Moe's Original BBQ - Matthews, NC

Pulled Pork Platter with sweet potato casserole, marinated slaw and green beans with Texas toast. 

Moe's Original BBQ has locations - they call them "joints" - in 9 states, with the majority of the restaurants located in Alabama. I was invited to try the location closest to me (Matthews, NC) last fall. While I am not in the Matthews area often, we were thoroughly impressed by Moe's and enjoyed every bite. I wish they would open another Charlotte location closer to uptown - maybe this is a possibility?! Everything we tried was truly delicious. I also like the fact that Moe's has special side dishes each day, so there is always something different to try in addition to the regular tasty sides that they have. We tried both the pulled pork and the ribs and we also had a few wings. The pulled pork was great and the ribs were extraordinary. My favorite sides include the sweet potato casserole and the marinated slaw. Even my son who wasn't quite 1 year old at the time, loved it and ate the BBQ and the green beans.

In addition to the regular menu, which includes smoked turkey, smoked chicken, a salad and even a smoked tofu sandwich in addition to the pork and ribs, there are daily specials and brisket is featured on a weekly basis. You can check out Moe's Original BBQ Facebook page for more information on the daily specials. Even vegetarians would be happy here with either the tofu sandwich or a veggie platter since there are so many sides to choose from. Some recent side specials include cornbread dressing, squash casserole, roasted brussels sprouts and Mississippi mud pie - yes desserts count as sides! There are also party packs available for small or large groups and catering is offered as well. Click here to see the Events Calendar for the Matthews location - there is a kids eat free night as well as other special events listed.

 

This photo, taken the same day we ate at Moe's back in October, demonstrates how long I took to get this post up. I promise I will try to be a better blogger!!

Moe's Original BBQ features indoor and outdoor seating.

Ribs platter with banana pudding and cabbage. Yes, you can get banana pudding as a side dish! YES! The ribs were fantastic - tender and juicy.
 

Fries, crisp and tasty.
 

Wings.

Next time I am in Matthews I will definitely seek out Moe's again, but in the mean time I will be hoping to hear about a location closer to home!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

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.

Dilworth Neighborhood Grille

With free entree coupon in hand we decided to check out Dilworth Neighborhood Grille. After all, we live in Dilworth and it's always fun to try a new place. The space is attractive and has a lot of seating, with a large bar area and lots of TVs for superior sports watching. Service was also pleasant and prompt. Unfortunately the food we tried (other than the house salad, which was fresh and good) was nothing special. The slaw on the BBQ platter was not very flavorful and the BBQ itself didn't have any kind of smoky appeal. The mac & cheese was OK but not great. As for the shrimp and grits, to me it was way too cheesy/greasy- some may like all the cheese but definitely too rich for my taste and not enough distinct grits flavor separate from the sauce/cheese. This would be a fun place to watch a game and definitely good for the drinking set. Of course I only tried a few items from the menu, but from what I tasted the food is not the draw here.

BBQ plate - a bit skimpy on the meat.



Shrimp & grits - a bit too cheesy for me!



House salad - fresh and tasty.

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.

Anntony's Caribbean Cafe

Quarter white meat with rice & peas and cole slaw.

Anntony's Caribbean Cafe on 7th St. was a favorite of my youth. Back then the dining room was much larger but now the restaurant focuses on catering and take-out with a few tables indoors and on the patio. The tangy sauce here is SO GOOD. The waitress told me they had to take the bottles of sauce off the table because people were taking the whole bottle! I love the combination of rice, slaw, sauce and chicken here. So good. Calvin enjoyed his curry chicken as well although the corn bread was a little dry. Try the swank - a tasty nonalcoholic drink that tastes like a combination of lemonade and iced tea. Wing platters, pork chops, pork ribs, collards, and mac & cheese (Monday only) are also offered. Glad to be back in town so I can come back to Anntony's often!

Curry chicken with calypso rice topped with black beans and potato salad.

Queen City Q

Onion rings with Boone's 57 sauce (front) and The Q Platter with double pork, beef brisket and St. Louis ribs.

Queen City Q is a fairly recent addition to the Charlotte BBQ scene. Located close to the 7th St. light rail stop, it's a perfect place to ride & dine. A few weeks ago Calvin and I walked uptown from our house, participated in a twilight 5K race and had a great dinner here before taking the train back home. If you don't live close enough to walk or take the train, parking is validated in the adjacent deck. In addition to a huge indoor dining room and full bar, there is a nice patio where we sat.

We decided to share an order of the onion rings appetizer and The Q Platter - you could choose up to 4 meats but since we love BBQ pulled pork we doubled up on that and had the brisket and the ribs as well. All of the meats were smoky, succulent and tasty, particularly the St. Louis ribs. It was also a portion big enough for a third person!

Queen City Q has a wide variety of sides including all of the usual suspects plus a few innovative additions like corn & edamame salad. Our chosen sides, mac & cheese and BBQ slaw, were good choices but I'd like to return to try the greens and sweet potato fries. Salads and tacos, two types of chili and Brunswick stew are also offered. I also like that they include Texas toast with the entrees - yum! I look forward to dining here again and trying more menu items!

Eastern NC BBQ slaw and mac & cheese.