Sauceman's

One of my recent discoveries in Charlotte is Sauceman's BBQ. When I was growing up in Charlotte the small building at the corner of S. Tryon and West Boulevard was a scary looking Chinese takeout spot - not anyplace I ever thought to stop, although I did frequent the Bojangles across the street! Now with the light rail just a long block away and the burgeoning businesses on Camden Ave. nearby, the owners of Sauceman's have turned this once bleak spot into a highlight of the neighborhood and they serve some tasty BBQ to boot.

I've dined at Sauceman's twice and tried the chopped BBQ, the coarse chopped BBQ, the brisket and the ribs. My favorite is the brisket and the chopped BBQ as well as the mac & cheese, the fried green tomatoes and the hush puppies. The BBQ has a nice smoky flavor and several sauces are available to finish it off. The hush puppies are BIG and tasty. For dessert I indulged in the sugar biscuits - basically fried dough with sugar on top - yum! Next time I want to try the shrimp and grits, which I observed someone else eating last visit. I also saw someone attempting Sauceman's own food challenge: the Clark Griswold - let's just say one person should not be able to eat this giant portion of 2.5 lbs. of chopped pork, hush puppies, bread, slaw and another side dish! If you can eat it in under 30 minutes, it's free - otherwise it's $25. Maybe next time I'll try this with a couple of friends!

Coarse chopped pork with slaw and fried green tomatoes.

Ribs with fried corn.

Sugar biscuits.

Smithfield's Chicken 'N BAR-B-Q - Rockingham, NC

On the way back from the beach we stopped at Smithfield's Bar-B-Q, a local chain with 30 North Carolina locations. We had a hard time finding this place - even our GPS was off at first. When we finally found it we ordered efficiently at the counter and our food arrived quickly. Service was top-notch - more than once someone came by to refill drinks and ask us if we needed anything. Unfortunately I found the BBQ itself lackluster. The meat did not have that smokiness that you crave when you go to a BBQ joint. On a better note, the slightly sweet and elongated hush puppies were quite good. Slaw and fries were average. On the whole this was a decent spot to stop on the way back to Charlotte but next time I'm going to do more research to find a really down home non-chain option that will hopefully have better 'cue.

Half eaten BBQ platter with slaw and fries.

Calabash Seafood Hut and Calabash Creamery + Crabbing

Platter of fried goodness (and cole slaw!)

In early June we spent a wonderful week at an oceanfront house on Ocean Isle Beach complete with sun, sand, waves and crabbing. We cooked up fresh boiled shrimp most nights but one evening we did venture into Calabash for some fried seafood. Calabash Seafood Hut is classic Calabash fried goodness and the tiny dining room was filled to capacity by 5:15 PM. The shrimp and oysters were my favorite; the hush puppies could be better.

After dinner, despite being stuffed, we headed over to Calabash Creamery where they serve up delicious ice cream with creative flavors. I enjoyed the chocolate peanut butter and we had fun resting on the creamery's rocking-chair filled porch. A fun evening for all!

Sunset view from our house.



Basket of hush puppies.



Clam chowder.







Cute front porch of the creamery.

Calvin crabbing!



Crabs we caught!



Crabs we ate!

Elliott's Fish Camp - Fair Play, SC

Shrimp and oyster platter with fries. Is this some fried goodness or what?!

With multiple trips back and forth from Charlotte to Atlanta we are always looking for a good place to take a break and have a meal. One evening Calvin wondered if there might be a good fish camp along the way and behold, after some iPhone research we came upon Elliott's, which is a real find! Tucked away just off I-85 in Fair Play, SC near the GA border, is Elliott's Fish Camp.

The oysters we had were incredible and we enjoyed everything we had including the delicious hush puppies brought to each table and the onion rings. Pitchers of sweet tea rest on the tables ready for your enjoyment and there is even a small salad bar. You do need to be aware that Elliott's is cash only but luckily a full seafood meal won't set you back too much. You should come out for around $30 (or less) for two. As we continue to make the back and forth trek I look forward to supporting Elliott's for years to come!

Elliott's is only open Thursday through Sunday and their hours are limited so call ahead to verify hours. This place is family owned and operated and their seafood is the REAL DEAL.

Fried flounder with onion rings.



Hush puppies, salad and slaw (photo didn't come out so well!) from the salad bar.

Midwood Smokehouse - Charlotte

Carolina Pork Plate with fries and slaw. All plates come with hush puppies and pickled onions.

Midwood Smokehouse is a welcome addition to the Charlotte BBQ scene. Located in the ever burgeoning Plaza-Midwood neighborhood, Midwood delivers on the 'Q while at the same time adding modern flair with dishes like smoked vegetable bruschetta, smoked turkey and sausage and a Cuban sandwich. The pork BBQ was smoky and delicious and I love that they have 4 sauce options to choose from. The mac & cheese was a standout side and the hush puppies were tasty too. I look forward to going back to try the ribs, the pimento cheese fries and the desserts.

Smokehouse Bruschetta made with goat cheese.



Midwood offers decktop, patio and indoor seating and has a full bar.



Special of the day: Fried smoked wings - you can get the smoked wings anytime and on the side, bacon wrapped jalepenos, available as an appetizer or side.




Sauces: Mustard, NC Vinegar, Midwood Signature and Spicy. I liked combining the vinegar sauce with the spicy sauce - yum!



Smoked half chicken Midwood Style with BBQ baked beans and mac & cheese.

Pinky's Westside Grill - Charlotte

Right after our big honeymoon trip (more on that soon) and after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner the day before, Calvin, my dad and I decided to check out Pinky's Westside Grill in Charlotte on West Morehead Avenue. This neighborhood is undergoing a pretty significant awakening and I'm excited to try some of the other newbies in the neighborhood also.

Pinky's serves a good burger and offers several eclectic twists, both on their burgers and other menu items that make it stand out as a causal dining joint. In addition to the tasty beef burgers, Pinky's serves hot dogs, falafel, veggie/turkey burgers and various baskets, salads and sandwiches as well. I look forward to returning to try the corn dog shrimp, the falafel and the "kinda fried turkey" sandwich.

We all tried the basic burger (the Pterodactyl), which is only available one temperature (per NC law a burger cannot be prepared rare anyway). At $3.75 (without a side but including generous toppings) it is a good value. We each tried a different topping style. Topping styles include Everything (mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion & dill pickle), Westside (mustard, chili, slaw and onion) and Ding-Dong Style (crunchy peanut butter, honey-cilantro slaw and hot sriracha sauce). I tried the Ding-Dong Style and loved it! Of course, having come from Thailand it was rather ironic that the waiter described it as their "Thai style" burger. We also shared some crab puppies as an appetizer - sweet crabmeat folded into large hush puppies and side orders of southern slaw, onion rings (more like straws) and fried squash. The sides didn't really stand out - the onion rings and squash were sliced too thin for my taste but maybe others like them this way. I preferred the cilantro-honey slaw on the burger to the southern style slaw. The only other negative is that the place is rather loud, although not as bad as some. I look forward to dining here again on the patio when the weather warms up in the spring!

Twin Tops Fish Camp: Belmont, NC

Shrimp scampi and fried clam strips.

On one of our many trips to Charlotte we stopped for dinner at Twin Tops Fish Camp in Belmont. In addition to very tasty seafood - the fish and fried oysters were my favorite, this place also has a neat candy shop that will make you nostalgic for your favorite treats. I got a Charleston Chew.

Included with all meals is a generous portion of hush puppies and a salad bar. I was impressed that they even had gourmet toppings like Craisins (which, as an aside, are apparently extremely difficult to find in countries like Chile, where my cousin is currently studying; we got her a bag at Costco when she came to be in the wedding!) for the salad bar. The food is plentiful - next time we decided we only needed one plate! Fish camps are abundant in some parts of the NC Piedmont. There are several on the way to this place from the highway. I'm really glad this authentic kind of local food still exists.

Platter that included everything - deviled crab, flounder, catfish and oysters with hush puppies.

Finger Lickin' Good

Catfish, tater tots and hush puppies

Chopped brisket sandwich with onion rings

Yesterday a friend and I dined at Fox Bros. BBQ. The restaurant was one of several participating in the "Dining Out for Tornado Relief" effort aimed at raising money for victims of the recent Atlanta tornado. As a result, the place was packed for a Monday night, and we waited almost an hour. Nevertheless, my brisket was tasty and my friend's catfish was good, too. I liked the large, flavorful hush puppies as well as the wonderful dessert of peach pound cake with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top (it was so good I forgot to take a picture!) I did feel bad, though, for the couple dining next to us who came in specifically for the catfish special only to find out they were all out - apparently they do not eat any other kind of meat so there wasn't much for them and they left after having waited for a table. So sad... motto of this story is GET THERE EARLY!