pulled pork

City Smoke – Charlotte, NC

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Name: City Smoke
Date: 12/7/12
Location: 100 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC, 28202
Order: ‘Cue Combo (brisket, pulled pork, Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas dry rubbed ribs
Bill: $26

Speedy: Well Monk, I hate to say I told you so, but I definitely told you so.

Monk: Speedy – you LOVE saying I told you so. This is the one time it happens to be true.

Speedy: So this past Friday night, Monk and I decided it was time to try a new barbecue restaurant, as it had been a while. Monk had never been to City Smoke, the latest of several modern, trendy barbecue restaurants to open in Charlotte. As the restaurant is in the bottom of the building I work in, I actually did check it out for lunch one day the first week it was open, which was about six months ago. My experience wasn’t good then, but I thought six months probation was enough.

Monk: Well Speedy – apparently you thought wrong. Before we even ordered any barbecue, I was at least struck by the impressive whiskey list (well over 50) which included bourbon, Tennessee, craft rye, Irish, and Scotch. And for the beer lovers, there was a good sized craft beer list on tap.

Speedy: Now all of our readers may be thinking,“Hey, that all sounds pretty good. Why are you guys dumping on this place so much?” Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because of the food.

Monk: Which we always say is a pretty crucial element when judging a restaurant. As is our M.O., we ordered the sampler which had pulled pork, brisket, and three types of ribs as well as your choice of two sides. We’ll start with the pork. You may be wondering how they got a smoker at the bottom of the tallest building between Atlanta and Philadelphia. Well wonder no more, because based on the lack of smokiness in the meat they definitely didn’t. The pork lacked any discernible smoke or flavor. We tried each of the three sauces on the table (one of which basically tasted like A1 steak sauce), but ultimately we didn’t even bother finishing our portion.

Speedy: And the brisket was even worse than the pork! It was rubbery and tasted like it had been reheated. Honestly, it reminded me of grocery store pre-packaged roast beef.

Monk: The ribs were at least better than either the pork or brisket. We got three types of ribs as part of the sampler – Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas Dry. They were tender enough and the saucing and flavor was actually pretty decent. However, once again there was no smoke. Also, we did get shafted by only getting one bone of the Texas dry flavor as opposed to two.

Speedy: I will say this. The sides we had were pretty good. I thought the slaw was great. It was legitimate Lexington-style red slaw. Probably the best I’ve had outside of the great city of Lexington. The collards were good as well. They had bacon bits in them, but the bacon flavor (unfortunately) wasn’t noticeable. City Smoke does have a bin of free peanuts that you can get while you order – probably the only thing in the restaurant worth what you spend on it.

Monk: As you can gather, we were not fans of City Smoke whatsoever (and apparently not a lot of other people are either since it was more or less empty on a Friday night). When the best things about the meal were the sides and the free peanuts, that is never a good thing.

Actually, since we were still hungry we decided to finish our beer and walk a few blocks for some actual good smoked meat in the form of the chipotle apricot wings from Queen City Q. And that’s all you really need to know about our City Smoke experience – we finished our meal at another barbecue restaurant. In fact, City Smoke was so bad that I feel confident in saying that the only reason I can see myself ever returning to City Smoke will not be because of the barbecue but instead to drink some bourbon at the bar.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance: 3 hogs
Pork – 1.5 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 1.5 hogs

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The Smoke Joint – Brooklyn, NY

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Name: The Smoke Joint
Date: 10/13/12
Location: 87 South Elliot Place, Brooklyn, NY
Order: Monk: Pulled pork plate, spicy french fries, Dale’s Pale Ale; Speedy: Chopped beef barbecue plate, cornbread, spicy french fries (link to menu)
Bill: Monk: $17; Speedy: $14

Monk: Well Rudy…we really did it this time

Rudy: What do you mean?

Speedy: Well, Monk and I were visiting some buddies last weekend in New York City…

Monk: And we just thought that…

Speedy: …while we were there…

Monk: …we’d eat some barbecue…

Rudy: <puts head in hands> Have you learned nothing? Have you no respect for yourselves?

Speedy: In all fairness, our “friend” Boomsauce recommended this Brooklyn restaurant that’s near his pad in Fort Greene

Rudy: You took fine dining advice from Boomsauce?!?!?!??

Speedy and Monk: <sheepishly> Yes…

Rudy: Well, how was it?

Monk: Rudy, it was EFFING TERRIBLE

Speedy: The service was probably the worst I’d ever experienced in my life. We were more or less ignored – seeing our waiter maybe three times. When he took our orders, he completely ignored one of our fellow diners, so we had to stop him to make sure he got the last order in…

Monk: …which of course he never put on the ticket so the order never actually got put in.

Speedy: Plus, several of us ordered draft beers to go with our meals, but the waiter failed to tell us until 20 minutes later that there was no CO2, and thus no draft beer.

Monk: And it wasn’t even him that told us! After 10 minutes, we had to ask another waiter! Between Boomsauce’s homebrew beer and this place, we were in the middle of what shall henceforth be known as “the great CO2 shortage of Brooklyn 2012”.

Speedy: Right? I was so upset that I decided against drinking a beer completely. Not that that stopped our waiter from charging us all for our draft beers that we never received.

Monk: I mean, the only explanation was that the dude was clearly on drugs, but no one else was picking up the slack. At least I felt somewhat better since the couple that was seated after us had the same issues.

Rudy: Yeah, that sounds pretty terrible, but let’s not lose sight of what’s most important – how was the food?

Speedy: Rudy, I’m glad you asked…

Monk: I ordered a pulled pork plate and Speedy got the chopped beef barbecue plate so we could try both meats. The pork was of good portion, but was hardly pulled. It was basically a big chunk of pork shoulder that had a fork quickly run through it. “Coarsely pulled” would be stretching it.

Speedy: And I tried the chopped beef initially, but it was quite dry and needed some sauce, so I took the spicy sauce on the table and poured on a healthy portion only to find that it was just Tabasco. Now I like Tabasco as much as the next guy, but barbecue sauce it is not. Another example of The Smoke Joint just being lazy.

Monk: The pork was slightly better. It had an OK flavor and despite being a little greasy, was tender and not overly dry, so it was actually edible…

Speedy: At least until I found a giant hair in mine…

Monk: Talk about the cherry on top of the shit pie

Rudy: Guys, this sounds like a terrible experience. Was there any redeeming quality to the meal?

Speedy: Maybe the corn bread? That was probably the best part of my meal.

Monk: Agreed – there’s not really much to work with here. When we made our rating scale, we described “1 hog” as “What is this? A Yankee joint?” And it is, so 1 hog it shall be!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance –  1 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 1 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 1 hog

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The Smoke Joint on Urbanspoon

The Pit – Raleigh, NC

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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
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The Pit on Urbanspoon

Bat’s BBQ – Rock Hill, SC

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Name: Bat’s BBQ
Date: 7/26/2012
Location: 1912 Mount Gallant Road, Rock Hill, SC
Order: Sampler platter with pulled pork, smoked sausage, and cajun beef brisket. Hush puppies and sweet potato fries. (link to menu)
Bill: $16.00

Speedy: I recently started doing some work just outside of Rock Hill, SC, which of course means more opportunities to eat barbecue! First on the menu was Bat’s BBQ, which was just off highway I-77 in Rock Hill. Bat’s BBQ is a pretty new establishment – just opened in 2009, and it looks that way. It’s a corner plot in a shopping center with a small indoor dining room and a few tables outside. You go order at the counter and the food is brought to you once it’s ready. The atmosphere is OK, but it’s not exactly your typical ‘cue joint. Honestly, there’s really nothing to rave about in terms of atmosphere.

Even though it was lunch time, I ordered the sampler platter in order to taste the biggest variety of meats as possible. Unlike Monk, I am truly committed to the cause.

Monk: Hey now…don’t confuse my small tummy with a lack of commitment to the cause.

Speedy: None of the sides really caught my eye, so I ended up getting hush puppies and sweet potato fries, as there was no barbecue slaw, collards, okra, or any of the other traditional sides that I’m partial to.

Monk: I see that the menu also has “Mexi-Q”…so would be fair to say that Bat’s BBQ isn’t aiming for traditional barbecue?

Speedy: That’s probably fair, though it advertised itself as having a “cajun spin.” I didn’t really see the cajun-ness, though.

The food came out quickly, and to be honest, I was a little disappointed with the portion size – which is rare for ‘cue joints. It was definitely plenty to eat, but would not have been enough for two people, which I thought it should’ve been based on the price.

Rudy: Here in Texas they charge by the pound, so you know exactly what you are getting as opposed to the varying serving sizes.  I’m definitely a fan of quality over quantity though.

Speedy: I quickly dug in to taste all of the meats, first without sauce, and then with along with the various sauces provided. The pork was dry and a little bland and I definitely wouldn’t recommend eating it without adding sauce to it. The tenderness also left a little to be desired, as a couple pieces were a bit rubbery, so the meet could probably have stayed in the smoker a bit long. I had a few chunks that were also not sufficiently pulled, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. This is also a reason why I prefer pork chopped to pulled.

The brisket was considerably better. It was cooked well, tender, and had decent flavor. It also wasn’t nearly as dry as the pork. The brisket was also pulled, which was really surprising, as I’ve only seen it sliced (which I prefer) or chopped. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and tenderness that was there. This was definitely the best part of the meal.

Monk: Pulled brisket? I’m curious to see if Rudy has seen this before or if this might be considered heresy in Texas.

Rudy: I have never seen that before.  You will see chopped beef listed on the menu some places, but every time I have ordered brisket or even seen it, it has been sliced.  A quick Google search proved that it is true, but I can’t say I would be a fan of this.

Speedy: The sausage was decent, though I’m fairly certain it was not made in house. I’m certainly a sausage novice, but I’ve been ordering it more frequently lately at ‘cue restaurants. This sausage isn’t at the top of my list of favorites, but I wasn’t upset that I ordered it.

I only tried that cajun sweet and the rub sauce (as well as a Texas Pete style hot sauce they called fang sauce). The sauces were decent, but nothing I felt I really had to have again.

I was glad that Bat’s BBQ served hush puppies, and they were actually pretty good, but like I said, I wasn’t thrilled with the other choices of sides.

I did get a sneak peak at the smoker in the kitchen (see photo below), and they look to be electric, though they could be gas I suppose. I’ve defended electric smokers before, as they can put out good meats, but if you really want to be a top quality ‘cue joint, it just doesn’t cut it.

Monk: Glad to hear you have come around on this.

Rudy:  I also was against this until you said that most places use them.  But having a true smoker increases the rankings in my book.

Speedy: All in all, I think this will probably be my only trip to Bat’s BBQ. There was just nothing there that excited me about the restaurant, and I wasn’t that impressed with anything I tried. The meal was fine, but when you’re eating ‘cue, fine is not what you’re looking for.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 1.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Sausage – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

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Bats BBQ on Urbanspoon