I am going to break my analysis down into categories as follows:

Food: We were offered a bread basket which contained hushpuppies, biscuits and corn muffins. The hushpuppies appeared burnt so I passed on those and got a biscuit instead. They were okay and tasted the corn muffin and it was okay as well. An order of chicken wings came out and I sampled one. Not something I would order again. There were smoked but lacked any depth of flavor. But I was there for the bbq which turned out to be excellent. I was very happy that I had the option to add in skin and it was delicious. The oldest did not add skin into her bbq so she was trying to steal mine. The youngest does not like bbq, I’m still not sure she is my child, so she ordered the kids’ macaroni and cheese. Dean, breathe here, I know I know we requested a children’s menu but there was no way I was going to pay entree prices for the youngest. Apparently the mac and cheese was quite tasty and looked really good because she was smiling while eating. The sides I requested with my chopped whole hog were collard greens and black eyed peas and the oldest ordered collard greens and mashed potatoes. Upon arrival of the food I was informed that the collard greens did not look like collards. I had to reassure her that they were and that the greens just were not chopped as much as her granny’s. I took one bite of my greens and requested pepper vinegar, which they did have. There was no salt or pepper on the table so that had to be requested as well for the black eyed peas. The mashed potatoes did not get rave reviews apparently it is hard to compete with Mama Dip’s. Overall the sides were bland and needed some assistance. Now onto dessert which was cheesecake, eggnog creme brulee and a child’s brownie/sundae. The first two got rave reviews. The brownie/sundae was just okay. I know that it was ordered off of the children’s menu but you still do not bring a child a luke warm brownie with one scoop of icecream and a cherry. There was no chocolate drizzled, no whipped creme, nothing extra.

Service: Initially our service was quite good. But as the meal progressed it grew worse. The resturant was not busy and we had to ask other staff members for water, more tea, salt and pepper, and dessert menus. But worst of all we sat for 15 minutes waiting on the bill to arrive and had to ask the host to find our waitress so that we could pay. Once the bill did arrive it included a 20% gratuity! No way in this world was the service worth a 20% gratuity. Besides our party of 6 included 3 teenagers and 1 child hardly a table you automatically add gratuity.

Overall: We met Mr. Mitchell and once the oldest saw him and realized that he was in charge of the bbq she felt a lot more comfortable. She informed me that he belonged in a bbq joint but nothing else there did. The bbq was excellent, the sides need some assistance as well as the bread, be nice to the kids and make their food special as well, pick up the service please and for goodness sake don’t just automatically add in a gratuity. This is not a place I will dine often even though I love bbq until they start a lunch menu or just offer me a pound to go.

Service was good when it was present. There were a few gaps, but we were treated well when they were there.

The Brunswick Stew was more of a soup, a clear red broth with smoked meat and vegetable inclusions. Very fine and tasty, but in a far different style than most would expect. Perhaps they need City and Country versions of this item as well.

Turkey fritters were OK. Chopped meat in fried bread balls. A little heavy. Generous portion. Dipping sauce needs some work. Not really recommended.

Fried green tomatoes consisted of a generous platter of wedges, battered in a light cornmeal and fried. Pretty good, and sized for a group.

The pulled pork was moist, soft and luscious. The chopped whole hog was very moist and flavorful with a nice chili vinegar saucing and little bits of crackling. Highly recommended.

The ribs were dry and chewy, but had a nice spice rub and smoke flavor. Maybe that’s just the style they are going for? Hard to say. So far, it doesn’t seem a popular choice. The brisket was similar in it’s flavoring, but much more moist.

Sides were adequate, but maybe a little overdone in the richness department. Yams were a little too soft and candied, mac and cheese to overtly cheesy/fatty. My friend loved the mashed potatoes.

I do think they have some of the best chopped Q around. And anyone who likes Q really should check them out. And there’s no reason it has to be an expensive sitting. My advice would be to focus on the simple BBQ plates and find your favorite sides. The chopped plate with two sides was $12 on the dinner menu and very satisfying all by itself. To keep the check in line with the value, don’t go crazy on drinks, appetizers and other extras. The portions and richness of the fare are such that you don’t really want or need to anyway. We spent $30 per person with drinks, apps, tax and tip, but I would have been just as satisfied if I’d spent $20.

I’m looking forward to going back and trying the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Or maybe just dropping in for a coffee and something from the dessert list.

But thanks for the report!

Thanks for the report. I thought I’d be able to get over there tonight, but no can do. If only my wife were a barbecue eater!!!

I started with the turkey fritters. The smoky and salty (from the country ham I’m guessing) taste was interesting and overall these were good but not great. The broth didn’t really have any zing to it. I had thought about getting the brunswick stew as I’m a sucker for brunswick stew but at the last minute went with the fritters. c’est la vie.

While waiting for my barbecue, Ed Mitchell came around with a plate of cracklin’ skin to try. A nice gesture and nice to see him out talking with people. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to talk to him all that much as the NC State game was on TV and it was the first game of the season I’d gotten a chance to watch.

Next was the chopped pork plate with mashed potatoes and black eyed peas. The pork was chopped well instead of shredded (as you see some places) which I like as you get some chunks in there along with the smaller bits. It was some of the juiciest barbecue I’ve had without being just straight out greasy/fatty. The spicy eastern NC sauce (they had spicy and mild eastern NC sauce as well as western NC sauce) was a nice counterpoint for the pork and overall the barbecue really impressed me.

The mashed potatoes had some large chunks in them which I like but overall they weren’t all that special. The black eyed peas had a nice salty taste from the side meat that was cooked in with them. Basically cooked exactly like you’d expect black eyes peas to be cooked.

For dessert (seriously I had no room for dessert as the portions were large, but wanted to try it anyway) I had the banana rum pudding torte. There was a nice meringue on top dusted with (I believe) espresso powder, a nice custard with bananas with graham cracker crust mixed in. I didn’t see the advertised caramelized bananas but it was very good nonetheless.

I did notice that the pricing on the family style dinner said it was $24/person, which is much different than what is posted above. Not sure if I had a menu they printed prior to changing the price or if that’s the new price. I was mainly interested in the chopped pork so I didn’t ask the server about it.

Overall I was very impressed and will definitely be back.

Was there much of a crowd?

I must first say that the service was great. I know in my last post regarding Fins, my biggest complaint was the service and our server tonight, Dexter ,showed just how great and responsive service can be (and with 4 kids, it isn’t always easy to keep up).

All the food was great. The big girls and I chowed on the chopped q. I will wait til Varmint gives his more knowledgable opinion…but we gave it three thumbs up. The little ones loved the chicken which was tender and yummy. The pulled pork needed slaw, sauce and a bun, which I didn’t have…so I asked for some slaw to take home and will have it tomorrow. What I did eat there was also tender and moist. My least favorite was the turkey q. I just don’t think it is my thing, no so much the preparation. We got two slabs of ribs…one which was moist and tender, one (and end piece?) which was too hard to chew. The big girls rated the rub at the “one Fireball” level of heat (gotta love those Indian Princesses) and were sucking on the bones while I was trying to get them to go home and do their homework.

The side were all great too. The hush puppies were crunchy on the outside, like I like, but a titch sweet for my taste, but it did not overpower the corn meal taste.

So, overall, I love this place. And again, feeding my kids good food for $30…. I will be there once a week.