Great, Good, Ok, Fair, Poor (Awesome is the favorite thing we had on the trip)
One week on the road – 13 BBQ joints to tackle. We are up for the challenge.
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Midwood Smokehouse (https://midwoodsmokehouse.com/
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When you walk in, the smoke is what hits you first! It smells heavenly, but there are a few differences to our normal bbq experience. For one, it’s a sit down restaurant, not a hole in the wall where you order at a counter. Another thing to know is parking is limited. When we were pulling in, we got lucky enough to catch someone leaving, but it is tough when Midwood is busy so make sure you take into account some searching for parking. Now we got the combo for our meal and got brisket, chicken, ribs, and pork along with Mac and cheese, beans and hush puppies.
Here’s what we thought!
Brisket: E: Awesome, A: Great
Ribs: E: Ok, A: Good (E: flavor was good but it was drier than expected at parts)
Pork: E: Good, A: Good
Chicken: E: Ok, A: Ok
Beans: E: Good, A: Good
Mac: E: Good, A: Awesome
Hush puppies: E: Ok, A: Good
Pickles: E: Good, A: Good
We also loved the sauces but we thought the habanero sauce was the weakest.
2. Sweet Lew’s (https://www.sweetlewsbbq.com/)
Our second stop brings us to Sweet Lew’s BBQ. Unfortunately, one of us is feeling under the weather so you will only get Eric’s vote on Sweet Lew’s. Also, be aware that all of the food was carry out so we could get back and get Al some ginger ale!
Bbq hash: Fair
Hush puppies: Good
Brisket: Great (they cut it really big which kept all of the juices)
Pork: Good
Mac: Good
Sauces were Ok to Poor (mustard sauce was ok but all of the others, in my opinion, weren’t worth it. Thankfully the bbq was good on it’s own too!)
3. Noble Smoke (https://www.noblesmokebarbecue.com/)
Our next meal takes us to Noble Smoke! Al was feeling better after some rest and drinking so we headed into more of bbq-land! They have an a la carte menu which means my 2 meat combo platter is not a thing at this establishment. Something to mention is that most of these locations felt like a bar with an attached bbq joint with it. While it was an interesting change, I for one, dear reader, did not enjoy it. The level of loud noise and yelling drunkards at tvs doesn’t feel synonymous with a good bbq experience and dampered my mood. It did put the bar in Bar-B-Que, but all the taps in the world would not bring me as much happiness as the smoke you find in a perfectly prepared brisket. There’s just something about being in a slightly run down hovel in the side of a building while the owner acts like you are an inconvenience to his day, that brings out how amazing this smokey meat can be. However, the bbq itself didn’t lack. Our Noble Smoke waitress stated that they have no bbq beans on the menu due to their owner’s distaste for them. While we find that odd, Al took the opportunity to try something we don’t see everywhere. The succotash!
Turkey Sandwich: E: Great, A: Awesome (A: would order again in a heartbeat)
Brisket Sandwich: E: Good, A: Good
Pork: E: Good, A: Ok (E: Strong pepper flavor can overwhelm but was good overall)
Mac: E: Good, A: Good
Succotash: E: Good, A: Ok (E: For my first succotash, it was pretty darn good. It took me a while to warm to it, but I liked it!)
Eric was the only one who tried the sauces. He advises to skip them. The BBQ can stand on its own and the sauces were kinda weak. Also, no mustard sauce for some reason. Maybe the owner dislikes mustard sauce too. Al says that the sides were big for what you normally get for BBQ and I have to agree. Good for some sharing! The value here was amazing. The turkey sandwich was only 10 dollars and the sides were between 6 and 8 dollars each for a large shareable portion. The waitress also offered to-go drinks (iced tea and Diet Coke, y’all. We aren’t going to let alcohol influence our judgements!) Also, the smell of each of our restaurants did fill us with that tantalizing smoke aroma that brings us in like cartoons led by our noses.
4 . Stallings Rockstore BBQ (https://www.rockstorebbq.com/)
Ok, maybe course corrected a bit too hard. This is a restaurant in a shack off of the highway so our definition of hole in the wall but, spoilers, this wasn’t as good as our previous entries. Love the vibe, food was pretty…eh… The price was pretty good, especially if you want to pick up a sandwich but for some godforsaken reason, they chop their brisket! What are you doing Stallings?! Anyway, here are our scores.
Chopped?! Brisket: E: Fair, A: Fair
Chicken: E: Poor, A: Fair (E: Dry. Can’t do that!)
Red Slaw: E: Poor, A: Fair
Beans: E: Did not try, A: Poor (A: Tasted like they came from a can)
Mac: E: Fair, A: Poor
Brunswick Stew: E: Poor, A: Did not try (E: Never getting again)
Sauces: E: Al and I liked the mustard sauce. Only good thing that we had here. Tomato based and vinegar sauces also were pretty good but Al didn’t try them.
Nobody showed up while we were here and it was pretty dead. We would recommend you try a different restaurant, BBQ or not, if you live in Stallings…or see our previous restaurants for better choices.
After Charlotte, we ventured to Lexington, North Carolina (Home of North Carolina Barbecue) to try the whole hog BBQ.
5. Bar B Que Center (https://barbecuecenter.net/)
First impression on walking in is small town diner that got converted from an old school Taco Bell or McDonald’s. Menu was interesting in that they had bbq chicken and 3 different cuts of pork… And that’s really it. Some family friendly fare (hot dog, hamburger, etc…) and some smaller meals for cheaper (slider for $3.50! In this economy?!). Also, I’m a sucker for pellet ice which they had in their drinks!
Coarse chopped Pork: E: Great, A:
Great White Slaw: E: Good, A: Good (E: White over Red all day!!!)
Beans: E: Ok, A: Fair
Mac: E: Ok A: Ok (E: Had the large Mac and small beans to check the difference in sizes. My recommendation, go small)
Hush puppies: E: Good, A: Good (E: Big and sizes like small chicken fingers)
No sauce besides the vinegar sauce (dip) they will give you with your meal which was different than our other BBQ joints. So far, this is the surprise of the trip! From the outside and inside, you might not think you are staring into the heart of Carolina BBQ but that’s how we felt, eating our vinegar soaked pork in our booth. It was a very tasty meal and we look forward to more from Lexington tomorrow! (Also, we saw someone order a banana split. Holy crap, it was huge! Eat at your own peril! Couldn’t convince Al to order one )
6. Bridgett’s Kitchen
We went and visited the downtown of Lexington. Not a ton to do but we found a bookstore called Pig City Books. The owner was fantastic and we really enjoyed talking to her about different genres and newly released books! With a few books and a BBQ recommendation in Eric’s bag, we headed to Bridgett’s Kitchen. We were hyped up with the promise of burnt ends but sadly they were out of them. However, sipping their sweet tea was divine as we got ready to order!
Smoked Pulled pork: E: Fair A: Good (E: the cook was very inconsistent from a little soft to hard as a hockey puck. Taste was good)
Smoked Turkey: E: Ok A: Good (E: a bit dry, but was tasty)
Baked Beans: E: Ok A: Good
Smoked Mac: E: Fair A: Ok (E: got worse as I ate it, for some reason. Could not say why…)
Coleslaw: E: Good A: Good
Pasta Salad: E: Ok A: Did not try (E: Average pasta salad!)
Sweet Tea: E: Great, A: Great
Spicy sauce is worth a try Just be warned, when you come here, it’s porkporkpork so if you don’t like pig all the time, every time, find some meals in between to get other food… Maybe sushi or something…I don’t know what else you’d eat in hog country.
7. Lexington Barbecue (https://www.lexbbq.com/)
We have heard about this place from a few people so this writer’s expectations are a little higher than maybe they should be. Very similar in style to the Bar-B-Que Center. The prices were pretty low for quality barbecue and they really didn’t have many sides. They did have pie, which I’m excited for at the end of the meal!
Coarse Chopped Pork : E: Good, A: Good (E: a bit dry, lots of dip solves that problem!)
Turkey: E: Good, A: Good
Beans: E: Ok, A: Ok
Hush puppies: E: Ok, A: Ok (E: really dry and not sweet)
Pecan Pie with ice cream: E: Good, A: Did not try (E: Pie was good but just be warned. If you have ice cream with it, the ice cream looks like a giant pat of butter which threw Eric when he received it)
Not really any bbq sauces besides a smokehouse bbq. Really missing a variety of sauce. Maybe it’s a Lexington thing? Something to explain: they have a sauce called dip here in North Carolina. It is served with most of the pork they serve and it cuts through the fat as well as keeping the pork juicy. It is made of vinegar, ketchup, salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar.
Next stop on this BBQ tour – on to the capital of South Carolina, Columbia.
8. Palmetto Pig (https://palmettopigbbq.com/)
Well, my research included buffets, so here we are at our first BBQ buffet. It wasn’t a big menu but they have rice for some reason so… Yeah I don’t know what to tell you readers, this was an interesting stop, especially being our first stop of the day. Since it is a buffet and there are more items than usual, I’m going to hit on the big items only.
Pulled Pork: E: Ok, A: Good
Fried Chicken: E: Ok, A: Good (E: much better fried chicken than I was expecting. It was juicy but needed more spices in the breading)
Mac: E: Ok, A: Ok
Beans: E: Fair, A: Fair
Slaw: E: Ok A: Ok
Green beans: E: Did not try, A: Poor
Hush puppies: E: Good, A: Good (E: Not overly fried like some other hush puppies)
Mustard sauce: E: Great, A: Great
Bananas Pudding: E: Fair, A: Did not try
Like most buffets, there are things to avoid. E: Avoid the rice (just mush), potato salad (weird after taste) and the original sauce (so sweet you could have dipped candy into it and the candy would have gotten more sweet) A: Avoid the green beans (also mush). There were some things we were surprised by at the Palmetto Pig but overall, I’d recommend going somewhere else. Buffets for BBQ are never going to be at the level you want for smokey meat goodness.
9. Maurice’s Piggy Park BBQ (https://www.piggiepark.com/)
We didn’t do dinner last night because Eric was feeling a little sick but we are back at lunch at Maurice’s. We were apprehensive about going to Maurices based on the name alone so, to not drive away business, I would refrain from calling anything food related, “Piggy Park”.
BBQ Pork: E: Good, A: Good (E: Served in mustard sauce. Very tasty!)
Ribs: E: Good, A: Did not try (E: Needs a bit more seasoning on the bark but very juicy)
Turkey: E: Great, A: Great
Beans: E: Good, A: Great
Mac: E: Ok, A: Good (E: Heavy pepper taste after a bit. Still not bad)
Hash and rice: E: Good, A: Ok
Hush puppies: E: Poor, A: Poor (E: So we don’t know really what constitutes a good hush puppy considering they are so different. We can tell which we personally like. This ain’t it)
As we leave Columbia on our way to Charleston, we decide to visit the closest National Park, Congaree. We did the boardwalk trail through the swamp – very neat to see the old growth (very tall) loblolly pine, cypress and tupelo trees.
10. Lewis BBQ (https://www.lewisbarbecue.com/location/lewis-barbecue-charleston/)
We journey southeast to Charleston to reach Lewis BBQ. A heads up to Lewis: they get busy and there isn’t a lot of parking. Thankfully there is some extended free parking down the street but they ask you to validate your vehicle at the restaurant via QR code. Don’t forget to take a picture of your license plate for reference!
We waited in a long line for our BBQ. They had an option to order sandwiches and sides at the bar or order a drink for the line. We decided to not do either of those options and wait it out. They did sell out of the turkey breast as we walked up so if you want the full menu, get there early! We were a bit lazy, dear reader, and took the easy route by picking up a sandwich (El Sanco Loco) with three meats (pulled pork, chopped brisket and sausage) on it to evaluate. I will say, it is much harder to evaluate each specific meat when it is mixed with another, but it was a pretty good sandwich. Here are our rankings:
Sandwich: E: Good, A: Good
Brisket Nachos: E: Good, A: Did not try
Green Chile Corn Pudding: E: Good, A: Good
11. Melvin’s BBQ (https://melvinsbbq.com/)
We have had some interesting stops with different kinds of BBQ. When we were in Charlotte , the feel was Texas bbq but with a Carolina slant (sauces, pork-forward). Lexington was what we expected Carolina BBQ to be with chopped/pulled pork and dip. Columbia had a mix of both. So what will Charleston have? After a bit of adventuring around Charleston (parking is an absolute nightmare), we stopped at Melvin’s BBQ. DNT stands for did not try and we have more of those because there is less sharing going on. It’s a lot of bbq eating on a trip like this, so this meal, and probably the next two, you will see more DNTs. Just the nature of the bbq game!
Burnt end special: E: Great, A: Great
Pulled Pork: E: Good, A: DNT
Pulled Chicken: E: Good, A: DNT
Turkey: E: Good, A: Good (E: A little dry in the middle but the rest was delicious)
Beans: E: DNT, A: Great
Mac: E: Great, A: DNT
Collard Greens: E: Ok, A: DNT (E: Let me tell you how that’s a fantastic score. I hate collard greens and I’d be the first to agree that it’s because I’ve never had good collards. However, these weren’t bad. Still don’t like them but I didn’t spit them out. That deserves an Ok or higher in my book)
Melvin’s is again a mix of both Texas and Carolina. They provided a bunch of sauces but also sauced all of the meat (except the turkey) so we didn’t need the sauce. The meat was pretty tender and tasty!
12. Swig and Swine (https://swigandswinebbq.com/)
After a tour of the Battery, a visit to an open market, a trip to Fort Sumter, and a swing by the Isle of Palms, we went looking for our next BBQ adventure. We ended up finding the Swig and Swine. Parking is limited but we were able to squeeze ourselves in.
Pastrami special: E: Good, A: Great
Pork Belly: E: Great, A: Good
Pulled Pork: E: Good, A: DNT
Beans: E: Ok, A: Good (E: To me, they were a little under done, but after eating a bunch of overdone beans, Al enjoyed them)
Cole Slaw: E: DNT, A: Good
Mac: E: Good, A: Good
Hash and Rice: E: Ok, A: DNT
Try some sauces when you go. Tried their Alabama white sauce which Eric equated to a mix between horseradish and ranch.
13. Sweatmans BBQ (https://www.sweatmansbarbecue.com/)
Our last BBQ stop is at Sweatmans BBQ. This place is in the middle of nowhere between Charleston and Charlotte. We love nowhere because it is usually when you get some damn good BBQ. Be careful when you order though. Eric immediately gravitated to the 2 meat plate but that only consisted of southern fried food, so he made sure to head over to the BBQ dinner. Make sure you look specifically for BBQ! The food came delivered in take out containers which seemed presumptuous.
Pulled Pork: E: Good, A: Good
Beans: E: DNT, A: Ok
Peach cobbler: E: Ok, A: Ok
Jambalaya Rice: E: Good, A: Good
Mac: E: Good, A: DNT
Eric wanted to point out that his Pulled pork dinner came with a pork rib (good) and cracklin (poor, no flavor, just crunch). And no, we did not need the take out containers.
That’s another BBQ adventure in the books! Make sure you come out to Carolina and give their BBQ a go. It’s simple and not at the same time!