The Smoke Pit – Concord, NC (RE-REVIEW)

February 15, 2016February 16, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / 3 Comments

Name: The Smoke Pit
Date: 1/30/16
Address: 796 Concord Pkwy N, Concord, NC 28027
Order: Pork, brisket, ribs, and sausage combo with bbq slaw, fries, cornbread, and drinks (link)
Price: $23.95

Monk: After a very promising initial impression of The Smoke Pit, I knew I had to revisit with Speedy to get his take and confirm just how good it was – or at least how good I thought it was. Also, with him there it would allow us to order a 4 meat combo and try more meats without me having leftovers for the next week. Luckily, Speedy was getting his car serviced in Concord so we had the perfect opportunity. Spoiler alert – it was better than the last time.

Speedy: I’m a skeptic at heart, so even though Monk and I have pretty much the similar taste in a lot of things (barbecue, music, women – what up Mrs. Monk?), I had to try the Smoke Pit for myself to see what the fuss was about. First things first, the Smoke Pit is attached to a butcher shop – a great sign if I’ve ever seen one. Secondly, it’s just a classic ‘cue joint where you wait your turn, order, sit down, and wait for someone to bring the food to you. The menu is solid, but with so many meats, can they all be good? Time to find out.

Monk: The large portion of chopped pork was just as smokey and moist as I had recalled from my first visit in November. It was nice to see that consistency didn’t seem to be an issue here. The sausage, a meat I had not tried yet, was a house made sausage that had good flavor but which I found to be a little dry. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to sausage, but perhaps it needed some more fat as part of the grind? Still, while it was the least successful of the meats on that day, it was still above average.

Speedy: The ribs were ordered dry, but came out glazed, but not overly sauced by any means. The big, meaty spare ribs were cooked well and had a nice bit and good flavor. I thought they could’ve stood to be seasoned a bit more and I always prefer St. Louis cut when I’m eating spare ribs, but overall, these were pretty good. I can’t say the same for the brisket, though, because it was incredible. My disdain for NC brisket is well documented, so my expectations were pretty low, but one bite of the moist, flavorful meat changed everything. The brisket had the perfect amount of bark, was not too fatty, but not too lean either. And there was just enough smoke on the meat to let you know it was there without overpowering the flavor. I won’t go so far as to say this is the best brisket I’ve ever had, but I’d stack it up with most any Texas joint I’ve been to and it far outshines anything I’ve had east of the Mississippi. While the other meats were in the solid to good range, I can guarantee that I’ll never visit the Smoke Pit without getting an order of that brisket. My mouth is literally watering as I type this.

Monk: After my first visit and subsequent photos on Facebook, the manager/owner Joey said to let him know next time we were in, so we asked for him at the register and towards the end of our meal he came out to chat and give us a tour of the facilities. He first walked us back to the two Southern Pride smokers (a third is on the way to handle additional capacity) and let us know that they smoke 24 hours a day to handle demand. On one smoker they would sell out around 2pm while now with two they are able to make it until about 6pm. The Southern Prides are rotisserie smokers that allows them to smoke using a variant of hickory wood (I forget exactly which). He then let us peek our heads next door into the butcher shop (which he also owns) and the walk-in freezer filled with the thousands of pounds of meat that they will finish smoking that day (they will be expanding the walk-in soon to handle capacity)

Speedy: I will say that Monk was wrong about one thing – we still left with a week’s worth of leftovers. In the case of The Smoke Pit, that turned out to be a good thing.

Speedy post script: I needed to add here that I had also had a co-worker sing the praises of the Smoke Pit. Since I threw him under the bus a bit in a review a few years ago, I needed to say D – you totally redeemed yourself! Looks like you’ve been in the South long enough that your ‘cue recommendations need to be taken seriously.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Brisket – 4.5 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

Fort Mill BBQ Company – Fort Mill, SC

January 25, 2016January 24, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Fort Mill BBQ Company
Date: 1/20/16
Address: 737 Stockbridge Drive, Fort Mill, SC 29708
Order: FMBBQ sampler, small side of hush puppies (link to menu)
Price: $14.80

I had tried to visit Fort Mill BBQ Company once before but had failed to pay attention to their hours and didn’t realize they were closed on Mondays. Finally, I carved out another chance and made the drive out to Fort Mill.

Inside, a slightly dark dining room with a short bar is adorned with racing and car memorabilia and a few tv’s tuned to ESPN. The “FMBBQ Sampler” was an easy way to try just about all of their meats (minus the ribs and chicken), and was a steal at $10.99 even if the portions ended up small. To make sure my entire meal wasn’t meat-based, I added a small side of hush puppies.

What followed was a slightly underwhelming plate. The brisket was dry and stiff with a texture almost that of overcooked bacon. My guess was that it was smoked on a previous day and reheated for lunch on this day.

The “chipotle cheese stuffed beef sausage” was nothing more than a split sausage with shredded cheese melted on it – not really as advertised and quite disappointing.

The turkey was dry and mostly bland. The smoked wings were slightly better than the other meats.

As for the pork, well, I initially didn’t get any and had to ask for it. No big deal, but I’m glad that I did since it ended up being the best of any of the meats (while still not being great). It was moist and had large chunks of bark in it but was still on the bland side without the aid of a table sauce. Still, the overall rating below might have been a bit lower had I not followed up on it.

The hush puppies may have been frozen but at least they came with a side of honey butter. I will say, at least the servers were quite nice.

You know that saying how barbecue writers and editors “try bad barbecue so you don’t have to” (I think I first saw Daniel Vaughn of TMBBQ write this)? Well this day’s lunch was definitely a case of that. Bad barbecue might be a bit strong but Fort Mill BBQ Company was definitely mediocre at best.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 1 hog
Sausage – 2 hogs
Wings – 2.5 hogs
Turkey – 2 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs

Treehouse Whiskey and Fork – Charlotte, NC

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Treehouse Whiskey and Fork
Date: 12/22/15
Address: 4423 Sharon Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
Order: Large plate (pork, brisket, ribs, sausage) with coleslaw, tater tots, and jalapeno cheddar biscuit; smoked backyard wings, skillet cornbread, and buffalo shrimp; 5 beers (link)
Price: $72 (for 3)

Monk: Happy Birthday, Speedy!

Speedy: Thanks, bro.

Monk: So on the night of his actual birthday, Speedy chose Treehouse Whiskey & Fork, a Charlotte restaurant in SouthPark of which I was unaware of just how much a barbecue joint it actually was – it describes itself on its website as “a new take on BBQ and New American Style cooking”.

Speedy: I had been a couple times before, but hadn’t really had the barbecue, so thought this was a good time to bring Monk (and friend of the blog Susong) in for reinforcements. Little did I know, we’d have an additional soldier on our squad, but more on that later. Anyway, the atmosphere at Treehouse is really great – even down to the tree literally in the middle of the restaurant. A large bar, good beer and whiskey selection, and large outdoor patio make this a great place for grabbing drinks with friends. But is it a good place for ‘cue?

Monk: Somehow, I missed the tree in the middle of the restaurant. As for the food, the pork was not bad, with smokey pieces of bark mixed in with mostly moist pork. Not bad, but maybe a little on the bland side. The brisket, on the other hand, didn’t have the fat properly rendered and was poorly smoked. Just bad.

Speedy: The ribs were definitely baby backs, and a little on the small side. They were slathered in sauce and a little overcooked, making it hard to get a good bite. They did have a decent flavor, but not the best ribs in my opinion. The sausage had good flavor, but not enough snap to the casing. The flavor made up for that, though, and I’d order the sausage again. The wings were pretty good. In Charlotte, it’s pretty rare to find smoked wings instead of fried, so I really appreciate them when I can get them. These weren’t the best smoked wings, but worth re-ordering. While not barbecue, the buffalo shrimp were awesome.

Monk: The large plate came with a jalapeno cheddar biscuit but we ordered some skillet cornbread in order to get that fix. The tots and the slaw that came with the meal were standard, and of course Speedy stayed away from the mayo slaw.

Speedy: OK – enough ‘cue talk. Now we need to tell you about the Mont-dawg. The Mont-dawg was a super drunk golfer who was there with some friends after a round of golf earlier that day. He took a liking to our group, buying us a round of Fireball shots. However, he REALLY took a liking to a group of 16-year old girls sitting near us. While he didn’t buy them shots, he did ask them if they’d be willing to babysit his three kids. Mont-dawg also successfully guessed Monk’s real name, got left by his friends, ran off a waitress, refused us buying him a shot (because “y’all – I make a ton of money.”) I wish I could remember all the rest of the Mont-dawg quotes, but alas, there was too much. But big shout out to the Mont-dawg, wherever you are. This one’s for you…

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs (specifically because of Mont-dawg; your mileage may vary)
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 1.5 hogs
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Wings – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Southside Market & Barbeque – Elgin, TX

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Southside Market & Barbeque
Date: 10/24/15
Address: 1212 Hwy 290 E, Elgin, TX 78621
Order: Southside Combo Plate (Brisket & Sausage with Slaw and Mac & Cheese), 1 Slammer, Drink (link to menu)
Price: $17.00

The calendar said it was October and the car seat in the back said I was a dad, so I was required to take the obligatory trip to a pumpkin patch. Mrs. Rudy said buying a pumpkin at the grocery store was completely out of the question and that we must drive out to the country to get one. However she sold me with the idea of being able to go to Southside Market & Barbeque in Elgin, which is right outside of Austin.

Southside markets themselves as the oldest barbecue joint in Texas. It has a tremendous amount of history and has a great reputation. They ship sausages and other meats all over the country, so I was excited to try their barbecue. In my opinion, the reputation far exceeded what I actually experienced.

When you walk in, it feels very much like they are trying to get as many people through as possible. While that may mean more profit and more people eat their food, it also probably means that they do not have a huge focus on quality. There are two lines for barbecue and two enormous dining rooms for eating. Southside also feels very commercialized, with lots of options to buy their shirts, hats, sauces, rubs, and really anything you want with “Southside Market & Barbeque” printed on it. The two positives for their atmosphere, and why I rated it highly, was because of pallets of wood outside (showing that they are cooking over wood) and they have a very nice meat market/butcher there where you can go and get your own meat to cook at home. If I were wanting to cook my own brisket, ribs, or sausage, this is absolutely the place that I would go.

I ordered the Southside Combo Plate, which came with brisket and sausage, plus 2 sides. The brisket had almost no seasoning, there was a little bit of a smoke ring, but no bark and no flavor. The fat was not well rendered, which led me to believe it had been cooked much earlier and had just been sitting there staying warm for a while. Very disappointing. The sausage was better, but not by much. I believe they make their sausage in house, so there are some points for that. It had flavor from the meat, but was nothing great.

As far as sides, I got the slaw (non-mayo based for Speedy) and mac and cheese. They were probably the best part of the meal, but it was an easy hurdle to cover. I thought the mac and cheese was the best, but it’s hard to mess that up.

The last thing I tried was a special that they were advertising on the menu called “the Slammer”. It was a sausage, stuffed with cheese and a jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and smoked. They clearly had my attention. When it came, it was much like the brisket – room temperature and uninspiring. The cheese was hard and not melted while the bacon was not crisp at all, as if it had been cooked many hours earlier and left to sit. I am shocked that someone could mess up something that’s only ingredients are bacon, sausage, cheese, and jalapeno, but Southside Market managed to do just that.

I was completely looking forward to getting out to Elgin and trying Southside Market & Barbeque, however when you eat barbecue and the pumpkin patch is the highlight of the day, that’s not a good sign for the barbecue joint. Overall I’m glad I tried it and can mark it off the list, but I’m more happy that I didn’t make a special trip out just for it.

–Rudy

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Slammer – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs