese was great. At this point, I haven’t tasted anything wrong with Ed Mitchell’s Que.

Speedy: I agree, Monk. Sometimes, as a world-renowned blogger (we are that, aren’t we?), I feel the need to find something negative to say about any place that I eat, but when treated to an amazing meal, sometimes its best to just sit back and enjoy it.

Monk: On his first visit, Speedy initially toyed with a 5 hog rating before eventually backing off to a 4.5 hog rating. We were having a very similar conversation as we wrapped up our meal this time around too. As we got our check, Ed Mitchell himself came around to check to see how things were and to make sure we enjoyed our food. Naturally, we took the opportunity to snap a quick photo with the legend (posing with his portrait and “The Pitmaster” from the back wall in the background at his insistence). And I must say, Ed was extremely gracious and kind, thanking us for coming in. In the car, Speedy and I discussed more and decided that Ed himself was reason enough to go with a 5 hog rating. Because if that kind of hospitality from the owner and pitmaster (in addition to his amazing food) isn’t reason enough to up the overall rating, I don’t know what is.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4.5 hogs
Pork – 5 hogs
Ribs – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 5 Hogs

Lexington Barbecue – Lexington, NC

September 8, 2014September 8, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 4 Comments

Name: Lexington #1 Barbecue
Date: 7/23/14
Address: 100 Smokehouse Lane, Lexington NC 27295 (link to menu)
Order: 2 large chop trays, 1 chopped plate, 1 chopped sandwich, side of hushpuppies, 4 Cheerwines
Price: $50 (for 4)

Rudy: Ahhh, reunited and it feels so good. The whole Rudy clan made a summer pilgrimage to North Carolina and got to enjoy some barbecue with Speedy and Monk. Seeing y’all was fine and everything, but being reunited with great Lexington Barbecue was really the best part.

I feel like there was a bit of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ aspect to NC style barbecue. I’d been eating brisket, sausage, and ribs for so long, that I had forgotten about how great a plate of chopped pork can be.

Speedy: And what better place to reunite than consensus Barbecue Bros favorite, Lexington Barbecue aka Lexington #1 aka Monk’s Place aka Honeymonk’s aka heaven. Some of you may be thinking, “Speedy – how can this be the Bros’ favorite when you haven’t been there in the two plus years you’ve had the blog?” Well, loyal readers, the reality of it is that rarely does a month pass by when I don’t figure out a way to get my hands on some of this delicious chopped pork, but we had to have all the Bros reunited for this review.

Monk: That’s true – I can attest that Speedy brings home a pint of chopped pork from Lexington Barbecue regularly (I am usually a beneficiary of such a trip). Even though Speedy and I live but an hour away from Lexington we knew that for the official review we needed to wait until Rudy was back in North Carolina. And yes, it somehow took over two years for us to arrange to all be in Lexington at the same time. When it comes to a plate of chopped pork, Lexington Barbecue is our gold standard.

Rudy: Absolutely it is. There is so much flavor to the pork. It is tender and moist. The thing I liked most about it was that it already came sauced, so it had plenty of flavor and didn’t force you to try and figure out how much you needed to put on it. It is obvious from the flavor (and from the smell outside) that they are using real wood pits as opposed to gas or electric smokers to cook. This makes a tremendous amount of difference in the flavor. I was all ready to put Texas brisket above North Carolina Pork, but Lexington #1 is giving me lots to think about.

Speedy: I couldn’t agree more, Rudy. The pork is absolutely perfect. It’s not smoked by man – it’s smoked by God through man. There’s no other way to put it. It has the perfect amount of bark mixed in with the smoky, savory pork. It’s all shoulder, so there is consistency from bite to bite (which you don’t always get with whole hog), and it’s just damn good. Lexington does keep a spicy dip and Texas Pete on the table, which can be added for a little heat, but it’s certainly not necessary. The tang, the hint of sweetness, the tenderness – it could not be any better. And probably my favorite thing about Lexington barbecue is the consistency. These guys have been doing their thing for 50+ years, and it shows. I’ve never had a single bite of chopped pork there that wasn’t absolutely divine, and this trip was no different.

Monk: The barbecue slaw at Lexington is what Speedy and I always compare slaw to when we go to a NC joint. It is a perfect mix of tangy and crunchy. The hush puppies are darn near perfect, and to top it off, we each ordered a Cheerwine with our meal. Rudy, how good was it to have a Cheerwine with barbecue once again?

Rudy: Don’t even get me started on how great it was. Texas has a red soda too, called Big Red, and it is terrible. People say it tastes like a red creme soda or even bubble gum, but either way I say it is not good. When you have Cheerwine and sweet tea (also rarely served in Texas) on the menu, I’m going to give you a big bump in rating. That and being able to walk around back and see the wood burning into the smokers were the coolest parts of Lexington #1’s atmosphere. Other than that it seems like a basic barbecue joint. So if there is going to be any knock on Lexington #1, it would be the atmosphere. That’s not really the most important part of a restaurant, the food is, and they nailed the food.

Speedy: We went in expecting this to be a slam dunk 5 hog experience, but we’ve been disappointed before. Not this time. The meal at Lexington #1 was absolutely perfect. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – if you want barbecue, be it eastern, western, Lexington, Memphis or Texas, this is the gold standard, top of the mart meal. Everything else is just trying to play catch-up.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork – 5 hogs
Sides – 5 hogs
Overall – 5 hogs

Switzerland Cafe and General Store – Little Switzerland, NC

September 1, 2014September 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Switzerland Cafe and General Store
Date: 7/18/14
Address: 9440 State Highway 226A, Pisgah National Forest, Marion, NC 28752
Order: Speedy: Cafe Barbeque Platter; Monk: The Whole Trout (link to menu)
Price: Speedy: $10.25; Monk: $11.45

Monk: After we left 12 Bones in Arden, Speedy and I headed to Switzerland Cafe and General Store in Little Switzerland. Side note: who else knew that there was a Little Switzerland in North Carolina? Show of hands? No one else? ANYWAYS, in case you were wondering it is located just off the intersection of Highway 226A and the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Marion. Switzerland Cafe was the most recent addition to the NC Historical Barbecue Trail, essentially replacing Deano’s in Mocksville. And next to Herb’s in Murphy, I’m willing to bet its the most remotely located.

Speedy: We went on a rainy/foggy afternoon, so we really couldn’t see that well where we were driving. To say it’s off the beaten path is an understatement. Now this could be a good thing, as a joint has to attract business to stay open, and the more remote it is, the harder it is to attract business. However, whenever a barbecue joint’s main attraction is something other than the ‘cue, I’m skeptical.

Monk: Before ordering, we checked out the smoker located in a colorfully decorated shack out back. We stumbled upon a couple of workers checking on some pork butts in the smoker and got to check it out a little bit. Switzerland Cafe uses a vertical smoker with little more than a pan separating the hickory wood coals from the stack of pork butts. This was definitely a unique technique I haven’t seen in other pits on our barbecue travels.

Speedy: And honestly, I’m not sure it’s a technique I’d recommend. It does keep the direct heat off of the meat, but seems like it would keep some smoke away as well. However, it was a super cool smoker and awesome opportunity to check it out.

But we weren’t there to look at the smoker – it was time to eat. As we had already had a massive barbecue meal at 12 Bones, I decided to stick to the essential – the “barbeque cafe platter,” complete with slaw and baked beans. Digging in, something about the pork was a little off to me. It was plenty tender, but the taste was just not exactly what I expected. It wasn’t bad, but it lacked the expected pork flavor. My best guess is that the odd taste is due to being cooked in the same smoker as the fish.

Monk: Speaking of the fish, I tried “The Whole Trout” appetizer as my dish since it was so unique (not to mention I also was stuffed from 12 Bones). I apparently didn’t read the menu too carefully because as I took a forkful of the trout I was surprised by the fact that it was chilled. I could taste the smoke – unlike the pork cooked over hickory, the fish is cooked over applewood (h/t) – but it was just unexpected and different. I think its worth trying once, but if I ever find myself back I probably won’t order it again.

One of the owners also brought us out a smoked salmon BLT because she wanted us to try, and I took a sliver. Had I been hungrier, I would have eaten the whole thing because that thing was pretty delicious. They also offer a smoked trout BLT, but we didn’t taste that.

Speedy: Overall, Switzerland Cafe was a fine barbecue meal, but likely the last I’ll ever eat there. I think Monk liked it better than I did, but the location is just so remote that it would take an amazing meal to compensate. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t there for me.

But at least we got to check another one off the trail list…

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

12 Bones Smokehouse – Arden, NC

August 25, 2014September 11, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: 12 Bones Smokehouse
Date: 7/18/14
Address: 3578 Sweeten Creek Road, Arden, NC 28704
Order: Speedy: Two half rack of ribs, rib taster, beer; Monk: Pulled pork plate and sliced brisket plate with collards, baked beans, vinegar slaw, and cucumber salad, Pisgah Pale Ale (link to menu)
Price: Speedy: $34; Monk: $20

Monk: One joint that’s been on our hit list ever since we started the blog 2+ years ago was 12 Bones Smokehouse in Asheville. All of our past visits came pre-blog, with the River Arts location outside of downtown Asheville being nearest and dearest to our heart. They actually do have two locations – one in River Arts and another in nearby Arden, out towards the airport – and on this day we found ourselves in Arden (more on that in the future).

Speedy: This was my first visit to the Arden location, and other than the location, I think I liked it better than the River Arts locale. It’s bigger and has similar outdoor seating. The old gas station atmosphere has a really nice feel to it, so I enjoyed it very much. As for the order, Monk and I went a little crazy. We ended up ordering three bones of each type of rib offered, a brisket plate, a pork plate, sides, and beers. It was definitely a lot of food, but we were hungry, so the order wasn’t out of line.

Monk: For once I didn’t sabotage myself and eat anything before a barbecue meal! As for the food, the pork just didn’t have the smokiness in the bark that I prefer, which is likely due to being smoked in a Southern Pride gasser. It’s pretty clear that the pork is not the focus of 12 Bones, which shouldn’t be all that surprising considering the name.

Speedy: All things considered, I thought the pork was pretty decent. While it won’t win any awards on this blog, it had good tenderness, and I thought there was a touch of wood flavor (though not enough). It’s clear by the wood piles of oak and hickory in the back that 12 Bones does make a concerted effort to impart smoke flavor into their gas cooks, so for a gas cooker, I think this is some of the better pork I’ve had.

Monk: The brisket was pretty unfortunate, really. It was very thinly sliced (think sliced deli roast beef on setting 2 or 3) and thus had dried out considerably by the time we got the food. Plus, similar to the pork it didn’t have the smoke or smoke ring in the bark. I had not gotten the brisket here before and based on this visit, customers should avoid it as well.

Speedy: But let’s be honest – you don’t go to a place called 12 Bones for the brisket. The ribs are as good as you’ll find anywhere. 12 Bones is known for its unique and eclectic sauces, and on this day, they had their standard salt/pepper rub, brown sugar, and chipotle blueberry ribs, along with special smoked apple and pineapple habanero ribs. Monk and I decided to order 3 bones of each flavor. The ribs themselves are always cooked perfectly – tender without actually falling from the bone. The different sauces allow for different flavors, but I have noticed that 12 bones generally produces a very sweet rib, which is in contrast to the vinegar-y tang I’m used to when eating ‘cue. I think it ends up working very well and kudos to them for thinking outside the BBQ box.

Monk: The ribs are definitely the highlight at 12 Bones, but holy heck watch out for those sauced with pineapple habanero. They start out sweet but can get you on the back end, particularly if you aren’t expecting it. And I definitely got got.

12 Bones has southern sides, but not all are necessarily what you think of when it comes to barbecue. A slice of cornbread comes with each plate, and I loved it. Had I not been stuffed by all of the meat, I would have eaten mine and possibly Speedy’s. The collards, baked beans, vinegar slaw, and cucumber salad all had merit and I would recommend any of them as a side choice. Again, not all were traditional barbecue sides but still worthy of an order.

Speedy: You stay away from my cornbread, Monk! That stuff was delicious. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – you can’t get 5 hogs for sides if you don’t offer hush puppies, but 12 Bones gives you everything else you could want.

All in all, a meal at 12 Bones Smokehouse is a great experience. I had previously never ordered anything but ribs, and I don’t think I ever will again. I understand offering other meats, but really, if you order something other than ribs, it’s your own fault if you don’t enjoy the meal. So man up, order the ribs, and enjoy!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Ribs – 4.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 4 Hogs