Smoke on the Water – Greenville, SC

July 6, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Smoke on the Water
Date: 6/30/2012
Location: 1 Augusta St., #202, Greenville, SC 29601
Order: Smoked chipotle chicken wings, Combo platter with beef brisket and pulled pork, fried okra, sugar snap peas (link to menu)
Bill: wings – $6; Combo Platter (included two sides) – $14

Last weekend, I decided to take an impromptu trip to Atlanta. And since I was driving through Greenville, SC right around lunch time, I decided to stop at my favorite Greenville barbecue restaurant – Smoke on the Water. I have been telling Monk about this place for a while, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go without him, even though he was off the grid. Just an excuse to go back, I guess.

Smoke on the Water sits next to Reedy Falls right between downtown Greenville and West End – basically smack dab in the middle of all the good stuff. I spent over a year working in Greenville, and this restaurant because a staple for me. It had been nearly a year since my last trip, so I was excited to go.

Generally, I really enjoy sitting outside at Smoke on the Water, but it was nearing 100 degrees outside, so my party decided we would eat inside in the A/C. The inside of Smoke on the Water doesn’t exactly scream “barbecue.” It’s not well lit, it has a nice, classy bar, and it just has the appearance of a more upscale restaurant. While this is certainly nice, it’s not exactly my style – especially for a ‘cue restaurant. So while the atmosphere isn’t exactly like your good ole southern barbecue, the food definitely is.

For starters, we had an order of the smoked wings. The wings come out whole, instead of split, as wings are traditionally served. The wings are marinated, then smoked, but are not sauced. However, they are still moist and are really, really good. You can definitely taste the smoke and there’s a noticeable kick in the back. I would definitely recommend these wings to anyone.

For my main course, I had the combo platter with brisket and pulled pork with sides of fried okra and sugar snap peas. In a word, the meal was fantastic. The pulled pork has a great smoke flavor, is tender, and not dry at all. You can definitely eat it without adding any sauce, but the sauce definitely enhances the flavor. My personal favorite is a spicy vinegar based sauce, but you can also choose from SC mustard, KC sweet, and a house red sauce.

Smoke on the Water is probably the only ‘cue joint I’ve ever been to where I think the brisket is better than the pork. The brisket comes sliced a little thinner than I’m used to seeing, which I actually like. The brisket also doesn’t really need sauce, but I’d recommend it. It is a bit drier than the pork. The brisket is tender and flavorful. If I could only order one meat at Smoke on the Water, this would be it. I’m no beef barbecue expert, and I haven’t eaten NEARLY enough ‘cue in Texas, but to date, I would say Smoke on the Water is the best brisket I’ve had.

The sides are good, though I’ll echo previous reviews in saying I’m disappointed that they don’t serve hushpuppies. The wait staff does bring out corn bread immediately upon seating, which is a great (and delicious) touch. The fried okra and sugar snap peas were both good, as have other sides I’ve had their previously, and they have a pretty nice selection.

The rest of my party also thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Everyone save one had either the brisket, the pork, or both for their meal. The lone hold-out ordered a salad (really, Princess Leia???) and I won’t even pretend to justify her decision. The mac ‘n cheese was a pretty popular side, but I didn’t partake due to my intolerance of dairy, but I’m told it’s really good here, if you’re in to that sort of thing. I did try some fried asparagus, which was good, but that’s not exactly a ‘cue staple. The menu does stray from a traditional ‘cue shack by offering other southern favorites like fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, fried oysters, and a supposedly-amazing pimento cheese burger, but I can’t personally comment on any of that (save the fried green tomatoes, which are excellent), as I stick to the ‘cue.

Overall, Smoke on the Water is among my favorite places. Though it looks a little fancy pants, these guys definitely know their smoke. Combine that with a great location in an awesome city, and you’ve got a restaurant most everyone is sure to love.

-Speedy

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

Queen City Q – Charlotte, NC

June 11, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Queen City Q
Date: 6/8/2012
Location: 225 E. 6th Street, Charlotte, NC, 28202
Order: Fire Roasted Jumbo Wings, Super Q Platter (ribs, brisket, pork, sausage), Sis Gibson’s Famous Baked Beans with Neese’s Sausage, Eastern NC BBQ Slaw (link to menu)
Bill: Smoked wings – $0 (free with Foursquare check-in), Super Q Platter (included two sides) – $26

Monk: So three Fridays in a row hitting up barbecue spots. Is this becoming our weekly date night, Speedy?

Speedy: I guess so, Monk. And with three dates in the books, that makes you my longest relationship in years. I guess good ‘cue really keeps people together. But enough with the sappy stuff – let’s talk about the food.

Monk: Queen City Q occupies the old LaVecchia’s location next to Brixx Pizza in uptown Charlotte, and has updated the interior tastefully with dark wood and rustic accoutrements while utilizing the outdoor patio that seemed to be underused for a nicer seafood/steakhouse joint such as LaVecchia’s. On some nights, they even have live music outside, and that night was a guy and a guitar who, in addition to playing original songs, delighted Speedy by playing a cover of Shawn Mullins’ “Rockabye.”

Speedy: And a fantastic cover it was. Another bonus is the free appetizer on weeknights to those who check in on Foursquare…

Monk: …Which was an awesome surprise…

Speedy: …so Monk and I took advantage by ordering some wings for the cost of on the house. We ordered two flavors – PoPo (which is the house rib sauce) and chipotle apricot. The wings had good flavor, but I feel they could have used some dry rub of some sort prior to smoking. They were big and meaty and overall a great appetizer.

Monk: The pork had some nice bark on it, but was maybe a bit dry and required the use of one of the four sauces available on each table – Eastern NC Sauce, PoPo’s Sauce, Queen City Q Sauce, and SC mustard. Once sauce was added the pork was much better. Tellingly, the SC mustard sauce was the only one of the four that either Speedy or I didn’t try. Speaking of sauce, the brisket was slathered in it and unfortunately was the consensus lowlight of the meal. While a decent mix of fatty and lean, it seemed a bit overdone.

Rudy: That can always be a sign of bad brisket. If it is done right it doesn’t need much, if any, sauce. Whenever I see a place smother their brisket with sauce, I figure they are throwing in the towel.

Speedy: The ribs, on the other hand, were cooked perfectly. Great texture and flavor, they’re done St. Louis style with the sweet PoPo sauce. While they were very good, I’ve learned over the years that I generally prefer Memphis style ribs with dry rub, as the sweetness of St. Louis style can be a little much. I think that was the case here, though it didn’t stop me from eating several bones. The only thing on the plate that Monk and I finished completely was the sausage – and with good reason. It was served split and with a mustardy sauce. I’m assuming this was their SC mustard sauce, which to me, is only appropriate on sausage. But the flavor and texture were great. It definitely ranked among the top sausage I’ve had. And thankfully, Queen City Q has actual BBQ slaw on the menu that is really well done. It’s properly chopped and has really solid flavor with just a bit of spiciness.

Monk: Perhaps I’m a bit of a nancy, but the BBQ slaw was a little too spicy for me – still a welcome menu item though. Queen City Q has an abundance of sides, and I was slightly tempted to order the “Asian slaw” but I wasn’t sure whether or not it contained mayonnaise and didn’t want to face Speedy’s wrath. In the end, I went with their baked beans with Neese’s Sausage BECAUSE HOLY HELL IT HAS NEESE’S SAUSAGE IN IT OF COURSE I’M GOING TO ORDER IT. One thing that always gets our collective goat is if a restaurant lacks hush puppies, and unfortunately this is the case for Queen City Q. Sad, really, because otherwise this is a very solid barbecue restaurant all around.

Rudy: The last few places you guys have tried have had lots of different types of barbecue. The positive is that they have several for you to try, but the negative is that they don’t really have a specialty. Do you think that a restaurant would be better served to have a single specialty that they master or to offer variety that is all above average?

Monk: Good question…I can only speculate as to the reasoning why that is the case. If you are a new barbecue spot opening up, then I’ve noticed that the tendency is to go for “barbecue fusion” and have several types of meat cooked in the style of different regions. I would welcome a restaurant focusing on one specialty *COUGHGOODLEXINGTONBARBECUEINCHARLOTTECOUGH* and executing the crap out of it but I don’t really see it happening anytime soon.

Speedy: Another nice bonus was that all NC beers were $3. The restaurant has a nice variety of brews on draft and does a really good job of supporting local brews. The restaurant itself has a couple of bars and good TVs for watching sports. That makes it a great spot to go watch a game or eat before a Bobcats game.

Monk: I agree that it is a good spot to watch sports (some folks were taking in the US vs. Antigua and Barbuda World Cup qualifier the night we stopped in), but let’s get serious Speedy – you are the only one who actually goes to Bobcats games.

Speedy: Fair point…

Monk: So I think the consensus between the two of us is that Queen City Q and Midwood Smokehouse are our two favorite barbecue spots in Charlotte, right? Which is a little odd, considering they are two of the newer places – Midwood opening in 2011 and Queen City Q just earlier this year. But I think this is more of a case of the newer places doing barbecue properly, as opposed to any riot against the old on our part.

Speedy: That’s right, Monk. Both places did a great job creating their menus to highlight several different styles of barbecue. And while I’ll always be a chopped pork kind of guy thanks to being reared on Lexington Barbecue, it’s nice to have all of these options available. Thanks to the good food and great location, Queen City Q will definitely continue to be a Charlotte staple for me.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Wings – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Midwood Smokehouse – Charlotte, NC

June 5, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / 2 Comments

Name: Midwood Smokehouse
Date: 6/1/12
Location: 1401 Central Avenue, Charlotte, NC
Order: Smoked Wings, East vs West barbecue special, combo platter with brisket, sausage, st. louis style ribs, and smoked turkey, hush puppies, bbq slaw, baked beans, collards
Bill: Smoked wings – $8; East vs West barbecue special (included two sides + hush puppies) – $12; Combo platter (included two sides + hush puppies) – $28

Speedy: When I first heard that Midwood Smokehouse was opening back in 2011, I was pretty skeptical. After all, Charlotte isn’t exactly known for great barbecue. But it opened in one of my favorite areas of town, Plaza Midwood, so I definitely had to give it a try. All my doubts were erased from the first meal there, and it’s been my favorite Charlotte barbecue spot ever since.

Monk: May was “Bar-B-Que Month” at Midwood Smokehouse, and while I don’t particularly care for that spelling of barbecue, they had some great specials – Texas BBQ in week 1, Memphis ribs in week 2, and Kansas City burnt ends in week 3. Talk about great timing, week 4 happened to be East vs. West NC barbecue special – obviously right up the Barbecue Bros alley. And while Speedy and I had been to Midwood Smokehouse several times and considered it in our top 2 in Charlotte, this was the perfect time to go and write a review for the blog.

Rudy: This menu was celebrating their “Bar-B-Que Month”, but what types of barbecue do they normally serve? Or as some would say, “what are they known for?”

Monk: In terms of barbecue, they have a little bit of everything – eastern NC pork, texas style beef brisket, smoked turkey, smoked sausage, and bbq chicken. As for what they are known for…

Speedy: An interesting question that I’m not sure I know the answer to. Since it’s relatively new, I haven’t heard too many people talk about it that much, other than saying it’s good. Probably the pulled pork seems to be the most popular item, and my personal favorite. Anyhow, we arrived just before eight on a Friday night. Our party consisted of myself, Monk, Mrs. Monk, and my cousin Daniel, a foodie in his own right. Originally, we were told it would be a thirty minute wait, but someone must’ve told them that we were the Barbecue Bros and we weren’t messing around, we were seated after only 5.

Monk: LIKE BOSSES. Weekend nights tend to be busy at Midwood, and that night the restaurant was definitely buzzing – all of the tables were filled, there was no available seating at the bar, and several folks were trying to find a sliver of room at the bar to order a drink while they waited for tables. Speaking of the bar, Midwood Smokehouse usually has a nice selection of craft beers available on draft and bottle as well as decent specials to go with it. And yes, you can go cheap if that’s the way you prefer your beer. As for seating, there is both indoor and covered outdoor seating, and even a second outdoor level (which I have not yet been to). We were seated outside in the covered area, just minutes after rainstorm had swept through and cooled off the night just a bit. Things were off to a good start.

Speedy: Before long we were ready to order. We had decided that we would be able to have the biggest variety of meats if we ordered the East vs. West special and the combo platter which feeds 2-3 people, for Daniel, Monk, and myself to split. Mrs. Monk decided, however, to order a salad. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, MONK? YOU NEED TO GET CONTROL OF YOUR WOMAN. WHO ORDERS A SALAD AT A BARBECUE JOINT?

Rudy: By “order a salad” you mean that she ordered extra slaw? Like her two side items were slaw next to the barbecue?

Monk: I wish that were the case, Rudy. I think Mrs. Monk would defend her choice of salad by saying “but it had pulled pork on top!” but believe me when I say that we are working through these issues. But enough about our marriage, on to the barbecue.

Speedy: The first course was an order of smoked wings with a spicy barbecue sauce. As wings are my second favorite food (behind barbecue, of course) and I love spicy stuff, you could say that this was right in my wheelhouse. Though good, the wings were not the highlight of the meal. I feel that they could have used some more dry rub before smoking to help enhance the flavor and the sauce wasn’t spicy enough. Mrs. Monk was able to eat one without tearing up, which means the heat needed to man up a little. I’d recommend these wings, but it’s definitely not the reason to go. The pork, on the other hand…

Monk: If you aren’t aware, eastern NC barbecue is whole-hog, chopped barbecue with a vinegar based sauce (sometimes spicy) while western is pork shoulders, pulled barbecue with a tomato-based sauce that gives it a reddish hue.

Speedy: For some reason, the waiter felt the need to explain this to us like it was freakin’ amateur hour. Child, please.

Monk: I mean, seriously. We are the Barbecue Bros! For this special, Midwood added Highland Gaelic Ale from Asheville, NC brewery Highland to the western sauce. The western was fantastic and blew the eastern out of the water head to head. The eastern was chopped a little too fine for my preference, giving it a somewhat weird texture. However, don’t get me wrong – it was still pretty good.

Rudy: So the eastern would have been good by itself but when you ate it right next to the western, it was no contest, right?

Monk: Yea, pretty much. This was the first time I had eaten the two head to head and the difference was eye-opening.

Speedy: When ordering the brisket, we were asked if we wanted “fatty, lean, or a little of both.” Well, the last couple times I’ve had brisket, it’s been too fatty, so I ordered lean. This was probably a mistake. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no brisket expert – that’s why we have Rudy on the payroll – but overall, I was a little disappointed. The brisket showed up chopped, not sliced, and was not really that flavorful. Adding some of the provided sauce helped, but it was still average brisket at best. Similarly, the turkey had a nice texture, but was dry and was also reliant on the sauce (or provided cranberry relish) for flavor. The ribs were better. Tender and flavorful with plenty of sauce – I was definitely pleased with them.

Monk: My favorite of the other plate was the ribs followed by the sausage. I gotta say, the more and more I have it, the more I love smoked sausage (keep your jokes to yourself). It will never displace pulled pork or maybe even ribs, but its a solid number 3 for me, jockeying it out with brisket. I also dug that Speedy had the wherewithal to order an additional half-basket of hush puppies, because I don’t feel right eating barbecue without them and they are decent here, if not a bit small.

Rudy: I completely agree. I had not had smoked sausage until moving to Texas, and I love it. Some places will stuff them with jalapenos and cheese. My favorite types are the ones that kind of fall apart when you cut into them. That tells me they probably made the sausage themselves.

Speedy: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the slaw here is excellent. Chopped fine with just the right amount of vinegar. No mayonnaise to be seen in this slaw. It’s tangy flavor rises from within. All in all, I love this place. The atmosphere is good, the smoker on the side of the building is awesome, and the guys running the show actually know their ‘cue. I’ve never left Midwood Smokehouse without a full stomach and a smile on my face.

Monk: Agreed, Midwood Smokehouse is definitely my favorite barbecue spot in Charlotte. Their ‘cue isn’t amateur hour, and I especially dig the beer selection. Everyone I’ve taken to has enjoyed it, and it has become a dependable spot to take out of town guests. Also, that’s what she said!

Speedy: …

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Wings – 3 hogs
Turkey – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Bobbee-O’s BBQ – Charlotte, NC

May 25, 2012August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Bobbee-O’s BBQ
Date: 5/25/12
Location: 8432 Old Statesville Road, Charlotte, NC
Order: Pulled Pork and Brisket platter with cole slaw and collards, half-rack of St. Louis ribs, 3 whole chicken wings (link to menu)
Bill: ~$30

Speedy: How’d you hear of this place?

Monk: I literally searched on Yelp for Charlotte’s best BBQ places, and this was #1 on the list.

Speedy: Haven’t you learned not to trust Yelpers when it comes to BBQ?

Monk (hanging head in shame): I have now.

Speedy: Regardless, it was a new place to try. I was actually pretty pumped when we walked into this place. It’s a hole-in-the wall joint in an obscure shopping center. It’s very understated inside, with just a couple of crappy tables and a cashier to take your order. If I’ve learned anything in my years of eating barbecue, it’s that the dumpier the place, the better the ‘cue. At least usually…

Monk: Taking a look at the menu, they had the barbecue mainstays – pulled pork, brisket, both St. Louis and baby back ribs, mac and cheese, collards, etc – but no hush puppies! How can a restaurant call rightfully call itself a barbecue joint with no hush puppies? However, unphased by this glaring omission, I ordered the pulled pork and brisket combo with sides of collards and cole slaw while Speedy ordered a half-rack of ribs, three chicken wings, and a corn-bread muffin. However, they were out of corn-bread muffins; another ominous sign…

Speedy: The food came out pretty promptly, and everything looked pretty appetizing, save the cole slaw.

Monk: Oh no, not this again…

Speedy: Everyone knows that barbecue slaw should be vinegar based! Mayonnaise just doesn’t belong in the barbecue world!

Monk: Don’t forget to tell them about the “wings”.

Speedy (now irate): Oh yeah! The wings were fried! If you call yourself a barbecue restaurant, and you have wings on the menu, they need to be smoked!

Monk: Speaking of smoked, did you see the smoker out back?

Speedy: No, I didn’t.

Monk: That’s because it doesn’t exist!

Speedy: I thought the flavor was a little lacking.

Monk: The pulled pork was decent enough. It was eastern NC-style, vinegar-based with a slight kick due to the use of red pepper flakes. But you know, it just didn’t have that smokey, charcoal flavor that I like to taste in my ‘cue. In terms of pulled pork, I would consider it passable.

Speedy: I thought the brisket was actually pretty good. The sauce fit well with the beef, and it was plenty tender. The cut wasn’t too fatty. Brisket isn’t exactly a North Carolina specialty, so all things considered, I thought this was the highlight of the meal.

Monk: The ribs were probably second best. They were tender and falling off the bone, and the sweet sauce nicely complemented the meat. But again, there just wasn’t that underlying smoke flavor to really bring it home.

Speedy: The collards were collards. Not much more to say about that. And though I didn’t have any, the cole slaw was disgusting.

Monk (rolling eyes): Eh – it was fine.

Speedy: I guess that’s pretty much it. Next time, keep the Yelp suggestions to yourself.

Monk (once again hanging head in shame): …

Ratings (out of 5 whole hogs):
Atmosphere/ambiance – 2 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Wings – 0 hogs
Sides – 1 hog
Overall – 2.5 hogs