Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que – Matthews, NC (RE-REVIEW)

July 13, 2015July 11, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que
Location: 111 Matthews Station St, Matthews, NC 28105
Date: 6/28/15
Order: Monk: pork platter with two ribs, collards, and jalapeno cheese grits; Speedy: smoked wings, ribs platter with collards and Brunswick stew (link to menu)
Price: Monk: $17; Speedy: $20

Monk: As we’ve hit most of the Charlotte-area joints, you may start to notice that from time to time there will be some re-reviewing of joints that only one of us hit up the first time around. I went to Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que just over two years ago by myself, so I figured The Barbecue Bros should give this Alabama-style chain from Colorado another shot with Speedy in tow. Though Speedy assured me before hand that there would be no chicken and white sauce ordered by him.

It also gave us an opportunity to finally meet up with Big Wayner before he moved from the Charlotte area. Three-plus years ago as we were starting Barbecue Bros, I remember coming across Big Wayner BBQ and using it as a reference point for our blog. Wayne’s a super nice guy who is very knowledgeable about barbecue, and I wish it hadn’t taken so long for us to finally meet up with him.

Speedy: First off, let me say this. Big Wayner is the man. If I’ve met a nicer dude before, I couldn’t tell you when. If Wayner were a barbecue joint, I’d give him 5 hogs. But since he’s not, let’s talk about the real joint. I was skeptical of going to Moe’s based on previous reviews and other heresay. Honestly, it just sounded mediocre at best. However, while I was at a barbecue joint, I figured I’d order enough to understand the real deal, so I made sure to get ribs, pork, and smoked wings. Let’s start with the good: the smoked wings. These guys had great flavor, hinting at a great rub, and were cooked to the perfect level of tenderness. They weren’t too hot and overall, were very enjoyable. Moving on to the pork, however…

Monk: The pork was the saddest of the three meats we tried. It was dry and lacking in smoke and any bark or discernible flavor, even with the red sauce drizzled over it. I remember being pretty much the same way last time around and if I ever make it back I’ll go with wings or *gasp* chicken instead.

Speedy: Not so fast, Monk… the ribs were actually pretty decent. They had a nice bite, indicating they weren’t overcooked, and had a nice smoky flavor. And they were topped off with just the right amount of glaze – not over-sauced by any means, but adding a bit of flavor. These ribs weren’t the best I’ve had by any means, but I did enjoy them.

Monk: The sides were another low point of the meal. The jalapeno cheese grits were better than average but the collards lacked taste and Speedy couldn’t bring himself to finish his Brunswick stew. The platters come with cornbread and that was merely ok.

Speedy: Overall, this was a very mediocre barbecue experience. It took Big Wayner to get me out that far into the Charlotte suburbs (editor’s note: Speedy considers everything outside of a 2 mile radius from downtown a “suburb”), and I don’t regret going, but I won’t be making any trips out that way just to visit Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que anytime soon.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Wings – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Swig & Swine – Charleston, SC

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / 3 Comments

Name: Swig & Swine
Date: 4/19/14
Address: 1217 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407
Order: 3 meat combo (pulled pork, homemade sausage, smoked pork belly), vinegar slaw, hash & rice, smoked wings appetizer (link to menu)
Price: $20 for the combo, $12 for a dozen wings

Speedy: On the second day of my college friend bro weekend, I had to lay the smack down. “Dudes,” I said, “I’m a Barbecue Bro. My readers expect – nay! – my readers deserve a second review from my time in Charleston. So what if we had ‘cue yesterday? We’re running it back!” And so we found ourselves at Swig & Swine, which I had driven by a couple of times on Savannah Highway.

Monk: I applaud your dedication to the cause, comrade Speedski!

Speedy: From an atmosphere perspective, this restaurant has everything you want from a new school ‘cue joint – a nice rustic feel, a great bar, and large beer selection. We took a seat in the bar section and our waitress quickly approached. We immediately ordered some smoked wings for appies. I added on to that by ordering the three meat combo (because I was having a hard time making decisions).

Monk:This wouldn’t have anything to do with your previous night’s activities impairing your thinking ability would it?

Speedy: I would prefer to not answer that question, Monk. Anywho, due to the events at Home Team BBQ, I have extended my brisket ban to South Carolina (with one notable exception), so I ordered the pulled pork, homemade sausage, and tacked on the pork belly, which I was excited to see. Traditional NC side vinegar slaw and traditional SC side hash and rice rounded out my order.

Monk: Ohhh, hash and rice. Really curious how you found this? I thought it was a bit weird myself.

Speedy: Patience, young grasshopper…

The wings came out first and they were divine. Smoked perfectly and tossed in a red ‘cue sauce, these wings were meaty, tender, and full of smoke flavor. They were nearly perfect. This got me super excited for the rest of the meal.

Monk: So far, so good. Now let’s just see if the rest of the meal holds up…

Speedy: Sadly, I was let down.

Monk: Well, never mind…

Speedy: The pork was decent, but lacked smoke and was a little dry. The table was stacked with several sauces (red, vinegar, mustard, white), so I added some vinegar sauce and it did help. Overall, the pork is passable, but not great. Which is more than I can say for the pork belly. Pork belly should be crisp on the outside and melt in the mouth on the inside, which this was not. Instead, it was tough and lacking of flavor. I’m certainly no expert in smoking pork belly, but I expected more.

The sausage was actually good – the best meat of my entree. It was definitely homemade and had a nice snap and really good flavor. I would’ve preferred it to be a little spicier, but that’s just me. Overall, I’d get this again.

Monk: Could you tell what smoking method Swig & Swine used? Sounds like a gasser to me.

Speedy: I’m not sure – that would be my guess as well, but I didn’t go check it out. The slaw was forgettable and the hash was decent, and something I’d order again, though I’m not familiar enough to know how it stacks up.

Overall, I was really hoping for a special meal, especially after tasting the wings. Unfortunately, I ended up with an average experience.

Monk: So far, between this place and the two Home Team BBQ’s you’ve been to it doesn’t seem like there is much to Charleston barbecue. I expect this to change when John Lewis opens his place later this year.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4.5 hogs
Smoked Wings – 4.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Pork Belly – 1.5 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Peg Leg Porker – Nashville, TN

April 6, 2015April 5, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / 4 Comments

Name: Peg Leg Porker
Date: 3/20/15
Address: 903 Gleaves St., Nashville, TN
Order: Peg Leg Hot wings, ½ rack ribs (dry), Brunswick stew, fries (link to menu)
Price: ~$20

Speedy: I recently took a trip to Nashville to see the greatest band of all-time, The Beach Boys, live at one of the greatest music venues ever, the Ryman. My bud Drew is well aware of my love of ‘cue, so wanted to take me to a new place that has become his favorite joint in town – Peg Leg Porker.

Monk: Beach Boys and barbecue? Talk about “good vibrations” am I right?

Speedy: *Face palm* We arrived on Friday night to a sizable crowd. Peg leg has a decent sized dining room and a large bar. There’s a counter for ordering, and you just sit wherever you can find a seat, which was more difficult than anticipated as there was a pretty big line ahead of us. I really liked the atmosphere – it’s not a typical old-timey joint by any means, but it doesn’t have any pretentiousness about it. I really dug it.

Monk: If there’s anything that Speedy won’t stand for, its pretentiousness. Looking at you, Panera.

Speedy: I had trouble deciding what to order, but ultimately went with the dry ribs (I always prefer dry, given the option) and the smoked wings, as I knew I would be able to snake some pulled pork from someone else in our party.

After getting the meal, I first tried a bit of pork. I was pretty pleased. It’s no secret that I prefer chopped to pulled, and I would like to have seen a little bit more bark in there, but the smoke flavor was evident. I think it could’ve used a little tang from a vinegar based dip, but that may just be my North Carolina roots talking.

Monk: So did the pork have a particular style in the cut of meat and/or sauce? Tennessee is definitely a pork state but I’m curious if it was whole hog or shoulders and if it was sauced any.

Speedy: You know, Monk, unfortunately, I didn’t get to interview the pitmaster, but it did seem like pulled shoulder meat to me. It came unsauced, but there was a spicy and regular red sauce available. I tried the spicy and it was decent.

The ribs were really good. They had the right amount of dry rub – accentuating but not eliminating the flavor of the meat. They were cooked perfectly – tender without falling of the bone. The ribs were certainly the star of the show.

Monk: So would you call this a good version of the Memphis-style rib?

Speedy: Yes, absolutely. I think it can be difficult to have dry ribs not taste like dry meat, but here, the meat was tender and juicy, even though it wasn’t saucy.

The wings were also really good. They were served as full wings, smoked and tossed in hot buffalo sauce. I was really happy with that, as I get annoyed when barbecue joints serve fried wings.

Peg Leg gets a small bonus in terms of sides for offering Brunswick stew, which was very good. But those points are subsequently lost due to the lack of hushpuppies. And of course, they had white slaw instead of red, which I didn’t touch.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Peg Leg Porker. It’s the best ‘cue I’ve had in Nashville, which, unfortunately doesn’t say much, despite Travel & Leisure’s ludicrous article. However, I expect that this is not my last trip to Peg Leg Porker.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Ribs – 4 hogs
Wings – 3.5 hog
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 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