The Improper Pig – Charlotte, NC

January 5, 2015January 10, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: The Improper Pig
Date: 12/19/14
Address: 110 S Sharon Amity Rd Charlotte, NC 28211
Order: Monk: Cotswold platter with pulled pork, sliced brisket, asian slaw, and sweet potato hash; Speedy: Half rack of St. Louis ribs with collards (link to menu)
Price: Monk: $12; Speedy: $14

Monk: If memory serves, The Improper Pig might be the first new barbecue restaurant to open in Charlotte since City Smoke over 2.5 years ago (whose disappointment by Speedy in part led to the creation of this blog). It is brought to you by the same folks who run The Pizza Peel and local franchises of The Flying Biscuit and Moe’s and is located in a former Mama Fu’s in the Cotswold shopping center (interestingly, they kept the wok to use in several of their barbecue dishes). So you know that Speedy and I had to check it out at first opportunity.

Speedy: The restaurant certainly has a “new school” feel. Without knowing anything about it, you wouldn’t guess barbecue restaurant walking in. It is not well lit and you’re greeted by a hostess. You can see into the kitchen, including the smoker. While the restaurant isn’t overly pricey, it has more of an upscale feel than your typical ‘cue joint. In order to sample as wide a variety as possible, Monk ordered a Cotswold platter (two-meat combo) with pork and brisket and I ordered the half rack of ribs. We also talked Mrs. Monk into upgrading to the Cotswold platter in order to allow us to try to sausage as well.

Monk: The Improper Pig (great name, btw) and its pitmaster Will Bigham utilize a Southern Pride gasser, which as Speedy alluded to is visible in the kitchen. While it is a shame that they are going this route, it’s not completely unexpected. That’s not to say that you can’t get good meat out of one of these, but you unfortunately you can pretty much tell that they are using a gasser in the pork and brisket. They both have some bark but neither is as smokey as I would have liked. Seeing as this was maybe the second week of the restaurant being open, Speedy and I discussed that they still might be figuring things out with the smoker, so we tried to be somewhat understanding. And to be fair, what they did serve that night wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great yet.

Speedy: The ribs were somewhat disappointing as well. While they were tender and had decent flavor, they were cooked and served with the membrane still attached, and it was noticeable. I know people have different opinions on this, but I just don’t enjoy eating the membrane, as I think it’s harder to chew. The andouille sausage was decent, but could have used more snap. Overall, I just think that all the meats were overcooked, which was particularly noticeable with the brisket and ribs. It could just be that the pit masters were still figuring out the intricacies of the smoker, so I’ll go back and try again in a month or two. Like Monk, I didn’t dislike any of the meats, but I also wasn’t overly impressed.

Monk: On this night, the sides may have been the best part of the meal, though they aren’t your regular barbecue sides. They don’t have hush puppies or traditional cornbread on the menu, instead going with a small corn biscuit which I could have taken or left. The house slaw was mayo-based, so I went with the asian slaw which was quite good (and a nod to the asian spin on some of their barbecue dishes). The sweet potato hash was essentially mashed sweet potatoes and was different but I enjoyed it. Most of the rest of their sides looked worthy of an order in the future, with nearly all being vegetarian friendly.

Speedy: I thought the collards were really good as well. I’m on record as saying I don’t like taking sides into account when judging a ‘cue joint, but here, they were good enough to really add to the meal. There are also several non-traditional menu items that I’d like to try, including the asian inspired tacos and southern egg rolls. So while The Improper Pig doesn’t top the list of Charlotte barbecue joints, I’ll definitely be back.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

521 BBQ and Grill – Indian Land, SC

November 10, 2014January 26, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: 521 BBQ and Grill
Date: 10/25/14
Address: 7580 Charlotte Hwy, Indian Land, SC 29707
Order: Monk: Combo plate with pork and sausage, fries, hush puppies, red slaw, and beans; Speedy: Rib tray with fries and hush puppies (link to menu)
Price: Monk: $13.50; Speedy: $15-ish

Monk: At this point in our Charlotte barbecue journey, we are starting to run out of places in Charlotte proper to eat and rank. Even still, I didn’t think we’d have to go to a place that is at least 50 minutes away from my house. To be clear, Indian Land is just south of Fort Mill, which isn’t all that far from Charlotte. And we were in the area to go to a pumpkin patch with the Monkette. But realizing it was going to take upwards of an hour with traffic to get home when I meant to go to the other, closer location (to use a Livingsocial coupon before it expired) was a little disheartening. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So, 521 BBQ and Grill.

Speedy: Monk mentioned this trip to me earlier in the week. But I don’t have any mini-Speedies running around, so the pumpkin patch was out of the question. Fortunately, 521 BBQ and Grill is just down the road from the best whiskey store in the area! And I take any excuse I can to check out what new scotches they’ve stocked. So I was in!

Monk: 521 claims to rub and cook the pork butts nightly for 14 hours but unfortunately the pork lacked a significant amount of smoke (possibly signifying that it was cooked by a gasser? Update: or possibly they use a FEC 150 wood pellet smoker like the Tega Cay location?), though it was tender and moist. Adding the table sauce added some zip to the barbecue and would be my recommended way of eating.

Speedy: The ribs were big, meaty baby-back ribs, and they had decent flavor. I enjoyed the sauce that was served on the ribs, and the tenderness was right, but I do like a bit more smoke flavor and more presence of a rub on the meat. They were finished on the grill, which is not my preference, as I think the grill char takes away from the meat flavor. I also prefer ribs to be cooked without the membrane, which was not the case here. Overall, the ribs were fine, but I don’t think I’ll be making special trips down to Indian Land just for the ribs.

Monk: The sausage is also finished on the grill and is pretty good, but if I had to guess it is commercially bought instead of being made in house or from a local vendor. It was fine, but I wouldn’t consider it an essential order based on this visit.

Speedy: I also ordered some wings, which were fried, so not really barbecue. I ordered the hot wings, but got a mustardy sauce, which actually worked pretty well. If you’re a wing fan, they’re worth trying, but again, not worth a special trip.

Monk: Of the side items, the hush puppies were best and appeared to be scratch made. I liked them and wish we had a table basket of them instead of just a couple that came with my plate. 521 BBQ offers a choice of red or white slaw, but the red slaw was a little too ketchup-y and needed more vinegar.

Speedy: Overall, 521 BBQ and Grill is a decent meal. I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to check out, and it ended up being a pretty expensive trip for ole Speedy (not due to the barbecue, but rather the two bottles of scotch I ended up with on my way there). So next time, Monk, see if you can find a pumpkin patch a little closer to home.

(For another review of 521 BBQ and Grill, check out Big Wayner BBQ)

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

Freedmen’s Bar – Austin, TX

August 4, 2014August 21, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Freedmen’s Bar
Date: 6/29/14
Address: 2402 San Gabriel St, Austin, TX 78705
Order: Holy Trinity Plate (Ribs, Sausage, Brisket) (link to menu)
Price: $18.00

Like Monk, I too decided the best way to celebrate Father’s Day was to enjoy some barbecue. Freedman’s has been getting some good publicity recently in town for having great brisket, so I figured this would be a great time to visit.

The biggest complaint that I have with Freeman’s is by far trying to find parking. It’s located in the West Campus area, which doesn’t have much parking, but this was a Sunday during the summer, it shouldn’t have taken almost 20 minutes. But once we got inside, the atmosphere was very unique and fun. They have very little seating inside, but it looks like an old school saloon bar. They also have plenty of outdoor seating in a brick-enclosed courtyard. It was built in 1869 and appears to have retained some of the original style.

I ordered the Holy Trinity Plate so I could try as much of what they had to offer as possible. The first thing I tried was their sausage. As far as taste goes, it was good and had plenty of flavor. But that’s as far as I can go. The casing had no snap to it, and it appeared as if the sausage had been boiled or maybe steamed to keep warm. The casing was weak, fell apart when cut, and was chewy.

The brisket was much better, but not great. In fact, it was just plain average. You could tell there was potential there with a decent crust and plenty moist, but it just never got great. I think there is also potential that the brisket was cooked the previous day and heated up for Sunday lunch. That would help explain why it is getting great reviews from others but my experience wasn’t great.

The last item on the plate was the ribs, which were pretty good. They had a good amount of black pepper to give flavor. They were tender, but still had a good amount of tug. They were definitely the star of the plate. I could have eaten many more if given the opportunity.

Overall, Freedman’s was just average. Better than many of the places I’ve been, but nothing worth writing home about. Because they have had such good reviews from other people, I’m inclined to try them again, however there are several other places I would go before heading back.

–Rudy

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 Hogs
Brisket – 3 Hogs
Sausage – 2 Hogs
Ribs – 3.5 Hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

Midwood Smokehouse – Charlotte, NC (RE-REVIEW)

June 30, 2014July 31, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Midwood Smokehouse
Date: 5/26/14
Location: 1401 Central Avenue, Charlotte, NC
Order: Pig Out Combo Platter (chopped pork, beef brisket, St. Louis style pork ribs, and hickory smoked sausage), bbq slaw, bbq baked beans, and hush puppies (link to menu)
Bill: $31

Speedy: Happy two year blogaversary, Monk!

Monk: And a happy blogaversary to you too, Speedy! What is the present for a two year blogaversary? Bacon?

Speedy: Might be a little early for that. Let’s call it the hushpuppy anniversary.

Anyway, Monk and I have a few spots in our Charlotte that are kind of go-to spots for a nice barbecue meal. We probably frequent Queen City Q and Midwood Smokehouse the most, but I’d probably consider Midwood Smokehouse my favorite in Charlotte. When Monk recently moved a food truck ahead of the Smokehouse on the Charlotte Big Board, I thought it was time for a re-review. The reasons for the re-review are two-fold: 1) our initial review was completed shortly after starting the blog (I mean, we ordered smoked turkey for chrissake), and I think Midwood itself has improved, including adding their awesome burnt ends to the menu full time (or so we thought).

Monk: To clarify, they do have burnt ends on the menu full time but they don’t allow you to choose that as one of the meats in the combo platter we were ordering. Which didn’t matter anyways, because they happened to be out of them that night. Undeterred (well, mostly me, not so much Speedy), we chose our four meats for the Pig Out Combo Platter – chopped pork, brisket, sausage and St. Louis ribs. No smoked turkey this time!

Speedy: I’m not sure if my take on this meal was colored by the lack of burnt ends, but the overall experience was not as good as I was expecting. The pork is very good, but I remember it having a considerably smokier flavor. Don’t get me wrong – you could still taste the smoke, but it used to be the smokiest pork I’d ever tasted, which I actually liked. The brisket was actually better than I remember. Monk and I ordered a mix between fatty and lean, which was a mistake. The fatty brisket was awesome, and included a really nice bark, but the lean was pretty dry. It’s still among the best brisket that I’ve found in NC, but shying away from the lean is the right play.

Monk: Fatty is definitely the way to go, and I agree that the brisket has improved considerably in the two years since our last official review. I may go as far as to say it just may be the best brisket in Charlotte. Although after eating a few slices I noted to Speedy that it seemed a little dry only to realize that was because he had taken all of the fatty slices! Et tu, Speedy?

The sausage had a nice snap and great flavor, but I assume that it’s not made in house. I haven’t heard or read otherwise so can’t be sure, but in any case it’s still a very solid sausage for North Carolina. Ribs are less so my jam than Speedy, but they had a good amount of tenderness and provided the right amount of tug, not falling off the bone with each bite.

Speedy: Rating barbecue restaurants can be hard. This was certainly not the best meal I’ve had at Midwood Smokehouse, but that’s what separates the good from the great. Overall, this was a good meal from a very good joint. But I just can’t say it was great…

Monk: We experienced this last fall at one of our favorite joints ever, Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby. We went in fully expecting a slam-dunk 5 hog review but that particular experience didn’t measure up, so we just couldn’t do it. Still, Midwood Smokehouse is our favorite brick and mortar barbecue joint in town, and I think I can speak for Speedy that we would highly recommend it to anyone looking for good and occasionally great barbecue in Charlotte.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 Hogs