If you’re looking a place to cater your upcoming holiday gathering, let me recommend The Pit. If you’re down in the dumps, let me recommend The Pit. If you’re happy and you know it, let me recommend The Pit.

I grew up locally, it has not been unknown for our family or for folks we know to do our own hog at times, and I’ve eaten at one time or another most of the barbeque in eastern NC in the past 40 years. In fact, I’m an old die-hard eastern NC bbq fan, who believes that even though that stuff in Lexington may be good pork, you shouldn’t call it bbq, so that’s how extreme I am. Bear all this in mind.

The atmosphere at The Pit is kind of cavernous and cold, it’s a big industrial box. I don’t need it fancy (note that I enjoy Holden’s) but when the restaurant isn’t busy it is rather odd. One lunch they were *very* busy, and it warmed the place right up.

We did not enjoy the bar either time, one was a business lunch, and the other was a personal luncheon in the middle of the business day.

The meats overall were fine. People I have been with sampled the pulled and chopped whole hog, the brisket, and both styles of ribs, as well as the fish. I didn’t find the bbq much better than Coopers or Holdens, and the ribs were not done in a style I appreciate, but overall they received good reviews from everyone.

The biscuits the first time out were excellent: fresh, hot, with a superior texture not often found in commercial biscuits, and just the right size (i.e., not so darn big). The second time I was there the biscuits were clearly reheated and had gotten hard on the outside and mushy on the inside. There is no excuse for serving reheated biscuits.

The buns of two people who got sandwiches were quite large, which is forgivable, and quite hard, which is not. Bbq buns shouldn’t be hard like french bread, at least not where I or the other native North Carolinians who were there come from.

The hushpuppies were “acceptable”. Totally generic, which is less than I expect from any place associated with Ed Mitchell. I’m not even sure they weren’t made from a mix, which is weird since hushpuppies are one of the simplest things on earth.

The coleslaw was a split decision. Half the people at the table thought it was just fine each time. On query, it turned out that people who were raised in eastern NC did not like the slaw, wanted “barbeque slaw” and would not put it on their bbq sandwich. The others liked it a lot and praised it. I want chopped cabbage with none of that purple stuff in it, some sweet pickle and pickle juice, celery seed, some vinegar and little or no “salad dressing” (what some folks call mayonaise).

The other vegetables were quite good, and the brussel sprouts did get rave reviews each time.

The service was, frankly, terrible. Both visits took over an hour for lunch, which is unacceptable to working people. Both visits we asked for biscuits and hushpuppies when we sat down, and both times we were stonewalled and informed that they only come on the plate. After waiting over 20 minutes for any food to arrive we were told that we would be brought some, but then they didn’t come. Ever. We had to ask for butter for the table, twice, after the food arrived, in order to get any, mostly too late. In fact, one meal we never did get hushpuppies at all.

Waiting times for each phase of the meal were extended. It took nearly as long to get a check after we were done as it took to get the food, and then like 6-8 minutes (by now we were all counting) to get the bill back after we presented the card. And this in a restaurant which has gone from busy busy to nearly empty by the time we were checking out.

It was odd that the “sides” were not listed on the menu, they had to be recited in order for us to get them and we had to ask when they came to take our order, which had already taken so long we didn’t want to risk asking them to come back in a minute.

The disappointment by our waiter that we were not ordering alcohol at lunch was palatable.

I give it two stars, mostly for the bbq itself, and the vegetables.

I’ll go back, the next time I’m not in a hurry, and have time for a drink, and if I’m taking people who want a dining experience. But if I’m going for a working lunch in Raleigh and want BBQ, I’ll go to Clyde Coopers next time where I get served in 10 minutes with significantly less price, where the food is almost as good and the slaw is BBQ slaw.

Hmm…that gives me incentive to go back then. Since puppies are a staple at ‘cue places, I thought the ones we had must have been left over and they hadn’t had time to make more (because of being off for Christmas). Maybe he needs to consult with Malawry….

I also had a chance to chat with Ed Mitchell today, and he’s pretty damn happy that everything is going so well. So am I.