Totally Disappointing Meal

[Stlsportster]

In Charlotte for business. Had a local coworker recommended his favorite local Carolina BBQ joint. Ordered the meat sampler. Ribs, pork, chicken, and their specialty....smoked pot roast. Sides were fried yellow squash and spicy kidney beans.

Pot roast was chuck, smoked then braised in some kinda stock with onions. Pork was yellowish tinged..not sure what it was mixed with...ribs were decent but had little smoke flavor and they chargrill them to heat before serving so the outside was charred and they obviously don’t use rub...chicken was dry and again charred on the outside.

The fried squash was the best part of the meal.

Don’t know why I even try to eat Q out anymore.

 

[Kanco Connection]

Ugh. Hope you expensed it.
I was in Memphis and tried 3 different Q joints with my buddies. Pretty disappointing all around. Not as bad as what you’re describing, but I was expecting amazingness in one of the Q capitals of the country.
I’m learning that an even better seasoning than appetite is.....low expectations.

 

[16Adams]

May I suggest you find some business in Texas??


)

 

[Czarbecue]

I always think I may be missing out on something if I don't try a place. Maybe it's a hidden gem... that's what keep me going when trying new places.

 

[cowgirl]

I always drive around back to check out their wood stack and smoker before going into a joint to eat. Most of the time I can tell if it's going to be good or the opposite. :tape::grin:

 

[SmittyJonz]

Ain't they got Arbys out there...........?

 

[LYU370]

Why did you get beef in the Carolina's where pork is king?

 

[SirPorkaLot]

Charlotte is not known for its BBQ.
You have to travel an hour east or west to get the good stuff.
Charlotte is all transplants, aren’t any southerners there

 

[LYU370]

Ugh. Hope you expensed it.
I was in Memphis and tried 3 different Q joints with my buddies. Pretty disappointing all around. Not as bad as what you’re describing, but I was expecting amazingness in one of the Q capitals of the country.
I’m learning that an even better seasoning than appetite is.....low expectations.

Was Rendezvous one of them? :mrgreen: Should have just gone to Gus's for fried chicken. Best there is!

 

[Stlsportster]

+1 on Gus’ chicken.

Yes I expensed it.

Got the sampler so I could try a bit of everything. They wanted $20 for a half rack and $30 for a full rack. For $6 you could add 8oz of pulled pork or chicken to the ribs. Or for $27 you could get a little of everything.

Last time I was here I tried a different place which was better.

One of these trips I’ll make the 65 mile drive to Lexington which I hear is fantastic.

 

[TravelingJ]

That's sad, sorry to hear it. I still try them when I'm out on the road, and I've found a few gems. What's really disappointing, is the times I've sent coworkers/friends to joints that I loved-and then they hated it.

 

[tarheelsmoker]

Hate to see that the queen City disappointed on your BBQ. If that is the joint I think it is they have gone downhill. There used to be a really good Q restaurant that was also a biker bar, but they opened several locations. It's not nearly as good as it once was. But John is right. Many of the natives have moved out of Charlotte. Next time you are in town let me know and I will try to get you a better recommendation.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Good to know a local that knows. Not always as easy as it sounds.

 

[hammb]

In my (albeit limited) Carolina experience your best bet is the places that wouldn't even consider having a sampler platter. THey should just have BBQ. Not pork, not ribs, not beef...just barbecue. The definition is slightly different from East to West (East whole hog, West shoulder). In the West you may have the choice of chopped coarse/fine or sliced.

These places MAY also offer ribs or chicken on occasion, but the true NC BBQ places are going to specialize in just BBQ. As for sides, anything beyond hushpuppies and slaw is likely a crap shoot.

My favorite place in NC that I've tried is Skylight Inn in Ayden. The menu is pretty much 3 items: Slaw, Cornbread, BBQ. And it's fantastic.

 

[Stlsportster]

Hate to see that the queen City disappointed on your BBQ. If that is the joint I think it is they have gone downhill. There used to be a really good Q restaurant that was also a biker bar, but they opened several locations. It's not nearly as good as it once was. But John is right. Many of the natives have moved out of Charlotte. Next time you are in town let me know and I will try to get you a better recommendation.

Last time I ate at Mac’s Speed Shop and it was decent.

This was McKoy’s.

Have heard Midwood is good and read good stuff about Bill Spoons.

 

[Sid Post]

I can empathize with you. Kreuz Market in Lockhart was a disappointment. Black's was awesome though Smitty's Market wasn't too far behind either. Both Black's and Smitty's will see me again. Kreuz's, maybe in case I caught them on a rare bad day.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

Make the drive to Cook’s and order the coarse chopped pork plate (hush puppies and slaw).

 

[tarheelsmoker]

Last time I ate at Mac’s Speed Shop and it was decent.

This was McKoy’s.

Have heard Midwood is good and read good stuff about Bill Spoons.

Yep. Just as I suspected. Mac's was a lot better before they opened multiple locations.

Midwood is good.

Charlotte is kind of funny. Our BBQ roots here are mainly pulled pork. But, like everywhere else, there are some really good cooks that can produce the other stuff too. Problem is, they take off and then they want to open multiple restaurants. The city and surrounding areas are growing like crazy. Usually just thins the cooking talent out and each location gets closer to average.

 

[Hoss]

There is some awesome Q in Memphis.Not the tourist traps.Good idea to have a concealed carry permit if you visit most of them.Just sayin.Be sure you go with a group in daylight hours.Corky's,Central,Rendevous are NOT MEMPHIS Q.If you ever visit again,PM me and I will steer you to some awesome Q.

 

[Rockinar]

I can empathize with you. Kreuz Market in Lockhart was a disappointment. Black's was awesome though Smitty's Market wasn't too far behind either. Both Black's and Smitty's will see me again. Kreuz's, maybe in case I caught them on a rare bad day.

My experience was different. I thought Blacks was on the terrible end of the spectrum. Smittys and Kreutz was similar. Both were good old school BBQ. Not as good as some of these new school places. But I was not expecting new school BBQ. I was expecting BBQ like it was 1955. I thought it delivered.